The David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy, established in memory of

David Gemmell David Andrew Gemmell (; 1 August 1948 – 28 July 2006) was a British author of heroic fantasy, best known for his debut novel, ''Legend (Gemmell novel), Legend''. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fict ...

, were awarded from 2009 to 2018. In 2009, only the Legend Award for best fantasy novel was awarded. Beginning in 2010 the Morningstar Award for Best Fantasy Newcomer and the Ravenheart Award for Best Fantasy Cover Art were added. The award was closed in 2019. The awards were for

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novels in the traditional,

heroic Heroic may mean: *characteristic of a hero *typical of heroic poetry or of heroic verse *belonging to the Greek Heroic Age *Heroic (esports), a Danish esports organization *Heroic (horse) Heroic (1921–1939) was an Australian Thoroughbred ra ...

, epic or high genres, or in the spirit of Gemmell's own work.

Winners and nominations

2009

The 2009 award (best novel only) was presented in June 2009. * Best novel:

Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books ''The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hunte ...

for ''

Blood of Elves ''Blood of Elves'' ( pl, Krew elfów),the first novel in ''The Witcher'' series, was written by the Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski. It was first published in Poland in 1994,and is a sequel to the ''Witcher ''short stories collected in t ...

'' ** Nominated:

Juliet Marillier Juliet Marillier (born 27 July 1948) is a New Zealand-born writer of fantasy, focusing predominantly on historical fantasy. Biography Juliet Marillier was educated at the University of Otago, where she graduated with a BA in languages and a ...

for ''Heir to Sevenwaters'' ** Nominated:

Brandon Sanderson Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the ''Mistborn'' series and ''The ...

for ''The Hero of Ages'' ** Nominated:

Joe Abercrombie Joseph Edward Abercrombie (born December 31, 1974) is a British fantasy writer and film editor. He is the author of '' The First Law'' trilogy, as well as other fantasy books in the same setting and a trilogy of young adult novels. His novel ' ...

for '' Last Argument of Kings'' ** Nominated:

Brent Weeks Brent Weeks (born March 7, 1977) is an American fantasy writer. His debut novel, ''The Way of Shadows'', was a ''New York Times'' best seller in April 2009. Each of the five books in his Lightbringer Series made the NYT list as well, starting w ...

for ''

The Way of Shadows ''The Way of Shadows'' is a 2008 fantasy novel written by Brent Weeks Brent Weeks (born March 7, 1977) is an American fantasy writer. His debut novel, ''The Way of Shadows'', was a ''New York Times'' best seller in April 2009. Each of the f ...

2010

The 2010 awards were presented in June 2010. * Best novel:

Graham McNeill Graham McNeill is a British novelist and video game writer. He is best known for his Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 novels, and his previous role as games designer for Games Workshop. He is currently working as a Senior Writer and Junior ...

for ''Empire'' ** Nominated:

for ''Best Served Cold'' ** Nominated: Pierre Pevel for ''The Cardinal's Blades'' ** Nominated:

Robert Jordan James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan,"Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the na ...

for '' The Gathering Storm'' ** Nominated:

for ''

Warbreaker ''Warbreaker'' is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on June 9, 2009 by Tor Books. Sanderson released several rewrites of ''Warbreaker'' under a Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US), one chap ...

'' * Best newcomer: Pierre Pevel for ''The Cardinal's Blades'' ** Nominated: Stephen Deas for ''The Adamantine Palace'' ** Nominated: Amanda Downum for ''The Drowning City'' ** Nominated:

Ken Scholes Ken Scholes (born January 13, 1968) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer living in Cornelius, Oregon, United States. He is the author of five novels and over fifty short stories and his work has appeared in print since 2000. His s ...

for ''Lamentation'' ** Nominated:

Jesse Bullington Jesse Bullington is an American fantasy writer from Boulder, Colorado. He has also published as Alex Marshall. Biography Bullington grew up in Pennsylvania, before his family moved to the Netherlands, and then back to the United States. In 2 ...

for ''The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart'' * Cover art: Didier Graffet, Dave Senior and Laura Brett for ''Best Served Cold'' (written by

)

2011

The 2011 awards were presented in June 2011. * Best novel:

for ''

The Way of Kings ''The Way of Kings'' is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the first book in '' The Stormlight Archive'' series. The novel was published on August 31, 2010, by Tor Books. ''The Way of Kings'' consists of one p ...

