New Hemming Award

The Australian SF Foundation has created the Norma K. Hemming Award to celebrate excellence in the exploration of themes of race, gender, class and sexuality in science fiction produced either in Australia or by Australian citizens.

The award is named for Norma K. Hemming (1927-1960), a British author who migrated to Australia in 1949. She wrote for the pulp magazine Thrills Incorporated and also enthusiastically participated in the Australian fan scene. She was an original member of the femme fan group Vertical Horizons.

The award may not be given annually, as ASFF will only select work that meets an appropriate standard of excellence. Assuming such a work is published this year, the award will debut at Aussiecon 4 in 2010.

Jurors selecting the first recipient will be writer/editor Russell Blackford, editor/publisher Rob Gerrand, authors Kim Wilkins and Tess Williams, and editor Sarah Endacott.

[Via Bruce Gillespie.]