Janusz A. Zajdel Award

やぬしゅ・A・ざいでるしょう

Annual Polish science fiction and fantasy award voted by fans at Polcon for the best works published in the previous year.

Science fictionFantasyLiterary awardNovelShort story

Established: 1984
Organizer: Związek Stowarzyszeń “Fandom Polski” (Polish SF&F Fandom Association)
Category: Genre Fiction
Selection Method: Vote
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around April
Status: Active

Description

The Janusz A. Zajdel Award is an annual Polish science fiction and fantasy award, established in 1984 and presented by the Polish SF&F fandom. Winners are selected by fans present at the Polcon convention from shortlists (up to five nominations per category). Since 1992 the award has been presented in two categories — novel and short story — and winners receive a statuette (designed by Wiesław Bielak since 1991). The final vote uses instant-runoff voting with a "No award" option; vote counts are not published.

Prize

Main Prize: Statuette awarded to winners (since 1991, designed by Wiesław Bielak).

Statuette (designed by Wiesław Bielak)
Recognition by Polish SF&F fandom
Opportunities for inclusion in award-related anthologies and publicity

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nomination / Shortlist	Nominations by fans (up to five nominations per category are shortlisted).	—	Shortlist (nominees) published prior to final voting; details on the official site.
Final vote (Polcon)	All fans present at the Polcon convention vote (fan voting).	—	Winners are announced at Polcon; instant-runoff voting (with 'No award' option) is used; vote counts are not published.
Historical / governance	Until 1989 votes were cast by fan associations; since 1990 all fans at Polcon may vote; since 1991 a two-tier ballot system has been used.	—	Award presented in memory of Janusz A. Zajdel; Jadwiga Zajdel has presented the award to winners historically.

Nomination / Shortlist

Judges Nominations by fans (up to five nominations per category are shortlisted).

Announcement Shortlist (nominees) published prior to final voting; details on the official site.

Final vote (Polcon)

Judges All fans present at the Polcon convention vote (fan voting).

Announcement Winners are announced at Polcon; instant-runoff voting (with 'No award' option) is used; vote counts are not published.

Historical / governance

Judges Until 1989 votes were cast by fan associations; since 1990 all fans at Polcon may vote; since 1991 a two-tier ballot system has been used.

Announcement Award presented in memory of Janusz A. Zajdel; Jadwiga Zajdel has presented the award to winners historically.

Criteria

Best works of science fiction and fantasy published in the previous year.
Novel: works longer than approximately 30,000 words.
Short story: shorter works.
Selected by fan vote; considerations include originality, literary quality and contribution to the genre.
A 'No award' option exists and is considered in final instant-runoff voting.

Application Tips

Dos

Ensure the work was published in the eligibility year (the award covers works published in the previous year).
Confirm the correct category (novel: ~30,000+ words; short story: shorter works).
Provide clear bibliographic/publication details so fans can identify and nominate the work.
Follow rules and deadlines posted on the official site (zajdel.art.pl).