Balrog Award
The Balrog Award was a literary prize that was awarded from 1979 to 1985 for works from the field of fantasy and science fiction . The prize was awarded by the International Fantasy Gamers Society from 1979 to 1982 at the Foolcon Fantasy Convention at Johnson County Comminity College in Overland Park , Kansas , in early April (April 1st is April Fools' Day ) based on a vote. The name of the award refers to the Balrog , a mythical demon from the works of JRR Tolkien . The award was never taken completely seriously, which is why people often ironically talked about the Coveted Balrog Awards , the “coveted Balrog awards”. The reason for this may be that a very manageable number of voters gave prizes in numerous categories, that the prize was named after a monster, or the connection of the voting date with April Fools' jokes .
The Balrog Award was given in the following categories:
- novel - novel
- short fiction / short story - short story
- collection / anthology - collection / anthology
- poet - lyric
- artist - artist
- amateur publication - fanzine
- professional publication - Prozine
- amateur achievement - special achievement (amateur)
- professional achievement - special achievement (professional)
- sf film hall of fame - Science fiction film (Hall of Fame)
- fantasy film hall of fame - Fantasy film (Hall of Fame,)
- judges' choice - jury award
- special award - Special Price
The prizes for novel, short story and collection / anthology were awarded for works published in the previous year. The Hall of Fame prizes for science fiction and fantasy films were awarded retrospectively, meaning that the works awarded were usually older.
List of award winners
- novel
- 1985: David Brin : The Practice Effect
- 1984: George RR Martin : The Armageddon Rag
- 1983: Stephen R. Donaldson : The One Tree
- 1982: Katherine Kurtz : Camber the Heretic
- 1981: Stephen R. Donaldson : The Wounded Land
- 1980: Anne McCaffrey : Dragondrums
- 1979: Tom Reamy : Blind Voices
- Short story
- 1985: Patricia A. McKillip : A Troll and Two Roses
- 1984: John Morressy : Wizard Goes A-Courtin '
- 1983: George Clayton Johnson : All of Us Are Dying
- 1982: CJ Cherryh : A Thief in Korianth
- 1981: Richard Cowper : The Web of the Magi
- 1980: Roger Zelazny : The Last Defender of Camelot
- 1979: Pat Cadigan : Death from Exposure
- Collection / anthology
- 1985: Stephen R. Donaldson : Daughter of Regals and Other Tales
- 1984: Roger Zelazny : Unicorn Variations
- 1983: Robert Lynn Asprin (Ed.): Storm Season
- 1982: Robert Lynn Asprin (Ed.): Shadows of Sanctuary
- 1981: JRR Tolkien , edited by Christopher Tolkien : Unfinished Tales
- 1980: Stephen King : Night Shift
- 1979: Phyllis Eisenstein : Born to Exile
- Poetry
- 1985: Ardath Mayhar
- 1984: Frederick J. Mayer
- 1983: Frederick J. Mayer
- 1982: Frederick J. Mayer
- 1981: H. Warner Munn
- 1980: H. Warner Munn
- 1979: Ray Bradbury
- Artist
- 1985: Richard Pini & Wendy Pini
- 1984: Real Musgrave
- 1983: Tim Hildebrandt
- 1982: Real Musgrave
- 1981: Frank Frazetta
- 1980: Michael Whelan
- 1979: Tim Kirk
- Fanzine
- 1985: Eldritch Tales
- 1984: Fantasy Newsletter
- 1983: Shayol
- 1982: Eldritch Tales
- 1981: Fantasy Newsletter
- 1980: Fantasy Newsletter
- 1979: Shayol
- Prozine
- 1985: Masques , JN Williamson
- 1984: F&SF
- 1983: F&SF
- 1982: Omni
- 1981: F&SF
- 1980: Omni
- 1979: Age of Dreams , Alicia Austin
- special performance (amateur)
- 1985: David B. Silva, for The Horror Show
- 1984: Stan Gardner, for saving the Balrogs
- 1983: Allan Bechtold, for SF workshops
- 1982: Robert A. Collins, for saving the Fantasy Newsletter
- 1981: Paul C. Allen & Susan Allen, for the Fantasy Newsletter
- 1980: Paul C. Allen, for the Fantasy Newsletter and Of Swords and Sorcery
- 1979: Paul C. Allen, for the Fantasy Newsletter and Of Swords and Sorcery
- special performance (professional)
- 1985: Hap Henriksen , for the National SF / Fantasy Hall of Fame
- 1984: Pendragon Gallery , for supporting fantasy art
- 1983: Ben Bova , as the author and editor of Omni and Analog
- 1982: George Lucas
- 1982: Steven Spielberg
- 1981: George Lucas , for his work, particularly the Star Wars saga
- 1980: Anne McCaffrey
- 1979: JRR Tolkien / Donald M. Grant
- Science Fiction Film (Hall of Fame)
- 1985: ET the Extraterrestrial
- 1985: Starman
- 1984: Blade Runner
- 1983: The Day the Earth Stood Still
- 1982: Forbidden Planet
- 1981: The Empire Strikes Back
- 1980: 2001: A Space Odyssey / Star Wars
- Fantasy film (Hall of Fame)
- 1985: Raiders of the Lost Ark
- 1984: Bambi
- 1983: The Dark Crystal
- 1982: King Kong
- 1981: The Wizard of Oz
- 1980: Fantasia
- Jury Prize
- 1984: Mercer Mayer, for teaching fantasy art to children
- 1982: Leo Dillon & Diane Dillon
- 1979: Jonathan Bacon, for Fantasy Crossroads
- 1979: Andre Norton , for life's work
- Special Price
- 1985: Lester del Rey
- 1983: Kirby McCauley
- 1981: Jorge Luis Borges
- 1981: Fritz Leiber
- 1980: Ian Ballantine & Betty Ballantine
Web links
- Balrog Awards , entry in the Science Fiction Awards + Database (English)
- Balrog Award , overview in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)
- Coveted Balrog Award , entry in Fancyclopedia 3 (English)