Every winner, newest first
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel Winners
1975 to 2025
Winners by year
Newest first. The year links to everything published or awarded that year.
About the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
The World Fantasy Award for Best Novel has been given every year since 1975, when the awards were first presented at the first World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island. A panel of judges chooses the winner, and the award is presented at the convention's banquet, usually on a weekend close to Halloween. Every form of fantasy is eligible, from epic and dark fantasy to literary, young adult and horror fiction, which is how Louise Erdrich, Haruki Murakami and David Mitchell share the list with Gene Wolfe, Ursula K. Le Guin and Patricia A. McKillip. The years are award years: China Miéville's The City & the City, published in 2009, won in 2010. Each winning book links to a summary and the story of its award.
- Awarded by
- World Fantasy Convention
- First awarded
- 1975
- Country
- International
When it is announced
Presented at the World Fantasy Convention's awards banquet, usually on one of the two weekends either side of Halloween, for work published in the previous year. See the full announcement calendar.
How to enter
Publishers send books directly to each member of the year's panel of judges, who read eligible work until the end of April. Every form of fantasy is eligible, from high and epic to dark, literary, young adult and horror, and only living writers qualify.
Official prize site. Checked August 2026. Dates move year to year, so confirm on the official site before entering.