2025 BAEN FANTASY ADVENTURE AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
Annual contest continues to highlight new names and big adventures in the fantasy genre—with entries from all around the world!
RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, July 9, 2025—Baen Books formally announced this year’s finalists for the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award today.
First launched in 2014, the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award has sought to celebrate original fantasy short stories which, despite coming from a range of fantasy subgenres from sword and sorcery to urban fantasy, focus on heroics, high stakes, and adventure.
Judges for the award were four members of the editorial staff of Baen Books, as well as special guest judge Kacey Ezell, and all entries were judged anonymously. The contest occurs annually and looks for original fantasy short stories that range in style from epic fantasy, heroic fantasy, sword and sorcery, and urban fantasy. This year, the contest drew entrants from 37 different countries from around the world.
“As in previous years, we enjoyed a wide range of fantasy subgenres in the finalists, from steampunk to Japanese-inspired, from traditional to urban fantasy, all told with skill and verve,” said Baen publisher Toni Weisskopf.
“This year's stories really showcased the broad spectrum of Baen Fantasy,” special guest judge and author of Magelight, Kacey Ezell, added. “I read everything from gritty urban magic to epic journeys in faraway lands. They all gave me that sense of wonder and adventure that is Baen's hallmark. Congratulations to all of the finalists!”
The finalists for the 2025 Baen Fantasy Adventure Award are:
“A Game with Death” by Kathleen Powell
“A Good Demon Hunter is Hard to Find” by Martina Anders
“Gilded Dead” by April Pereira
“Personal Demons” by Alex Minns
“Staying Afloat” by Arthur H. Manners
“The Golem and The Goose” by Tony Robusto
“The Old Knight” by Jeremy Zentner
“The Teacher” by Sarah Hozumi
“The Void Within” by Tyler Bourassa
“Traitor to the Wolfguard’s Creed” by Gideon P. Smith
This year’s winner will be announced and honored at the Baen Books Traveling Roadshow at Dragoncon 2025, in Atlanta, GA on Aug. 28 – Sept. 1, 2025. In addition to the award and the trophy, the winning story will be published at Baen.com and the author paid professional rates.
Past winners of the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award have gone on to further career successes. The 2020 winner G. Scott Huggins later also won the Jim Baen Memorial Award, and the 2021 winner M. Elizabeth Ticknor went on to win Writers of the Future.
Baen Books is known for its New York Times bestselling science fiction and fantasy, including David Weber’s Honor Harrington series, Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire alternate histories, Larry Correia’s Monster Hunter International urban fantasies, and Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric stories. Baen’s physical books are distributed by Simon & Schuster, while their Ebooks are sold via numerous venues, including their own website.
For more information, visit Baen.com, visit info@baen.com, or call 1-800-ITS-BAEN.
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