World Fantasy Awards 1976: Complete list of winners

The 1976 World Fantasy Awards cemented itself as a landmark year for genre recognition, honoring two literary titans at the height of their powers. Richard Matheson claimed Best Novel for Bid Time Return, a time-travel romance that blended the author’s signature emotional depth with fantastical elements, while Fritz Leiber—already a legend by this point—took Best Short Fiction for “Belsen Express,” a haunting piece that showcased his ability to wring profound meaning from speculative premises. These selections reflected the award’s growing reputation as a venue where literary merit and imaginative vision could coexist, distinct from the more commercially driven science fiction awards landscape of the era.

The World Fantasy Awards themselves were still relatively young in 1976, having been established just two years prior, yet they were already attracting the kind of serious attention that would build the institution into one of genre fiction’s most prestigious honors. Matheson and Leiber’s wins that year spoke to the award’s commitment to recognizing writers who elevated fantasy and speculative storytelling beyond mere adventure, infusing their work with psychological complexity and thematic resonance. The combination of Matheson’s romantic sensibility and Leiber’s darkly intellectual approach demonstrated the breadth of what the WFA was willing to celebrate—a signal of the eclecticism that would define the award’s legacy.

Below, you’ll find the complete list of 1976 World Fantasy Awards winners and honorees.

Best Novel

• Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson

Best Short Fiction

• “Belsen Express” by Fritz Leiber