Who will walk away with this amazing and evocative piece of sculpture? Read about the history of the World Fantasy Award trophy HERE.

By now, I have read all the novels short-listed for the 2025 World Fantasy Awards, and I have reviewed them too, in this space. If you missed them, see the list of nominated novels below to be directed to the reviews. The awards will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention, to be held soon in Brighton UK on Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2025.

As we await the judges’ decision, here are the short-listed novels:

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape)–This novel won the 2025 Hugo Award and was short-listed for the Locus Award. Find my review HERE.

The Fox Wife, Yangsze Choo (Holt; Quercus UK)–a wonderful overlay of Chinese folklore on the early 20th century historical conflict between China and Japan. Find my review HERE.

The Bog Wife, Kay Chronister (Counterpoint; Titan UK)–what IS this thing? Southern/Appalachian Gothic? Magical Realism? Fascinating read. Find my review HERE.

The Bright Sword, Lev Grossman (Viking; Del Rey UK)–combined Monty Pythonesque and Malory Morte-D’Arthur-esque massive novel about the Arthurian world in decline. Find my review HERE.

The Wings Upon Her Back, Samantha Mills (Tachyon)–What if profound disillusionment causes you to lose your wings? What would you do to get them back? Winner of the 2025 Compton Crook Award. Find my review HERE.

So if I were one of the judges, where would I cast my vote? I’m not, of course. But anyone anticipating an award like this usually roots for a favorite. I have two favorites, actually–both of the novels with the word “wife” in the title. And they couldn’t be more different. The Fox Wife and The Bog Wife–superb novels in completely different ways, each with its own take on what “fantasy” means. I would cheer if either of these two novels wins the award.

There’s not a clunker in the bunch, though, so I don’t envy the judges after all. I truly enjoyed reading each one of the five novels on this list. I will cheer whatever the judges decide. Great list! I only wish I had the time to read the nominated works in all the other categories. But I stick mostly to novels in this blog.