World Fantasy Convention

An annual traveling convention started in 1975 devoted to the fantasy genre. It bestows the World Fantasy Awards.

The conventions are each independent and selected by the World Fantasy Board of Directors. There is no central organization, as such. Some of the organizations which run individual World Fantasy conventions are for-profit, some are 501(c)(3) and some are in-between. Individual conventions are limited to 1,000 members, though there are a number of classes of attendees who do not count towards that limit.

Website.

World Fantasy Awards

The World Fantasy Awards have been given since 1975 by the World Fantasy Convention. Convention members are eligible to make nominations, but the winners are determined by a panel of judges. Only living persons are eligible to win the award, which is given in several categories, including a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Formerly nicknamed the Howard Award, the trophy originally consisted of a cartoon caricature bust of H. P. Lovecraft designed in his inimitable style by artist Gahan Wilson. The awards in this form were given from 1975 (the occasion of the First World Fantasy Convention held in Providence, RI) through 2016, at which time the committee of the World Fantasy Convention controversially discontinued the use of Lovecraft's image due to complaints by recipients and others about the late author’s racism.

• Winners at SFADB.
• Website.

Convention History

Convention	Dates	GoHs, Notes
1st World Fantasy Convention	October 31 - November 2, 1975	Robert Bloch
2nd World Fantasy Convention	October 29-31, 1976	C. L. Moore, Michael Moorcock
World Fantasy Convention III	October 28-30, 1977	Richard Matheson
4th World Fantasy Convention	October 13-15, 1978	Fritz Leiber, Alicia Austin
5th World Fantasy Convention	October 12-14, 1979	Stephen King, Frank Belknap Long, Michael Whelan
6th World Fantasy Convention	October 31 - November 2, 1980	Jack Vance, Boris Vallejo
7th World Fantasy Convention	October 30 - November 1, 1981	Alan Garner, Peter S. Beagle, Brian Froud
World Fantasy Convention '82	October 29-31, 1982	Peter Straub, Joseph Payne Brennan, Don Maitz
World Fantasy Convention 1983	October 28-30, 1983	Gene Wolfe, Manly Wade Wellman, Rowena Morrill
World Fantasy Convention 1984	October 12-14, 1984	Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, Jeffrey Jones
1985 World Fantasy Convention	October 31 - November 3, 1985	Stephen R. Donaldson, Victoria Poyser, Evangeline Walton
12th World Fantasy Convention	October 29 - November 2, 1986	Ramsey Campbell, Charles L. Grant, J. K. Potter
13th World Fantasy Convention	October 29 - November 1, 1987	Piers Anthony, Frank Kelly Freas
14th World Fantasy Convention / Fantasycon XIII	October 28-31, 1988	James Herbert, Michael Foreman, Diana Wynne Jones
15th World Fantasy Convention	October 27-29, 1989	Ursula K. LeGuin, Avram Davidson, S. P. Somtow, Robert McCammon, Yoshitaka Amano
16th World Fantasy Convention	November 2-4, 1990	F. Paul Wilson, L. Sprague de Camp, Susan Allison, David B. Mattingly
17th World Fantasy Convention	November 1-3, 1991	Susan and Harlan Ellison, Arlin Robins
1992 World Fantasy Convention	October 29 - November 1, 1992	Michael Bishop, John Farris, Martin H. Greenberg, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Gould
1993 World Fantasy Convention	October 28-31, 1993	Poul Anderson, John Crowley, Roger Zelazny, Tom Canty, Basil Copper
1994 World Fantasy Convention	October 27-31, 1994	Damon Knight, George Alec Effinger, George R. R. Martin, Tim Powers, Kate Wilhelm
1995 World Fantasy Convention	October 26-29, 1995	Terry Bisson, Lucius Shepard, Howard Waldrop, Rick Berry, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach
