We asked our committee, events organisers, reviewers, and other volunteers who help us keep the lights on around the BFS for those SFFH things that made an impression this year.
It’s been a big year in the speculative fiction world—from unexpected horror blockbusters in the cinema to the culmination of a decade-long TV odyssey and, of course, World Fantasycon in Brighton. And the books! Oh, the books… so many great books have inspired and delighted and frightened and captivated us this year. And with every blog under the sun running their “best of the year” lists this week, we couldn’t let the BFS miss out. Our fearless leader Shona Kinsella challenged the BFS Committee members and wider volunteer community to share their favourites from this jam-packed year, and here’s what they said. Note that some people have opted for 2025 releases, while others have listed things that were new to them in 2025. And who are we to argue against discovering older works?
Did your favourite get overlooked? Let us know what you loved in the comments below.
Juliet Mushens, President
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Genre: Literary thriller
It’s incredibly twisty, very unsettling, and moves between multiple time periods and characters very elegantly – all centred around two children from the same family disappearing into the woods, a decade apart.
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams, a cautionary dive into the realities of working for Facebook
Shona Kinsella, Chair
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Magic, Maps and Mischief by David Green
Genre: cosy
The world feels incredibly heavy just now and life is hard, but this book offers hope of something better. It’s a warm hug, with such a good heart. Plus ND rep by ND writers is thin on the ground.
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: I’m going to cheat with one that was released in December 2024 – Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife: The Extraordinary Lives of Medieval Women by Hetta Howes. It was a really interesting examination of life for medieval women and all that ways that might not look like we would expect.
Con/event: World Fantasy Convention in Brighton (I may be a little biased). I love having the chance to spend some time with the BFS and others in the UK genre community. So many of my favourite people are there.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
- Scuttler’s Cove by David Barnett. Folk horror at its finest.
- The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. Okay, it was published in 2023 but I read it this year and it’s amazing. Made me add her other books straight to my ever-growing TBR
- Tideborn by Eliza Chan. Gorgeous, waterlore inspired fantasy. I loved this duology
- The Outcast Mage by Annabelle Campbell. Epic fantasy full of disaster mages
David Green, Secretary
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Daughters of Nicnevin by Shona Kinsella
Genre: Historical; based in folklore, fairytale or myth
It’s beautifully written, heart-felt and atmospheric.
Other favourites
Film: One Battle After Another, closely followed by Wake Up Dead Man. The former is just a movie where everyone involved is on the top of their game and it’s a film with lots to say about the world we live in. To be fair, the same could be said of Wake Up Dead Man, but One Battle After Another just edges it for me.
TV show: Happy to see the return of Fallout before the year’s end.
Podcast or audio drama: Dex Legacy by Emily Inkpen.
Game: Silent Hill f. Excellent stuff and a nice new take on the Silent Hill mythos.
Con/event: It would be a little self-serving to say World Fantasy Con, so I’ll say Bristolcon. It’s always a highlight and has a real family vibe to it. But every con I went to this year – Athventurecon and Octocon in Ireland, Eastercon and WFC – were brilliant.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
A Song of Legends Lost by MH Ayinde and Project Hanuman by Stewart Hotston were both very close to my favourite reads this year and, in all honesty, were just as good as Daughters of Nicnevin. Both were refreshing takes on fantasy and science-fiction. I also loved The Needfire by MK Hardy and am happy to see a resurgence in gothic fantasy.
Stew Hotston, Treasurer
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The Book of Disappearance by Ibitsam Azem
Genre: Magical realism
Timely, devastating and beautiful – a story about ghosts, memory and erasure.
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer – a fun look at our assumptions about the renaissance with some excellent facts
Film: Sinners – because it spat in the face of expectation, loved music and knew exactly what it was
TV show: Frieren – an anime that blew me away with its meditations on friendship
Podcast or audio drama: Unend – by the people who did Midst. I loved it because it’s well weird with an incredible soundscape
Game: Death Stranding 2 – it is post apocalyptic postal service the video game but it’s also about death, grieving, community and building back after the catastrophe. It’s also profoundly anti-fascist
Con/event: WorldCon was wonderfully friendly, fun and had the best books
Any honourable mentions in any category?
