Are These Awards Dead or Just Pining for the Fjords?

Myriad science fiction and fantasy awards are given but not so many that it goes unnoticed if they skip a year. Here are four sff awards that have missed a beat, with an assessment of whether we’re likely to see them again.

Campbell Award

JOHN W. CAMPBELL MEMORIAL AWARD

LAST GIVEN: 2019

Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss established the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of the year following the editor’s 1971 death. The juried award was first presented in 1973. It came to be frequently presented at the University of Kansas Center for the Study of Science Fiction’s (CSSF) Campbell Conference (renamed “Gunn Center Conference” in 2019).    

However, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel has not been given since 2019. A number of awards were forced on hiatus by the pandemic but before that began the Campbell was already in trouble over strong challenges to the reputation of its namesake.

In Jeannette Ng’s acceptance speech at Dublin 2019 for a different award also named after the late editor she called Campbell a fascist who exalted “the ambitions of imperialists and colonizers, settlers and industrialists”, stirring enough controversy that the sponsors promptly renamed it the Astounding Award. And a week later, Chris McKitterick, then the CSSF Director, announced that the Gunn Center (CSSF) was changing the name of the annual Campbell Conference and was “discussing alternatives” for the Campbell Memorial Award.

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction acknowledges and condemns the problematic words and actions of John W. Campbell.

We had already been discussing changing the name of the Campbell Conference to the Gunn Center Conference, which is in any case more accurate…

As for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science-fiction novel of the year, the Center directors and Award jurors are currently discussing alternatives; when a decision is made, we will announce it.

However, by November 2021 McKitterick had left the Gunn Center for another job under the umbrella of the University of Kansas’ Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI), and the following month the CSSF got a new director. Despite the CSSF’s then-Associate-Deputy Kij Johnson saying, “The Gunn Center remains in control of the Conference and the Campbell Award, and it will be up to them to decide what comes next,” what happened is that the Center continued running the Sturgeon Award and did nothing with the Campbell Award. Whether they wanted to may have been a moot question — McKitterick says the CSSF doesn’t own the rights. On his own Campbell Award website he wrote, “The new English SF Center does not own or manage the Award, and its Chair [McKitterick] and jury are seeking a new host organization friendly with our history and mission.”

When the award was last given in 2019 the jury members were Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, Paul Kincaid, Christopher McKitterick (Chair), Pamela Sargent, and Lisa Yaszek.

Jury member Gregory Benford said in 2021, “No clear message yet on the award. We’ve gotten so little from NYC publishing last year and this, we can’t do it. Next year, yes. On the name: we’re divided, with no clear other choice. (I favor keeping just JWC award.)” However, there was no activity throughout 2022 either. Then at the end of the year, unfortunately, Gregory Benford had a major stroke. Although Allen Steele offered a positive update, it would be surprising if Benford resumed work on a literary jury.

With no sponsor, years having passed without a decision on a new name, an award jury divided over making a name change and likely to lose its most highly-awarded member for health reasons, the Campbell Memorial Award has probably come to the end of its run.

Prediction: The award has “joined the choir invisible”.

JAMES WHITE AWARD

LAST GIVEN: 2019

The James White Award, established in 2000, offered non-professional writers the opportunity to have their work published in Interzone, the UK’s leading sf magazine. The winner received a £200 prize. The competition was open to original, unpublished short stories of not more than 6,000 words by non-professional writers.

Quoting the administrator Martin McGrath, their Facebook page announced in August 2020 that “Due to technical issues with the current website, and problems caused by a certain global crises beyond our control, we have not been able to set a timetable for this year and, with a great deal of reluctance, we have concluded that it will not be possible to schedule the competition in 2020.” The text ended with a promise to return in 2021, but there have been no further posts on that page.

In mid-2022 Andy Cox was struggling to produce his final issue of Interzone before handing over to Gareth Jelley, who seems to have found it hard going, with his first issue not seen until this year (dated January, reached subscribers in February) and the second still awaited despite hopes of return to a bimonthly schedule. Therefore he probably has not even been asked about continuing the James White Award.

