“Eurocons are a very good way of sampling other nations’ SF communities as well as seeing different countries. They also make for great mini-holidays.” – Roberto Quaglia
The European Science Fiction Society’s 2026 Awards, announced at EUROCON/Metropol Con in Berlin, arrived as they always do—amid fanfare, applause, and the quiet, gnawing dissonance of a continent that has long pretended it speaks with one voice.
The winners — Luís Filipe Silva for Best Author, Marco Passarello for Best Written Work of Fiction (Tecnologie del Futuro), Stéphanie Hans for Best Artist, Supernova for Best Magazine, Ohneohren for Best Publisher, Artur Coelho for Best Internet Publication (Intergalactic Robot), Francesco Verso for Best Promoter, Mariano Martin Rodriguez for Best Translator, Thomas Recktenwald as European Grandmaster — are names that, for a fleeting moment, seem to bind Europe together in a shared celebration of imagination.
The 2026 edition, however, did more than merely honor individual achievements; it laid bare the continent’s deepest contradictions, its most persistent imbalances, and, perhaps, its most stubborn hopes.
Yet beneath the surface, the awards reveal a truth far less flattering:
Europe’s science fiction landscape is not a tapestry, but a patchwork of isolated islands, each convinced of its own uniqueness, each drowning in the shadow of the Anglo-Saxon leviathan.
The Disproportionate Scale of Things
From the outset, the ESFS Awards exist in a world of stark imbalance.
Europe’s editorial map is a study in contrast.
Of the continent’s forty-four national markets, only thirty to thirty-two boast an active SFF segment—defined by local authors published annually, relevant print runs, functional fandoms, specialized publishers or dedicated collections, reciprocal translations, and a presence at conventions like Eurocon, Worldcon, Utopiales, or Celsius 232 festival.
The remaining twelve to fourteen markets relegate SFF to the margins, their output sporadic or nonexistent.
At the summit stand the strongholds: fifteen to eighteen markets where SFF thrives.
Western and Northern Europe dominate here, while Central and Eastern Europe claim their own robust traditions.
Then there are the middle tier: twelve to fourteen markets where SFF persists in a more modest form.
At the bottom, ten to twelve markets offer little to no SFF infrastructure.
On one side, then, stand the giants—nations with publishing industries worth billions, where SFF segments alone generate hundreds of millions.
On the other side are the smaller nations, where SFF is a niche within a niche, a whisper in a room full of louder conversations.
Their markets are measured in the tens of thousands, their budgets modest, their reach confined by borders that are as linguistic as they are geographical.
Yet the divide is not merely economic.
The East, in particular, faces systemic barriers to cultural export—economic constraints, linguistic isolation, and a lack of marketing networks.
The West’s dominance is not only a matter of scale, but of access, of the ability to place a book in a reader’s hands halfway across the continent without losing its essence in translation or its appeal in promotion.
And then there are the cultural differences.
Western European SFF often embraces the experimental, the progressive, the boundary-pushing.
In contrast, some Eastern European traditions remain deeply rooted in a conservative ethos, where science fiction is as much about preserving identity as it is about exploring the future.
The Myth of a Unified Market
Europe, for all its political and economic integration, remains a continent of fragments when it comes to culture.
There is no pan-European market for speculative fiction.
There are thirty two national markets, each with its own gatekeepers, its own tastes, its own barriers.
The true lingua franca of European SFF is not German, or French, or Italian or Spanish — it is English.
And not just any English, but the English of the American publishing juggernaut.
This is the great paradox of European speculative fiction: a continent that prides itself on its linguistic diversity, its rich tapestry of cultures, has surrendered its internal conversations to a single, dominant tongue.
The 2026 ESFS Awards: A Mirror to Europe’s Fragmented Soul
The 2026 ESFS Awards, then, are more than a celebration.
They are a cartography of Europe’s SFF landscape, a map drawn not in ink but in the winners and nominees themselves.
The Achievement Awards reveal a continent where excellence is as diverse as it is dispersed.
„Tecnologie del Futuro” (Future Technology), edited by Marco Passarello, takes Best Written Work of Fiction for Italy, a nation with a storied SFF tradition yet often overshadowed by its Western neighbors.
The Best Work of Art goes to France, DOFRESH’s cover for “La Vie secrète des robots” (The Secret Life of Robots by Suzanne Palmer) —a nod to the country’s enduring influence in visual storytelling.