'' ** Nominated: Pierre Pevel for ''The Alchemist in the Shadows'' ** Nominated:

for ''

The Black Prism ''The Black Prism'' is a fantasy novel by American author Brent Weeks. It is the first entry in the five-volume Lightbringer Series, and follows the 'Prism' Gavin Guile, the most powerful person in the world, as he fights against an uprising by a ...

'' ** Nominated: Peter V. Brett for ''

The Desert Spear The Desert Spear is a fantasy novel written by American writer Peter V. Brett. It is the second book in the demon cycle series. It was released on March 7, 2010. Reception The novel entered at no. 35 in the ''New York Times'' Hardcover Fiction B ...

'' ** Nominated:

for ''

Towers of Midnight ''Towers of Midnight'' is a fantasy novel by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. It is the sequel to the novel '' The Gathering Storm'', and the 13th book in the Wheel of Time series. The novel is the second part of ''A Memory of Light'', Rober ...

'' ** Nominated:

Markus Heitz Markus Heitz (born 10 October 1971) is a German fantasy, horror and science fiction author best known for his Dwarves series of novels. Biography Markus Heitz was born in Homburg, Germany, in 1971. He studied history, literature, and the ...

for ''The War of the Dwarves'' * Best newcomer: Darius Hinks for ''Warrior Priest'' ** Nominated:

N.K. Jemisin NK may refer to: Businesses *Imerys (Euronext ticker code NK) *Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, Sweden *Northrup-King Seed Company *Spirit Airlines (IATA code NK) *NK.pl, a Polish school-based social networking service Places ...

for ''

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms ''The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms'' is a 2010 fantasy novel by American writer N. K. Jemisin, the first book of '' The Inheritance Trilogy''. Jemisin's debut novel, it was published by Orbit Books in 2010. It won the 2011 Locus Award for Best Fir ...

'' ** Nominated: Alexey Pehov for ''Shadow Prowler'' ** Nominated:

Blake Charlton Blake Charlton (born 1979) is an American science fiction author. He is the author of the ''Spellwright'' series published by Tor Books and currently a cardiology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. As a boy, Charlton had sever ...

for ''Spellwright'' ** Nominated: Mary Victoria for ''Tymon's Flight'' * Cover art: Olof Erla Einarsdottir for ''Power and Majesty'' (written by

Tansy Rayner Roberts Tansy Rayner Roberts (born 22 May 1978) is an Australian fantasy writer. Her short stories have been published in a variety of genre magazines, including ''Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine'' and ''Aurealis''. She also writes crime fiction a ...

)

2012

The 2012 awards were presented in June 2012. * Best novel:

Patrick Rothfuss Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American author. He is best known for his duology ''The Kingkiller Chronicle'', which has won him several awards, including the 2007 Quill Award for his debut novel, ''The Name of the Wind''. Its ...

for ''

The Wise Man's Fear ''The Wise Man's Fear'' is a fantasy novel written by American author Patrick Rothfuss and the second volume in ''The Kingkiller Chronicle''. It was published on March 1, 2011, by DAW Books. It is the sequel to 2007's ''The Name of the Wind''. ...

'' ** Nominated:

for ''

The Alloy of Law ''Mistborn: The Alloy of Law'' is a fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on November 8, 2011 by Tor Books and is the first book in the ''Wax and Wayne'' series and fourth in the ''Mistborn'' series. It is ...

