The Grand Reckoning: Who Dares to Dream, Who Dares to Fear?
The British Fantasy Society unveils its 2025 award nominees, spotlighting the year’s most dazzling, daring, and darkly enchanting works in fantasy and horror.
Every year, as the mists roll in over the British coast and the veil between worlds thins (or perhaps it’s just the fog from Brighton’s pier), the British Fantasy Society emerges from its lair to bestow its most coveted honors. The 2025 British Fantasy Awards shortlist has been revealed, and it’s a tapestry woven from the wildest dreams and darkest nightmares of speculative fiction.
Let’s descend into the labyrinth and meet the champions vying for glory.
The Robert Holdstock Award for Best Fantasy Novel
Leading the charge is Sarah Rees Brennan’s “Long Live Evil,” a wickedly clever tale where the protagonist awakens not as the hero, but as the villainess in her favorite fantasy series. Brennan’s meta-fantasy is a deliciously sardonic twist on the chosen-one trope, poking fun at genre conventions while delivering a narrative as sharp as a dragon’s fang.
Eliza Chan’s “Fathomfolk” surges up from the depths—a debut novel that’s already made waves on bestseller lists. Chan crafts a multicultural underwater city inspired by East and Southeast Asian folklore, where humans and mystical “fathomfolk” clash, conspire, and occasionally try not to drown in their own politics. It’s a world as lush as it is treacherous.
Juliet E. McKenna’s “The Green Man’s War” brings ancient nature spirits crashing into modern England, proving that even in the age of smartphones, the old gods are not to be trifled with. McKenna’s work is a verdant, witty exploration of myth colliding with the mundane.
The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel
Chuck Tingle’s “Bury Your Gays” is the talk of the crypt—an unflinching satire of Hollywood’s treatment of queer characters, wrapped in a horror narrative that’s as biting as it is heartbreaking. Tingle, ever the enigma, delivers a tale that’s both a scream and a rallying cry.
T. Kingfisher’s “What Feasts at Night” returns us to the haunted, gothic land of Gallacia. Kingfisher (the alter ego of Ursula Vernon) blends Eastern European folklore with Poe-esque dread, crafting a novella that’s as chilling as a midnight breeze through a ruined abbey.
Novellas and Short Fiction: The Art of the Haunting Glimpse
T. Kingfisher doubles down with “What Feasts at Night” in the novella category, joined by Kit Power’s “Millionaires Day,” Neil Williamson’s “Charlie Says,” and Lorraine Wilson’s “The Last to Drown.” Each offers a different flavor of the uncanny—proof that brevity, in the right hands, can be as potent as any epic.
Short fiction nominees range from Tiffani Angus’s “The Oracle at Dairy” to Eugenia Triantafyllou’s “Loneliness Universe,” showcasing the breadth of the genre’s imagination. These tales are lightning in a bottle—brief, bright, and impossible to forget.
Independent Presses and New Voices
The shortlist celebrates the lifeblood of the genre: independent publishers and debut authors. Black Shuck, Flame Tree, Luna Press, Newcon, and Swan River Press all earn their place in the sun (or, more likely, under the moonlight). These presses champion the weird, the wonderful, and the voices that might otherwise go unheard.
The Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best Newcomer features Eliza Chan, Lyndsey Croal, and Frances White, among others—a testament to the genre’s relentless evolution and the rise of fresh, fearless talent.
The Ceremony: A Night of Revels and Revelations
Winners will be crowned at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton, a fittingly gothic locale for a night of literary sorcery. This year’s event is doubly momentous: not only does it mark the return of the convention to UK shores, but it also celebrates the 50th anniversary of both Fantasycon and the British Fantasy Society itself.
The BFS Awards are decided through a two-stage process: first, members vote to create the shortlist; then, a panel of expert jurors selects the victors. It’s a system designed to balance popular acclaim with critical insight—because, as any seasoned adventurer knows, the best treasures are those that stand the test of both time and taste.
Why It Matters: The Pulse of Modern Fantasy and Horror
This year’s nominees reflect the genre’s growing diversity, both in voice and vision. From meta-fantasy to social horror, from multicultural myth to queer satire, the 2025 shortlist is a kaleidoscope of what fantasy and horror can be—bold, boundary-breaking, and defiantly alive.
So, whether you’re a seeker of wonders or a connoisseur of chills, keep your eyes on Brighton this autumn. The shadows are gathering, the legends are stirring, and the next chapter of fantasy’s grand saga is about to be written.
LINKS & SOURCES
British Fantasy Awards 2025: Shortlist Announced!
https://britishfantasysociety.org/british-fantasy-awards-2025-shortlist-announced/
2025 British Fantasy Awards Shortlist – Locus Magazine
https://locusmag.com/2025/06/2025-british-fantasy-awards-shortlist/
Luna Press shortlisted in 4 British Fantasy Awards categories
https://www.publishingscotland.org/2025/06/luna-press-british-fantasy-awards-shortlists/
Long Live Evil (Time of Iron #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan – Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195275306-long-live-evil
What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher – Barnes & Noble
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-feasts-at-night-t-kingfisher/1143329877
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle – E. Shaver Bookseller
https://www.eshaverbooks.com/book/9781250874665
Eliza Chan – Fantasy Author
https://www.elizachan.co.uk
Juliet E. McKenna – News
https://www.julietemckenna.com/category/news/
The British Fantasy Society – Official Website
https://britishfantasysociety.org
British Fantasy Award – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Fantasy_Award
