The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award honors books of the fantasy genre that best exemplify "the spirit of the Inklings".  The Inklings were a gathering of friends at Oxford University-- all of them British, male, and Christian, who were creative writers and lovers of imaginative literature.  They met in C.S. Lewis's and J.R.R. Tolkien's college rooms at Oxford during the 1930s and 1940s for readings and criticism of their own work, and for general conversation.

2005

Adult
Winner:   Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Nominees:
  • The Anvil of the World, by Kage Baker
  • Mortal Love, by Elizabeth Hand
  • Alphabet of Thorn, by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Wizard Knight, consisting of "The Knight" and "The Wizard", by Gene Wolfe
Children's
Winner:   A Hat Full of Sky, by Terry Pratchett
Nominees:
  • Arthur Trilogy, consisting of The Seeing Stone, At the Crossing Places, and King of the Middle March, by Kevin Crossley-Holland
  • Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer
  • Trilogy consisting of Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman, by Monica Furlong
  • The Abhorsen Trilogy, consisting of Sabriel, Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr, and Abhorsen, by Garth Nix
Inklings Studies
Winner:   War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien, by Janet Brennan Croft
Nominees:
  • Tolkien the Medievalist, by Jane Chance, ed
  • Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings, by Matthew Dickerson
  • Bareface: A Guide to C.S. Lewis’s Last Novel, by Doris T. Myers
  • Tolkien in the Land of Heroes, by Anne C. Petty
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:   Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography, by Stephen Thomas Knight
Nominees:
  • Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture: What Becomes a Legend Most, by William Patrick Day
  • The Meanings of Beauty and the Beast, by Jerry Griswold
  • Diana Wynne Jones: An Exciting and Exacting Wisdom, by Teya Rosenberg, ed

2004

Adult
Winner:  Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Nominees:
  • Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold
  • Fudoki by Kij Johnson
  • Changing Planes by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • In the Forests of Serre by Patricia A. McKillip
Children's
Winner:  The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle
Nominees:
  • The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
  • Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
  • The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
  • The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
Inklings Studies
Winner:  Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth by John Garth
Nominees:
  • Tolkien the Medievalist, edited by Jane Chance
  • Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victory in The Lord of the Rings, edited by Matthew Dickerson
  • C.S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse by Don King
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  The Myth of the American Superhero by John Shelton Lawrence and Robert Jewett
Nominees:
  • Algernon Blackwood: An Extraordinary Life by Mike Ashley
  • A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld by Francis Bridger
  • Vampire Legends in Contemporary American Culture: What Becomes a Legend Most by William Patrick Day
  • Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit: A Children's Classic at 100, edited by Margaret Mackey
  • National Dreams: The remaking of Fairy Tales in Nineteenth-century England by Jennifer Schacker

2003

Adult
Winner:  Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip
Nominees:

  • A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman 
  • The Fall of the Kings by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman
Children's
Winner:  Summerland by Michael Chabon 
Nominees:
  • Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black
  • House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer 
  • Coraline by Neil Gaiman
  • Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
Inklings Studies
Winner:  Beowulf and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Michael D.C. Drout
Nominees:
  • J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, edited by George Clark and Daniel Timmons
  • Imagination and the Arts in C.S. Lewis: Journeying to Narnia and Other Worlds by Peter J. Schakel 
  • C.S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse by Don King 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  Fairytale in the Ancient World by Graham Anderson 
Nominees:
  • A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld by Francis Bridger 
  • The Christian Imagination: G.K. Chesterton on the Arts by Thomas C. Peters 
  • Vast Alchemies: The Life and Work of Mervyn Peake by G. Peter Winnington

2002

Adult
Winner:  The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold 
Nominees:

  • American Gods by Neil Gaiman 
  • Ill Met by Moonlight by Sarah A. Hoyt 
  • The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin 
  • Declare by Tim Powers
Children's
Winner:  The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson 
Nominees:
  • The Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane 
  • Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson 
  • The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Inklings Studies
Winner:  Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on the History of Middle-earth, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter 
Nominees:
  • J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, edited by George Clark and Daniel Timmons 
  • Women Among the Inklings: Gender, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams by Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride 
  • C.S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse by Don King 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  The Owl, the Raven & the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimms' Magic Fairy Tales by G. Ronald Murphy 
Nominees:
  • Fairytale in the Ancient World by Graham Anderson
  • Twice Upon a Time: Women Writers and the History of the Fairy Tale by Elizabeth Wanning Harries
  • The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Literature in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson

2001

Adult
Winner:  The Innamorati by Midori Snyder 
Nominees:

  • ravenShadow by Win Blevins
  • Forests of the Heart by Charles de Lint 
  • The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) by Guy Gavriel Kay
Children's
Winner:  Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun 
Nominees:
  • Night Flying by Rita Murphy 
  • Beast by Donna Jo Napoli 
  • Growing Wings by Laurel Winter
  • Boots and the Seven Leaguers by Jane Yolen
Inklings Studies
Winner:  J.R.R. Tolkien, Author of the Century by Tom Shippey
Nominees:
  • C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer & Mentor by Lionel Adey 
  • J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, edited by George Clark and Daniel Timmons 
  • The Crisis and the Quest: A Kierkegaardian Reading of Charles Williams by Stephen N. Dunning 
  • Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on the History of Middle-earth, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  King Arthur in America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack
Nominees:
  • The Fantasy Literature of England by C.N. Manlove 
  • The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Literature in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson
  • The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales edited by Jack Zipes

2000

Adult
Winner:  Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
Nominees:

  • Elementals by A.S. Byatt 
  • Dark Cities Underground by Lisa Goldstein 
  • The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr 
  • The Book of Knights by Yves Meynard 
Children's
Winner:  The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley
Nominees:
  • Skellig by David Almond 
  • The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce 
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling 
  • Kingdom series by Cynthia Voigt
Inklings Studies
Winner:  Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull 
Nominees:
  • C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer & Mentor by Lionel Adey 
  • Tolkien: Man and Myth -- A Literary Life by Joseph Pearce 
  • Farmer Giles of Ham by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness by Carole G. Silver 
Nominees:
  • King Arthur in America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack
  • The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Literature in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson 
  • Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum by Michael Riley 
  • When Dreams Come True: Classical Fairy Tales and Their Tradition by Jack Zipes

1999

Adult
Winner:  Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess 
Nominees:

  • Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint
  • The History of our World Beyond the Wave by R.E. Klein 
  • Song for the Basilisk by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • The High House by James Stoddard 
Children's
Winner:  Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diane Wynne Jones
Nominees:
  • Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey 
  • Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • The Squire's Tale by Gerald Morris 
  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.)
Inklings Studies
Winner:  C.S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide by Walter Hooper 
Nominees:
  • C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer & Mentor by Lionel Adey
  • Christian Mythmakers by Rolland Hein 
  • Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  A Century of Welsh Myth in Children's Literature by Donna R. White
Nominees:
  • Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children by Susan Cooper 
  • Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum by Michael Riley
  • No Go the Bogeyman: Scaring, Lulling, and Making Mock by Marina Warner

1998

Adult
Winner:  The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt 
Nominees:

  • Giant Bones by Peter S. Beagle 
  • Trader by Charles de Lint 
  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 
  • The Gift by Patrick O'Leary 
Children's
Winner:  Young Merlin trilogy (consisting of Passager, Hobby and Merlin) by Jane Yolen 
Nominees:
  • The Boggart and the Monster by Susan Cooper 
  • A Dark Horn Blowing by Dahlov Ipcar
  • Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Inklings Studies
Winner:  A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faerie by Verlyn Flieger 
Nominees:
  • C.S. Lewis Index: Rumours from the Sculptor's Shop by Janine Goffar 
  • C.S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide by Walter Hooper 
  • Charles Williams: A Celebration, edited by Brian Horne 
  • Finding the Landlord: A Guidebook to C.S. Lewis's The Pilgrim's Regress by Kathryn Lindskoog
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, edited by John Clute and John Grant 
Nominees:
  • The Supernatural and English Fiction by Glen Cavaliero 
  • Lord Dunsany, Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination by S.T. Joshi 
  • Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination by Richard Mathews

1997

Adult and Children's Awards combined
Winner:  The Wood Wife by Terri Windling 
Nominees:

  • One for the Morning Glory by John Barnes 
  • Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • Fair Peril by Nancy Springer
  • The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe
Inklings Studies
Winner:  The Rhetoric of Vision: Essays on Charles Williams edited by Charles A. Huttar and Peter Schakel
Nominees:
  • The Hobbit: A Journey into Maturity by William H. Green 
  • C.S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide by Walter Hooper 
  • Charles Williams: A Celebration, edited by Brian Horne 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  When Toys Come Alive: Narratives of Animation, Metamorphosis, and Development by Lois Rostow Kuznets 
Nominees:
  • The Supernatural and English Fiction by Glen Cavaliero 
  • Lord Dunsany, Master of the Anglo-Irish Imagination by S.T. Joshi 
  • The Water of the Wondrous Isles, by William Morris, edited, with introduction, notes, and glossary, by Norman Talbot

