''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work concerning

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall,

Michael Scott Rohan Michael Scott Rohan (22 January 1951 – 12 August 2018) was a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author and writer on opera. He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel '' Run to the Stars'' ...

, Brian Stableford and Lisa Tuttle. The book was well-received on publication. During 1998, it received the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

, and

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the p ...

. The industry publication ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional pract ...

'' described ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' as "the first of its kind". Since November 2012, the full text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is available on-line, as a companion to the on-line edition of '' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. The editors of ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' have stated that there are not any plans to update ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'', at least for the foreseeable future, although some death dates post-1997 have been added. However, author and theme entries in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' often borrow terminology from entries in ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''.

Format and content

The ''Encyclopedia'' was published in a format that matches the 1993 second edition of '' The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. It is slightly smaller in terms of content, containing 1,049 alphabetical pages, over 4,000 entries and approximately one million words, the bulk of which were written by Clute, Grant and Ashley. A later CD-ROM edition contains numerous revisions. The ''Encyclopedia'' uses a similar system of

categorization Categorization is the ability and activity of recognizing shared features or similarities between the elements of the experience of the world (such as objects, events, or ideas), organizing and classifying experience by associating them to a ...

to ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', but does not include an index of theme entries. A theme index was later included in the on-line addenda: see "External links" below. One of the major differences is that there are no entries related to publishing.

Neologisms

The ''Encyclopedia'' often invented new terms for theme entries, rather than using headings that may have previously appeared in critical literature. Examples include: * ''Instauration Fantasy'': a story in which the real world is transformed; the authors cite ''

Little, Big ''Little, Big: or, The Fairies' Parliament'' is a contemporary fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982. Plot Turn-of-the-century American architect John Drinkwater begins to suspect that within ...

'' (1981) by John Crowley as the first full-fledged example. * ''Thinning'': the gradual loss or decay of magic or vitality, as when the Elves depart from Middle-earth in ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...

''. In many novels by Tim Powers, denizens of the 20th century can work magic, but not as easily as could be done in earlier centuries. * ''Wainscots'': secret societies hiding from the mainstream of society, as in Mary Norton's '' The Borrowers''. * ''Water Margins'': shifting or ill-defined boundaries used as both a physical description and a metaphor; derived from the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

adaptation of '' The Water Margin''. * ''Polder'': defined as "enclaves of toughened reality demarcated by boundaries" that are entered by crossing a threshold.

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, g ...

is an example, as is Medwyn's valley in '' The Book of Three'' by Lloyd Alexander. * ''Crosshatch'': A situation where the demarcation line between two realities is blurred and "two or more worlds may simultaneously inhabit the same territory"—such as in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

''. * '' Taproot texts'': examples of fantasy literature that predates the emergence of fantasy as a genre in the late 18th century, such as Shakespeare's '' The Tempest''. * ''Pariah elite'': a marginalized but uniquely talented or knowledgeable minority. * ''Into the woods'': the process of transformation or passage into a new world signalled by entering woods or forests. * ''Wrongness'': the growing awareness that something is "wrong" in the world, such as when the Hobbits first glimpse the

Nazgûl The Nazgûl (from Black Speech , "ring", and , "wraith, spirit"), introduced as Black Riders and also called Ringwraiths, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or simply the Nine, are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. They were ...

in ''

''. *''Slick Fantasy'': a style of Fantasy writing which uses certain specific themes: typically a Pact with the Devil; three wishes; or identity exchange. So named because these were the fantasy stories mostly likely to be published by slick magazines, as opposed to pulp magazines.

Reception

Characterizing the book as "an excellent and highly readable source for fantasy", the industry publication ''

'' described ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' as "the first of its kind".

Awards

* 1998 – Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book. * 1998 – World Fantasy Special Award: Professional. * 1998 –

for Nonfiction.

Editions

* Clute, John and Grant, John. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (1st UK edition). London: Orbit Books, 1997. . (

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or o ...

) * Clute, John and Grant, John. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''. New York: St Martin's Press, 1997. . (

) * Clute, John and Grant, John. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (2nd US edition). New York: St Martin's Griffin, 1999. . (

Paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...

)

References

External links

On-line text of ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy''

��include

by Wayne G. Hammond
Review
by Steven H. Silver {{DEFAULTSORT:Encyclopedia of Fantasy, The 1997 books 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias British encyclopedias British online encyclopedias Encyclopedias of literature Fantasy books Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book winning works Science fiction studies