Ukraine, a nation whose SFF scene has flourished despite political and cultural upheaval, claims both Best Dramatic Presentation with the 2024 SF flim “U Are the Universe” (Ти — космос /Ty – Cosmos) and Best Event with “All Mor” (Аль Мор) 2025, a testament to the resilience and creativity of its fandom.
Ireland’s fannish Journey Planet #93 wins Best Fanzine, Poland’s Fantastyczne Smoki takes Best Work for Children, and Portugal shines in both Best Internet Publication (Intergalactic Robot by Artur Coelho) and Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel (Tales from Nevermore by Pedro Nascimento and Manuel Monteiro).
The Hall of Fame Awards further illustrate this dispersion.
Luís Filipe Silva’s victory as Best Author for Portugal is a rare moment of recognition for a nation whose SFF scene, while vibrant, is often invisible beyond its borders.
Stéphanie Hans, France’s Best Artist, represents a country where SFF is both commercially successful and culturally respected.
Austria’s Ohneohren as Best Publisher highlights the role of smaller, independent presses in nurturing diverse voices.
Francesco Verso, Italy’s Best Promoter, is a figure who has long advocated for cross-cultural dialogue in SFF, while Slovenia’s Supernova magazine, a winner in a category dominated by larger markets, underscores the potential for smaller nations to punch above their weight.
The Best Translator award, won by Mariano Martin Rodriguez (nominated by the Republic of Moldova), is particularly symbolic—it is a reminder that the bridges between Europe’s SFF communities are often built by individuals laboring in the shadows, translating not just words but entire worlds.
These awards, then, are not just accolades.
They are a challenge to the continent’s own self-perception.
They ask: If Europe’s SFF is so rich, so diverse, so good, why does it remain so invisible to itself?
The winners of 2026 are a microcosm of the continent’s potential—Ukraine’s dramatic presentations, Portugal’s comics, Slovenia’s magazines, Austria’s publishers.
Yet their victories also highlight the fragility of this ecosystem.
For every Supernova or All Mor, there are a dozen magazines, conventions, and authors that remain unknown outside their home countries.
The Babel of European Fandom
The European SFF fandom is not a monolith.
It is a constellation of isolated communities, each orbiting its own sun.
Only sixteen European countries submitted nominations for the Eurocon Awards this year — Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
But why are so many nations with strong SFF traditions missing?
Where are Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Baltic states, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary — and, not least, Greece?
The fans in these communities speak of diversity, of the need to break free from the hegemony of the Anglo-Saxon canon.
And yet, when it comes to spending their money, to devoting their time, they turn, almost instinctively, to the familiar.
There is a bitter irony here.
The same fans who bemoan the fact that American readers ignore their homegrown geniuses are often the first to dismiss the works of their neighbors.
Each nation clings to the belief that its own science fiction is unique, profound, world-class—a belief that, in its very insularity, reveals itself to be a form of provincialism.
And yet, there is a real frustration among the smaller fandoms, a sense of invisibility that gnaws at the edges of their pride.
This is where the ESFS Awards, the Eurocons, the annual gatherings of the continent’s most passionate fans and creators, can play a role.
The 2026 awards, with their geographic spread, suggest that change is possible.
If a Slovenian magazine can win Best Magazine, if a Ukrainian convention can be named Best Event, if a Portuguese author can be crowned Best Author, then perhaps the system is not as rigid as it seems.
Perhaps these platforms can, however modestly, tilt the scales toward a more balanced representation.
The Reality Check
The numbers do not lie.
The French do not buy German science fiction.
The Germans do not seek out French authors.
The Italians do not stock their shelves with Romanian SF novels.
The Spanish publishing world is largely oriented toward its own linguistic universe and the broader Hispanosphere, which includes Latin America. With the exception of major Anglo‑American bestsellers, it shows limited interest in the rest of Europe — with one notable exception: Mariano Martín Rodríguez.
And yet, all of them, without exception, will devour the latest American bestseller.
This is not a failure of curiosity. It is a failure of infrastructure, of will, of a shared vision that has never truly existed.
The 2026 ESFS Awards, for all their good intentions, cannot bridge this divide.
They can only highlight it.
The winners—whether it is Luís Filipe Silva or Stéphanie Hans or Supernova—are celebrated, but their celebration is a solitary one.
Their work may be translated, may be nominated, may even win, but it will not break the cycle.
