Previous BSFA Award winners

The awards are named after the year that the eligible works were published, but given out in the following year. Thus the 2024 awards will be presented in 2025.

Jump to: 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2020

2023

Best Novel: The Green Man’s Quarry by Juliet E. McKenna (Wizard’s Tower)

Best Shorter Fiction: ‘And Put Away Childish Things’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Rebellion)

Best Short Fiction: ‘How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub’ by P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny 1-2/23)

Best Collection: The Best of British Science Fiction 2022 edited by Donna Scott (Newcon Press)

Best Fiction for Younger Readers: The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson (HarperCollins)

Best Long Non-Fiction: A Traveller in Time: The Critical Practice of Maureen Kincaid Speller edited by Nina Allan (Luna Press)

Best Short Non-Fiction: ‘Project Management Lessons from Rogue One’ by Fiona Moore (adoctorofmanythings.wordpress.com)

Best Translated Short Fiction: ‘Vanishing Tracks in the Sand’ by Jana Bianchi, translated by Rachael Amoruso (The Bright Mirror)

Best Artwork: Leo Nickolls for the cover of The Surviving Sky by Krikita H. Rao (Titan)

Best Original Audio Fiction: The Dex Legacy by Emily Inkpen

2022

Best Novel: City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Head of Zeus)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances’ by Aliette de Bodard (JABberwocky Literary Agency)

Best Fiction for Younger Readers: Unraveller by Frances Hardinge (MacMillan Children’s Books)

Best Artwork: Cover of The Red Scholar’s Wake by Alyssa Winans (Gollancz)

Best Non-Fiction: Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes by Rob Wilkins (Doubleday)

2021

Best Novel: Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Fireheart Tiger’ by Aliette de Bodard (Tor.com)

Best Fiction for Younger Readers: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (Rock the Boat)

Best Artwork: Glasgow Green Woman by Iain Clark

Best Non-Fiction: Worlds Apart: Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction edited by Francesca T. Barbini (Luna Press)

2020

Best Novel: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Infinite Tea in the Demara Cafe’ by Ida Keogh (in London Centric: Tales of Future London, NewCon Press)

Best Artwork: Shipbuilding Over the Clyde by Iain Clark

Best Non-Fiction: It’s the End of the World: But What Are We Really Afraid Of by Adam Roberts (Elliot & Thompson)

2019

Best Novel: Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor)

Best Shorter Fiction: ‘This is How You Lose the Time War’ by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Jo Fletcher Books)

Best Artwork: Cover of Wourism and Other Stories by Chris “Fangorn” Baker (Luna Press)

Best Non-Fiction: The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein by Farah Mendlesohn (Unbound)

2018

Best Novel: Embers of War by Gareth L. Powell (Titan)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Time Was’ by Ian McDonald (Tor.com)

Best Artwork: In the Vanishers’ Palace: Dragon I and II by Likhain (Inprnt)

Best Non-Fiction: On motherhood and erasure: people-shaped holes, hollow characters and the illusion of impossible adventures by Aliette de Bodard (Intellectus Speculativus blog)

2017

Best Novel: The Rift by Nina Allan (Titan)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Enclave’ by Anne Charnock (NewCon Press)

Best Artwork (joint award): Cover of The Ion Raider by Jim Burns (NewCon Press)

Best Artwork (joint award): Illustration for Waiting on a Bright Moon by Victo Ngai (Tor.com, 12 July 2017)

Best Non-Fiction: Iain M. Banks by Paul Kincaid (University of Illinois Press)

2016

Best Novel: Europe in Winter by Dave Hutchinson (Solaris)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Liberty Bird’ by Jaine Fenn (in Now We Are Ten, NewCon Press)

Best Artwork: Cover of Central Station by Sarah Anne Langton (Tachyon Publications)

Best Non-Fiction: 100 African Writers of SFF by Geoff Ryman (Tor.com)

2015

Best Novel: The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Three Cups of Grief, by Starlight’ by Aliette de Bodard (Clarkesworld 100)

Best Artwork: Cover of Pelquin’s Comet by Jim Burns

Best Non-Fiction: Rave and Let Die: The SF and Fantasy of 2014 by Adam Roberts (Steel Quill Books)

2014

Best Novel: Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Honey Trap’ by Ruth E.J. Booth (in La Femme, NewCon Press)

Best Artwork: ‘The Wasp Factory after Iain Banks’ by Tessa Farmer

Best Non-Fiction: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers and the First World War by Edward James