- Film: Superman was unexpectedly kind and fun. I’m suddenly looking forward to more
- Book: extremophile by Ian Green was a lot of fun – a breathless punk scifi climate novel
Siân O’Hara, Deputy Chair
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Magic, Maps and Mischief by David Green
Genre: cosy
It’s a wonderful cosy tale of adventure, found family and becoming comfortable with yourself. It has the best neurodivergent representation I’ve ever read. And there’s queer rep, and an animal companion. What more could you need?
Any honourable mentions in any category?
Book: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett. I really enjoyed seeing the character development in this third volume of the series.
Lauren McMenemy, Managing Editor – Online Content (the role formerly known as marketing & PR officer)
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Genre: Historical; dark fiction; supernatural/paranormal; based in folklore, fairytale or myth; horror
I mean, it’s Grady so I’m automatically going to love it. His writing is so darn entertaining, accessible, and involving without being showy, and he sure knows how to write disaffected women. This one is set in the 1970s American South, focused on pregnant teens sent to an unwed mother home, and it’s refreshing to see a US take on the subject. It slowly builds and builds until suddenly it hits, and it doesn’t let go. It’s an absolute snowball of a book, and incredibly affecting. I closed it at the end and had to sit with my thoughts for a bit…
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: Two released in quick succession by the amazing Chelsey Pippin Mizzi: Tarot for Creativity (Chronicle Books) and The Shadow Path (Bluebird). Both are designed to help you uncover your depths and illuminate your full potential, just in different ways. Plus, Tarot for Creativity has spreads for writing prompts!
Film: Sinners. Sinners, one thousand times over. Always Sinners. One of those rare occasions when I couldn’t actually get out of my seat in the cinema when it was all over; I was gobsmacked, absolutely bowled over. Whether it’s the political and social history, or the music (the music!), or the big ol’ vampire fight to the death, this is going to remain one of my favourite films EVER.
TV show: Stranger Things. Yes, I know. But I bloody love it and I won’t apologise. Who knows what the big finale will bring on New Years Day, and I don’t know if I’m ready for it to end, but I will lap up anything from this world. (Yes, it probably helps that I’m the right age for the nostalgia to hit just so.)
Podcast or audio drama: I’m not really one for spoken audio mainly because my AuDHD brain can’t focus enough, so let me use this opportunity to plug Mr Lauren’s podcast: go listen to the All-New Adventures of the Doctor Who Book Club!
Game: My limit with gaming is an obsession with solitaire on my phone 🫣
Con/event: So many! But since a lot of others have mentioned WFC already, let me add the UK Ghost Story Festival and Edge-Lit to the mix. I didn’t realise being in the SFFH world would mean spending so much time in Derby.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
Books: I actually didn’t read as much as I’d have liked this year, but I’ll add Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro (ooh that’s some spicy vampire relic hunting) and Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan (so much fun!). I’m also looking forward to what’s next on my TBR pile: ITCH by Gemma Amor.
Films: Superman (yeah, even I was surprised, but it had so much heart!); The Phoenician Scheme; Wake Up Dead Man; Weapons; Warfare; Frankenstein; Death of a Unicorn; Companion; 28 Years Later
TV: From (bit of diminishing returns this season but still awesome); Welcome to Derry; Amadeus; Shrinking; The Studio; Platonic; Severance
Collections: I have to say Hiding Under the Leaves, edited by Donna Scott and issued by The Slab Press, mainly because I’m in it and it’s the first time I got paid for my fiction.
Publications: Shout out to the fabulous magazine that is Hellebore
Music: Florence + the f*cking Machine’s Everybody Scream. Seriously. I mean, SERIOUSLY. Joe Hill is calling for it to get an honorary Stoker Award because it’s such a folk horror package and I see his point.