The ESFS Awards—once intended as a pan‑European recognition of artistic merit—have devolved into a ritual dominated by informal alliances, personal networks, and the contingent dynamics of whoever happens to be present in the room.
Delegates negotiate outcomes based on familiarity, convenience, or national favoritism, not on any shared evaluative criteria.
The nomination process is equally compromised: when a single association in each country controls the pipeline, the list inevitably reflects internal loyalties and favoritism rather than national excellence.
What should have been a celebration of Europe’s creative diversity has become a parochial exercise in clientelism.
The irony is that none of this is malicious.
It is simply the predictable result of an organization that no longer organizes, an European SF society that no longer has a society, and a leadership structure that has become ceremonial rather than functional.
ESFS has not been captured by bad actors; it has been abandoned by its own inertia, leaving a vacuum that enthusiastic fans naturally filled.
But fandom, for all its passion, cannot substitute for a professional framework when the goal is to award continental recognition.
The result is a system that feels improvised, inconsistent, and increasingly irrelevant to the broader European SFF community.
A path forward does exist, and it begins with acknowledging the gap between the ESFS’s symbolic authority and its practical inactivity.
If the organization wishes to reclaim legitimacy, it must institute clear, transparent, value‑based criteria for nominations and awards—criteria that reflect artistic merit, innovation, cultural impact, and professional achievement.
It must also replace the delegate‑based voting system with a structure that reflects the scale and diversity of European fandom.
A pan‑European independent jury, composed of critics, editors, translators, and scholars, would restore professionalism.
Alternatively, a direct vote by registered European SFF fans on the ESFS website would democratize the process and anchor it in genuine community engagement.
Either model would be a dramatic improvement over the current system, which relies on the happenstance of who can attend a meeting and who can negotiate most effectively in the hallway.
By embracing modern, transparent, and merit‑driven mechanisms, ESFS could transform itself from a hollow institution into a meaningful cultural steward.
Europe’s speculative tradition deserves a pan-european award system that reflects its richness, ambition, and diversity.
Reforming the ESFS Awards is not merely an administrative necessity; it is an opportunity to restore dignity, relevance, and purpose to an organization that once aspired to champion the best of European imagination.
The European Science Fiction Society has long presented itself as a custodian of continental speculative creativity, yet its awards have increasingly drifted into a symbolic space that feels disconnected from the actual vibrancy of European SFF.
The situation in 2026, has once again highlighted a structural fragility that can no longer be ignored.
The organization’s public posture resembles an empty shell: it assumes no real responsibility, it organizes no independent activities, it cultivates no active membership, and it operates through a leadership structure that appears ceremonial rather than functional.
In such conditions, the awards inevitably lose cultural weight, not because European creators lack merit, but because the mechanism meant to celebrate them has ceased to reflect the breadth and diversity of the community it claims to represent.
The controversies surrounding the voting system are not the product of malice but of outdated design.
When winners are chosen exclusively by national delegates physically present at a business meeting, the process becomes vulnerable to the dynamics of small-group politics.
Alliances form spontaneously, lobbying becomes decisive, and the outcome reflects the interpersonal choreography of a convention hall rather than the collective judgment of Europe’s readers, writers, editors, artists, and fans.
The nomination pipeline suffers from the same structural narrowness: when a single association in each country controls the official channel to ESFS, the list of candidates inevitably mirrors the internal preferences of that association, not the full spectrum of national creativity.
It is no surprise that many within the European SF community have come to view the awards as a diplomatic gesture exchanged among clubs rather than a meaningful evaluation of artistic achievement.
None of these issues are insurmountable, and none require dismantling the ESFS.
What they require is the courage to acknowledge that the organization’s current framework no longer serves its stated mission.
A constructive reform would begin by instituting clear, transparent, value-based criteria for both nomination and selection.
Instead of relying on opaque internal submissions, ESFS could adopt a system in which creators, publishers, and fan communities may submit works according to publicly defined standards of eligibility and quality.
Such criteria would not constrain creativity; they would simply ensure that every nomination is grounded in merit rather than proximity to a so-called „national committee”.
The second and more transformative step would be to replace the delegate-based voting system with a mechanism that reflects the scale and diversity of European fandom.
One option is the creation of an independent pan‑European jury composed of critics, editors, scholars, translators, and professionals whose expertise spans multiple languages and traditions.
Another option, equally viable, is to open voting to registered European SFF fans through the ESFS website, ensuring that the awards reflect the enthusiasm and judgment of the community itself.
