International Fantasy Award
Given from 1951–57, the IFA was an international award, though it seemed to be primarily British, for excellence within the sf/fantasy field, and a precursor of the Hugo Award. It was created and promoted by John Wyndham, Frank Cooper, G. Ken Chapman and Leslie Flood.
The first awards were first made at the 1951 Eastercon, the Festivention, held in London and named after the then-current Festival of Britain. Like most modern literary prizes, the IFA was awarded by a panel of selected experts in the field.
Ted Carnell reported in Bloomington News Letter (July 1951):
Highlight of this largest - ever British gathering was a surprise award promulgated by the London Circle for the best fiction book and best technical book of 1950. The panel of critics chose George R. Stewart's EARTH ABIDES (Random House) for fiction, and Willy Ley & Chesley Bonestell's CONQUEST OF SPACE (Viking Press) for the technical award. Forrest Ackerman accepted the two awards on behalf of his countrymen. The awards, conceived only two weeks prior to the convention, went on the drawing board immediately and a twelve-inch spaceship taken from the Bonestell design on the February 1951 GALAXY cover has been approved; It will be mounted on an oak base complete with ornate lighter. Actual awards will be fashioned of heavy chrome for the fiction class, and bronze for the technical. Owing to the shortage of time, exact replicas were used in place of the models — not expected to be ready for some weeks. It is intended that these awards will be made annually, and planned to embrace other fields of science-fiction, including the films. A special Fantasy Fund Award has been opened whereby any one may donate. At present, the Award Fund Committee are using the Nova Publications address.
The award continued — never wholly embedded into British fandom — until 1957. The last winner was J. R. R. Tolkien, for Lord of the Rings. The award was presented at a special meeting of the SF Luncheon Club held during the period of the Loncon, the 1957 Worldcon in London. The presentation was not open to the general membership of the convention.
Greg Pickersgill comments: "It is said that the IFA was never designed to be a 'popular' award, in the sense that it was the judgement of the masses that counted, and while there is a lot to be said in favor of the 'informed expert committee' approach one wonders with hindsight whether that did not in fact lead to the award's demise, as there seems to have been little popular support or even interest in it from the general population of British fandom or the wider sf-reading community. The fact that the awards were presented at closed invitation-only events may well have alienated many science-fiction enthusiasts of the day."
Members of the judges panel included: J. M. Walsh, John Carnell, Walter Gillings, Walter A. Willis, Fred C. Brown, Georges Gallet, Theodore Maslowski, Anthony Boucher, J. Francis McComas, Everett F. Bleiler, Groff Conklin, Basil Davenport, August Derleth, Judith Merril, Sigvard Östlund, John Beynon Harris, Wilson Tucker, Willy Ley. Not all of them served every year, and they were recused in years when they had an eligible work.
- Historical article.
- Reports in Bloomington News Letter (July 1951).
| Year | Fiction | Non-fiction |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Earth Abides by George R. Stewart | The Conquest of Space by Willy Ley and Chesley Bonestell |
| 1952 | Fancies And Goodnights by John Collier | The Exploration of Space by Arthur C. Clarke |
| 1953 | City by Clifford D. Simak | Lands Beyond by L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley |
| 1954 | More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon | not awarded |
| 1955 | A Mirror for Observers by Edgar Pangborn | not awarded |
| 1956 | not awarded | |
| 1957 | Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien | not awarded |
| Award | 1951—1957 |
| This is an award page. If you know something about it, such as who awarded it, who the winners were, what the criteria were, and when it was awarded, please add it! See Standards for Awards. |