'' ** Nominated:

Kristen Britain Kristen Britain is an American author. She wrote '' Green Rider'' (which was nominated for the Crawford Award), '' First Rider's Call'', '' The High King's Tomb'', '' Blackveil'' (which was nominated for the David Gemmell Legend Award), and ''Mir ...

for ''

Blackveil ''Blackveil'' by Kristen Britain is a fantasy novel from 2011, the fourth book in the Green Rider series. Plot summary Blackveil Forest was once the home of the Eletians, a magical elf-like race. Corrupted and warped into an evil place by Mornhav ...

'' ** Nominated:

for ''The Heroes'' ** Nominated: William King for ''Blood of Aenarion'' * Best newcomer:

Helen Lowe Helen Lowe is a New Zealand novelist. Her first novel, ''Thornspell'', was published in 2008. She has since published the first two books in ''The Wall of Night'' quartet, ''The Heir of Night'' and '' The Gathering of the Lost''. Lowe is a thr ...

for ''

The Heir of Night The Heir of Night is an epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fanta ...

'' ** Nominated:

Douglas Hulick Douglas Hulick is an American fantasy writer. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, he obtained a B.A. in history and English at the University of Illinois, and a master's degree in medieval history at New Mexico State University. He subsequently worked o ...

for ''Among Thieves'' ** Nominated: Mark Lawrence for '' Prince of Thorns'' ** Nominated: Elspeth Cooper for ''Songs of the Earth'' ** Nominated:

Peter Orullian Peter Orullian is an American fantasy author and musician. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Biography Orullian graduated from the University of Utah with a BA Honors in English in 1991. He has since published sho ...

for ''The Unremembered'' * Cover art: Raymond Swanland for ''Blood of Aenarion'' (written by William King)

2013

The 2013 awards were presented in October 2013. * Best novel:

for '' The Blinding Knife'' ** Nominated:

for ''The Gathering of the Lost'' ** Nominated: Mark Lawrence for '' King of Thorns'' ** Nominated:

for ''Red Country'' ** Nominated:

Jay Kristoff Jay Kristoff (born 11 November 1973) is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction. He writes both for adult readers and young adults. He lives in Melbourne. Biography Kristoff was born in Perth, Australia in 1973. As a child, Kristo ...

for ''Stormdancer'' * Best newcomer: John Gwynne for ''Malice'' ** Nominated: Aidan Harte for ''Irenicon'' ** Nominated: Miles Cameron for ''The Red Knight'' ** Nominated:

for ''Stormdancer'' ** Nominated:

Saladin Ahmed Saladin Ahmed (born October 4, 1975) is an Eisner Award winning American comic book writer and a science fiction/fantasy poetry and prose writer. His 2012 book '' Throne of the Crescent Moon'' was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and ...

for ''

Throne of the Crescent Moon ''Throne of the Crescent Moon'' is a fantasy novel written by American writer Saladin Ahmed. It is the first book in ''The Crescent Moon Kingdoms'' series. The book was published by DAW Books in February 2012. The book was nominated for the 201 ...

'' * Cover art: Didier Graffet and Dave Senior for ''Red Country'' (written by

)

2014

The 2014 awards were presented in June 2014. * Best novel: Mark Lawrence for '' Emperor of Thorns'' ** Nominated: Peter V. Brett for '' The Daylight War'' ** Nominated:

for ''

A Memory of Light ''A Memory of Light'' is the 14th and final book of the fantasy series ''The Wheel of Time'', written by American authors Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, and published by Tor books. Originally expected to have been published around March ...

'' ** Nominated:

Scott Lynch Scott Lynch (born April 2, 1978) is an American fantasy author who wrote the '' Gentleman Bastard Sequence'' series of novels. His first novel, ''The Lies of Locke Lamora'', was purchased by Orion Books in August 2004 and published in June 2006 u ...

for ''

The Republic of Thieves ''The Republic of Thieves'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Scott Lynch, the third book in the ''Gentleman Bastard Sequence'' series. It details the continuing adventures of Locke Lamora and Jean Tannen, as well as Sabetha, Locke's previou ...