Prediction: “This is an ex-award.”

NOMMO AWARDS

LAST GIVEN: 2022

The Nommo Awards for Speculative Fiction by Africans are presented by the African Speculative Fiction Society, an organization of professional and semiprofessional African writers, editors, publishers, graphic artists and film makers. The group was founded in 2016, and the awards were given for the first time in 2017.

For the first three years the Nommo Awards ceremonies were held at the Aké Arts & Book Festival in Nigeria. The 2020 ceremony – which had already been taken online due to the pandemic – was postponed out of respect for the people injured in protests then occurring in Lagos and other Nigerian cities. After a delay the virtual ceremony went ahead. The next two ceremonies moved to North American venues, with the 2021 awards given at the World Science Fiction Convention, DisCon III, in Washington, D.C. and the 2022 awards at Chicon 8 in Chicago.

Since the Chicon 8 ceremony there has been no Nommo Awards activity. The African Speculative Fiction Society reportedly said they were suspending it to restructure the organization. While I know the organization wants to do more than just give an award, the Nommos have been successful in drawing attention to some good sff writers.

Prediction: We hope it will soon be ready to fly again.

CHESLEY AWARDS

LAST GIVEN: 2021 (for work published in 2020)

The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists established the Chesley Awards in 1985 as a peer award to recognize individual works and achievements during a given year. They were initially called the ASFA Awards but were later renamed to honor the famed astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell after his death in 1986. The awards are nominated and decided upon by ASFA members.

ASFA called for suggestions of quality work published in 2021 for use in formulating a 2022 Chesley ballot, however, no ballot went out and no awards were presented. The inability to present awards was attributed to the organization’s lack of volunteers.

In late spring of 2023 a new call for Chesley suggestions went out. Then on July 10 ASFA announced, “We are now in the process of putting together our curated nomination list”.

Prediction: The Chesleys may have been “simply stunned.” They show promising signs of life.

[Thanks to David Langford for an assist on the James White Award.]

Gunn Center Gets New Director   

The creation of Ad Astra Center for Science Fiction and the Speculative Imagination led by former Gunn Center director Chris McKitterick, a new part of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas, raises the question of what will become of the Gunn Center, its annual conference, and the Sturgeon and Campbell Awards presented there.    

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF) was founded by James Gunn in 1982. Gunn (1923-2020), a SFWA Grandmaster, was superseded by McKitterick as Director of the CSSF in 2010.

Giselle Anatol, a University of Kansas English Professor, and Interim Director of Graduate Studies, is the incoming Director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. She responded to File 770’s questions with this update:

Thank you so much for reaching out to me about the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. I am excited to take the helm, continuing many of the rich programs for which the Center is known, as well as developing new opportunities for creating and thinking about speculative fiction.

We would love to keep the Sturgeon Award at the Gunn Center, and are currently negotiating the terms with the Foundation. We are also still working out the management of the Campbell Award. The annual Campbell Conference was initially put on hold due to the pandemic, but since the leadership transition at the CSSF is occurring in the middle of the academic year, it might be too late for all administrative tasks to be accomplished for a summer gathering. Chris McKitterick has stated, however, that he plans to host and lead all types of workshops at the Ad Astra Center. 

Kij Johnson, Associate Director of CSSF, also commented:

The Gunn Center remains in control of the Conference and the Campbell Award, and it will be up to them to decide what comes next. The Sturgeon Award was hosted by the Gunn Center but is under the control of the Sturgeon Literary Trust, and it will be up to that organization to do what they feel is best for the award.

Jason Baltazar, a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the University of Kansas Department of English, served as the Sturgeon Award Administrator this year, sending out press releases about the 2021 finalists and winner. The award has continued to be presented annually without interruption, although due to COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person ceremony has been postponed until a date to be announced.

However, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel has not been given since 2019. Jeannette Ng’s acceptance speech at Dublin 2019 for a different award also named after the late editor, in which she called Campbell a fascist who exalted “the ambitions of imperialists and colonisers, settlers and industrialists”, stirred enough controversy that the award’s sponsors promptly renamed it the Astounding Award. And a week later, Chris McKitterick, then the CSSF Director, announced that the Gunn Center was changing the name of the annual Campbell Conference and was “discussing alternatives” for the Campbell Memorial Award.

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction acknowledges and condemns the problematic words and actions of John W. Campbell.

We had already been discussing changing the name of the Campbell Conference to the Gunn Center Conference, which is in any case more accurate, as we’ve added other awards and events during to be presented there; recent events expedite that decision. We’ve already begun changing the name on our website and in promotional materials.

As for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science-fiction novel of the year, the Center directors and Award jurors are currently discussing alternatives; when a decision is made, we will announce it.

Earlier this year on McKitterick’s web domain (christopher-mckitterick.com) a statement was posted that the “Best of Pandemic” finalists and a new name for the Campbell Award were “to be announced [in] Fall 2021.”

However, since that time there has been no news about the award, which has not been given again since Ng’s speech. Its fate and its relationship with CSSF will be one of many things on the incoming Director’s agenda.

Barkley — So Glad You (Didn’t) Ask: A Column of Unsolicited Opinions #44

Names and Legacies 

By Chris M. Barkley: If I had told you a month ago that legacies of three of the biggest names in the fantasy and sf community would come under scrutiny and that one in particular would have his name removed from two prestigious awards, you probably would have looked at me oddly and thought I was crazy.

Well now, welcome to Crazy Town.

I, on the other hand, would not have been surprised as much because of what had happened a year ago.

Tuesday, November 27 2018, was the BEST day of Linda Fairstein’s life. Well, you could say it was the LAST best day of her life because forty-eight hours later, it began to unravel.

Fairstein, an acclaimed and best-selling crime writer of many years, awoke that day to find out that her peers in the Mystery Writers of America had named her as a Grand Master, the highest award of their organization could bestow. She was being honored for her series of 20 novels featuring Alexandra Cooper, a sex crimes prosecutor.

When she found out, she took to Twitter, writing,“How is THIS news for a thrilling surprise. I am Mystery Writers of America 2019 GRANDMASTER…..I’m pinching myself.”

But, almost immediately, prominent crime writers, with novelist Attica Locke in the lead, were protesting the announcement. Locke explained vociferously that Fairstein was directly responsible for the false imprisonment of five innocent men. 

Linda Fairstein’s previous occupation was a district attorney for New York City. For nearly a quarter of a century she was the lead prosecutor of the Sex Crimes Unit in Manhattan. In that capacity she became a feminist icon for her tough stances on crime and advocacy for victims’ rights in court.

Unfortunately, she was also responsible for personally supervising the prosecution of the Central Park Five, a 1989 case in which a jogger was brutally beaten and raped. The five Latino and black male teenagers were arrested, questioned, tried and eventually convicted for the heinous crime. They all claimed that the confessions they signed were coerced and that they were innocent. In 2002, all of them were exonerated by DNA evidence, freed and were given a substantial financial settlement from the city.

So, when the MWA reversed themselves, they released the following statement:

“After profound reflection, the Board has decided that MWA cannot move forward with an award that lacks support of such a large percentage of our members. Therefore, the Board of Directors has decided to withdraw the Linda Fairstein Grand Master award. We realize that this action will be unsatisfactory to many. We apologize for any pain and disappointment this situation has caused.”

By this past June, Dutton, her current publisher, had dropped her and activists on social media outlets called on the public to boycott her books and anyone selling them.

