Tag Archives: World Fantasy Awards

Travelling Through Northwest Passages

Northwest Passages
Barbara Roden
Prime Books
hardcover $24.95 (out of stock)
ebook $6.99 Kindle Nook Weightless

I’ve chosen to officially kickoff my Halloween related posts with Northwest Passages by Barbara Roden. Barbara is one half of the team behind Ash-Tree Press, the other half being her husband Christopher. (You could say I unofficially started with Maplecroft or possibly Bleeding Shadows.)

I chose this particular volume because it’s been a while since I read any ghost or spook stories in the classical vein. If you’re familiar with Ash-Tree Press, you know they’re the foremost publisher of ghost stories in the world. So you would expect an author like Roden to know her stuff. You’d be right, too. Continue reading →

Happy Birthday, H. P. Lovecraft

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Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born this day in 1890. He died of cancer of the small intestine in 1937. Lovecraft’s greatest claim to fame these days is the creation of what has become known as the Cthulhu Mythos, although he started out writing fantasies in the vein of Lord Dunsany, richly detailed stories with a dreamlike quality.

As great as his contributions to weird fiction were, one could make the argument that his most lasting influence was on those writes who corresponded with him as well as those who came after. Those writers include but aren’t limited to Robert Bloch, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Stephen King, Henry Kuttner, Brian Lumley, August Derleth, and many others. (I know I’m leaving some out.)

I would argue that Lovecraft is to weird fiction what Tolkien is to fantasy. In both cases, the authors had a tremendous impact on the field, one that continues decades after their deaths. Both have many imitators as well as detractors. It is almost impossible to escape their influence.

(And speaking of detractors, there is a movement to replace Lovecraft’s image on the figurine given as the World Fantasy Award with that of another writer.)

I’m a relative latecomer to Lovecraft. I never really got into his work growing up. It’s only been in the last five to ten years that I’ve come to appreciate his work. There are still some majors stories by him that I’ve not read.

I think I’ll read some of them to celebrate his birthday.

2014 World Fantasy Award Nominees Announced

The nominees for the 2014 World Fantasy Award were announced yesterday. The complete list of the nominees is below. Other than the Life Achievement Winners, who are announced in advance (probably to make sure they show up in case they weren’t planning on being there,) all other winners will be announced at the convention. This year’s World Fantasy Convention will be held Nov. 6-9 in Washington, D. C..

Members of the current year’s convention plus the two previous conventions may submit two nominations in each category. Winners are determined by a panel of judges. This year’s judges are Andy Duncan, Kij Johnson, Oliver Johnson, John Klima, and Liz Williams. In essence, the WFC Awards are a combination of popular and juried award.

Congratulations to all the nominees. The nominees for 2014 are: Continue reading →

Congratulations to the World Fantasy and British Fantasy Awards

Winners of the British Fantasy Awards and the World Fantasy Awards were announced over the weekend at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, England. Adventures Fantastic would like to congratulate all the nominees, and especially the winners.

The winners of the British Fantasy Award, awarded by the British Fantasy Society, include

Best Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award)
Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce (Gollancz)

Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award)
Last Days, Adam Nevill (Macmillan)

Best Novella
The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine, John Llewellyn Probert (Spectral)

Best Short Story
“Shark! Shark!”, Ray Cluley (Black Static #29)

Best Collection
Remember Why You Fear Me, Robert Shearman (ChiZine)

Best Anthology:
Magic: An Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, Jonathan Oliver, ed. (Solaris)

A complete list of winners can be found at the British Fantasy Society site, and a complete list of nominees in all categories can be found at the 2013 British Fantasy Awards page.

The winners of the World Fantasy Awards are:

Life Achievement:
Susan Cooper
Tanith Lee

Novel:
Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson (Grove; Corvus)

Novella:
“Let Maps to Others”, K.J. Parker (Subterranean Summer ’12)

Short Story:
“The Telling”, Gregory Norman Bossert (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 11/29/12)

Anthology:
Postscripts #28/#29: Exotic Gothic 4, Danel Olson, ed. (PS Publishing)

Collection:
Where Furnaces Burn, Joel Lane (PS Publishing)

Artist:
Vincent Chong

Special Award Professional:
Lucia Graves for the translation of The Prisoner of Heaven (Weidenfeld & Nicholson; Harper) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Special Award Non-Professional:
S.T. Joshi for Unutterable Horror: A History of Supernatural Fiction, Volumes 1 & 2 (PS Publishing)

The complete list of nominees can be found at the World Fantasy Awards page.