'' ** Nominated:

Adrian Tchaikovsky Adrian Czajkowski (spelled as Adrian Tchaikovsky for his books) is a British fantasy and science fiction author. He is known best for his series ''Shadows of the Apt'', and for his novel '' Children of Time''. ''Children of Time'' was awarded t ...

for ''War Master's Gate'' * Best newcomer: Brian McClellan for '' Promise of Blood'' ** Nominated: Mark T. Barnes for ''The Garden of Stones'' ** Nominated: Luke Scull for ''The Grim Company'' ** Nominated: David Guymer for ''Headtaker'' ** Nominated: Antoine Rouaud for ''The Path of Anger'' * Cover art: Jason Chan for '' Emperor of Thorns'' (written by Mark Lawrence)

2015

The 2015 awards were presented in August 2015. * Best novel:

for ''

Words of Radiance ''Words of Radiance'' is an epic fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson and the second book in ''The Stormlight Archive'' series. The novel was published on March 4, 2014, by Tor Books. ''Words of Radiance'' consists of one p ...

'' ** Nominated:

for '' Half a King'' ** Nominated: John Gwynne for ''Valour'' ** Nominated: Mark Lawrence for ''Prince of Fools'' ** Nominated:

for '' The Broken Eye'' * Best newcomer: Brian Staveley for ''The Emperor's Blades'' ** Nominated: Sebastien de Castell for '' Traitor's Blade'' ** Nominated:

Kameron Hurley Kameron Hurley is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. Biography Hurley was born in Washington state and has lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, Durban, South Africa, and Chicago. She currently resides in Dayton, Ohio. Hurley has been publ ...

for ''The Mirror Empire'' ** Nominated: Ben Peek for ''The Godless'' ** Nominated:

Angus Watson Angus Watson (born 4 September 1972) is a British novelist and journalist. His epic fantasy trilogy set in the British Iron Age began in 2014 with ''Age of Iron''. ''Clash of Iron'' was released in March 2015 and ''Reign of Iron'' was released in ...

for ''Age of Iron'' * Cover art: Sam Green for ''

'' (written by

)

2016

The 2016 awards were presented in September 2016. * Best novel: Mark Lawrence for '' The Liar’s Key'' ** Nominated: Miles Cameron for '' The Dread Wyrm'' ** Nominated:

Larry Correia Larry Correia is an American fantasy and science fiction writer, known for his ''Monster Hunter International'', ''Grimnoir Chronicles'', and ''Saga of the Forgotten Warrior'' series. He has authored or co-authored over 20 novels, has over 50 pub ...

for ''

Son of the Black Sword ''Son of the Black Sword'' is a 2015 epic fantasy novel by Larry Correia and published by Baen Books. It is the first book in the ''Larry Correia bibliography#Saga of the Forgotten Warrior, Saga of the Forgotten Warrior'' series. It was followed ...

'' ** Nominated: David Guymer for '' Gotrex & Felix: Slayer'' ** Nominated: John Gwynne for ''

Ruin Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

'' * Best newcomer: Peter Newman for '' The Vagrant'' ** Nominated: Stephen Aryan for ''Battlemage'' ** Nominated:

Seth Dickinson Seth Dickinson is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for his 2015 debut novel ''The Traitor Baru Cormorant,'' as well as its sequels ''The Monster Baru Cormorant'' and ''The Tyrant Baru Cormorant''. Career Dickinson graduate ...

for ''

The Traitor Baru Cormorant ''The Traitor Baru Cormorant'' ( ) is a 2015 hard fantasy novel by Seth Dickinson, and his debut novel. It was published as ''The Traitor'' in the United Kingdom. It is based on Dickinson's short story "The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Her Field-Gener ...

'' ** Nominated: Francesca Haig for ''The Fire Sermon'' ** Nominated: Lucy Hounsom for ''Starborn'' ** Nominated:

Sabaa Tahir Sabaa Tahir is an American Young adult fiction, young adult novelist best known for her The New York Times Best Seller list, ''New York Times''-bestselling ''An Ember in the Ashes'', its sequels, and the novel All My Rage. Two of her novels, '' ...

for ''

An Ember in the Ashes ''An Ember in the Ashes'' is a fantasy novel written by American author Sabaa Tahir. It was published on April 28, 2015 by Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin Random House. It is the first book in the ''An Ember in the Ashes'' series, followed by ...

