9.1 The British Fantasy Awards shall be decided by a jury deliberating on a shortlist determined by the members of the Society.
9.1.1. The Jury shall be appointed by the Awards Administrator, subject to approval by the BFS committee. The Jury shall also have oversight powers to add nominations where it identifies an egregious omission. In order to add such nominations, the jury must make a unanimous decision. The addition of a nomination will be made in private.
9.1.2 No one who is eligible to vote may vote for works which they wrote, edited, or published.
9.2 Notes on Eligibility
9.2.1 BFS and Fantasycon publications are ineligible, although their contents (e.g. individual stories, articles and pieces of artwork) are eligible. The “relevant year” throughout this constitution is the calendar year (January to December) preceding that in which the awards are presented. Eligible voters: members of the BFS (the vote of a member whose membership expires after the vote is cast remains valid), members of the previous FantasyCon, and those who have registered for the upcoming FantasyCon.
9.2.2 The Awards Administrator may not own or part-own any works shortlisted in any category. Where the Awards Administrator is associated (either by writing, publishing or editing) a work shortlisted in any category, the Awards Administrator will declare this association to the committee, who will independently verify the votes placed for that work, and that work’s eligibility to be shortlisted.
9.2.3 Where practicable, the awards administrator will allow and encourage members, publishers and other interested parties to contribute to a list of eligible items, to be made available online before voting begins.
9.2.4 If a sponsor of the British Fantasy Awards withdraws from sponsoring one (or more) of the awards, the name of said sponsor will immediately be removed from that award.
9.2.5 All nominated works must fall in the Fantasy genre as defined in paragraph 1.2.1
9.3 CATEGORIES
9.3.1 Fantasy Novel (The Robert Holdstock Award)
Eligibility: fiction over 40,000 words published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world in any format during the relevant year.
9.3.2 Horror Novel (The August Derleth Award)
Eligibility: fiction over 40,000 words published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world in any format during the relevant year.
9.3.3 Novella
Eligibility: fiction from 15,000 to 40,000 words published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world in any format during the relevant year.
9.3.4 Short Fiction
Eligibility: stories under 15,000 words published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world in any format during the relevant year.
9.3.5 Anthology
Eligibility: a collection of work by various authors, published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world during the relevant year. BFS anthologies are not eligible for this award.
9.3.6 Collection
Eligibility: a collection of work by a single author, published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world during the relevant year.
9.3.7 Magazine/Periodical
Eligibility: non-fiction and fiction magazines, print and online, that were active during the relevant year. BFS publications (such as Dark Horizons and Prism) are not eligible for this award.
9.3.8 Audio
Eligibility: A spoken word audio work (e.g. audio book, radio drama, podcast) performed by one or more participants and published for the first time in the English language in any part of the world in the relevant year.
9.3.9 Independent Press
Eligibility: Independent presses active during the relevant year.
9.3.10 Artist
Eligibility: any artist who has produced work during the relevant year. This category covers artists who work in any format. The awards administrator will endeavour to include at least one artist working within the genre in the jury for this award
9.3.11 Non-Fiction
Eligibility: items eligible for this Award include non-fiction books, chapbooks, magazine or online columns or single magazine or online articles. The non-fiction item must have been published in any format (book, magazine, small press or electronic) in any part of the world during the relevant year. The awards administrator will endeavour to draw jurors from bloggers, reviewers and commentators on the genre.
9.3.12 Special Award (The Karl Edward Wagner Award)
The British Fantasy Special Award is known as the Karl Edward Wagner Award. The Award may be presented to individuals or organisations. Eligibility: this Award is not necessarily restricted to an activity in the year prior to that in which the Award is presented. The Award may go to someone who has made an important contribution to the genre or the Society throughout his/her lifetime; or it may go to the organisers of a special event or publication that took place in the relevant year. Recommendations for this Award will be sought from the membership. The BFS Committee will determine the winner of this award. No current member of the BFS committee may receive this award.
9.3.13 The Sydney J. Bounds Best Newcomer Award
The award is for a new fiction writer. The votes can be for a single work or more than one, provided they meet the eligibility criteria set out above. This award is sponsored and funded by the estate of Sydney J. Bounds and the winner will receive a cheque for £100. The winner is decided by a special panel of readers appointed by the BFS and will include representatives from the Bounds estate and the BFS.