1 November 2025: The winners of this year’s British Fantasy Awards were announced during a ceremony at World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, UK, tonight, hosted by Joanne Harris. The shortlisted nominations were gathered from crowdsourced suggestion list for eligible works, and then a period of public voting.
To be eligible, works had to have been published for the first time in the English language during the calendar year 2024, anywhere in the world, and must contain some speculative element—though we interpret ‘fantasy’ widely. More details in the awards FAQ, here.
The Winners Are…
Best Anthology
Winner: Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror, edited by Sofia Ajram
Nominees:
- Nova Scotia 2, edited by Neil Williamson and Andrew J Wilson – Luna Press Publishing
- I Want That Twink Obliterated!, edited by Trip Galey, C.L. McCartney, and Robert Berg – Bona Books
- Fight Like A Girl 2, edited by Roz Clarke and Joanne Hall – Wizard’s Tower Press
- Heartwood: A Mythago Wood Anthology, edited by Dan Coxon- PS Publishing
- The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2023), edited by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Chinaza Eziaghighala – Caezik SF & Fantasy
- Bury Your Gays – An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror, edited Sofia Ajram – Ghoulish Books
Jurors: Kristen Platt, Steven French, Ariana Weldon, Stuart Conover, Jacqui Greaves
Best Artist
Winner: Kelly Chong
Nominees:
- Jenni Coutts
- Kelly Chong
- Greg Chapman
- L N Bayen
Jurors: Sophie Jarrell, Donna Scott, Addison Smith, Ben Moxon, Kate Towner
Best Audio
Winner: Breaking the Glass Slipper
Nominees:
- Podcastle
- The Tiny Bookcase
- Breaking the Glass Slipper
- Pseudopod
Jurors: Elizabeth Elliott, Marc Bitterli, Jo Ross-Barrett, Edward Partridge, Graham Millichap
Best Collection
Winner: Elephants in Bloom, by Cecile Cristofari (Newcon Press)
Nominees:
- Dirt Upon My Skin – Steve Toase – Black Shuck Books
- Limelight and Other Stories – Lyndsey Croal – Shortwave Publishing
- Mood Swings – Dave Jeffery – Black Shuck Books
- Preaching To The Perverted – James Bennett – Lethe Press
- Elephants in Bloom – Cecile Cristofari – Newcon Press
Jurors: Rosemarie Cawkwell, Heather Valentine, Ed Fortune, Mark Findlater, Rick Danforth
Best Fantasy Novel
Winner: Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
Nominees:
- The Green Man’s War – Juliet E. McKenna – Wizard’s Tower Press
- Fathomfolk – Eliza Chan – Orbit
- Long Live Evil – Sarah Rees Brennan – Orbit
- A Shadow Over Haven – David Green – Eerie River Publishing
- Masquerade – O.O. Sangoyomi – Tor US / Solaris
Jurors: Rhian Drinkwater, Jackson P. Brown, Suleman Kurd, Mira Manga, Sarah Gray
Best Horror Novel
Winner: My Darling Dreadful Thing, by Johanna Van Veen
Nominees:
- Withered Hill – David Barnett – Canelo Horror
- The Ravening – Daniel Church – Angry Robot
- Among The Living – Tim Lebbon – Titan Books
- Bury Your Gays – Chuck Tingle – Titan Books
- My Darling Dreadful Thing – Johanna van Veen – Poisoned Pen Press
- Feast While You Can – Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta – Simon & Schuster
Jurors: Laura Langrish, Tam Moules, Arden Fitzroy, Erin Hardee, Corinne Pollard
Best Independent Press
Winner: Flame Tree Press
Nominees:
- Newcon Press
- Black Shuck Books
- Flame Tree Press
- Luna Press Publishing
- Swan River Press
Jurors: Andy Angel, Melanie Bell, Miguel R Peck, Alia McKellar, Bronte Rowan
Best Magazine / Periodical
Winner: ParSec
Nominees:
- ParSec
- Phantasmagoria
- Ginger Nuts of Horror
- Shoreline of Infinity
Jurors: Melissa Ren, Daniel S. Katz, Jonathan Laidlow, Anna Agaronyan, Hero Owen
Best Newcomer (The Sydney J. Bounds Award)
Winner: Frances White for Voyage of the Damned
Nominees:
- Eliza Chan – Fathomfolk – Orbit
- Lyndsey Croal – Limelight and Other Stories – Shortwave Publishing
- Frances White – Voyage of the Damned – Penguin Michael Joseph
- L N Bayen – Wingspan of Treason – Bregma Publishing
- J.L Odom – By Blood, By Salt – Azimuth
- Adrian M Gibson – Mushroom Blues
Jurors: Lexie Way, Devindran Jeyathurai, Talia Nusbaum, Nicolas Gonzalez, Alasdair Stuart
Best Non-Fiction
Winner: Queer as Folklore: The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters, by Sacha Coward
Nominees:
- Spec Fic for Newbies Vol 2: A Beginner’s Guide to Writing More Subgenres of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror – Tiffani Angus and Val Nolan – Luna Press
- Autism and Writing – David Green – BFS Blog
- The Full Lid – Alasdair Stuart, edited by Marguerite Kenner
- Track Changes – Abigail Nussbaum – Briardene Books
- Queer as Folklore: The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters – Sacha Coward – Unbound
- Translating, Interpreting, and Decolonizing Chinese Fairy Tales: A Case Study and Ideological Approach (Studies in Folklore and Ethnology: Traditions, Practices, and Identities) – Juwen Zhang – Lexington Books
Jurors: Geoff Holder, Heather Ivatt, Ellis Saxey, Amelia Roberts, Arturo Serrano
Best Novella
Winner: The Last to Drown, by Lorraine Wilson
Nominees:
- Charlie Says – Neil Williamson – Black Shuck Books
- The Last to Drown – Lorraine Wilson – Luna Press
- What Feasts at Night – T. Kingfisher – Titan Books
- Millionaires Day – Kit Power – French Press
Jurors: Amanda Raybould, Ivor K Hill, Chris Hawton, Glyn Jones, Grace Woods
Best Short Story
Winner: Loneliness Universe, by Eugenia Triantafyllou
Nominees:
- Godskin – CL Hellisen – Strange Horizons
- The Oracle at Dairy – Tiffani Angus – Trembling with Fear via HorrorTree.com
- The Witch’s Pillowbook – Priya Sharma – Bound in Blood: Stories of Cursed Books, Damned Libraries and Unearthly – Titan Books
- Loneliness Universe – Eugenia Triantafyllou – Uncanny Magazine
- Jinx – Carlie St. George – PseudoPod
Jurors: Fran Moldaschl, Andrew Leon Hudson, Santiago Eastman, Abbi Shaw, D Andrews
The Karl Edward Wagner (KEW) Award for contribution to the community
Presented to Rosemary (Ro) Pardoe, one of the founders of the British Fantasy Society, by BFS Chair Shona Kinsella (pictured).
The Legends of Fantasycon award
Presented to Babs and Marleen, who took over and ran the conference registration process for this year.
The Aldiss Award
A new award, presented for the first time this year, celebrating the art of world-building in SFF literature and gaming. (More details here.)
Winner: Rogba Payne for The Dance of Shadows
Nominees:
- Gabriella Buba, for Saints of Storm and Sorrow
- Rogba Payne, for The Dance of Shadows
- Caitlin Rozakis, for Dreadful
- Wole Talabi, for Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon
- Veronica Roth, for When Among Crows
- Aman J. Bedi, for Kavithri
