The David Gemmell Awards for Fantasy celebrate the finest fantasy that traditional publishing has to offer, and this year marks the 10^th anniversary of the awards. Established in memory of the late, great, big-daddy of heroic fantasy, David Gemmell, the awards showcase authors and their works from all across the globe, and across the subgenres of heroic fantasy, traditional, sword & sorcery, high and low – and most importantly, those in the spirit of Gemmell’s work.

The Gemmell Awards are broken down into the following categories, each named after one of Gemmell’s books:

• The Legend Award – Best Fantasy Novel.
• Morningstar Award – Best Debut.
• Ravenheart Award – Best Fantasy Cover Art.

Public nominations have been open since early December (before the Hive went live *ahem* so we couldn’t report on it at the time) and close on the 31st January; this means that ANYONE can nominate a book for an award. These nominations will be included with those put forward by the publishers themselves. The titles must be traditionally published by a mainstream or independent press, and have been first published in English in 2017.

Now, as we all know, an author isn’t just for Christmas – they need to be fed and watered on a steady diet of sales, rewarded with treats in the form of good reviews, and of course awarded with…well, awards! So, think back on what book(s) you’ve recently read, and if any fit the bill in terms of qualifying for an award, nominate them!

If you would like to nominate an author and their work, please email the author’s name, title and publisher to: gemmellsnominations@outlook.com

Public nominations will only be considered if they include all of the above information. At this time, the awards do not accept self-published titles. More information can be found on the main website.

The awards will be presented on the Saturday 14th July 2018 at the Edge-Lit 7 event in Derby. I for one hope to attend this year, having last made an appearance with the Fantasy Five members of the Hive last year.

Previous winners across all three awards include John Gwynne, Megan O’Keefe, Mark Lawrence, Helen Lowe, Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie and Peter Newman.

For me, the Morningstar is where it’s at. Sure, the Legend award celebrates the big daddy (or mummy) of the year, but voting on the best debut, which in turn could one day be in the running for a Legend award for the second, third, fourth book in the same series…now that’s power to the people! Because don’t forget, the winners are chosen by me, and you! Readers! Members of the public! Mere mortals amongst these fantasy deities.

Also, did I mention there’s an axe up for grabs…?