The IGS Awards are presented annually to shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in six novel categories. Winners are selected by members of the Society. This year’s award ceremony will take place on the 28th of August, at The Outhouse in Edinburgh. All are welcome!
Categories
For the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe the categories are:
🏆 Best Puppet (Non-Terrifying) 🏆
Awarded to the show which makes the best use of puppetry featuring a puppet that a reasonable observer would not find nightmare-inducing.
🏆 Best Puppet (Terrifying) 🏆
Awarded to the show which makes the best use of puppetry featuring a puppet that a reasonable observer would find nightmare-inducing.
🏆 Most Inventive Use of Bodily Fluids 🏆
Awarded to the show which makes the most inventive use of a bodily fluid without breaking any relevant laws or regulations.
🏆 Comical Adversity Award 🏆
Awarded to the company which experienced the most comical level of adversity in their attempt to bring a show to the Edinburgh Fringe.
🏆 Best Budget Immersive Thing 🏆
Awarded to the show which includes the best immersive or interactive element realised without significant monetary investment.
🏆 Most Amusing Novel Swearword 🏆
Awarded to the show which contains the most inventive or amusing novel swearword (IE any swearword or combination of swearwords which are not already well-established in the English language).
Nominations
You can nominate a show in any of the above categories! You can even nominate your own show. All nominations are made through this online form – please fill it out for each nomination you wish to make.
Nominations can be made until the 26th August. Judges will try to attend every show that’s nominated, but cannot guarantee it. The earlier you nominate a show, the more likely judges will be able to attend.
Awards Ceremony
We’ll be holding a (slightly surreal) awards ceremony to present physical trophies and a range of other surprises on the 28th of August, at The Outhouse in Edinburgh. The evening will include live entertainment and some drama, as well as the actual handing over of physical awards.
As space is limited, please purchase a ticket via Eventbrite.
Shortlisted shows will be offered complimentary tickets.
Judging
The awards are judged by members of the International Ghost Society. To become a member, join our mailing list – it’s simple, quick and entirely free.
We’ll be sending out shortlists of shows and voting information to our members in August 2026.