'' * Cover art: Jason Chan for '' The Liar’s Key'' (written by Mark Lawrence)

2017

The 2017 awards were presented in July 2017. * Best novel:

Gav Thorpe Gavin Thorpe is a game designer who has worked primarily on board games. He has also authored a number of novels and short stories for the Black Library. Career Gav Thorpe has been designing and developing products for Games Workshop since 1994 ...

for ''Warbeast'' ** Nominated: John Gwynne for ''

Wrath Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

'' ** Nominated:

for ''Nevernight'' ** Nominated: Mark Lawrence for ''The Wheel of Osheim'' ** Nominated:

for ''

The Bands of Mourning ''Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning'' is a steampunk fantasy novel written by American author Brandon Sanderson. It was published on January 26, 2016, by Tor Books and is the third book in the ''Wax and Wayne'' series and sixth in the ''Mistborn' ...

'' * Best newcomer: Megan E O'Keefe for ''

Steal the Sky ''Steal the Sky'' is a 1988 HBO movie directed by John D. Hancock and starring Mariel Hemingway and Ben Cross. The film is based on the true story of Iraqi fighter pilot Munir Redfa, who defected by flying a MiG-21 fighter jet to Israel in 1966. ' ...

'' ** Nominated: Mark de Jager for ''Infernal'' ** Nominated: Christopher Husberg for ''Duskfall'' ** Nominated: Adrian Selby for ''Snakewood'' ** Nominated: Jon Skovron for ''Hope and Red'' * Cover art: Alessandro Baldasseroni for ''Black Rift'' (written by

Josh Reynolds Josh Reynolds may refer to: * Josh Reynolds (American football) (born 1995), American football wide receiver * Josh Reynolds (rugby league) (born 1989), Australian rugby league player * Josh Reynolds (rugby union) (born 1998), Welsh rugby union pla ...

)

2018

The 2018 David Gemmell Awards winners were announced at a ceremony July 14, 2018 at Edge-Lit 7 in Derby, UK: * Best Novel:

Robin Hobb Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden (born March 5, 1952), known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the ''Realm of the Elderlings'', w ...

for ''Assassin's Fate'' ** Nominated: Miles Cameron for ''Fall of Dragons'' ** Nominated: Mark Lawrence for ''Red Sister'' ** Nominated: Steve McHugh for ''Scorched Shadows'' ** Nominated:

for ''Oathbringer'' * Best newcomer: Nicholas Eames for '' Kings of the Wyld'' ** Nominated: RJ Barker for ''Age of Assassins'' ** Nominated: Melissa Caruso for ''The Tethered Mage'' ** Nominated: Ed McDonald for ''Blackwing'' ** Nominated: Anna Smith Spark for ''The Court of Broken Knives'' *Cover art:

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. Among his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in b ...

for ''Kings of the Wyld'' by Nicholas Eames ** Nominated:

Kerem Beyit Kerem is a Turkish male given name of Arabic origin, for males and it means vineyard, nobility and generosity. People named Kerem include: * Kerem Bulut, Turkish-Australian footballer * Kerem Demirbay, Turkish-German footballer * Kerem Gönlüm ...

for ''The Fall of Dragons'' by Miles Cameron ** Nominated: Sam Green for ''Oathbringer'' by

** Nominated:

Jackie Morris Jackie Morris (born 1961) is a British writer and illustrator. She was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2016 and won it in 2019 for her illustration of ''The Lost Words'', voted the most beautiful book of 2016 by UK booksellers. She i ...

and Stephen Raw for ''Assassin’s Fate'' by

** Nominated: Kerby Rosanes for ''Godsgrave'' by

References

External links

The David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy
{{Fantasy fiction British speculative fiction awards Awards established in 2009