Fairstein exacerbated her situation by not apologizing for what happened or at least admitting that our judicial system failed these young men miserably. But no; instead she doubled down and she stood by their original convictions despite the evidence to the contrary, and hinted that if they were not guilty of that offense, they were probably guilty of something else and absolutely deserved exactly what they got. When HBO’s drama about the Central Park Five, “When They See Us” was aired this past spring, it featured a less than flattering portrayal of Fairstein. 

When I heard about Linda Fairstein’s problems with the Mystery Writers of America, I got into an semi-argument with a bookselling friend about what should happen to her. He stated, unequivocally, that her actions in her life should have nothing to do with her work as a writer. 

And, In a fair and a just world, that would happen. But, as we have seen repeatedly over the advent of the internet and social media outlets, there are people out there who would vehemently oppose the most harmless and innocuous you could come up with, including kittens. knitting and lawn bowling. 

I told my friend back then that while it was more than likely that Linda Fairstein probably did deserve the MWA honor, people, her peers, critics, and the public at large and the tidal forces of social interaction she helped foment were going to deny her because of her past actions and her adamant defense of them. 

And the very same scenario has played out again, in high definition no less, in these past few weeks. 

When Jeannette Ng made her speech denouncing John W. Campbell, Jr. at the Hugo Award Ceremony three weeks ago, it set off a tsunami of arguments, retrospectives and reassessments of Campbell, the late Alice Sheldon (best known under her pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr), Amazing Stories founder Hugo Gernsback and other various literary luminaries of the past and present.

John W. Campbell, Jr.

By sheer coincidence, I discovered Campbell the editor in high school, several months after he died. My neighbor, Michaele, had a subscription and loaned me her copies of Analog, which were among the last he had edited. The stories were ok but what really caught my eye were the strangely cranky editorials, which made me curious enough to want to meet him. It was well enough that he had departed; had I gone back a few years and read of his 1968 endorsement of George Wallace for President, that would have been quite enlightening.

From 1937, for their first fifteen years or so, Campbell’s Astounding Science Fiction magazine (and for the few years it existed, its fantasy counterpart, Unknown) were the biggest influences in sf literature and fandom at large.

But, along came Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas. And Horace Gold. Cele Goldsmith. Frederik Pohl. Ian and Betty Ballantine. Joseph and Edward Ferman. And Harlan Ellison.  And many other editors and publishers who followed in their footsteps. Like all good literary movements, sf diversified, became more inclusive and expanded.

 And Campbell himself? Not so much.

To be sure, he still was respected by authors and artists who produced for him. And don’t forget that he was the first to serialize Frank Herbert’s magnum opus, Dune, and, ironically, the very FIRST story by one James Tiptree, Jr (who is waiting on deck, so to speak).

But Campbell was estranged from a number of major authors such as Robert A. Heinlein, whom he had clashed with over ideological and political differences. 

When the two awards were established in his name two years after his death, John W. Campbell, Jr. was so well thought of and revered that there was no virtually opposition from any of the sponsors; Conde Nast Magazines (which later morphed into Dell Magazines) and the World Science Fiction Society (as the administrator) for the Best New Writer and the Memorial Award for Best Novel by late authors Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss. (The Gunn Center Conference of the University of Kansas formally took over the administration of the Campbell Memorial Award in 1978).

Harrison wrote this of the awards in 1977:

When John died it was a blow to all of us. After the memorial service a number of his writers were talking, and out of the talk came the Astounding anthology, what has been called the last issue of the Campbell magazine. It was a good tribute to a good editor. There is another tribute I think of just as highly, the award for the best SF novel of the year presented in his name and memory. An award I am sure he would have loved because it instantly became involved in controversy when the first prizes was presented. How John enjoyed a good argument and a good fight! That this fight sprawled through the letter columns of Analog for some months would have cheered him even more.

(For those among you who are intensely curious about that first recipient, the very first winner of the Memorial Award for Best Novel award was Beyond Apollo by Barry Malzberg, a book whose plot and themes probably would have turned his brain inside out. Don’t believe me? Check it out sometime.)