Robin C.M. Duncan, Editorial Officer
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Project Hanuman by Stewart Hotston
Genre: Space opera; hard scifi
So imaginative, inventive and thought-provoking, properly vast as a Space Opera should be, yet also very much a portrait of some highly engaging and sympathetic characters. I felt as excited to ‘discover’ this book as I did when I first read Iain M. Banks.
Other favourites
TV show: Severance – never seen anything like it and have not been so surprised, delighted, challenged and generally smacked around the head by a TV show since Twin Peaks (1990/91).
Kevan Manwaring, BFS Journal Editor
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Genre: Climate fiction
Its wry, world-weary voice, its deep dive into the Palaeolithic mind, its satire of eco-activism.
Other favourites
Film: Frankenstein (Del Toro, 2025). A visually stunning exploration of the dynamic between a creator and their creation; a bold re-working of Mary Shelley’s story into something more compassionate, resulting in something surprisingly lyrical and moving.
Non-fiction book: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer – its advocacy of the Gift Economy. So elegantly written, so wise.
Jenni Coutts, BFS Horizons Art Editor & Fantasycon Art Show Lead
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Bat Eater, by Kylie Lee Baker
Genre: Supernatural/paranormal; horror; slasher/gore; psychological horror/thriller
I’m a big fan of horror, and normally I avoid books set at the height of the pandemic, but this book was one I just couldn’t put down – gritty and gory and full of fascinating characters and hungry ghosts that stayed with me long after I finished it. The audiobook version was great, too!
Other favourites
Film: Wake Up Dead Man. I’m a big fan of Benoit Blanc, but I really enjoyed this more introspective mystery. Both my parents are priests, and they loved it too!
Podcast or audio drama: I’ve really been enjoying listening to Warographics to keep up with current events.
Con/event: Normally I would say Fantasycon, but this year I had such an amazing time at Cymera in Edinburgh that I think they take the prize for 2025!
Any honourable mentions in any category?
I really enjoyed reading Seven Recipes For Revolution, by Ryan Rose! Amazing new fantasy that I just couldn’t put down. I also adored Shona Kinsella’s Daughters of Nicnevin – the prose was beautiful and I loved the two main characters.
Ian Hunter, BFS Horizons Poetry Editor
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Genre: Horror
A bittersweet horror novel from Grady Hendrix about a bunch of young women sent away to have their babies in secret. The real horror is the system these underage teenage girls are trapped in and what they have to endure, but is there a way to change their fate when one of them is given a book about witchcraft? Hendrix has always been entertaining and horrific, but by tackling an almost taboo subject from American history he’s actually become an even better writer.
Other favourites
Non-Fiction: Urban Fantasy: Exploring Modernity through Magic by Stefan Ekman which looks at urban fantasy – history, common themes and landmark books.
Film: Weapons, because of the multiple viewpoint storytelling building up to a horrific finale.
TV: Not speculative, but horrific in places was The Beast In Me, recently on Netflix, which was horrific in places, and was one of those series where you shout at the screen things like “Don’t go in there!”, “Get Out!”, and “Don’t leave that lying there!”
Podcast or audio drama: Apart from the BFS podcasts? Not likely!
Game: Played “Herd Mentality” for the first time and enjoyed it – hey, I could follow it, which is a plus in my world.
Con/event: The World Fantasy Convention with added Fantasycon, great to be back in Brighton for a con again, and see a lot of old friends.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
As BFS poetry editor it would be remiss of me not to mention Pedro Iniguez’s “Mexicans on the Moon” which won the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry. Pedro grew up loving science fiction but didn’t see many people like him in the movies or on television, which inspired him to write the poems in this collection merging science fiction, magic realism and Mexican folklore. What’s not to love about an enhanced lobster becoming President of the United States!