Either model would restore legitimacy, transparency, and cultural relevance, while eliminating the perception that the awards are decided in a closed room by a handful of representatives.
Such reforms would not diminish the ESFS; they would revitalize it.
They would transform the organization from a passive custodian into an active cultural institution, one that embraces its responsibility to celebrate excellence rather than merely ratify the decisions of a small circle of delegates.
Europe’s speculative tradition is rich, multilingual, and fiercely imaginative.
It deserves an award system that matches its ambition.
By adopting value‑based criteria and a modern, democratic selection process, the ESFS could finally become what it has always aspired to be: a genuine voice for European science fiction and fantasy, respected not for its history but for its integrity.
Pan‑European literary awards, if they are to mean anything, must transcend the polite symbolism of continental representation and become instruments of genuine cultural recognition.
Relevance in this context cannot be measured by ceremony alone; it must be measured by consequence — by the way a prize amplifies a writer’s voice, increases readership, and transforms visibility into tangible success.
Across Europe, national SFF awards already fulfill this role with far greater impact.
The British, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, etc. SFF prizes have established reputations that translate directly into sales, translations, and international attention. They are embedded in professional ecosystems of publishers, critics, and readers who respond to the authority of the award with curiosity and trust.
In contrast, a pan‑European SF prize that lacks this infrastructure risks becoming a decorative gesture — a title without resonance, a certificate without consequence.
If the ESFS Awards do not generate readership, do not influence publishers, and do not elevate the careers of their recipients, then their purpose becomes purely ceremonial, rewarding not achievement but participation. They cease to be instruments of cultural validation and instead become mirrors for the vanity of small fandom circles that mistake internal recognition for continental relevance.
The true mission of a European SF award should be to unite the fragmented literary landscapes of the continent, to highlight works that cross linguistic and cultural boundaries, and to create a shared canon of speculative imagination that belongs to Europe as a whole.
Without that ambition — without the capacity to shape discourse, to inspire translation, and to affect the market — such prizes remain hollow.
They reward the illusion of unity rather than the reality of influence, celebrating the persistence of nostalgia instead of the vitality of creation.
But I fear that none of this will ever come to pass, and that the slow and aged carousel of SF convention tourism will keep turning in the same weary rhythm — a ritual of nostalgia for the aging fans of the 1980s and 1990s who still wander from Eurocon to Eurocon, clutching the fading emblems of a golden age that no longer exists.
The ESFS, instead of renewing itself, risks becoming a museum of its own memories, a gathering of ghosts who once dreamed of the future but now merely reenact it.
As the years advance and the generation that built the fandom fades away, the organization may dissolve not in scandal or revolution, but in silence — a quiet disappearance into the cosmic background of history, leaving behind only the echo of what it might have been.
The Complex of Inferiority
There is, among European fans and creators, a peculiar kind of cognitive dissonance.
On the one hand, there is the insistence that European speculative fiction is the equal of the American one.
On the other, there is the unspoken acknowledgment that the American model is the one to follow.
Europe does not create; it consumes. It does not lead; it follows.
This is not to say that there is no innovation, no originality.
The winners of the 2026 ESFS Awards are proof that there is talent, that there are voices worth hearing.
But these voices are too often confined to their own echo chambers, their impact diluted by the simple fact that they do not—cannot—compete on a level playing field.
The Grand Illusion and the Flicker of Hope
The greatest illusion of European science fiction is that it is, in any meaningful sense, European.
The truth is that it is a collection of national literatures, each with its own traditions, its own audience, its own struggles.
The ESFS Awards attempt to weave these threads together, but the fabric is too thin, the stitches too loose.
And so the cycle continues.
The awards are handed out.
The winners are applauded.
The fans return to their corners of the internet, to their favorite forums, to their national conversations.
The Anglo-Saxon wave rolls on, unstoppable, and Europe—fragmented, proud, and ultimately powerless—watches it pass by, content to believe in its own genius, even as the world moves on without it.
Yet the 2026 ESFS Awards offer a glimmer of something else.
In the diversity of its winners—from Portugal to Ukraine from Ireland to the Republic of Moldova—there is a suggestion that Europe’s SFF scene is not doomed to remain a collection of isolated islands.
The awards do not solve the continent’s problems, but they do something just as important: they force Europe to confront its own fragmentation.
They ask, implicitly, whether the continent’s SFF communities can ever truly see each other, or if they are destined to remain, as they have for so long, genial in their own bubbles, colonized by the Anglo-Saxon tide.
