2023 Mythopoeic Awards

The 2023 Mythopoeic Award winners were revealed during the Mythopoeic Society’s Online Midsummer Seminar 2023, “Fantasy Goes to Hell”, on August 6.

MYTHOPOEIC FANTASY AWARD FOR ADULT LITERATURE

  • Sacha Lamb, When the Angels Left the Old Country (Levine Querido, 2022)

2023 MYTHOPOEIC FANTASY AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

  • Kelly Barnhill, The Ogress and the Orphans (Algonquin Young Readers, 2022)

2023 MYTHOPOEIC SCHOLARSHIP AWARD IN INKLINGS STUDIES

  • Paul S. Fiddes, Charles Williams and C.S. Lewis: Friends in Co-inherence (Oxford UP, 2021)

2023 MYTHOPOEIC SCHOLARSHIP AWARD IN MYTH AND FANTASY STUDIES

  • Brian Attebery, Fantasy: How It Works (Oxford UP, 2022)

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during 2023 that best exemplifies the spirit of the Inklings. Books are eligible for two years after publication if not selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility. Books from a series are eligible if they stand on their own; otherwise, the series becomes eligible the year its final volume appears.

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for beginning readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult literature award. The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will be decided by consensus of the committees.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions to Inklings scholarship. For this award, books first published during the last three years (20 00–2023) are eligible, including finalists for previous years.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The period of eligibility is three years, as for the Inklings Studies award.

A complete list of Mythopoeic Award winners is available on the Society website. The finalists for the literature awards, text of recent acceptance speeches, and selected book reviews are also listed in this on-line section.

ALEXEI KONDRATIEV AWARD: Also, Anna Caterino won the 2023 Alexei Kondratiev Award for “Hell on His Mind: Dean Winchester’s Journey to Hell and Back”. The award is given for the best paper presented at Mythcon by an undergraduate or graduate student. The winner receives a certificate, a one-year subscription to Mythlore, and half-off registration for the next Mythcon they attend.

[Based on a press release.]

2019 Mythopoeic Awards

The 2019 Mythopoeic Awards winners were announced August 4 at Mythcon 50 in San Diego.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature:

  • Naomi Novik, Spinning Silver (Del Rey)  

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature:

  • Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, Bob (Feiwel and Friends) 

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies:

  • Verlyn Flieger, There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien (Kent State University Press, 2017) 

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies:

  • Dimitra Fimi, Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology (Springer Nature, 2017) 

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume novel, or single-author story collection for adults published during the previous year that best exemplifies “the spirit of the Inklings”. Books are eligible for two years after publication if selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility. Books from a series are eligible if they stand on their own; otherwise, the series becomes eligible the year its final volume appears.”

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for beginning readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult literature award. The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will be decided by consensus of the committees. Books for mature “Young Adults” may be moved to the Adult literature category.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions to Inklings scholarship. For this award, books first published during the last three years (2016–2018) are eligible, including finalists for previous years. 

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The period of eligibility is three years, as for the Inklings Studies award.

Alexei Kondratiev Award: Also given at Mythcon, the 2019 Alexei Kondratiev Award went to Sarah O’Dell for “An Unexpected Poet: The Creative Works of Dr. Robert E. Havard.” The award is given for the best paper presented at Mythcon by an undergraduate or graduate student. The winner receives a certificate, a one-year subscription to Mythlore, and half-off registration for the next Mythcon they attend.

2018 Mythopoeic Awards


The Mythopoeic Society announced the winners of the 2018 Mythopoeic Awards on July 22 at Mythcon 49 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

  • Crowley, John, Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr (Saga Press, 2017)

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

  • Nix, Garth, Frogkisser (Scholastic Press, 2017)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

  • Higgins, Sørina, The Inklings and King Arthur: J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield on the Matter of Britain (Apocryphile Press, 2017)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies

  • Levy, Michael and Farah Mendlesohn, Children’s Fantasy Literature: An Introduction (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2016)

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during 2016 or 2017 that best exemplifies the spirit of the Inklings. Books are eligible for two years after publication if not selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility. Books from a series are eligible if they stand on their own; otherwise, the series becomes eligible the year its final volume appears.

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for beginning readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult literature award. The question of which award a borderline book is best suited for will be decided by consensus of the committees. Books for mature “Young Adults” may be moved to the Adult literature category.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions to Inklings scholarship. For this award, books first published during the last three years (2015 – 2017) are eligible, including finalists for previous years.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The period of eligibility is three years, as for the Inklings Studies award.

Alexei Kondratiev Award:
Also given at Mythcon, the 2018 Alexei Kondratiev Award went to Megan Fontenot for “No Pagan Ever Loved His God: Tolkien, Thompson, and the Beautification of the Gods.” The award is given for the best paper presented at Mythcon by an undergraduate or graduate student. The winner receives a certificate, a one-year subscription to Mythlore, and half-off registration for the next Mythcon they attend.

2017 Mythopoeic Awards

The Mythopoeic Society has announced the winners of the 2017 Mythopoeic Awards.

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

  • Patricia A. McKillip, Kingfisher (Ace, 2016)

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

  • Adam Gidwitz, The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and their Holy Dog (Dutton, 2016)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

  • Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski, The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015)

Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies

  • Richard Firth Green, Elf Queens and Holy Friars: Fairy Beliefs and the Medieval Church (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016)

Alexei Kondratiev Award

  • Brittani Ivan, “Countries of the Mind: The Mundane, the Fantastic, and Reality in the Landscapes of Diana Wynne Jones’s Hexwood and Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom Series”.

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults that best exemplifies the spirit of the Inklings. Books are eligible for two years after publication if not selected as a finalist during the first year of eligibility.

The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature honors books for beginning readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult literature award.

The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions to Inklings scholarship. For this award, books first published during the last three years are eligible, including finalists for previous years. The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy. The period of eligibility is three years, as for the Inklings Studies award.

The Alexei Kondratiev Award is given for the best paper presented at Mythcon by an undergraduate or graduate student. The winner receives a certificate, a one-year subscription to Mythlore, and half-off registration for the next Mythcon he or she attends.