In the wake of the events of the past three weeks, Campbell’s grandson, John Campbell Hammond, has expressed some distress and disappointment over the removal of his name from the two awards. Others have been more pointed in their criticism, calling it a reactionary response of “political correctness” or “erasure”. 

Mr. Hammond may be saddened but at least he can be consoled by the voters of the 1944 Retro-Hugos, which held his grandfather in some high esteem because they awarded him in the Best Editor, Short Form category.

Here’s the thing; while he was a brilliant innovator in our branch of literature, there is also no doubt that his views on women and race were abominable. We can only speculate how much better things might have been if he hadn’t been such a person. Looking back, it is quite evident that the only thing holding up his reputation up for all these decades was white privilege, willful or unknowing ignorance and racism. 

And what’s happened to Campbell is not “erasure” but, as John Scalzi elegantly put it on his blog, a “reassessment”. And part of that process is a condemnation of your past actions.  

Alice Sheldon

Almost immediately in the wake of all of this, The Tiptree Motherboard, the administrators of the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, were inundated by requests that they change the name of their award, citing that Alice Sheldon (the alias behind the Tiptree pseudonym) had committed the murder of her spouse, the ailing and terminally ill Huntington Sheldon, and then committed suicide.

Where I had no doubt that removing Campbell name was correct thing to do, I was equally adamant that Tiptree’s name should remain in place.

I am proud to state that I voted for Sheldon’s Hugo winning novella, “Houston, Houston, Do You Read,” on my very first Hugo Awards ballot back in 1977. At that time, no one knew “James Tiptree, Jr.” was other than a as a damn good writer. Upon first reading, I found her short fiction to be entertaining, intensely personal and incredibly enlightening. And I still do.

The bubble burst the very next year when, in her guise as Tiptree, slipped up and revealed to several of her correspondents that her mother had recently died. That led a few clever people to a Chicago newspaper obituary and directly her real identity.

Sheldon continued to write, as Tiptree and “Raccoona Sheldon” until her and her husband’s deaths in 1987. It was long rumored among her friends and family that she and “Ting” had made a long-standing murder/suicide pact if either became too ill for the other to care for. In her 2006 Hugo Award winning biography, The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, author Julie Phillips did not state conclusively that this was the case. Recently, Phillips wrote on Twitter:

“The question has come up whether Alice Sheldon (James Tiptree, Jr) and her husband Ting died by suicide or murder-suicide. I regret not saying clearly in the bio that those closest to the Sheldons all told me that they had a pact and that Ting’s health was failing.

Ting’s son Peter Sheldon also said there was a pact, and that Ting was declining. Alli probably wanted to die more than Ting did. But the pact didn’t have to do with his blindness or disability. He was going, and they chose to go out together.”

Recently on the Tiptree Motherboard, Phillips elaborated further:

“Ting didn’t leave a statement, but all Ting’s friends that I talked to plus his son Peter were unanimous that it was a pact, and that Ting’s health was failing when it happened. The only one who cast doubt on that was the lawyer who talked to her on the last night, James Boylan. He didn’t know either Ting or Alli very well, and I have doubts about how well he understood what was happening. I’m planning to write up what I know, because I left too much room for doubt when I wrote the book.”

I got into a very brief argument on the Tiptree Motherboard Twitter feed with a troll (with no previous history of posting) who stated unequivocally that Sheldon was nothing more than a common murderer.  I countered that while John W. Campbell was a serial offender in life, Alice Sheldon should not be condemned forever for one desperate and tragic choice.

Even moreso, the name “James Tiptree, Jr.” and the meaningful and influential fiction that was presented under that name has transcended the life of the author. I believe that the award cannot be what it is, a celebration of the exploration of sex and gender roles in fantastic fiction without that name attached to it.

