Previously the Polish Union of Fans of Science Fiction (Polskie Stowarzyszenie Miłośników Fantastyki) issued the for works of science fiction (1983-1986). The Zajdel award was created in 1984 (to be awarded from 1985) under the name
Sfinks (not to be confused with the , an award of the magazine). After the death of the first winner,
Janusz A. Zajdel, in 1985, the name was changed in his memory. Zajdel's widow, Jadwiga Zajdel, has presented the award to the winners since then. Until 1989, the award was given by Polish
science fiction fan associations, voting as units; since 1990, all fans present at
Polcon convention can vote. Since 1991 the system has been based on two-tier ballot, compared to the system used in the
Hugo Award. Until 1991, there was a single award given for the best story; since 1992, there are two categories: novel and short story. That volume contained the translations of
Ewa Białołęcka's "Jestem Lamia",
Anna Brzezińska's ('98 winner),
Marek S. Huberath's "Kocia obecność",
Tomasz Kołodziejczak's '''' (excerpts from the novel; '96 winner),
Feliks W. Kres's "Korona Shergardów",
Andrzej Sapkowski's and
Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz's "Dobra wróżka". In 2014, a free online e-book of the stories nominated for year 2013 was made available. ==Winners==