World Fantasy Convention 1996	October 31 - November 3, 1996	Katherine Kurtz, Joe R. Lansdale, Ellen Asher, Ron Walotsky
1997 World Fantasy Convention / Fantasycon XXI	October 30 - November 2, 1997	Joan Aiken, Iain Sinclair, Bob Eggleton, Hugh B. Cave, R. Chetwynd-Hayes, Doug Bradley
World Fantasy Convention 1998	October 29 - November 1, 1998	Cecelia Holland, Richard Laymon, Frank M. Robinson, Gahan Wilson
25th World Fantasy Convention	November 4-7, 1999	Charles de Lint, Leo & Diane Dillon, Patricia A. McKillip, Robert Silverberg, Samuel R. Delany
World Fantasy Convention 2000	October 26-29, 2000	K. W. Jeter, John Crowley, Charles Vess
World Fantasy Convention 2001	November 1-4, 2001	Fred Saberhagen, Joel Champetier, Donato Giancola
2002 World Fantasy Convention	October 31 - November 3, 2002	Dennis Etchison, Jonathan Carroll, Kathe Koja, Dave McKean, Stephen Jones
World Fantasy Convention 2003	October 30 - November 2, 2003	Brian Lumley, Jack Williamson , Allen Koszowski, W. Paul Ganley
World Fantasy Convention 2004	October 28-31, 2004	Betty Ballantine, Gwyneth Jones, Janny Wurts, Ellen Datlow
World Fantasy Convention 2005	November 3-6, 2005	Graham Joyce, Robert Weinberg, Terri Windling, Kinuko Y. Craft
World Fantasy Convention 2006	November 2-5, 2006	John Jude Palencar, Glen Cook, Dave Duncan and Robin Hobb, Glenn Lord, Gary Gianni
World Fantasy Convention 2007	November 1-4, 2007	Carol Emshwiller, Kim Newman, Lisa Tuttle, Jean Giraud (Moebius)
World Fantasy Convention 2008	October 30 - November 2, 2008	David Morrell, Barbara Hambly, Tom Doherty, Todd Lockwood
World Fantasy Convention 2009	October 29 - November 1, 2009	Garth Nix, Michael Swanwick, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, Lisa Snellings
World Fantasy Convention 2010	October 28-31, 2010	Dennis McKiernan, Esther Friesner, David Hartwell, Darrell K. Sweet
World Fantasy Convention 2011	October 27-30, 2011	Jo Fletcher, Neil Gaiman, Parke Godwin, Shawna McCarthy, Ruth Sanderson, Connie Willis
World Fantasy Convention 2012	November 1-4, 2012	Elizabeth Hand, John Clute, Richard A. Kirk
World Fantasy Convention 2013 / FantasyCon 2013	October 31 - November 3, 2013	Richard Matheson, Richard Christian Matheson, Joanne Harris, Joe Hill, Alan Lee
World Fantasy Convention 2014	November 6-9, 2014	Guy Gavriel Kay, Les Edwards, Stuart David Schiff, Lail Finlay
World Fantasy Convention 2015	November 5-8, 2015	Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Steven Erikson, David Drake, Glen Cook
World Fantasy Convention 2016	October 27-30, 2016	Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Randal Spangler
World Fantasy Convention 2017	November 2-5, 2017	Karen Joy Fowler, Gordon Van Gelder, Gregory Manchess, David Mitchell
World Fantasy Convention 2018	November 1-4, 2018	Kaaron Warren, Scott Edelman, Tom Kidd, Michael J. Walsh, Aliette de Bodard
World Fantasy Convention 2019	October 31 - November 3, 2019	Margo Lanagan, Beth Meacham, Tad Williams
World Fantasy Convention 2020 (virtual)	October 29 - November 1, 2020	Stephen Gallagher, Anne Groell, David Cherry (held as an online virtual convention due to the Covid-19 epidemic)
World Fantasy Convention 2021	November 4-7, 2021	Nisi Shawl, John Picacio, André-François Ruaud
World Fantasy Convention 2022	November 3-6, 2022	Ginjer Buchanan, Victor LaValle, Jo Walton, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Iris Compiet, Andrei Codrescu, Ursula Vernon, Brandon O'Brien
World Fantasy Convention 2025	October 21-November 3, 2025

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Convention
	1975—

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