The answer remains unclear. But the question, at least, has been asked.
2026 Eurocon Awards, Metropolcon, Berlin: A video by the Bulgarian astronomer & SF fan Valentin D. Ivanov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcr-7k2eveE
2026 ESFS Awards Winners
The European Science Fiction Society (ESFS) announced the Hall of Fame Awards, Achievement Awards, and winners of the Chrysalis Awards for emerging talent.
The Hall of Fame Awards winners are:
Best Author
- WINNER: Luís Filipe Silva (Portugal)
Nominations
- Christian Léourier (France)
- Michael Marrak (Germany)
- Alessandro Forlani (Italy)
- Ruth Frances Long (Ireland)
- Marc Elsberg (Austria)
- Luís Filipe Silva (Portugal)
- Cosimo Suglia (Luxembourg)
- Agnieszka Hałas (Poland)
- Ondřej Neff (Czech Republic)
- Julija Lukovnjak (Slovenia)
- Emil Minchev (Bulgaria)
- Dănuț Ungureanu (Romania)
- Volodymyr Yeshkiliev / Володимир Єшкілє (Ukraine)
Best Artist
- WINNER: Stéphanie Hans (France)
Nominations
- Adrian van Schwamen (Germany)
- Lucrezia Viperina (Italy)
- Luis Louro (Portugal)
- Maya Hahto (Finland)
- Mikuláš Podprocký (Czech Republic)
- Mojca Poljanc (Slovenia)
- Valentin Tănase (Romania)
- Daniel Atanasov-Satanasov (Bulgaria)
- Andriy Lesiv & Romana Romanyshyn /Андрій Лесів&Романа Романишин (Ukraine)
Best Magazine
- WINNER: Supernova (Slovenia)
Nominations
- Exodus (Germany)
- Le Rocambole (France)
- Parsec (UK)
- Hypnos (Italy)
- Tähtivaeltaja (Finland)
- Dangan (Portugal)
- Helion (Romania)
- Agamor Gamebooks Magazine (Bulgaria)
Best Publisher
- WINNER: Ohneohren (Austria)
Nominations
- Newcon Press (UK)
- Carcosa (Germany)
- Critic (France)
- Zona 42 (Italy)
- The O’Brien Press (Ireland)
- Editorial Divergência (Portugal)
- Jakub Němeček (Czech Republic)
- Cristian PlusArt (Romania)
- Orange Books (Bulgaria)
- Vivat Publishing (Ukraine)
Best Promoter
- WINNER: Francesco Verso (Italy)
- Nominations
- Alain Grousset (France)
- Klaudia Seibel (Germany)
- Helmuth W. Mommers (Austria)
- Francesco Verso (Italy)
- Jo Zebedee (Ireland)
- Afonso Cruz (Portugal)
- Karo Leikomaa (Finland)
- Science Fiction & Fantasy Society Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
- Václav Pravda (Czech Republic)
- Bojan Ekselenski (Slovenia)
- Cornel Secu (Romania)
- Prez 9 Zemi [Through Nine Lands] team (Bulgaria)
- Dmytro aka Khajiit (Ukraine)
Best Translator
- WINNER: Mariano Martin Rodriguez (Spain, nominated by the Republic of Moldova)
Nominations
- Austin Wagner (UK)
- Gilles Goullet (France)
- Karin Will (Germany)
- Andrea Cassini (Italy)
- Teresa Fernandes Swiatkiewicz (Portugal)
- Ursula Phillips (Poland)
- Pavel Bakič (Czech Republic)
- Sergej Hvala (Slovenia)
- Ana-Veronica Mircea (Romania)
- Mariano Martin Rodriguez (Moldova)
- Emil Minchev (Bulgaria)
- Bohdan Stasiuk / Богдан Стасюк (Ukraine)
Thomas Recktenwald (Germany) was honored as European Grandmaster.
