The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to no more than one living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was inaugurated in 1975 when Robert Heinlein was made the first SFWA Grand Master and it was renamed in 2002 after the Association's founder, Damon Knight, who had died that year.[1][2]

The presentation is made at the annual SFWA Nebula Awards banquet, commonly during May, but it is not one of the Nebulas—which recognize the preceding calendar year's best works of SF and fantasy, selected by vote of all Association members. SFWA officers and past presidents alone submit Grand Master nominations and the final selection must be approved by a majority of that group.[1] The recipient is announced in advance, commonly during the preceding calendar year, which is the publication year and official award year for the Nebulas.

In 2023, SFWA announced the creation of the Infinity Award, which posthumously honors creators who died before they could be considered for the Grand Master Award. The first recipient of the Infinity Award was Octavia E. Butler.[3]

History

The Grand Master Award was originally limited to six per decade[4] and six were presented in the ten years to 1984; twelve in the twenty years to 1994. All were 67 years old (Isaac Asimov) to 75 years old (Lester del Rey) at the time of presentation; Alfred Bester had died at 74. Andre Norton was the first woman so honored, and only eight others have been selected since. Anne McCaffrey was the first recipient named after the award was retitled the "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master" in 2003. From 1995 the award has been conferred annually, with exceptions only in 2002 and 2011 (2001 and 2010 Nebula award years).[1] Nalo Hopkinson was the youngest to receive the honor, age 59.

Starting in 1995, the SFWA also awarded the title of Author Emeritus "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer active or whose excellent work may no longer be as widely known as it once was." No more than one Author Emeritus was named each year, and the recipient was invited to speak at the annual Nebula Awards banquet.[5] Fourteen were named in the 16 years to 2010[5] (the 2009 Nebula award year), none of whom had ever been named Grand Master—as remains true through 2013/2014. Its status as a consolation prize was a matter of controversy,[6] and by October 2013 the Author Emeritus webpage had been removed by SFWA.[7]

Grand Masters

A total of 39 SFWA Grand Masters have been created in the 45 years from 1974/1975 to 2021/2022.[1][2] Please note: The list below shows the year of the award ceremonies for each respective recipient, but the actual title of each individual award uses the preceding year.

Year Recipient Ref.
1975 Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988)
1976 Jack Williamson (1908–2006)
1977 Clifford D. Simak (1904–1988)
1978 —
1979 L. Sprague de Camp (1907–2000)
1980 —
1981 Fritz Leiber (1910–1992)
1982 —
1983 —
1984 Andre Norton (1912–2005)
1985 —
1986 Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008)
1987 Isaac Asimov (1920–1992)
1988 Alfred Bester (1913–1987)
1989 Ray Bradbury (1920–2012)
1990 —
1991 Lester del Rey (1915–1993)
1992 —
1993 Frederik Pohl (1919–2013)
1994 —
1995 Damon Knight (1922–2002)
1996 A. E. van Vogt (1912–2000)
1997 Jack Vance (1916–2013)
1998 Poul Anderson (1926–2001)
1999 Hal Clement (1922–2003)
2000 Brian W. Aldiss (1925–2017)
2001 Philip José Farmer (1918–2009)
2002 —
2003 Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018)
2004 Robert Silverberg (1935–)
2005 Anne McCaffrey (1926–2011)
2006 Harlan Ellison (1934–2018) [8]
2007 James Gunn (1923–2020)
2008 Michael Moorcock (1939–) [9][10]
2009 Harry Harrison (1925–2012) [11][12]
2010 Joe Haldeman (1943–) [13][14][15]
2011 —
2012 Connie Willis (1945–) [16][17][18]
2013 Gene Wolfe (1931–2019) [19][20][21][22]
2014 Samuel R. Delany (1942–) [23][24]
2015 Larry Niven (1938–) [25]
2016 C. J. Cherryh (1942–) [26][27]
2017 Jane Yolen (1939–) [28]
2018 Peter S. Beagle (1939–) [29][30][31][32]
2019 William Gibson (1948–) [33][34][35]
2020 Lois McMaster Bujold (1949–) [36][37]
2021 Nalo Hopkinson (1960–) [38][39]
2022 Mercedes Lackey (1950–) [40][41][42]
2023 Robin McKinley (1952–) [43]

Infinity Award

In 2023, SFWA announced the creation of the Infinity Award, which posthumously honors creators who died before they could be considered for the Grand Master Award. As SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy said, "Over the years, so many creators have been passed over for the Grand Master nod, for one reason or another. Some died tragically early. Others were not recognized for their work during their lifetimes because of cultural prejudices and blind spots."[3]

The first recipient of the Infinity Award was Octavia E. Butler.[3]

