World Fantasy Award for Best Novella

This World Fantasy Award is given to the fantasy novella or novellas voted best by a panel of judges, and presented each year at the World Fantasy Convention.

Award winners and finalists

1975

The 1975 WFC, held in Providence, Rhode Island, was chaired by Kirby McCauley. Judges were Ramsey Campbell, Edward L. Ferman, David G. Hartwell, Fritz Leiber, and Gahan Wilson.

1976

The 1976 WFC, held in New York, New York, was chaired by Thom Anderson. Judges were Charles Collins, Basil Copper, Gordon R. Dickson, Stuart David Schiff, and Gahan Wilson.

1977

The 1977 WFC, held in Los Angeles, California, was chaired by Dennis Rickard. Judges were Robert Bloch, David Drake, Harlan Ellison, Charles L. Grant, and Robert Weinberg.

1978

The 1978 WFC, held in Fort Worth, Texas, was chaired by Michael Templin. Judges were Charles N. Brown, Carl Jacobi, Stephen King, T. E. D. Klein, and Karl Edward Wagner.

1979

The 1979 WFC, held in Providence, Rhode Island, was chaired by Bob Booth. Judges were Poul Anderson, Terry Carr, Dennis Etchison, Elizabeth A. Lynn, and Roy A. Squires.

1980

The 1980 WFC, held in Baltimore, Maryland, was chaired by Chuck Miller and Tim Underwood. Judges were Stephen R. Donaldson, Frank Belknap Long, Andrew J. Offutt, Ted White, and Susan Wood.

1981

The 1981 WFC, held in Berkeley, California, was chaired by Jack Rems and Jeff Frane. Judges were Paul C. Allen, C. J. Cherryh, Gardner Dozois, Donald M. Grant, and Arthur W. Saha.

1982

The 1982 WFC, held in New Haven, Connecticut, was chaired by Norman Hood and Harold Kinney. Judges were Pat Cadigan, Virginia Kidd, Theodore Sturgeon, Douglas E. Winter, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.

1983

The 1983 WFC, held in Chicago, Illinois, was chaired by Robert Weinberg. Judges were Bob Booth, John Coyne, Sharon Jarvis, Alan Ryan, and Elizabeth Wollheim.

1984

The 1984 WFC, held in Ottawa, Ontario, was chaired by Rodger Turner and John Bell. Judges were Ellen Asher, Ginjer Buchanan, Les Daniels, Mimi Panitch, and George H. Scithers.

1985

The 1985 WFC, held in Tucson, Arizona, was chaired by Randal Rau. Judges were Suzy McKee Charnas, Jo Fletcher, George R. R. Martin, Baird Searles, and Terri Windling.

1986

The 1986 WFC, held in Providence, Rhode Island, was chaired by Robert Plante. Judges were Robert A. Collins, Ellen Datlow, Dean R. Koontz, Patricia A. McKillip, and Charles de Lint.

1987

The 1987 WFC, held in Nashville, Tennessee, was chaired by Maurine Dorris. Judges were John M. Ford, Paul Hazel, Tappan King, Michael McDowell, and Melissa Ann Singer.

1988

The 1988 WFC, held in London, United Kingdom, was chaired by Jo Fletcher and Stephen Jones. Judges were Mike Ashley, Scott Baker, Robert S. Hadji, Maxim Jakubowski, and Donald A. Wollheim.

1989

The 1989 WFC, held in Seattle, Washington, was chaired by Robert Doyle. Judges were Susan Allison, Ed Bryant, Lisa Goldstein, Peter Dennis Pautz, and Jon White.
* Winner: "The Skin Trade," George R. R. Martin (Dark Visions)

1990

The 1990 WFC, held in Schaumburg, Illinois, was chaired by Robert Weinberg. Judges were Mike Dirda, Pat LoBrutto, Beth Meacham, Peter Straub, and Rodger Turner.
* Winner: "Great Work of Time," John Crowley (Novelty)
* Apartheid, Superstrings, and Mordecai Thubana, Michael Bishop (Axolotl Press)
* "On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks," Joe R. Lansdale (Book of the Dead)
* The Father of Stones, Lucius Shepard (WSFA)
* A Dozen Tough Jobs, Howard Waldrop (Mark V. Ziesing)

1991

The 1991 WFC, held in Tucson, Arizona, was chaired by Randal Rau and Bruce Farr. Judges were Emma Bull, Orson Scott Card, Richard Laymon, Faren Miller, and Darrell Schweitzer.
* Winner: "Bones," Pat Murphy (Asimov's Science Fiction, May 1990)
* "Black Cocktail," Jonathan Carroll (Legend)
* "The Hemingway Hoax," Joe Haldeman (Asimov's Science Fiction, April 1990)
* "The Barrens," F. Paul Wilson (Lovecraft's Legacy)