The Achievement Awards winners are:
Best Written Work of Fiction
- WINNER: Tecnologie del Futuro, Marco Passarello, ed. (Italy)
Nominations
- When There Are Wolves Again, E.J. Swift (UK)
- Sintonia, Audrey Pleynet (France)
- Wolfszone, Christian Endres (Germany)
- Das zweigeteilte All, Ralph Alexander Neumüller (Austria)
- The Sword Triumphant, Gareth Hanrahan (Ireland)
- Será de Madrugada, Raquel Fontão (Portugal)
- Lumenlaulaja, Emmi Itäranta (Finland)
- Roserei, Cosimo Suglia (Luxembourg)
- Metamorf, Karolina Francova (Czech Republic)
- Skrivnost Srži, Jakob Konda (Slovenia)
- Prometheus Dezlănțuit [Prometheus Unleashed], Adrian Chifu (Romania)
- Ochiul tigrului [Eye of the Tiger], Emilia Burca (Moldova)
- Mrak, Emil Minchev (Bulgaria)
- Легендарій міських див [The Legendary of the City Wonders], Антонян А., Горбунов Андрій, Кузнєцов В., Павло Дерев’янко/Pavlo Derevianko, Легендарій міських див, Роман Колган, Владислав Лєнцев & Олег Сілін (Ukraine)
Best Work of Art
- WINNER: DOFRESH for the cover of La Vie secrète des robots [The Secret Life of Robots], Suzanne Palmer (France)
Nominations
- Nick Wells for the covers of The Fractal Series, Allen Stroud (UK)
- Adrian van Schwamen for “Dreieck des Schreckens” (Germany)
- Franco Brambilla for the illustration of Tecnologie del Futuro, Marco Passarello, ed. (Italy)
- Michaela Konrad for “Embrace the Future” (Austria)
- Eleonor Piteira for “Time’s End” (Portugal)
- Tania Mincheva for the cover of Mrak (Bulgaria)
- Oksana Sinenko / Оксана Сіненко for the covers and illustration of the Litopys Siroho Ordeny books, Pavlo Derevianko (Ukraine)
Best Fanzine
- WINNER: Journey Planet #93 (Ireland)
Nominations
- Basis 11/24 (France)
- Weltenportal 9/25 (Germany)
- Il magazzino dei mondi #1 (Italy)
- Faun #5 (Austria)
- Pacto #2 (Portugal)
- Emarginacje #1 (Poland)
- ArtZone SF 12/25 (Romania)
- Agamor #3 (Bulgaria)
Best Internet Publication
- WINNER: Intergalactic Robot, Artur Coelho (Portugal)
Nominations
- Actusf.com (France)
- SciFiNet (Germany)
- Reading Wildlife (Italy)
- Nörttikulttuurivisa [Geek Culture Quiz] (Finland)
- Legie.info (Czech Republic)
- Other Than a Fanzine: Fantastica Magazine (Romania)
- Knigi-igri.bg (Bulgaria)
- Vlad the Storyteller (Ukraine)
Best Dramatic Presentation
- WINNER: Ти — космос [U Are the Universe] (Ukraine)
- Nominations
- The Dex Legacy Season 3 (UK)
- Chien 51 (France)
- Another End (Italy)
- O Velho e a Espada (Portugal)
- Färjan (Finland)
- À l’ouest d’Arkham (Luxembourg)
- Moonflower (Bulgaria)
- Poate visezi [Maybe You’re Dreaming] (Romania)
Best Event, Festival or Convention organised by Fans
- WINNER: Аль Мор [All Mor] 2025 (Ukraine)
- Nominations
- Archipelacon 2 (Finland)
- Bazyliszek x Polcon (Poland)
- Contacto 2025 (Portugal)
- DeepCon 2025 (Italy)
- Eastercon 2025 (Ireland)
- Elstercon 2024 (Germany)
- Fantasy-Con (Wien) (Austria)
- FénixCon (zech Republic)
- Les Intergalactiques, 13e édition (France)
- LuxCon 2025 (Luxembourg)
- Na meji nevidnega 2025 (Slovenia)
- Romcon 2025 (Romania)
- Through Nine Lands 2025 – Monstrous Encounters (Bulgaria)
- World Fantasy Convention 2025 (UK)
Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel
- WINNER: Tales from Nevermore, Manuel Monteiro, illustrated by Pedro Nascimento (Portugal)
- La Route, Manu Larcenet (France)
- Der kleine Perry 3: Meister der Roboter, Olaf Brill, illustrated by Michael Vogt (Germany)
- Guida pratica e un po’ comic(a) al Solarpunk, Francesco Verso, ed. (Italy)