2013

Best Novel (joint award): Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L. Powell (Solaris)

Best Novel (joint award): Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Spin’ by Nina Allan (TTA Press)

Best Artwork: Cover of Dream London by Joey Hi-Fi

Best Non-Fiction: Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer (Abrams Image)

2012

Best Novel: Jack Glass by Adam Roberts (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Adrift on the Sea of Rains’ by Ian Sales (Whippleshield Books)

Best Artwork: Cover of Jack Glass by Blacksheep

Best Non-Fiction: The World SF Blog, Chief Editor Lavie Tidhar

2011

Best Novel: The Islanders by Christopher Priest (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Copenhagen Interpretation’ by Paul Cornell (Asimov’s Vol. 35, No. 7)

Best Artwork: Cover of The Noise Revealed by Dominic Harman (Solaris)

Best Non-Fiction: The SF Encyclopedia 3rd edition edited by John Clute, Peter Nicholls, David Langford and Graham Sleight (Gollancz website)

Specially Commended: This British Library’s Out of This World exhibition

2010

Best Novel: The Dervish House by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Ship Maker’ by Aliette de Bodard

Best Artwork: Cover of Zoo City by Joey Hi-Fi

Best Non-Fiction: Blogging the Hugos: Decline by Paul Kincaid

2009

Best Novel: The City & the City by China Miéville (Macmillan)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Beloved Time of Their Lives’ by Ian Watson and Roberto Quaglia

Best Artwork: Cover of Desolation Road by Stephan Martinière

Best Non-Fiction: Mutant Popcorn by Nick Lowe

2008

Best Novel: The Night Sessions by Ken MacLeod (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Exhalation’ by Ted Chiang

Best Artwork: Cover of Subterfuge by Andy Bigwood

Best Non-Fiction: Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn (Wesleyan University Press)

2007

Best Novel: Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Lighting Out’ by Ken MacLeod

Best Artwork: ‘Cracked World’ (cover of disLocations) by Andy Bigwood

2006

Best Novel: End of the World Blues by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Djinn’s Wife’ by Ian McDonald

Best Artwork: Angelbot (cover of Time Pieces) by Chris “Fangorn” Baker

2005

Best Novel: Air by Geoff Ryman (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Magic for Beginners’ by Kelly Link

Best Artwork: Cover of Interzone #200 by Pawel Lewandowski

Best Non-Fiction: Soundings: Reviews 1992-1996 by Gary K. Wolfe (Beccon Publications)

2004

Best Novel: River of Gods by Ian McDonald (Simon & Schuster)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Mayflower II’ by Stephen Baxter

Best Artwork: Cover of Newton’s Wake by Stephan Martinière (US Edition)

2003

Best Novel: Felaheen by Jon Courtenay Grimwood (Earthlight)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Wolves in the Walls’ by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

Best Artwork: Cover of The True Knowledge of Ken MacLeod by Colin Odell

Best Non-Fiction: Reading Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn (Cambridge University Press)

2002

Best Novel: The Separation by Christopher Priest (Scribner)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Coraline’ by Neil Gaiman

Best Artwork: Cover of Interzone 179 by Dominic Harman

Best Related Publication: ‘Introduction’ to Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek by David Langford

2001

Best Novel: Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Children of Winter’ by Eric Brown (Interzone 163)

Best Artwork: Cover of Omegatropic by Colin Odell

Best Non-Fiction: Omegatropic by Stephen Baxter (British Science Fiction Association)

2000

Best Novel: Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Suspect Genome’ by Peter F. Hamilton (Interzone 156)

Best Artwork: Hideaway (cover of Interzone 157) by Dominic Harman

1999

Best Novel: The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Hunting the Slarque’ by Eric Brown (Interzone 141)

Best Artwork: Cover of Darwinia by Jim Burns

1998

Best Novel: The Extremes by Christopher Priest (Simon & Schuster)

Best Short Fiction: ‘La Cenerentola’ by Gwyneth Jones (Interzone 136)

Best Artwork: Lord Prestimion (cover of Interzone 138) by Jim Burns

1997

Best Novel: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (Black Swan)

Best Short Fiction: ‘War Birds’ by Stephen Baxter (Interzone 126)

Best Artwork: The Black Blood of the Dead (cover of Interzone 116) by SMS

1996

Best Novel: Excession by Iain M. Banks (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘A Crab Must Try’ by Barrington J. Bayley (Interzone 103)

