World Fantasy Awards 1998: Complete list of winners

The 1998 World Fantasy Awards cemented the year as a breakthrough moment for imaginative fiction that blurred genre boundaries and challenged conventional storytelling. Jeffrey Ford’s The Physiognomy, a darkly surreal novel set in a peculiar empire built on pseudoscience and obsession, took the top honor for Best Novel, marking Ford’s arrival as a major voice in speculative fiction. The award recognized not just adventure and world-building, but the philosophical depth and unsettling atmosphere that distinguished Ford’s work from more traditional fantasy fare.

Beyond the novel category, the 1998 World Fantasy Awards distinguished themselves by honoring stories that prioritized psychological complexity and poetic language. Richard Bowes claimed Best Novella for “Streetcar Dreams,” while P. D. Cacek won Best Short Fiction for “Dust Motes,” creating a year that seemed to reward writers willing to inhabit the stranger corners of human experience. These selections reflected the World Fantasy Awards’ long-standing commitment to recognizing excellence across all lengths of fiction, from sprawling narratives to concentrated bursts of imaginative power.

The complete list of 1998 World Fantasy Award winners showcases the range and ambition of that year’s most celebrated works:

Best Novel

• The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford

Best Novella

• “Streetcar Dreams” by Richard Bowes

Best Short Fiction

• “Dust Motes” by P. D. Cacek