1996

Adult
Winner:  Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand 
Nominees:

  • Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop 
  • All the Bells on Earth by James P. Blaylock
  • The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A. McKillip
  • The Dragon Path by Kenneth Morris
Children's
Winner:  The Crown of Dalemark by Diana Wynne Jones
Nominees:
  • The Boggart by Susan Cooper
  • Falcon's Egg by Luli Gray 
  • Wren's War by Sherwood Smith 
  • The Mennyms by Sylvia Waugh
Inklings Studies
Winner:  J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist & Illustrator by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull 
Nominees:
  • The Fiction of C.S. Lewis: Mask and Mirror by Kath Filmer 
  • The Hobbit: A Journey into Maturity by William H. Green 
  • C.S. Lewis: A Reference Guide, 1972-1988 by Susan Lowenberg 
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Patterning of a Fantastic World by Colin Manlove 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers by Marina Warner
Nominees:
  • T.H. White's The Once and Future King by Elisabeth Brewer 
  • The Seed and the Vision: On the Writing and Appreciation of Children's Books by Eleanor Cameron 
  • When Toys Come Alive: Narratives of Animation, Metamorphosis, and Development by Lois Rostow Kuznets

1995

Adult
Winner:  Something Rich and Strange by Patricia A. McKillip
Nominees:

  • The Dubious Hills by Pamela Dean
  • The Hollowing by Robert Holdstock
  • Temporary Agency by Rachel Pollack 
Children's
Winner:  Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl 
Nominees:
  • The Princess and the Lord of Night by Emma Bull 
  • Switching Well by Peni R. Griffin 
  • A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories by Robin McKinley
  • Good Griselle by Jane Yolen
Inklings Studies
Winner:  C.S. Lewis in Context by Doris T. Myers 
Nominees:
  • The Fiction of C.S. Lewis: Mask and Mirror by Kath Filmer 
  • J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend, introduction by Judith Priestman.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Patterning of a Fantastic World by Colin Manlove 
  • Tolkien: A Critical Assessment by Brian Rosebury
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  Old Tales and New Truths: Charting the Bright-Shadow World by James Roy King 
Nominees:
  • When Toys Come Alive: Narratives of Animation, Metamorphosis, and Development by Lois Rostow Kuznets 
  • For the Childlike: George MacDonald's Fantasies for Children, edited by Roderick McGillis
  • From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers by Marina Warner
  • Fairy Tale as Myth / Myth as Fairy Tale by Jack Zipes

1994

Adult
Winner:  The Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman
Nominees:

  • The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle 
  • The Cygnet and the Firebird by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • Deerskin by Robin McKinley
Children's
Winner:  The Kingdom of Kevin Malone by Suzy McKee Charnas
Nominees:
  • The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry 
  • Nevernever by Will Shetterly
  • Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
Inklings Studies
Winner:  J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography by Wayne G. Hammond with the assistance of Douglas A. Anderson
Nominees:
  • The Fiction of C.S. Lewis: Mask and Mirror by Kath Filmer 
  • J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend, introduction by Judith Priestman.
  • The Chronicles of Narnia: The Patterning of a Fantastic World by Colin Manlove 
  • Tolkien: A Critical Assessment by Brian Rosebury 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  Twentieth-Century Fantasists: Essays on Culture, Society, and Belief in Twentieth-Century Mythopoeic Literature, edited by Kath Filmer
Nominees:
  • The Reclamation of a Queen: Guinevere in Modern Fantasy by Barbara Ann Gordon-Wise
  • For the Childlike: George MacDonald's Fantasies for Children, edited by Roderick McGillis 
  • Off With Their Heads!: Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood by Maria Tatar

1993

Adult
Winner:  Briar Rose by Jane Yolen 
Nominees:

  • The Paper Grail by James P. Blaylock
  • Last Call by Tim Powers 
  • The Grail of Hearts by Susan Shwartz 
  • Doomsday Book by Connie Willis 
Children's
Winner:  Knight's Wyrd by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald 
Nominees:
  • The Ancient One by T.A. Barron 
  • Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Coville 
  • Hobkin by Peni R. Griffin
  • Fish Soup by Ursula K. Le Guin
Inklings Studies
Winner:  Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy by David C. Downing
Nominees:
  • J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend, introduction by Judith Priestman.
  • The Pattern in the Web: The Mythical Poetry of Charles Williams by Roma A. King, Jr. 
  • Tolkien: A Critical Assessment by Brian Rosebury 
Myth and Fantasy Studies
Winner:  Strategies of Fantasy by Brian Attebery
Nominees:
  • Witches of the Mind: A Critical Study of Fritz Leiber by Bruce Byfield 
  • Contours of the Fantastic, edited by Michele K. Lanford 