Best Artwork: Cover of Ancient Shores by Jim Burns

1995

Best Novel: The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter (HarperPrism)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires’ by Brian Stableford (shorter version, Interzone 91/92)

Best Artwork: Cover of Seasons of Plenty by Jim Burns

1994

Best Novel: Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks (Orbit)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Double Felix’ by Paul di Filippo (Interzone 87)

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1993

Best Novel: Aztec Century by Christopher Evans (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Ragthorn’ by Robert Holdstock and Garry Kilworth (Interzone 74)

Best Artist: Jim Burns

Special Award: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 2nd edition edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls (Orbit)

1992

Best Novel: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (HarperCollins)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Innocents’ by Ian McDonald (New Worlds 2)

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1991

Best Novel: The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Headline)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Bad Timing’ by Molly Brown (Interzone 54)

Best Media: Terminator 2: Judgment Day directed by James Cameron

Best Artist: Mark Harrison

1990

Best Novel: Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland (Allen & Unwin)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Original Doctor Shade’ by Kim Newman (Interzone 36)

Best Media: Twin Peaks created by Mark Frost and David Lynch

Best Artist: Ian Miller

1989

Best Novel: Pyramids by Terry Pratchett (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘In Translation’ by Lisa Tuttle (Zenith)

Best Media: Red Dwarf TV series created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1988

Best Novel: Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Dark Night in Toyland’ by Bob Shaw (Interzone 26)

Best Media: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? directed by Robert Zemeckis

Best Artist: Alan Lee

1987

Best Novel: Grainne by Keith Roberts (Kerosina)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Love Sickness’ by Geoff Ryman (Interzone 20/21)

Best Media: Star Cops TV series created by Chris Boucher

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1986

Best Novel: The Ragged Astronauts by Bob Shaw (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Kaeti and the Hangman’ by Keith Roberts (in collection Kaeti & Company)

Best Media: Aliens directed by James Cameron

Best Artist: Keith Roberts

1985

Best Novel: Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss (Jonathan Cape)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Cube Root’ by David Langford (Interzone 11)

Best Media: Brazil directed by Terry Gilliam

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1984

Best Novel: Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (Gollancz)

Best Short Fiction: ‘The Unconquered Country’ by Geoff Ryman (Interzone 7)

Best Media: The Company of Wolves directed by Neil Jordan

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1983

Best Novel: Tik-Tok by John Sladek (Gollancz)

Best Short: ‘After-Images’ by Malcolm Edwards (Interzone 4)

Best Media: Android directed by Aaron Lipstadt

Best Artist: Bruce Pennington

1982

Best Novel: Helliconia Spring by Brian W. Aldiss (Jonathan Cape)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Kitemaster’ by Keith Roberts (Interzone 1)

Best Media: Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott

Best Artist: Tim White

1981

Best Novel: The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (Sidgwick & Jackson)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Mythago Wood’ by Robert Holdstock (F&SF Vol. 61, No. 3)

Best Media: Time Bandits directed by Terry Gilliam

Best Artist: Bruce Pennington

1980

Best Novel: Timescape by Gregory Benford (Simon & Schuster)

Best Short: ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ by Thomas M. Disch (F&SF Vol. 59, No. 2)

Best Media: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy second radio series by Douglas Adams

Best Artist: Peter Jones

1979

Best Novel: The Unlimited Dream Company by J.G. Ballard (Jonathan Cape)

Best Short Fiction: ‘Palely Loitering’ by Christopher Priest (F&SF Vol. 56, No. 1)

Best Media: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy record (Original Records)

Best Artist: Jim Burns

1978

Best Novel: A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick (Doubleday)

Best Collection: Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison (Harper & Row)

Best Media: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy first radio series by Douglas Adams

1977

Best Novel: The Jonah Kit by Ian Watson (Gollancz)

1976

Best Novel: Brontomek! by Michael G. Coney (Gollancz)

Special Award: A Pictorial History of Science Fiction by David Kyle

1975

Best Novel: Orbitsville by Bob Shaw (Gollancz)

1974

Best Novel: Inverted World by Christopher Priest (Faber & Faber)

1973

Best Novel: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (Gollancz)

Special Award: Billion Year Spree by Brian W. Aldiss (Doubleday)

1972

No award — insufficient votes

1971

Best Collection: The Moment of Eclipse by Brian W. Aldiss (Faber & Faber)

1970

Best Novel: The Jagged Orbit by John Brunner (Ace)

1969

Best Novel: Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (Doubleday)