The Gandalf Awards honor excellent writing in fantasy literature. The World Science Fiction Society gave the awards each year from 1974 to 1981. They were named for Gandalf the wizard from the Middle-earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien. The award was started and sponsored by Lin Carter and the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America (SAGA). People at the World Science Fiction Conventions voted to choose the winners. They used the same rules as the older Hugo Awards.