On 2 September, the Tiptree Motherboard issued a lengthy statement covering the controversy and stated that a name change was not in the offing. Two days later they, issued the following clarification: 

 We’ve seen some people discussing this statement and saying we’re refusing to rename the award. Of course it’s easy to read what we’ve written in that way; our apologies. While this post focuses on the reasons why we have not immediately undertaken to rename the award, our thinking is ongoing and tentative, and we are listening carefully to the feedback we are receiving. We are open to possibilities and suggestions from members of our community as we discuss how best to move forward. You can contact us at [email protected].

So, at least for the foreseeable future, The James Tiptree Award will remain as it is.

Hugo Gernsback

Our last person of interest is Hugo Gernsback, an immigrant from Luxembourg who founded the 1926 magazine Amazing Stories, the very first publication completely devoted to publishing science fiction (which he originally dubbed “scientifiction”). Through it, he also created the “Science Fiction League”, a club whose members published letters in the magazine and corresponded with each other eventually met in person, thus creating the first wave of sf fandom and conventions. 

But before Amazing Stories, Gernsback was better known as a publisher of all sorts of other publications. He was notorious for not paying his contributors very much (or in some cases, not at all) and his business practices were seen by many at the time as very shady or outright fraudulent.

As author Barry Malzberg once wrote:

Gernsback’s venality and corruption, his sleaziness and his utter disregard for the financial rights of authors, have been well documented and discussed in critical and fan literature. That the founder of genre science fiction who gave his name to the field’s most prestigious award and who was the Guest of Honor at the 1952 Worldcon was pretty much a crook (and a contemptuous crook who stiffed his writers but paid himself $100K a year as President of Gernsback Publications) has been clearly established.

The very next year, the Science Fiction Achievement Awards were first given out at the11th Worldcon in Philadelphia. And despite his scurrilous reputation, people began to nickname this new award, “The Hugo”, after him! And I have no doubt that this just tickled his fancy up to his death at the age of 83 in 1967. The name became so universally used that by1992, it was officially codified into the Constitution of World Science Fiction Society.

I am amused that some people are showing some genuine outrage that the most prestigious award in sf is named after such a scoundrel. And not because I think it’s a bad idea. Oh no, on the contrary, this might be a GREAT idea whose time has come. 

All these pundits have to do is come up with a name to replace “Hugo Award”. Something that has a consensus of fandom behind it. A name that can be protected legally by the World Science Fiction Society. And…

A name that will have to endure at the very least, four or five years of committee studies and formal Business Meeting debates, amendments, substitutions and serpentine votes.

To those who wish to embark on this fool’s errand, I wish you all the luck on this Earth and all of its known (and unknown) alternate versions as well. 

In any event, fame and legacies are all fleeting and a fool’s deepest desire. All that really matters in life in the long run are your family, friends, memories and knowing that you tried to do the right thing and the best you can under the circumstances.

My advocacy of new categories for the Hugo Award will probably be my legacy. And I’m hoping for more. But It is my hope that my work will not stand and that others will study, deconstruct, demolish and build on the ashes of my efforts.

I hope a new Best Dramatic Presentation category is even more expansive and inclusive. The Editing category should formally include anthologies and author collections. Manga should definitely be included in the description of the Comics and Graphic Story category. And a Best Translated Novel award (or, at least a test of such a category) should be inevitable and welcomed, not feared.

If I had to single out one of the greatest moments in my life in fandom, I could tell you exactly when it happened, the night before the 2012 Hugo Awards Ceremony at Chicon 7.

My partner Juli and I were hanging out in the Hyatt Regency bar overlooking Michigan Avenue when we were approached by a woman and her partner. She said she sought me out to to thank me personally for working so hard to establish the Best Graphic Story category in which she was a nominee that year. I, in turn, congratulated her on the nomination and wished her the best of luck.

And the next day, Ursula Vernon won her first Hugo Award for her graphic omnibus, Digger. She did not thank me on stage. She didn’t have to because she already had.

It is always better to give than to receive. And I have always strived to create the possibility to give the highest award we have to the most deserving creators. And that is all I have ever wanted.

Or needed.

