The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) will recognize the works and career of Tanith Lee (1947–2015) with the 2024 SFWA Infinity Award on June 8 at the 59th Annual Nebula Awards® Ceremony.
This will be the second presentation of the Infinity Award, created by the SFWA Board to posthumously honor acclaimed creators who passed away before they could be considered for a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. This new award aims to recognize that even though those celebrated worldbuilders, storytellers, and weavers of words are no longer with us, their legacies will continue to inspire.
SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy remarked, “Tanith Lee was writing combinations of science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, queerness, and sex long before the current trends. She was a true trailblazer in multiple cross-genres and influenced so many of today’s authors. It’s a sorrow to me that she passed before we could celebrate her as she should have been, but a bittersweet joy to at least be able to give her this honor today.”
An aspiring writer from the age of nine, Lee’s first professional sale was “Eustace,” a ninety-word vignette which appeared in The Ninth Pan Book Of Horror Stories (1968), edited by Herbert van Thal.
While working as an assistant librarian, Lee wrote a children’s story which was accepted for publication. A number of additional stories were also purchased, but none of them were ever published, due to a slump in the publishing firm’s sales. In 1971, Macmillan published The Dragon Hoard, a children’s novel, followed by Animal Castle, a children’s picture book, and Princess Hynchatti & Some Other Surprises, a short story collection (both 1972).
DAW published The Birthgrave in 1975, beginning a relationship that lasted until 1989 and saw the publication of 28 books altogether. Following the publication of her second and third books from DAW, Don’t Bite The Sun and The Storm Lord (both 1976), Lee quit her day job to become a full-time freelance writer.
Tanith Lee has won or been nominated for a variety of awards, including the World Fantasy Award, the August Derleth Award and the Nebula. She has appeared as Guest of Honour at a number of science fiction conventions, including Boskone XVIII in Boston in 1981, and the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa.
Rather than a physical award, SFWA will make a donation to a cause that an Infinity Award honoree supported or that their loved ones request. This year, it has been requested by the family that the donation be split between two charitable causes, Pasadena Humane and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
[Based on a press release.]
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I saw this headline and thought “Oh! She’s still alive!”
Sigh. She wrote great books.
I love the idea of this award. Too many deserving authors died before they could get a Grand Master Award.
@Anne: Indeed. I’ve got a little list (they dreadfully are missed)
Lovely news about a much admired writer.
Madame Hardy: Interesting point. I was concerned how to express that this is a posthumous award. I could have put the born/died years in brackets after her name in the headline. I did rewrite the headline to drop “recipient” and the opening paragraph of the press release to avoid “presentation”, which could give the impression she’d be there when those words are encountered before the reader sees the bracketed years in the text.
The first recipient of the award was Octavia Butler.
https://nebulas.sfwa.org/award/infinity-award/
This is wonderful news. Not only was Tanith a great writer, she was also very kind to me.
@Mike: Oh, it’s not your fault at all! Just careless reading on my part.
This is so well deserved.
Yes, I agree that she is well honored by this award.