I wish I could have attended the World Fantasy Convention in San Antonio, Texas, this weekend. Many of my friends were there, as well as plenty of people I would have liked to meet. At the convention last year (in Columbus, Ohio), Black Gate won a World Fantasy Award, and there’s no way we could top that experience, but it would have been marvelous to be in the room as this year’s winners were announced.

The next best thing is to share the winners with you. If you’re looking for the best fantasy of 2016, this is as close to a definitive list as you’re likely to find.

The World Fantasy Awards winners are:

Best Novel

WINNER: The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Claire North (Redhook; Orbit UK)
Borderline, Mishell Baker (Saga)
Roadsouls, Betsy James (Aqueduct)
The Obelisk Gate, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
Lovecraft Country, Matt Ruff (Harper)

Best Long Fiction

WINNER: The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, Kij Johnson (Tor.com Publishing)
The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle (Tor.com Publishing)
Every Heart a Doorway, Seanan McGuire (Tor.com Publishing)
“Bloodybones”, Paul F. Olson (Whispered Echoes)
A Taste of Honey, Kai Ashante Wilson (Tor.com Publishing)

Best Short Fiction

WINNER: “Das Steingeschöpf,” G.V. Anderson (Strange Horizons 12/12/16)
“Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies,” Brooke Bolander (Uncanny 11-12/16)
“Seasons of Glass and Iron,” Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood)
“Little Widow,” Maria Dahvana Headley (Nightmare 9/16)
“The Fall Shall Further the Flight in Me,” Rachael K. Jones (Clockwork Phoenix 5)

Best Anthology

WINNER: Dreaming in the Dark, Jack Dann, ed. (PS Australia)
Clockwork Phoenix 5, Mike Allen, ed. (Mythic Delirium)
Children of Lovecraft, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Dark Horse)
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2016, Karen Joy Fowler & John Joseph Adams, eds. (Mariner)
The Starlit Wood, Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe, eds. (Saga)

Best Collection

WINNER: A Natural History of Hell, Jeffrey Ford (Small Beer)
Sharp Ends, Joe Abercrombie (Orbit US; Gollancz)
On the Eyeball Floor and Other Stories, Tina Connolly (Fairwood)
Vacui Magia, L.S. Johnson (Traversing Z Press)
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, Ken Liu (Saga; Head of Zeus)

Best Artist

WINNER: Jeffrey Alan Love
Greg Bridges
Julie Dillon
Paul Lewin
Victo Ngai

Special Award, Professional

WINNER: Michael Levy & Farah Mendlesohn, for Children’s Fantasy Literature: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press)
L. Timmel Duchamp, for Aqueduct Press
C.C. Finlay, for editing F&SF
Kelly Link, for contributions to the genre
Joe Monti, for contributions to the genre

Special Award, Non-Professional

WINNER: Neile Graham, for fostering excellence in the genre through her role as Workshop Director, Clarion West
Scott H. Andrews, for Beneath Ceaseless Skies
Malcolm R. Phifer & Michael C. Phifer, for their publication The Fantasy Illustration Library, Volume Two: Gods and Goddesses (Michael Publishing)
Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, for Uncanny
Brian White, for Fireside Fiction Company

The World Fantasy Awards are announced every year during the World Fantasy Convention. This year the convention was November 2-5, 2017 at the Wyndham Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

The Lifetime Achievement Awards, presented to individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the fantasy field, were awarded to Terry Brooks and Marina Warner.

Congratulations to all the winners! And a special shout out to Scott H. Andrews (at Beneath Ceaseless Skies) and Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas (Uncanny) who were robbed again.

See the 2016 winners here, and read complete details of this year’s convention at the World Fantasy Convention website.