Gunn Center Changes Name of Campbell Conference; New Name Will Be Chosen for Award

Chris McKitterick, Director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, announced on Facebook yesterday that their annual Campbell Conference has been renamed the Gunn Center Conference, and a new name will be forthcoming for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

Re: the recent debate in science fiction circles about John W. Campbell:

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction acknowledges and condemns the problematic words and actions of John W. Campbell.

We had already been discussing changing the name of the Campbell Conference to the Gunn Center Conference, which is in any case more accurate, as we’ve added other awards and events during to be presented there; recent events expedite that decision. We’ve already begun changing the name on our website and in promotional materials.
As for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science-fiction novel of the year, the Center directors and Award jurors are currently discussing alternatives; when a decision is made, we will announce it.

The organization has already retroactively struck the Campbell references from this page of its website —

[Thanks to JJ and Ruth Lichtwardt for the story.]

Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners’ Acceptance Remarks

The Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction shared the statements made by the winners of this year’s Campbell and Sturgeon awards, presented June 28 at the Campbell Conference Awards Ceremony on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence.

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction of 2018 was won by Annalee Newitz, for their story “When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis,” published by Slate.com.

Newitz thanked the jury, Slate Future Tense, Ed Finn, and their partners Jesse Burns (present), Chris Palmer, and Charlie Jane Anders (last year’s winner). In their acceptance speech, Newitz went on to say:

It feels appropriate to be receiving the Sturgeon Award because when I was first getting into science fiction as a kid, I checked a book called More Than Human out of the library and it was the weirdest thing I have ever read. It really blew my mind, and it stuck with me for decades afterwards. I have continued to be fascinated by the idea of hive minds and the way Sturgeon offered such an affecting portrait of marginalized people who band together and become stronger through community. Despite being called idiots and outcasts, they take solace in each other’s company and represent a better future for humanity.

In my story, I played with similar themes – an abandoned drone and a crow become friends, and together they fight to stop certain death among the humans in East St. Louis. It’s a hopeful story, though it’s predicated on the fact that the people in East St. Louis are in danger from an epidemic because the CDC has shut down due to budget cuts. In real life, of course, East St. Louis needs more than robots and crows – we need the CDC, and we need other government agencies that protect the most vulnerable members of the population.

It’s my belief that science fiction can help us with that by providing a kind of emotional infrastructure that helps us believe in a better world despite our present difficulties. Fiction may not offer concrete ways to fix our problems, but it gives us the resolve to confront those difficulties in real life. That’s what I want my story to do – to give people enough hope to carry with them into real life, to continue to resist injustice. And to push for social programs that cities need more than ever.

Taking second place for the Sturgeon Award was Adam Shannon’s “On the Day You Spend Forever with Your Dog.” The third-place story was Daryl Gregory’s “Nine Last Days on Planet Earth.”

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 2018 was presented by juror Chris McKitterick and Campbell Conference administrator Ruth Lichtwardt. This year’s first-place winner is Sam J. Miller, for his novel Blackfish City, published by Ecco.

Miller accepted remotely from New York City, citing the importance of being home to participate in the 50th anniversary of Stonewall this weekend. In his acceptance speech, Miller said:

I’m really happy and really surprised by this award. I thought that my John Campbell karma wasn’t very good because I wrote a story called “Things With Beards” that was gay fanfic based on the movie The Thing, which was based on a story of his. I thought he’d be mad about that, but apparently he’s into it.

I really want to thank the jury who worked hard on a tough decision, and I want to thank my fellow finalists who are all amazing writers. There’s so much great science fiction happening right now, and I’m excited and honored to be part of that. I want to thank my agent Seth Fishman and my editor Zack Wagman for seeing something in this story and bringing it out into the world. I’ve got to thank my sister, my brother-in-law, my nephew, and my new niece for just being generally amazing.

