2026 World Fantasy Award Submissions
The judges for the 2026 World Fantasy Awards, for work published in 2025, have now been empaneled. The judges read and consider eligible materials between the receipt of this letter and April 30, 2026—the earlier the better. Anything received after April 30 will receive little or no consideration.
The awards will be presented at the convention, to be held at the Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland, CA, USA, from October 22 through October 25, 2026. Membership information can be found on the 2026 World Fantasy Convention registration page.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
NOTE: AI-created work is not eligible for the World Fantasy Award.
Fantasy Types: All forms of fantasy are eligible, e.g. high, epic, dark, contemporary, literary, YA, urban, horror, etc.
IMPORTANT!! Please label all packages with the following:
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS – NOT FOR SALE OR RESALE – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE — WORLD FANTASY AWARDS MATERIALS.
ANY MATERIALS NOT BEARING THIS NOTICE WILL BE REFUSED BY THE RECIPIENT!
- For each individual work, please specify the category for each submission
- Please include word counts for Short Stories and Novellas
- All books must have been originally published in English in 2025
- Magazines must have a 2025 cover date
- Short-length stories must have been originally published in English in 2025
- Only living persons are eligible
Categories:
- Life Achievement Best Novel
- Best Novella (10,001 to 40,000 words) Best Short Story
- Best Anthology Best Collection
- Best Artist Special Award, Professional
- Special Award, Non-Professional
Please note that the nominees in the Life Achievement category will not be released, but the winners will be announced well before the convention begins.
Questions pertaining to the convention (membership, programming, and the like) should be directed to the Convention Chairs, Rina Weisman and Audrey Williams; please copy both chairs on all emails.
Questions concerning eligibility, the judges, and the awards administration should be sent to Peter Dennis Pautz, World Fantasy Awards Administration.
2026 World Fantasy Awards Judges and Administrator Materials must be sent to all six listed below, in the format they’ve requested. If the cost of postage is prohibiting you from sending materials, please email Peter Pautz to ask if digital will suffice.
Chikodili Emelumadu
- Graduate College, Alexander Park Drive, Lancaster University UK, LA2 0PF
- Email: 1emelumadu@gmail.com
- Format: hardcover, digital only as a last resort
Tamsyn Muir
- PO Box 947, Oxford OX3 3BN UK
- Email: taz.e.muir@gmail.com
- Format: hardcover for longer work (novels, collections, anthologies), PDF for shorter works
Madeleine E. Robins
- 548 Arlington Street, San Francisco, CA 94131 USA
- Email: wumberlyquo@duck.com
- Format: hardcover, then ePub
Richard Thomas
- 1212 Edington Lane, Mundelein, IL 60060 USA
- Email: richardthomasWFA@gmail.com
- Format: hardcover for longer work (novels, collections, anthologies), PDF for shorter works)
Ann VanderMeer
- P.O. Box 38190 Tallahassee, FL 32315 USA
- Email: wfa.abv@gmail.com
- Format: hardcover for longer work (novels,collections, anthologies), PDF for shorter works)
Peter Dennis Pautz
- 3519 Glen Avenue, Palmer Township, PA 18045 USA
- Email: SFExecSec@gmail.com
- Format: hardcover only