The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) will present the 2021 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award to Connie Willis at the 56th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards® for her outstanding work on behalf of the organization.
The Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award recognizes a member of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to their fellow members. Previous recipients of the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award include Victoria Strauss, Julia Rios, Bud Sparhawk, Lee Martindale, Vonda McIntyre, and Jim Fiscus. The award will be presented at the 56th Nebula Awards® Ceremony, the weekend of June 4–6, 2021.
SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal shared the following remarks, “Connie Willis is one of my favorite people. She’s been a tireless volunteer for SFWA for decades with clear, compassionate service. She makes every task lighter for those around her.”
Connie Willis is the author of Doomsday Book, Crosstalk, and Passage, among many other fictional works. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. In 2009, Willis was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. She was named a Damon Knight Grand Master by SFWA in 2012. Even with that remarkable career, Willis has consistently made time to volunteer for SFWA in a variety of capacities, including mentorship and several committee roles.
Over the years, Willis’s volunteer efforts have particularly focused on the Emergency Medical Fund (EMF) and the Nebula Awards Rules committees. She has served as a committee member on the EMF since 2014, providing confidential evaluation of applications for medical fund assistance for SFWA members. Willis is also the longest serving member of the Nebula Awards Rules committee, which she joined on its formation in 1995. The Nebula Awards Rules committee works to adjudicate questions on the rules governing the various awards presented by SFWA. During her tenure on the committee, SFWA reimagined the Best Script Award as the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation and created the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction and the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing. The committee also designated the Bradbury and Norton Awards as official Nebula Awards®.
The 56th Nebula Awards® will take place during the 2021 Nebula Awards Conference Online.
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Congratulations, Connie.
Well earned and well deserved. Congratulations!
That’s an amazing vest.
Even after the craze and bursting bubble of 20th century ufology and skunk works, and the vicissitudes of fashion and public taste, the demise of the great and venerable weekly world news, and the passing of the Cold war and it’s paranoia, after all is said and done, at the end of the day, flying saucers are rad.
It takes a huge amount to juggle a full-time writing job with that much volunteerism. By doing so much to help support other writers, she’s made it possible for me and other readers to have a wider range of quality works to read, and I thank her very much for that.