I’m writing a novel currently set in a fantasy world which I have created laboriously long backstories for every aspect and character. Would you recommend starting with a prologue of sorts which explains this backstory, aspects of which are very important to the plot, or simply hint at it throughout. If the latter, how should I accomplish this without it seeming awkward and stilted? I would really appreciate some advice x
In my personal opinion I think you should hint to it because having a bunch of backstory at the beginning will be confusing and your readers will be tempted to skim.
As far as how you could do it, I would need a little more information about plot and characters.
While it's wonderful that you've got detailed backstories for everything in your story, you definitely don't want to start with what's commonly known as an 'infodump' - telling the reader everything before the action even begins. What I would suggest is to reveal backstory details as they are needed and as they are relevant to your story's character development and plot.
Think about if you can have a character discover some of this important backstory at a point where it will really move the plot forward. The most important thing to do at the beginning of your story is to hook your reader, and make them interested and invested in your characters.
Without knowing what part of the backstory is plot-important I can't suggest anything more specific, but I hope that this can help a little. :)
I like to leave hints throughout the story, especially if my MC has a long crazy backstory, I set it up, so that until the very end, you never know everything about the MC