Year Recipient Ref.
2023 Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) [3]

Recognition

In 1989, the anthology Grand Masters' Choice was published, edited by Andre Norton and Ingrid Zierhut. Later three more anthologies honoring recipients of the Grand Master Award and collecting some of their short works have been published: The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 1 (1999), The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 2 (2000), and The SFWA Grand Masters, Volume 3 (2001), all edited by Frederik Pohl. Collectively, they honor the first fifteen recipients of the award.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master" Archived 2013-03-08 at the Wayback Machine. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  2. ^ a b "SFWA Grand Master Award" Archived 2011-08-05 at the Wayback Machine. The Locus Index to SF Awards: About the Awards. Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Inaugural Infinity Award Honoree: Octavia E. Butler," Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), April 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Harlan Ellison (1994), Harlan Ellison's Watching 36, archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2017-08-24
  5. ^ a b "SFWA Author Emeritus". SFWA. Archived 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  6. ^ "Other SFWA Awards" Archived October 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. The Locus Index to SF Awards: About the Awards. Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
  7. ^ "SFWA Author Emeritus" (unavailable). SFWA. Archived 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  8. ^ "2005 Nebula Award winners". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc. May 6, 2006. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
  9. ^ Nawotka, Edward (April 24, 2008). "Nebula Awards puts Austin and Texas writers at center of science fiction world". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008.
  10. ^ "Michael Moorcock named SFWA Grand Master". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc. February 28, 2008. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
  11. ^ "Nebula Awards Announced". Locus Online. 2009-04-26. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  12. ^ Defendini, Pablo (2009-04-26). "Nebula Award Winners!". Tor.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  13. ^ "Awards: Nebulas; Moby Book Trailer Finalists". Shelf Awareness. 2010-05-17. Archived from the original on 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  14. ^ Gallo, Irene (2010-05-15). "2010 Nebula Award Winners!". Tor.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2021. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  15. ^ "Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2010-05-16. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  16. ^ "2011 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2012-05-20. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  17. ^ "Announcing the 2011 Nebula Awards Winners". Tor.com. 2012-05-20. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  18. ^ Tolbert, Jeremiah (2012-01-16). "SFWA Names Connie Willis Recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  19. ^ Tolbert, Jeremiah (2012-12-13). "2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awarded to Gene Wolfe". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  20. ^ Flood, Alison (2012-12-14). "Gene Wolfe wins grand master award for science fiction and fantasy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  21. ^ "2012 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2013-05-19. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  22. ^ "Congratulations to the 2012 Nebula Award Winners". Tor.com. 2013-05-19. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  23. ^ "2013 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2014-05-18. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  24. ^ "Congratulations to the 2013 Nebula Award Winners". Tor.com. 2014-05-17. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  25. ^ "2014 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2015-06-07. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  26. ^ "C.J. Cherryh Named SFWA Damon Knight Grand Master". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. February 17, 2016. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  27. ^ "Announcing the 2015 Nebula Award Winners". Tor.com. 2016-05-14. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  28. ^ "SFWA Announces Newest Damon Knight Grand Master – Jane Yolen". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. November 29, 2016. Archived from the original on January 16, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  29. ^ "2017 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2018-05-20. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  30. ^ "Announcing the 2017 Nebula Awards Winners!". Tor.com. 2018-05-20. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  31. ^ "SFWA Announces Newest Grand Master – Peter S. Beagle". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. January 23, 2018. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  32. ^ "Beagle Named SFWA Grand Master". Locus Magazine. 2018-01-23. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  33. ^ "Gibson Named SFWA Grand Master". Locus Magazine. 2019-01-18. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  34. ^ "2018 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2019-05-19. Archived from the original on July 28, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  35. ^ "Announcing the 2018 Nebula Awards Winners". Tor.com. 2019-05-19. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  36. ^ "Bujold Named SFWA Grand Master". Locus Magazine. December 9, 2019. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  37. ^ "Awards: Nebula Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2020-06-01. Archived from the original on 2022-11-03. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  38. ^ "SFWA Names Nalo Hopkinson as the 37th Damon Knight Grand Master". Tor.com. 2020-12-01. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  39. ^ "2020 Nebula Awards Winners". Locus Online. 2021-06-06. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  40. ^ "Mercedes Lackey Named the 38th SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 2021-11-04. Archived from the original on 2021-11-04. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
  41. ^ "Lackey Named SFWA Grand Master". Locus Online. 2021-11-05. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
  42. ^ "Awards: Nebula, German Nonfiction Book Winners". Shelf Awareness. 2022-05-31. Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  43. ^ "SFWA Names Robin McKinley Its 39th Grand Master!". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. 2022-11-28. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-11-28.

External links