Ella Crean, (our new) Social Media Officer
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Genre: Epic high fantasy; science fantasy; Dark Academia
Blood Over Bright Haven follows Sciona, the first woman to become a highmage in the industrial city of Tiran. M.L. Wang’s delightfully immersive prose brings to life a corrupt academic setting, an innovative, co-ordinate-based magic system, and a dual-POV narrative that breathes depth into a fascinating world. The plot twists made me gasp and cry. Blood Over Bright Haven is easily my read of the year!
Other favourites
Non-Fiction: Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake explores the strange and captivating world of fungi. This is an ongoing read, but it has been a joy to learn more about such odd lifeforms. Did you know that mycofabrication is a process that grows materials such as textiles out of mycelium? This provides an eco-friendly alternative to leathers and plastics.
Film: Sinners! I’ve had the soundtrack on repeat since I saw the film in April. The premise is fascinating, the score is spectacular, and the cast and writers did brilliant work to bring the story to life. Folklore, music, and horror influences: what’s not to love? I won’t spoil anything here, because everybody should watch this film!
Game: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. This remaster of the 2006 original places the player in the shoes of the Hero of Kvatch, an unlikely champion against a cult of fanatics who are attempting to open portals into the demonic realm of Oblivion. I am a longtime fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but I never had chance to play the earlier games in the series. I had a fantastic time roaming the open world of Tamriel once again, discovering deep dungeons, ancient history, and a cast of strange characters as I tried to save the world.
Con/Event: The World Fantasy Convention, of course! Writing is a personal, isolated craft, so it’s always a delight to spend time with writers in real life. I was able to interview some fantastic authors on behalf of the British Fantasy Society and make some new friends over the weekend. I can’t wait to attend again next year!
Karen Fishwick, Archivist (sometime Fantasycon Organiser)
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Juliet McKenna’s Green Man series
Genre: Based in folklore, fairytale or myth; contemporary fantasy
I love contemporary fantasy and I love folklore, so these are a wonderful mix of both. The characters area very realistic and so easy to have empathy with.
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: I don’t really read a lot of non fiction.
Film: I am not sure I watched a lot of new films, mostly just streaming reruns, I quite enjoyed The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
TV show: I watch a lot of random things that are often on in the background. I am currently enjoying the War between the Land and the Sea.
Podcast or audio drama: I don’t tend to listen to podcasts, but I would love to give a shout out to the BFS’s new podcast as I know how hard Robin Duncan and Dave Green are working on that.
Game: A Board Game called Yak, where you build a wall out of blocks taken from the carts of Yaks, also Munchkin is an ongoing favourite.
Con/event: I mean, World Fantasy Convention – it took us 7 years of planning to get there, so it was good to finally get to deliver it. It was not perfect, but seems to have gone well. We are so grateful to everyone who helped.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
I was so happy to meet Kristen Britain, Suniti Namjoshi and Joanne Harris and get books signed by them at WFC.
Marvellous Michael Anson, Outreach and Inclusion Coordinator
Favourite fiction book of 2025: War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi
Genre: Dystopian/apocalyptic
An incredible dystopian story reflecting on the Biafra civil war in Nigeria. In this retelling the war extends far into the future and we are forced to see war through the eyes of girls as child soldiers. A very heart breaking yet insightful novel. Highly recommend.
Other favourites
Film: Sinners- an incredible story exploring history, culture and the kind of resilience that makes art so powerful, it changes the lives of everyone it touches.
TV show: Andor- the revolution will not be televised but it will be seen and felt everywhere. A very needed wake up call for the times we live in. The narrative arcs were fantastic, the directing, exceptional. 10/10
Podcast or audio drama: The Write and Wrong Podcast
Con/event: FantasyCon/WFC- Always a cozy and lovely time with writers, this time with a sea view
Any honourable mentions in any category?
Notable mention for novels: The Reaper, The Everlasting and the Raven Scholar
Dan Hanly, Webmaster
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir
Genre: Dark fiction; supernatural/paranormal; dystopian/apocalyptic; horror; soft scifi; science fantasy; comedy
“Lesbian Space Necromancers” need I say more? Oh, I need to say more, okay… In that case: It’s a masterwork of tone, seamlessly blending meme-literate humor with deep, gothic horror. If you like puzzles, swords, skeletons, and queer devotion that transcends death, then this is the book for you. The vibes are immaculate.
