World Fantasy Award—Novel

A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novel if it is 40,000 words or longer; awards are also given out for pieces of shorter lengths in the Short Fiction and Novella categories.

A ballot is posted in June for attendees of the current and previous two conferences to determine two of the finalists, and a panel of five judges adds three or more nominees before voting on the overall winner.

[4][5] The panel of judges is typically made up of fantasy authors[6] and is chosen each year by the World Fantasy Awards Administration, which has the power to break ties.

[4] The final results are presented at the World Fantasy Convention at the end of October.

In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novel was first published.

A photograph of a bald man with a grey moustache wearing glasses and a black tuxedo, looking at the camera, and holding a drinking glass — Gene Wolfe is one of only five authors who have won the World Fantasy Award Novel category twice.