Comments: Even though there are still serious gender disparity issues displayed in the 2008 slate of World Fantasy Award nominees, I'm going to skip by that to point out an even more troubling issue that isn't as readily apparent at first glance: This list of nominees is very white. Looking through the list, I can't identify a single nominee who isn't white. Having such a pale shade of nominees seems to be something of a tradition for the World Fantasy Awards, but by 2008 all-white nominee lists should have been a somewhat awkward piece of historical trivia. Sure, every now and then someone like Nalo Hopkinson would get a nomination, and might even win an award, but on the whole the minority nominees have been vastly outnumbered by their lily white competition to an entirely embarrassing degree, even at this late date.
Best Novel
Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay
Other Nominees:
Fangland by John Marks
The Gospel of the Knife by Will Shetterly
The Servants by Michael Marshall Smith
Territory by Emma Bull
Best Novella
Illyria by Elizabeth Hand
Other Nominees:
Cold Snap by Kim Newman
The Master Miller's Tale by Ian R. MacLeod
The Mermaids by Robert Edric
Stars Seen through Stone by Lucius Shepard
Best Short Fiction
Singing of Mount Abora by Theodora Goss
Other Nominees:
The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics by Daniel Abraham
The Church on the Island by Simon Kurt Unsworth
Damned If You Don't by Robert Shearman
The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change by Kij Johnson
Best Anthology
Inferno edited by Ellen Datlow
Other Nominees:
The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Five Strokes to Midnight edited by Gary A. Braunbeck and Hank Schwaeble
Logorrhea edited by John Klima
Wizards edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois
Best Collection
Tiny Deaths by Robert Shearman
Other Nominees:
Dagger Key and Other Stories by Lucius Shepard
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Plots and Misadventures by Stephen Gallagher
Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages
The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club by Kim Newman
Lifetime Achievement
Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
Patricia A. McKillip
Other Nominees:
None
Best Artist
Edward Miller
Other Nominees:
Ruan Jia
Mikko Kinnunen
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio
Special Award, Professional
Peter Crowther
Other Nominees:
Allison Baker and Chris Roberson
Alan Beatts and Jude Feldman
Jeremy Lassen and Jason Williams
Shawna McCarthy
Gordon van Gelder
Special Award, Non-Professional
Midori Snyder and Terri Windling
Other Nominees:
G.S. Evans and Alice Whittenburg
Stephen Jones
John Klima
Rosalie Parker and Raymond Russell
Go to previous year's nominees: 2007
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2009
Book Award Reviews Home