Other favourites
Film: Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein
TV show: It wasn’t released this year, but I did rewatch The Leftovers because I’m dead inside and sometimes need a good cry; happy tears, sad tears, and what-the-hell-did-I-just-watch tears.
Podcast or audio drama: I love Smosh’s podcasts for the background when I’m working. I love those guys.
Game: CLAIR OBSCURE: EXPEDITION 33. I capitalised it because it deserved everything. I’ve never before been so broken over and over and over again by a game. The music, the visuals, the acting, the story!!!! I had to fight hard for it not to become a major part of my personality. “For those who come after… right?”
Con/event: Loved World Fantasycon 2025. It was incredible to see the people I know and love in the fantasy space again. The panels were brilliant, the socialisation was top tier (which for me, a social hermit, is saying something) and the karaoke was unmissable.
Dan Howarth, Local Event Organiser: Merseyside
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The Northern Weird Project from Wild Hunt Books
Genre: Horror
Ok. I’m cheating. This is a series of books. All beautiful and creepy novellas from Northern writers. My favourite was probably (Don’t) Call Mum by Matt Wesolowski. But the other entries were almost just as fantastic. Matt Wesolowski just writes just atmospheric, creepy tales. I can’t get enough of his work.
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: The Cost of These Dreams by Wright Thompson. Ok… So this is a sports book, but it was just so hugely poignant with regards to the human condition. It tracks ageing sportsmen as their careers end, leaving them wondering who they are and other existential questions. We can all learn a little something here.
Film: 28 Years Later. Yes, it’s got it’s flaws. The ending is bat shit. But I loved this film. As violent and scary as the first one.
TV show: I just love Slow Horses. The undercurrent of humour gets me every single time.
Podcast or audio drama: This Is Horror podcast. Ten years on and still the OG in terms providing writing advice and asking your favourite horror writers the questions no-one else does.
Con/event: I love Edge Lit @ Derby Quad. Alex Davis always gets great guests along and it’s a lovely, compact con in a good venue.
Greta Colombani, Local Event Organiser: Oxfordshire and Berkshire
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez
Genre: Historical; supernatural/paranormal; based in folklore, fairytale or myth; horror; afrofuturism; gothic
Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had a weakness for vampires. Give me sapphic vampires and I’m utterly helpless. A radically imaginative take on the vampire myth, this is a quietly intoxicating novel that takes you on an unforgettable 200-year journey of empowerment, self-discovery, and transformation, from 1850 Louisiana to a dystopian 2050. A profound and powerful meditation on our longing for kinship, the relationships that bind us to others/Others, and queer ways of building community that transcend and reinvent the very notion of “blood ties”. Gomez says that she’s been working on a sequel and I’ll be screaming, crying, throwing up when (I refuse to say “if”) it finally comes out.
Other favourites
Film: Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” (you see, I was not kidding when I said I have a thing for vampires). As a researcher of nineteenth-century supernatural and Gothic literature, I admit that I have many pet peeves when it comes to movie adaptions of classics of the genre. That said, I’m a huge fan of when directors delve deep into the book, make an effort to truly understand it, and then do something partially (or even entirely) different with it but that still makes sense in relation to the source material and says something genuinely interesting about it. I think that “Nosferatu” is a great example of that and I loved Eggers’s tweaks to the original story (I could say *a lot* about them but no spoilers).
TV show: I suspect I won’t be alone in this one but… season two of “Severance”! It’s been a long time since I watched such a brilliant, uncompromising, uniquely imagined TV series. It’s one of those rare instances in which something is definitely as good as everyone says it is. And I’m still thinking about that last scene… (if you know you know)
Podcast or audio drama: It’s in Italian, alas, but if anyone speaks Italian I would definitely recommend “Monstrumana”, an incredibly well-researched, hauntingly fascinating podcast dedicated to monsters in literature.
