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Fantasy book awards
Recognition for fantasy that builds a world with rules, then makes the reader care what those rules cost. Every book is read in full and measured against our published Standard of Excellence.
What this category recognizes
Fantasy is judged on consistency before invention. A world can be strange in any direction it chooses, but once it establishes what is possible, it is bound by that. Readers forgive almost anything except a magic system that becomes convenient at the moment the plot needs rescuing.
The category covers epic and high fantasy, urban and contemporary fantasy, portal fantasy, mythic and folkloric retellings, romantasy, and grimdark. Fantasy for readers under twelve is assessed in the children’s categories; fantasy for teenagers in Young Adult Fiction.
What the standard looks like here
The ten pillars apply to every category. This is how each one is read when the book is fantasy.
The Writing
Voice, Tone and Style
Whether the prose carries invented material without becoming ornamental, and whether archaic register, where used, is controlled.
Craft and Technical Execution
How the world is taught while the story is already moving. Exposition-heavy dialogue is the most common weakness.
Structure and Organization
Whether pacing survives the scale, and whether subplots serve the central thread rather than crowding it.
The Substance
Originality and Concept Strength
What the book does with its inheritance. Familiarity is not a flaw; failing to bring anything of your own is.
Depth of Content and Insight
Whether the world’s rules have consequences the book is willing to follow.
The Reader
Audience Impact and Purpose Fulfillment
Whether it delivers what its subgenre promises.
Emotional and Psychological Impact
Whether the cost lands on a specific person. Scale is not stakes.
Overall Impact and Distinction
Whether the world stays with the reader after the plot fades.
The Finished Book
Production Quality and Presentation
Trade-standard production. Maps, glossaries, and appendices assessed on whether they help.
Category Relevance
Whether the fantastical element is structural rather than decorative.
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, or Supernatural?
Science Fiction
The extraordinary extrapolated from what could be.
Tell: the book asks you to accept it as technically plausible.
Fantasy
The impossible is possible, explained by the world’s own rules.
Tell: the rules are internal, not scientific.
Dystopian Fiction
A society gone wrong, and the people living inside it.
Tell: the system is the antagonist.
Supernatural Fiction
Ghosts, hauntings, and what should not be there.
Tell: the intrusion is unexplained and unwelcome.
Questions about entering a fantasy book
Is romantasy assessed here or in Romance?
Either. Enter where the book's center of gravity sits, or enter both.
My fantasy is set in the real world. Does it still belong here?
Yes. Urban and contemporary fantasy are assessed within this category.
Is a retelling of a myth eligible?
Yes, and it is assessed on what it brings to the source rather than on the novelty of the material.
Submit your fantasy book
Entry is $79 for your first category. Your complete manuscript is read in full and measured against the ten pillars.