Samuel R. Delany, Terri Windling to Receive World Fantasy Life Achievement Awards

Delany, who has previously been honored with a Grand Master Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and the Anisfield-Wolf Lifetime Achievement Award, has been publishing since 1960.

Delany's work explores themes of language, meaning, and queer identity. Through his series of Nevèrÿon novels, he was also one of the first writers from a major U.S. publisher to explore the AIDs epidemic in fiction.

Delany's fellow honoree, Terri Windling, has previously received nine World Fantasy Awards. She's also been honored with a Bram Stoker Award and a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. In 2010, the author, editor, and artist received the SFWA Solstice Award for her "significant impact on the speculative fiction field."

Windling is considered one of the founders of the "urban fantasy" subgenre. Often in partnership with her frequent collaborator Ellen Datlow, Windling has published numerous anthologies of fairy tale and folk adaptations.

The full list of finalists for the 2022 World Fantasy Awards have also been announced. Winners will be revealed during the World Fantasy Convention, running from November third to sixth.

Best Novel

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho (Ace; Macmillan)
A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom; Orbit UK)
The City Beautiful, Aden Polydoros (Inkyard)
The Jasmine Throne, Tasha Suri (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward (Nightfire; Viper UK)

Best Novella

“For Sale by Owner”, Elizabeth Hand (When Things Get Dark)
Nothing But Blackened Teeth, Cassandra Khaw (Nightfire)
And What Can We Offer You Tonight, Premee Mohamed (Neon Hemlock)
Finches, A.M. Muffaz (Vernacular)
“A Canticle for Lost Girls”, Isabel Yap (Never Have I Ever)

Best Short Fiction

“The Failing Name”, Eugen Bacon & Seb Doubinsky
(Fantasy 8/21)
“The Demon Sage’s Daughter”, Varsha Dinesh
(Strange Horizons 2/8/218)
“If the Martians Have Magic”, P. Djèlí Clark (Uncanny 9-10/21)
“#Spring Love, #Pichal Pairi”, Usman T. Malik (Tor.com 3/3/21)
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3-4/21)
“(emet)”, Lauren Ring (F&SF 7-8/21)

Best Anthology

Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World (2021 Edition), Charlatan Bardot & Eric J. Guignard, eds. (Dark Moon)
When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson, Ellen Datlow, ed. (Titan)
The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror Volume Two, Paula Guran, ed. (Pyr)
The Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction (2021), Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, ed. (Jembefola)
Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology, Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin & Sarah Rafael García, eds. (Mad Creek)

Best Collection