Game: I don’t normally play games, but I’m obsessed with the only one I played this year: Spiritfarer, the cosiest management game ever where you get to be a ferrymaster to the deceased, take care of your spirit passengers (who have the cutest animal forms and the most vibrant personalities), and fulfil all their last wishes before helping them pass to “the other side”. What else could you possibly want from life… well, from the afterlife?
Any honourable mentions in any category?
Fiction books:
- Seth Dickinson’s “Exordia” (though I’m still desperately waiting for book 4 of “Baru Cormorant”: PLEASE, SETH, I’M LOSING MY MIND AS WELL AS ANY HOPE)
- Premee Mohamed’s “We Speak Through the Mountain”
- Nghi Vo’s “The City in Glass”
Katie Bruce, Local Event Organiser: Yorkshire
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The Way Up Is Death by Dan Hanks
Genre: Urban fantasy; horror, soft scifi; science fantasy; scifi horror; comedy
It’s got everything! Horror, fantasy, sci-fi, a prologue that made me laugh out loud multiple times and an awful celebrity children’s author that gets his comeuppance!
Other favourites
Non-fiction book: Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History – artwork, interviews and photos from the making of my absolute favourite film. Includes Brian Froud saying “I designed David Bowie’s leggings. You’re welcome.”
Film: Man And Witch: The Dance of a Thousand Steps (I know, you’re all shocked by this) but it’s amazing! It’s funny and heartwarming and magical! It’s a family fantasy film that fits right in with The Neverending Story and Princess Bride but also has the most amazing representation! Also there’s a sheep that just randomly quotes lines from movies with absolutely no context.
TV show: Only Murders In The Building – it’s a fun popcorn show that makes me happy
Podcast or audio drama: Well obviously it’s the BFS’s Long Story Short – but also Writeopolis for insightful nonsense, a very serious take on sandwiches, and even occasional writing talk
Game: I have put far too many hours into Jurassic World Evolution 3… I just wanna see my raptor babies running around!
Con/event: World Fantasy Con. Obviously. It feels like coming home!
Any honourable mentions in any category?
Books:
- Sword of Avalon – AK Faulkner – it’s queer, it’s spicy, it’s got ALL the trauma!
- The Outcast Mage – Annabel Campbel – disaster mages for the win!
- Wooing The Witch Queen – Stephanie Burgis – delightful romantasy where the prince runs away to find shelter with the wicked queen!
- Debts of Fire – Intisar Khanani – more disaster mages. And also a phoenix!
- The Vengeance – Emma Newman – sapphic pirates, swashbuckling women, also vampires!
- The Last Woman on Earth – Bex Benjamin – sapphic, cosy, post-apocalypse!
- Tideborn – Eliza Chan – what if the little mermaid was a pissed off immigrant in a semi-sunken city!
- The Iron Road – David Wragg – fantasy with no magic, the most inventive of insults, and a girl with no sense of self-preservation!
Podcast:
- Breaking The Glass Slipper – a brilliant podcast about women in sci-fi, fantasy and horror. Absolutely yes to intersectional feminism, more please!
- Fantasy Book Swap – Ali Baker and a guest discuss one classic children’s book and one contemporary children’s book – amazingly insightful, entertaining and brilliant for getting book recommendations that aren’t dead cishet white men!