- Ionheart, Lukas Kummer (Austria)
- Silver: Unearthed, Michael Carroll, illustrated by Joe Currie, lettering by Simon Bowland (Ireland)
- Oskar Ed: Můj nejlepší přítel, Branko Jelínek (Czech Republic)
- Arv, Adrian Nen (Romania)
- Cristina Covrig
- Мор. Частина 2: Потойбіччя [Pestilence. Volume 2: The Beyond], Andrii Dankovych (Ukraine)
- Daga #3, Giuliano Dimitrov, Kancho Kozhuharov, Haralambi Markov, Diana Naneva, Blagovesta Neycheva, Marko Nikolic, Satanasov, Marko Stoyanovich & Alyosha Tomic (Bulgaria)
Best Work for Children
- WINNER: Fantastyczne Smoki [Fantastic Dragons], Marcin Kończewski (Poland)
Nominations
- Station Symbiose, Noëmie Lemos (France)
- Doctor Who: The Robot Revolution, Una McCormack (UK)
- Der kleine Perry 3: Meister der Roboter, Olaf Brill, illustrated by Michael Vogt (Germany)
- Apollo credici, Adrian Fartade, Leo Ortolani & Luca Perri (Italy)
- Was macht ein Dino im Museum?, Marie Gamillscheg (Austria)
- Corvinho, Luis Louro (Portugal)
- Platanos, Doina Rusti (Romania)
- Mitko and the Enchanted Cave, Емил Минчев/Emil Minchev
(Bulgaria) - Вандалізм [Vandalism], Валерія Савотіна/Valeriia Savotina (Ukraine)
The Chrysalis Awards winners were also announced:
- Thomas Arnaud (France)
- Tessa (Germany)
- Elia Gonella (Italy)
- Svenja Knisel (Austria)
- Afonso Molinar (Portugal)
- Kevin Moran (Ireland)
- Ben J.A. Hansen (Luxembourg)
- Ondřej Blaho (Czech Republic)
- Matjaž Marinček (Slovenia)
- Alina Voinea (Romania)
- Marcel Gherman (Republic of Moldova)
- Vida Delcheva (Bulgaria)
- Yulia Nahorniuk (Юлія Нагорнюк) (Ukraine)
Winners were announced at EUROCON/Metropol Con 2026, held July 2-5, 2026 in Berlin, Germany.
For more information, see the ESFS website:
ESFS AWARDS 2026 — COUNTRY‑BY‑COUNTRY SUMMARY
Countries with Awards (Achievement + Hall of Fame + Chrysalis + Grandmaster)
Total countries awarded: 18
PORTUGAL — 3 awards
Hall of Fame: Best Author – Luís Filipe Silva
Achievement Awards
Best Internet Publication – Intergalactic Robot, Artur Coelho
Best Comic Book / Graphic Novel – Tales from Nevermore, Pedro Nascimento & Manuel Monteiro
Chrysalis: Afonso Molinar
UKRAINE — 3 awards
Achievement Awards
Best Dramatic Presentation – U Are the Universe (Ти — космос)
Best Fan Event – All Mor (Аль Мор) 2025
Chrysalis: Yulia Nahorniuk (Юлія Нагорнюк)
FRANCE — 2 awards
Achievement Awards
Best Work of Art – La Vie secrète des robots book cover, by DOFRESH
Hall of Fame: Best Artist – Stéphanie Hans
GERMANY — 2 awards
European Grandmaster: Thomas Recktenwald
Chrysalis: Tessa
ITALY — 2 awards
Achievement Awards
Best Written Work of Fiction – Tecnologie del Futuro, edited by Marco Passarello
Hall of Fame- Best Promoter: Francesco Verso
IRELAND — 2 awards
Achievement Awards
Best Fanzine – Journey Planet #93 – Andor: Season 2
Chrysalis: Kevin Moran
AUSTRIA — 2 awards
Hall of Fame – Best Publisher – Ohneohren
Chrysalis: Svenja Knisel
SLOVENIA — 2 awards
Hall of Fame – Best Magazine – Supernova
Chrysalis: Matjaž Marinček
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA — 2 awards
Hall of Fame – Best Translator – Mariano Martín Rodríguez (nomination origin)
Chrysalis: Marcel Gherman
POLAND — 1 award
Achievement Awards
Best Work for Children – Fantastyczne Smoki
LUXEMBOURG — 1 award
Chrysalis: Ben J. A. Hansen
CZECH REPUBLIC — 1 award
Chrysalis: Ondřej Blaho
BULGARIA — 1 award
Chrysalis: Vida Delcheva
ROMANIA — 1 award
Chrysalis: Alina Voinea