I have to thank my mom, who is not a lesbian grandmother with a polar bear and killer whale on a mission of bloody revenge, but who is still a kickass warrior who became the inspiration for the character who is at the heart of Blackfish City. She’s an all-around amazing inspiration and a fucking brilliant writer, so watch out for her stuff.

Finally, above all and always, my husband Juancy, who turned me on to the three greatest narrative influences on my work: Octavia Butler, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Battlestar Galactica. I wouldn’t be the writer I am without those things, and I wouldn’t be the person that I am without you…

In second place for best novel was Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars. The third-place novel was Audrey Schulman’s Theory of Bastards.

[Based on a press release.]

Sam J. Miller Wins 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award

Campbell Award

Sam J. Miller’s Blackfish City has won this year’s John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel.

The honor was presented during the Campbell Conference Award Banquet on June 28.

In the words of the awards administrators —

Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss established the award to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (now Analog), and continue his efforts to encourage writers to produce their best work. Many consider Campbell – who edited the magazine and guided its authors from 1937 until his death in 1971 – the father of modern SF.

The winner was selected by Campbell Award jury members Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid (since 2008), Christopher McKitterick (since 2002; Chair beginning in 2018), Pamela Sargent (since 1997), and Lisa Yaszek (since 2016).

The other finalists were:

  • Semiosis by Sue Burke
  • A Spy in Time by Imraan Coovadia
  • The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • Time Was by Ian McDonald
  • Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
  • Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman
  • Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar
  • Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
  • The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts
  • The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley  

2019 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Shortlist

Finalits for this year’s John W. Campbell Memorial Award  for best science fiction novel have been selected. The awards will be presented during the Campbell Conference Award Banquet on Friday, June 28.

  • Semiosis Sue Burke
  • A Spy in Time by Imraan Coovadia
  • The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • Time Was by Ian McDonald
  • Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
  • Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
  • Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman
  • Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar
  • Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
  • The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts
  • The Loosening Skin by Aliya Whiteley  

The award jurors are Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid, Chris McKitterick, Pamela Sargent, and Lisa Yaszek.

2018 John W. Campbell Memorial Award

David Walton receives the Campbell Award

David Walton’s The Genius Plague has won this year’s John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel. The honor was presented during the Campbell Conference Award Banquet on June 22.

In the words of the awards administrators —

Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss established the award to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (now Analog), and continue his efforts to encourage writers to produce their best work. Many consider Campbell – who edited the magazine and guided its authors from 1937 until his death in 1971 – the father of modern SF.

The winner was selected by Campbell Award jury members Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid (since 2008), Christopher McKitterick (since 2002; Chair beginning in 2018), Pamela Sargent (since 1997), and Lisa Yaszek (since 2016).

2018 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists

Finalists for this year’s John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel have been selected. Christopher McKitterick, director of the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction and newly named Campbell Award chair announced the list on the award’s website.

  • The Rift by Nina Allan
  • Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown
  • Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
  • The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley
  • The Moon and the Other by John Kessel
  • The Stargazer’s Embassy by Eleanor Lerman
  • Austral by Paul McAuley
  • Autonomous by Annalee Newitz
  • After the Flare by Deji Bryce Olukotun
  • New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
  • The People’s Police by Norman Spinrad
  • Borne by Jeff VanderMeer
  • The Genius Plague by David Walton

The Campbell Award jury members are: Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid (since 2008), Christopher McKitterick (since 2002; Chair beginning in 2018), Pamela Sargent (since 1997), and Lisa Yaszek (since 2016).

The honor will be presented during the Campbell Conference Award Banquet on June 22, as part of the annual Campbell Conference.

Tidhar Wins Campbell Award

Lavie Tidhar’s Central Station is the winner of the 2017 John W. Campbell Memorial Award. The selection was announced at the Campbell Conference on June 16.

The Campbell Memorial Award was created to honor the late editor of Analog (previously Astounding Science Fiction).

This year’s award jurors were Gregory Benford, Sheila Finch, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid, Christopher McKitterick, Pamela Sargent, and Lisa Yaszek.