Alethea Lyons, Local Event Organiser: Greater Manchester
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Crying Out for Magic, by P. S. C. Willis
Genre: Urban fantasy; romantasy; cosy; magical realism
It was really hard to pick a fave since I’ve read some brilliant books this year and they’re all very different. In the end I chose this one as it’s a feel good read I know I’ll come back to when I need a pick me up. Plus it’s queer, has anxiety rep, has a unique magic system, highlights that being nice to people is a good thing, and the romance is thoroughly adorkable.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
- Lightfall by Ed Crocker (so fun, especially if you hear Ed read it)
- The Wingspan of Treason by L. N. Bayen (technically late last year but it’s a chonker of brilliantly written epic fantasy)
- The Girl with the Fierce Eyes by Sophia Vahdati (which highlights the difficulties in being from a mixed background)
- Hollow by Taylor Grothe (with autism rep and creepy af), These Wicked Roots by Tanya Pell (sapphic and gothic)
- Dissonance of Birdsong by Alexandra Beaumont (dark and folkloric, one of my fave combos)
- This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole (sequel to the stunning So Let Them Burn)
Alexandra Beaumont, Local Event Organiser: London
Favourite fiction book of 2025: Scuttler’s Cove by David Barnett
Genre: Based in folklore, fairytale or myth; horror
Scuttler’s Cove masterly mashes up environmental messaging, folk horror and an engaging character line up. The characters I liked were easy to follow, and the characters you hate… well, it was easy to really hate them and that works well in a folk horror setting. This was the book I needed for an action-filled fun and well-written read with a deeper meaning. It’s not my usual sort of read, and the fact I loved it so much made me realise there’s a wider pool of books I could be reading and enjoying beyond my usual ‘type’.
Other favourites
Film: Nosferatu for transporting me back into the hallowed ground of Victorian gothic, same with Frankenstein. Can I pick two?!
TV: Andor. A masterclass in nuanced villains, relatable protagonists doing their best and a timely reflection of the real world.
Podcast or audio drama: I’ll always point people at Alternative Stories and Fake Realities, lovely talented people who support upcoming writers and that’s always great. I’ll also add a bonus in of The Tiny Bookcase, who do a lovely and very different style of podcast with story telling as part of their shows.
Game: Above and Below – board gaming meets choose your own adventure. (Not a new game, but new to me.)
Con/event: World Fantasy Con – the BFS event. It reminded me why I’m part of this here writing game, as all the people are so lovely.
Any honourable mentions in any category?
I’m actually going to mention something that I’ve been thinking about a lot this year, and that’s working class protagonists. So much of fantasy you see people talk about on social media is ‘this queen/ chosen one / noble saves the day.’ I want more stories where it’s the people without loads of resource / prestige does remarkable things. So big up for the books without wealthy main characters (Scuttler’s Cove does this well too, by the way). I’ll also shout out about Bog People which is working class folk horror and I’ve just got a copy, so I’m excited to read it. My next book is also going to be firmly about working class protagonists.
Melody Bowles, Reviewer
Favourite fiction book of 2025: The Everlasting by Alix E Harrow
Genre: Based in folklore, fairytale or myth
- Tense, thrilling read with unique characters an amazing villain and sky high stakes
- I love lady knights and Una Everlasting is an incredible example of what happens when a knight’s honour becomes a Big Problem for them
- Hero caught in a time loop with a big question – save Una or preserve her legend, which was a formative part of his own history?
- Asks interesting questions about the effects of myths and legends on cultures and wars
- Deep, epic romance
Other favourites
Film: How To Train Your Dragon – although a remake, it’s very beautifully made and Toothless is irresistibly charming as always
TV show: The War Between The Land and the Sea. The Sea Devils ‘Homo Aqua’ and Salt ‘Homo Amphibia’ are absolutely beautiful work by costume and makeup. The scene where all the plastic in the oceans rains down on Earth was a haunting image that stayed with me.
Game: Split Fiction is a really imaginative and funny game to play. Two authors get trapped in an algorithm which brings their stories to life – and not the ones they intended! Pokes fun at both sci-fi and fantasy.
Con/event: Beach and books = overwhelming win for Fantasycon
Any honourable mentions in any category?
- Watermoon by Samantha Sotto Yambao: A surreal and Ghibli-esque ride through a whimsical dream universe
- The Rainfall Market by Yoo Yeong-Gwang: A mystical market where wishes can be granted
- A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna: Beautiful cosy fantasy about a witch trying to regain her lost powers by harnessing her found family
What did we miss? Have your say by leaving a comment, or head to part 2 to discover the things exciting us about the 2026 SFFH slate.
Leave a Reply