1992

The 1992 WFC, held in Pine Mountain, Georgia, was chaired by Richard Gilliam and Ed Kramer. Judges were Jill Bauman, Arthur Byron Cover, John Jarrold, Robert Sampson, and Gene Wolfe.
* Winner: "The Ragthorn," Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth (A Whisper of Blood)
* "Gwydion and the Dragon," C.J. Cherryh (Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales)
* Our Lady of the Harbour, Charles de Lint (Pulphouse)
* "The Gallery of His Dreams," Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Asimov's Science Fiction, September 1991)
* "To Become a Sorcerer," Darrell Schweitzer (Weird Tales, Winter 1991/92)
* "The Pavilion of Frozen Women," S.P. Somtow (Cold Shocks)

1993

The 1993 WFC, held in Bloomington, Minnesota, was chaired by Greg Ketter. Judges were Roland J. Green, Barbara Hambly, Kathryn Ptacek, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Brian Thomsen.
* Winner: "The Ghost Village," Peter Straub (MetaHorror)
* "Uh-Oh City," Jonathan Carroll (F&SF, June 1992)
* "Paperjack," Charles de Lint (F&SF, July 1993)
* "The Territory," Bradley Denton (F&SF, July 1992)
* Unmasking, Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Pulphouse)

1994

The 1994 WFC, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, was chaired by Tom Hanlon. Judges were Stefan Dziemianowicz, James R. Frenkel, Mary Gentle, Lisa Tuttle, and Chet Williamson.
* Winner: Under the Crust, Terry Lamsley
* "The Night We Buried Road Dog," Jack Cady (F&SF, January 1993)
* "Mefisto in Onyx," Harlan Ellison (Omni, October 1993)
* "The Erl-King," Elizabeth Hand (Full Spectrum 3)
* "Wall, Stone, Craft," Walter Jon Williams (F&SF, October/November 1993)

1995

The 1995 WFC, held in Baltimore, Maryland, was chaired by Michael J. Walsh. Judges were Terry Bisson, Jean-Daniel Breque, Jane Johnson, Kathe Koja, and Brian Stableford.
* Winner: "Last Summer at Mars Hill," Elizabeth Hand (F&SF, August 1994)
* "The God Who Slept With Women," Brian W. Aldiss (Asimov's Science Fiction, May 1994)
* "A Slow Red Whisper of Sand," Robert Devereaux (Love in Vein)
* "Out of the Night, When the Full Moon Is Bright...," Kim Newman (Famous Monsters)
* The Last Time, Lucius Shepard
* "Fee," Peter Straub (Borderlands 4)

1996

The 1996 WFC, held in Schaumburg, Illinois, was chaired by Nancy Ford, Phyllis Weinberg and Tina Jens. Judges were Bryan Cholfin, Kathryn Cramer, Moshe Feder, Roz Kaveney, and Christopher Shelling.
* Winner: "Radio Waves," Michael Swanwick (Omni, Winter 1995)
* "Home for Christmas," Nina Kiriki Hoffman (F&SF, January 1995)
* "Ether OR," Ursula K. Le Guin (Asimov's Science Fiction, November 1995)
* "The Insipid Profession of Jonathan Hornebom," Jonathan Lethem (Full Spectrum 5)
* Where They Are Hid, Tim Powers (Charnel House)
* "More Tomorrow," Michael Marshall Smith (The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 7)

1997

The 1997 WFC, held in London, United Kingdom, was chaired by Jo Fletcher. Judges were Paul Barnett, Nancy A. Collins, Rachel Holmen, Joe R. Lansdale, and Diana L. Paxson.
* Winner: A City in Winter, Mark Helprin (Viking)
* "Beauty and the Opera or the Phantom Beast," Suzy McKee Charnas (Asimov's Science Fiction, March 1996)
* "Blood of the Dragon," George R.R. Martin (Asimov's Science Fiction, July 1996)
* "GI Jesus," Susan Palwick (Starlight 1)
* "Hell Hath Enlarged Herself," Michael Marshall Smith (Dark Terrors 2)

1998

The 1998 WFC, held in Monterey, California was co-chaired by Linda McAllister and Bryan Barrett.Judges were Peter Crowther, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Peter Schneider, Dave Truesdale, and Janeen Webb.
* Winner: "Streetcar Dreams," by Richard Bowes (F&SF, April 1997)
* "The Dripping of Sundered Wineskins," by Brian Hodge (Love In Vein II)
* "The Fall of the Kings," by Ellen Kushner & Delia Sherman (Bending the Landscape: Fantasy)
* "Coppola's Dracula," by Kim Newman (The Mammoth Book of Dracula)
* "The Zombies of Madison County," by Douglas E. Winter (Dark of The Night)

