THE 1953 IFA AWARDS DINNER

The International Fantasy Awards announced at CORONCON were finally presented by Les Flood at a formal dinner held in a room above the White Horse on Tuesday 1st September 1953.


Standing R-to-L: Sam Youd, Dennis Goodwin, Bob Monkhouse, Ken Chapman, Les Flood, Frank Cooper, Arthur Clarke, Ted Carnell, others unknown. Numbering tables from right, Table 1 L-to-R: Frank Arnold, Charlie Duncombe, unknown. On Table 2, visible between Arnold & Duncombe, is Bryan Berry. Going round the table clockwise from him we have Owen Plumridge, Tedd Tubb, Fred Brown, Dave McIlwain, and Maurice Goldsmith. At the end of table 3 is Bill Temple, with Eric Williams at the end of table 4. All others unkown.

The awards were:

  • Fiction: 'City' by Clifford D. Simak
    (trophy accepted by literary agent Gerald Pollinger)

  • Non-fiction: 'Lands Beyond' by L. Sprague de Camp and Willy Ley
    (trophy accepted by Arthur C. Clarke)
Short speeches were given by Ted Carnell, Les Flood, Frank Cooper and others, and Bob Monkhouse - then a rising star of TV and radio - kept the assemblage amused. The evening was rounded off by a short colour film taken by Arthur C.Clarke on the American tour that had kept him from attending CORONCON. This included footage shot on land, undersea, and in the air, and was narrated by Arthur, who couldn't resist also sharing the mostly glowing reviews of his latest novel 'Childhood's End', then just published in America.

The dinner was later reported in Science Fiction News Vol.4 No.1 (Sept/Oct 1953), edited for the SF Book Club by Herbert Jones, and my main source for this page. Menu scans below supplied by Joe D. Siclari



For more on the history of the International Fantasy Award, check out the website:

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