And the BFS 2011 Award Winners are... (UPDATED)

I notice over at Ginger Nuts' blog that the British Fantasy Award winners for 2011 have been chosen (thanks Jim!). As seems to be more and more the case, they're dominated by horror. You can see the full list here, so I'll only comment on the ones I care about most.

Best Novel: Demon Dance by Sam Stone

I have to say, this one is a bit of surprise. First of all, it bet strong contenders by some very worthy authors: Adam Nevill’s Apartment 16, Gary McMahon’s Pretty Little Dead Things and Graham Joyce’s The Silent Land. And I hear Tom Fletcher’sThe Leaping is the bee's knees as well.
Not only that, but it's the third in an ongoing Vampire series (called "Vampire Gene", good grief). Hmmm. On the face of it, not the sort of thing I'd go anywhere near, but maybe I should reserve judgement until I've tried it.

Best Collection:  Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

 

A deserved win - King is back to full powers with this collection of novellas. It's good enough that I forgive them for including a bonus story in the cheaper mass market paperback version. After making what they could off the bigger fans who bought the more expensive versions, of course. (Okay, maybe I still have issues)

If you bought this one, you bought the wrong one, muggins

Best Anthology: Back from the Dead: The Legacy of the Pan Book of Horror Stories by Johnny Mains (ed.)

I've heard good things about this one. I'm a big fan of The Pan Book of Horror Stories, as the stack of volumes in my bookcase is a testament to. Many hours were spent in my formative years either reading it or hunting for old volumes in second hand bookshops. I really wish Back from the Dead had been more available to broke foreigners like myself... (is there an ebook?)

Other awards include Black Static getting best magazine (which I totally agree with), and Simon Clark getting Best Novella. Which reminds me I haven't read Simon Clark, an old favourite, in simply ages. Must fix that.

UPDATE:

What would the BFS be without a bit of controversy, eh? Accusations of sexism, arguments about overdone campaigning resulting in "less worthy" authors winning...

Now there is a bit of shamozzle about an apparent conflict of interest. More specifically, publishing endeavours the chairman has a stake in got a significant number of the awards, and the winner of "best novel" is the partner of the chairman. Oh dear. Even if it is all innocent, didn't they think someone would make comment?

And at least one person has. Read Stephen Jones' damning report, titled "Putting the 'Con' into FantasyCon", right here. Sam Stone has since indicated that she will be handing back her award.