1999

The 25th World Fantasy Convention, held in Providence, Rhode Island, was co-chaired by Chip Hitchcock and Davey Snyder. Judges were Gregory Frost, Don Hutchison, Michael Kandel, Rebecca Ore, and Al Sarrantonio.
* Winner: "The Summer Isles," Ian MacLeod (Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 1998)
* "The Hedge Knight," George R.R. Martin (Legends)
* "Cold," A.S. Byatt (Elementals: Stories of Fire and Ice)
* "Dragonfly," Ursula K. Le Guin (Legends)
* "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff," Peter Straub (Murder for Revenge)

2000

WFC 2000, held in Corpus Christi, Texas, was chaired by Fred Duarte. Judges were Suzi Baker, W. Paul Ganley, Tim Holman, Marvin Kaye, and Melissa Scott.
* Winner: "The Transformation of Martin Lake", Jeff VanderMeer (Palace Corbie 8)
* Winner: "Sky Eyes", Laurel Winter (F&SF, March 1999)
* "Scarlet and Gold", Tanith Lee (Weird Tales, Summer 1999)
* "The Wizard Retires", Michael Meddor (F&SF, September 1999)
* "Crocodile Rock", Lucius Shepard (F&SF, October/November 1999)
* "The Winds of Marble Arch", Connie Willis (Asimov's, October/November 1999)

2001

WFC 2001, held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was chaired by Bruce Farr. Judges were Steven Erikson, Paula Guran, Diana Wynne Jones, Graham Joyce, and Jonathan Strahan.
* Winner: "The Man on the Ceiling", Steve Rasnic Tem & Melanie Tem (American Fantasy)
* "Blue Kansas Sky", Michael Bishop (Blue Kansas Sky)
* "Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol", Elizabeth Hand (Sci Fiction, serialized between December 6 and 27, 2000)
* "Mr Dark's Carnival", Glen Hirshberg (Shadows and Silence)
* "Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower", Susanna Clarke (Black Heart, Ivory Bones)
* "Pelican Cay", David Case (Dark Terrors 5)
* "Seventy-Two Letters", Ted Chiang (Vanishing Acts)

2002

WFC 2002, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was chaired by Greg Ketter. Judges were Peter Adkins, Meg Davis, Jason Van Hollander, Michelle Sagara West, and F. Paul Wilson, with awards administrator Peter Dennis Pautz.
* Winner: "The Bird Catcher", S.P. Somtow (The Museum of Horrors, edited by Dennis Etchison, Leisure)
* "Cleopatra Brimstone", Elizabeth Hand (Redshift, edited by Al Sarrantonio, Roc)
* "Eternity and Afterward", Lucius Shepard (F&SF, March 2001)
* "The Finder", Ursula K. Le Guin (Tales from Earthsea, Harcourt)
* "Karuna, Inc.", Paul Di Filippo (Fantastic Stories of the Imagination #21, Spring 2001; Strange Trades, Golden Gryphon)
* "Struwwelpeter", Glen Hirshberg (Sci Fiction, November 28, 2001)

2003

WFC 2003, held in Washington, DC, was chaired by Michael J. Walsh. Judges were Justin Ackroyd, Les Edwards, Laura Anne Gilman, Lawrence Watt-Evans, and Jane Yolen, with awards administrator Peter Dennis Pautz.
* Winner: "The Library", Zoran Živković (Leviathan 3, edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Forrest Aguirre, Prime Books)
* Seven Wild Sisters, Charles de Lint (Subterranean Press)
* A Year in the Linear City, Paul Di Filippo (PS Publishing)
* Coraline, Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
* "The Least Trumps", Elizabeth Hand (Conjunctions 39: The New Wave Fabulists, edited by Peter Straub)

2004

WFC 2004 was held in Tempe, Arizona. Judges were John Clute, Sherwood Smith, Michael Stackpole, Alain Nevant, and Scott Wyatt.
* Winner: "A Crowd of Bone", Greer Gilman (Trampoline: An Anthology, edited by Kelly Link, Small Beer Press)
* "Dancing Men", Glen Hirshberg (The Dark, edited by Ellen Datlow, Tor)
* "The Empire of Ice Cream", Jeffrey Ford (Sci Fiction, edited by Ellen Datlow)
* "Exorcising Angels", Simon Clark & Tim Lebbon (Exorcising Angels, Earthling Publications)
* "The Hortlak", Kelly Link (The Dark, edited by Ellen Datlow, Tor)

2005

WFC 2005 was held in Madison, Wisconsin, and was chaired by Meg Turville-Heitz. Judges were Alis Rasmussen (Kate Elliott), Jeffrey Ford, Tim Lebbon, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, and Jessica Amanda Salmonson.
* Winner: "The Growlimb", Michael Shea (F&SF, January 2004)
* Tainaron: Mail from Another City, Leena Krohn (Prime Books)
* "Soho Golem", Kim Newman (Sci Fiction)
* My Death, Lisa Tuttle (PS Publishing)
* "Golden City Far", Gene Wolfe (Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy, Roc)

World Fantasy Award for Best Novella: Encyclopedia BETA

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