2018 BookNest Fantasy Awards Shortlists


The shortlists for the 2018 BookNest Fantasy Awards, hosted by the BookNest.eu blog, were announced October 15. Open public voting to pick the winners continues until October 31 — to vote, click here.

AWARDS PROCESS. The BookNest Fantasy Awards are selected by a hybrid process — part jury, part popular vote, with a final sanity check on the winners.

The longlist was created with the input of nine popular Fantasy Blogs (Bookworm Blues, Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Book Review, Fantasy-Faction, Grimdark Magazine, The Fantasy Hive, The Fantasy Inn, The Grim Tidings Podcast & The Weatherwax Report), three big Fantasy Imprints (Gollancz, Harper Voyager & Orbit), and two well-respected Agents (John Jarrold & Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky Literary Agency). They nominated their favorite books in the first three categories (Best Traditionally Published Novel, Best Self-Published Novel, and Best Debut Novel), published between October 1st 2017 and September 30th 2018.

In the second stage and with the public’s help, the 10 books and five 5 imprints with the highest number of votes in each category made it to the shortlist.

Best Traditionally Published Novel (Shortlist)

  • Age of War by Michael J. Sullivan
  • A Time of Dread by John Gwynne
  • Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  • Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
  • Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick
  • Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
  • Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
  • The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • The Girl In The Tower by Katherine Arden

Best Self-Published Novel (Shortlist)

  • As Iron Falls by Bryce O’Connor
  • Behind the Vale by Brian D. Anderson
  • City Of Kings by Rob J. Hayes
  • Death March by Phil Tucker
  • Hero Forged by Josh Erikson
  • Last Dragon Standing by Rachel Aaron
  • Paternus: Wrath Of The Gods by Dyrk Ashton
  • Pursuit of Shadows by J.A. Andrews
  • Those Brave, Foolish Souls from the City of Swords by Benedict Patrick
  • We Ride The Storm by Devin Madson

Best Debut Novel (Shortlist)

  • Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
  • City Of Lies by Sam Hawke
  • Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
  • Jade City by Fonda Lee
  • Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
  • The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
  • The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
  • The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
  • The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
  • The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso

Best Imprint (Longlist)

  • Del Rey Books (Ebury, Penguin Random House)
  • Gollancz (Orion Publishing Group)
  • Harper Voyager (HarperCollins)
  • Orbit (Little, Brown Book Group)
  • Tor Books (Macmillan Publishers)