2026 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature

T. Kingfisher, Snake-Eater



Mythcon...we've got to stop meeting like this. People will talk.

Seriously, though, I’m thrilled that so many of you enjoyed a weird story about an evil roadrunner god. I confess that I had no idea if anyone who didn’t live in the Southwest would enjoy it, or if they would just think, “You mean like the cartoon?” Those of us down here, however, know that roadrunners are basically small evil dinosaurs that would gladly eat us if they were bigger. It's a delight to live alongside them.

Sadly, the Inklings seem to have been silent on the topic of roadrunners. Clearly an oversight. I blame C.S. Lewis.

Thank you so much for this award, and thank you for continuing to carry on the tradition of literary scholarship begun so long ago. You are fighting the good fight and, much like roadrunners, I am so very glad you exist.

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2026 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Young Adult Literature

K. Ancrum, The Corruption of Hollis Brown (‎HarperCollins 2025)



[remarks coming soon]

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2026 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children’s Literature

Aubrey Hartman, The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest (Little, Brown 2025)



Wow! Thank you Mythopoeic Society for this incredible honor. I am very sad I’m not able to attend tonight but so grateful to accept this award. Thank you to my writers group, who have shaped every word of this story: Brittany Larsen, Tiffany Odekirk, Melanie Jacobsen, Teri Christopherson, and Jen White. Thanks to my husband, Hunter Hartman, who is my rock and cheerleader. My kids Scarlett, Asher, and Naomi for giving me the depth of soul I need in order to write for children. And THANK YOU to the readers who voted for Fox! What a dream! Thank you!

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2026 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies

Michael D.C. Drout, The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Creation (Norton 2025)



I wish I could be there with you in person, but I am on a plane to Iceland to lead a tour of Saga locations.

It was over 20 years ago that I got the shocking news that I’d won an award from the Mythopoeic society. My Aslan has had absolute pride of place on the bookshelves in my office since then, and even though I’ve been reduced to piling books on he floor, he isn’t going anywhere for one very big reason:

Back then I said that the only award worth paying attention to was one that comes from people who actually know what they are talking about. Not all opinions last 20 years, but this one has, because I now know many more people in the Mythopoeic Society than I did in 2003, and the more I met and more I worked with, the more certain I became that YOU PEOPLE REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT.

I am honored more than I can express that you chose to honor The Tower and the Ruin, so much so that I am reduced to quoting Tolkien (well, that’s not really ‘reduced’ but you get the idea): “the praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards,” and if you note that I am equating the members of the Mythopoeic Society to Sam Gamgee, you know how highly I think of you all and therefore how grateful I am for this award, which honestly could have gone to any of the finalists. Thank you very, very much!

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2026 Mythopoeic Award for Myth and Fantasy Studies

Adam Roberts, Fantasy: A Short History (Bloomsbury Academic 2025)



I am more honoured than I can say to have received this award, especially given the extraordinary strength of this year’s shortlist. Dennis Wilson’s wonderful anthology, Paul Rovang’s wide-ranging study of the dying and rising god archetype, Sophus Helle’s superb translation of Enheduana’s amazing poetry and Patrick Curry’s brilliant engagement with questions of Fantasy and enchantment are evidence of a golden age in the critical study of myth and Fantasy. To have been shortlisted in such company was honour enough; to have won the prize more than I could have expected or hoped. Thank you.