The David Gemmell Legend Awards were held this Friday gone, and whilst I didn't have the pleasure or honour of attending them—next year!—I wanted to blog about them nonetheless.
The DGLA might be a pretty new thing (the 2011 awards are the 3rd run) but that’s part of their charm. At the heart of the DGLA is a simple, manifesto, if you will:
§ Raise public awareness of the Fantasy genre
§ Celebrate the history and cultural importance of Fantasy literature
§ Appreciate & reward excellence in the field
§ Commemorate the legacy of David Andrew Gemmell and his contribution to the Fantasy genre.
That aside, they’re also a pretty exciting set of awards. Aside from the Legend award itself—awarded for Best Novel—are the Morningstar and Ravenheart awards for Best Debut and Best Cover. The tickets for the awards—held at London’s Magic Circle venue—are a mere £20 (perhaps a smidgeon more next year) and therefore are an absolute steal.
This year, the finalists looked something like this:
LEGEND AWARD FOR BEST FANTASY NOVEL
BRETT, Peter V - The Desert Spear (Voyager)HEITZ, Markus - The War of the Dwarves (Orbit UK/US)
JORDAN, Robert and SANDERSON, Brandon - Wheel of Time: Towers of Midnight (Orbit UK/Tor US)
PEVEL, Pierre - The Alchemist in the Shadows (Gollancz)
SANDERSON, Brandon - The Way of Kings (Gollancz/Tor US) (WINNER)
WEEKS, Brent - The Black Prism (Orbit UK/US)
MORNINGSTAR AWARD FOR BEST DEBUTHINKS, Darius - Warrior Priest (The Black Library) (WINNER)
JEMISIN, N.K. - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Orbit UK/US)
PEHOV, Alexey - Shadow Prowler (Tor US)
VICTORIA, Mary - Tymon’s Flight (HarperCollins Australia)
RAVENHEART AWARD FOR BEST COVER
EINARSDOTTIR, Olof Erla - Power & Majesty (WINNER)LOCKWOOD, Todd - The Ragged Man (Pyr)
NIELSEN, Cliff - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
SULLIVAN, Jon - Shadow King (The Black Library)
VICTORIA, Frank - Tymon’s Flight (HarperCollins Australia)
The winners of each category are emboldened, highlighted, and otherwise made to look pretty in the lists above. Honestly, I was rooting for Blake Charlton's Spellwright to win the Morningstar, and Brent Weeks' The Black Prism for the Legend award itself. As for the Ravenheart, I'll be honest: the winner, by far (and yes, I did vote!) should have been the art for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It's a beautiful, stunning cover. A few people have voiced their disbelief at what actually won, and I don't blame them, considering what else was nominated. Still, credit to who won.
The full lists are available on the DGLA website.
No comments:
Post a Comment