1992

Adult
Winner:  A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason 
Nominees:

  • Tam Lin by Pamela Dean 
  • Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman 
  • The Sorceress and the Cygnet by Patricia A. McKillip
  • Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper 
Children's
Winner:  Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie 
Nominees:
  • Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville 
  • Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones 
  • Elsewhere by Will Shetterly 
  • Song of the Gargoyle by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

1991

Winner:  Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner
Nominees:

  • Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
  • Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin 
  • Only Begotten Daughter by James Morrow 
  • The Books of Great Alta by Jane Yolen

1990

Winner:  The Stress of Her Regard by Tim Powers 
Nominees:

  • Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card 
  • The Changeling Sea by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy 
  • Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff

1989

Winner:  Unicorn Mountain by Michael Bishop
Nominees:

  • The Last Coin by James P. Blaylock 
  • Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card 
  • The Nightingale by Kara Dalkey 
  • The White Raven by Diana L. Paxson
  • Walkabout Woman by Michaela Roessner

1988

Winner:  Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
Nominees:

  • War for the Oaks by Emma Bull 
  • The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy 
  • Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

1987

Winner:  The Folk of the Air by Peter S. Beagle 
Nominees:

  • The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay 
  • Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee 
  • Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen

1986

Winner:  Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart 
Nominees:

  • Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly 
  • Dark of the Moon by P.C. Hodgell 
  • Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones 
  • Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Wandering Unicorn by Manuel Mujica Lainez

1985

Winner:  Cards of Grief by Jane Yolen 
Nominees:

  • Moonheart by Charles de Lint 
  • The Damiano Trilogy by R.A. McAvoy 
  • The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley 
  • The Book of Lost Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien

1984

Winner:  When Voiha Wakes by Joy Chant


1983

Winner:  The Firelings by Carol Kendall 
Nominees:

  • The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley 
  • The One Tree by Stephen R. Donaldson
  • Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings 
  • God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell 
  • The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
  • The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley 
  • Lady of Light by Diana L. Paxson 
  • The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce

1982

Winner:  Little, Big by John Crowley 
Nominees:

  • Delusion's Master by Tanith Lee
  • The Woman Who Loved the Moon by Elizabeth A. Lynn 
  • The Many-colored Land by Julian May 
  • The Sable Moon by Nancy Springer 
  • Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe

1981

Winner:  Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien 
Nominees:

  • The Grey Mane of Morning by Joy Chant 
  • The Wounded Land by Stephen R. Donaldson 
  • The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin 
  • Lion of Ireland by Morgan Llywelyn

1980

No award given


1979

No award given


1978

No award given


1977

No award given


1976

No award given


1975

Winner:  A Midsummer Tempest by Poul Anderson 
Nominees:

  • Watership Down by Richard Adams 
  • The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip 
  • Merlin's Ring by H. Warner Munn 
  • How Are the Mighty Fallen by Thomas Burnett Swann
  • Prince of Annwn by Evangeline Walton

1974

Winner:  The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart 
Nominees:

  • Hrolf Kraki's Saga by Poul Anderson
  • The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper 
  • Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal 
  • High Deryni by Katherine Kurtz

1973

Winner:  The Song of Rhiannon by Evangeline Walton 
Nominees:

  • Dancer from Atlantis by Poul Anderson 
  • Deryni Checkmate by Katherine Kurtz 
  • The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • Green Phoenix by Thomas Burnett Swann 
  • The Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny

1972

Winner:  Red Moon and Black Mountain by Joy Chant 
Nominees:

  • Grendel by John Gardner 
  • The Tsaddik of the Seven Wonders by Isidore Haiblum 
  • The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin 
  • The Corum Trilogy by Michael Moorcock 
  • The Light Maze by Joan North 
  • The Forest of Forever by Thomas Burnett Swann 
  • The Children of Llyr by Evangeline Walton

1971

Winner:  The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
Nominees:

  • The Marvellous Misadventures of Sebastian by Lloyd Alexander
  • Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz 
  • Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny


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