Comments: As the slates of World Fantasy Award nominees get closer and closer to the present, it becomes more and more apparent to me that the powers that be behind the World Fantasy Awards have studiously avoided paying attention to the popular trends in fantasy. There is nothing wrong with having an award that spends much of its time focusing on niche examples of the genre, but if you want to name your award something as grandiose as the "World Fantasy Award", then there is at least an implied responsibility to honor all forms of fantasy, including the fantasy that is popular. But the World Fantasy Awards seem bound and determined to ignore any fantasy that is overly popular - even though Terry Pratchett was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010, none of his numerous books were ever nominated for an award. Authors like Laurel K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, and Kelly Armstrong have spent their careers being essentially ignored by the World Fantasy Awards despite the popularity and pervasive influence of their books.
Best Novel
The City & the City by China Miéville
Other Nominees:
Blood of Ambrose by James Enge
Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
In Great Waters by Kit Whitfield
The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan
Best Novella
Sea-Hearts by Margo Lanagan
Other Nominees:
Everland by Paul Witcover
I Needs Must Part, the Policeman Said by Richard Bowes (reviewed in Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 117, No. 5 (December 2009))
The Lion's Den by Steve DuffyThe Night Cache by Andy Duncan
The Women of Nell Gwynne's by Kage Baker
Best Short Fiction
The Pelican Bar by Karen Joy Fowler
Other Nominees:
In Hiding by R.B. Russell
A Journal of Certain Events of Scientific Interest from the First Survey Voyage of the Southern Waters by HMS Ocelot, as Observed by Professor Thaddeus Boswell, DPhil, MSc, or, a Lullaby by Helen Keeble
Light on the Water by Genevieve ValentineThe Persistence of Memory, or This Space for Sale by Paul Park
Singing on a Star by Ellen Klages
Best Anthology
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny: From Poe to the Pulps/From the 1940s to Now edited by Peter Straub
Other Nominees:
Eclipse Three edited by Jonathan Strahan
Exotic Gothic 3: Strange Visitations edited by Danel Olson
Poe edited by Ellen Datlow
Songs of The Dying Earth: Stories in Honor of Jack Vance edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Sixtieth Anniversary Anthology edited by Gordon van Gelder
Best Collection
(tie) There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried To Kill Her Neighbor's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
(tie) The Very Best of Gene Wolfe/The Best of Gene Wolfe by Gene WolfeOther Nominees:
Everland and Other Stories by Paul Witcover
Fugue State by Brian Evenson
Northwest Passages by Barbara Roden
We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle
Lifetime Achievement
Brian Lumley
Terry Pratchett
Peter Straub
Other Nominees:
None
Best Artist
Charles Vess
Other Nominees:
John Jude Palencar
John Picacio
Sam Weber
Jason Zerrillo
Special Award, Professional
Jonathan Strahan
Other Nominees:
Peter Crowther and Nicky Crowther
Ellen Datlow
Hayao Miyazaki
Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden
Jacob Weisman and Rina Weisman
Special Award, Non-Professional
Susan Marie Groppi
Other Nominees:
John Berlyne
Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, and Sean Wallace
Bob Colby, B. Diane Martin, Dave Shaw, and Eric M. Van
John Klima
Ray Russell and Rosalie Parker
Go to previous year's nominees: 2009
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2011
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