Vintage Science Fiction News

The following are announcements and news items from days past, newest to oldest.

Campbell Award and Sturgeon Award Winners Announced

LAWRENCE, KS — July 7, 2006

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas has announced the winners of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction of 2005 and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of 2005.

The winner of this year's John W. Campbell Memorial Award is Robert J. Sawyer for his novel, Mindscan (Tor Books).

The winner of this year's Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is Paolo Bacigalupi for his story, "The Calorie Man" (Fantasy & Science Fiction).

The awards were presented at a banquet tonight that is part of the Center's annual Campbell Conference.

Campbell Award second and third place winners are Robert Charles Wilson for Spin (Tor Books) and Ian R. Macleod for The Summer Isles (Aio Publishing).

Sturgeon Award second and third place winners are Ian MacDonald for "The Little Goddess" (Asimov's Magazine) and Kelly Link for "Magic for Beginners" (Fantasy & Science Fiction).

The Sturgeon award was established in 1987 by Gunn and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction. The Sturgeon Award winner was decided by Gunn, Kij Johnson, Frederik Pohl, George Zebrowski, and Noel Sturgeon, daughter of Theodore Sturgeon.

The Campbell Award is one of the three major annual awards for the science fiction novel. The award was created to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (now called Analog). Many writers and scholars call Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937 until his death in 1971, the father of modern science fiction. The Campbell Award winner was selected by a committee of academics and authors that includes Gregory Benford, Paul Carter, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Farah Mendlesohn, Chris McKitterick, Pamela Sargent, and Tom Shippey.

Campbell Award and Sturgeon Award Finalists Announced

LAWRENCE, KS — May 22, 2006

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas has announced the 2006 finalists of its Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction of the year and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of the year. The awards will be presented at a banquet on June 9 as part of the Center’s annual Campbell Conference.

Click here to see the finalists for the 2006 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award.

Click here to see the finalists for the 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award.

George Zebrowski Joins Sturgeon Award Jury

LAWRENCE, KS — January, 2006

Award-winning science-fiction author and editor George Zebrowski has joined forces with James Gunn, Kij Johnson, and Frederik Pohl to select the winner of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short SF of the year. We thank George in advance for his efforts!

Campbell Award and Sturgeon Award Winners Announced

LAWRENCE, KS — July 18, 2005

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas has announced the 2005 winners of its Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short science fiction of the year and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of the year. The awards were presented at a banquet on June 8 that was part of the Center’s annual Campbell Conference.

Bradley Denton won the Sturgeon Award for his story “Sergeant Chip,” and Richard Morgan won the Campbell Award for his novel “Market Forces.”

Denton is an alumnus of KU, earning bachelor’s degrees in English and astronomy in 1980 and a master’s degree in English in 1984. He is a former student of James Gunn. Denton had planned to attend this year’s Campbell Conference, though he did not know he was receiving the Sturgeon Award and was surprised with the news during the Awards Banquet.

Morgan, because of a scheduling conflict, was unable to attend. Morgan is a tutor at Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland. He is the author of a popular two-book series, “Altered Carbon” and “Broken Angels.”

Christopher Rowe won the second place Sturgeon Award for “Voluntary State,” and Richard Reed won third place for his work “Mere.”

The Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by Gunn and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon as memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction.

Geoff Ryman won the second place Campbell Award for his novel “Air.” Audrey Niffenegger won third place for her novel, “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”

The Campbell Award was created to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine (now called Analog). Many writers and scholars call Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937 until his death in 1971, the father of modern science fiction.

The Campbell Award winner was picked by a committee of academics and authors that includes Gunn, director of the Center; Gregory Benford; Paul Carter; Elizabeth Anne Hull; Chris McKitterick, an associate director of the Center; Farah Mendlesohn; Pamela Sargent; and Tom Shippey.

The Sturgeon Award winner was decided by Gunn; Kij Johnson; Frederik Pohl; and Noel Sturgeon, daughter of Theodore Sturgeon.

CSSF Receives Gift of SF Magazines Spanning Seven Decades

LAWRENCE, KS — April 18, 2005

The J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction and the English Department announce the gift of a substantial collection of science-fiction magazines dating from 1945. The magazines were donated by Amy and Gary Bennett in memory of the Amy Bennett’s father, the late Edward Dobert Spear. Because Special Collections already has a collection of such magazines, the gift will be available for general circulation in Watson Library.

Mr. Spear, whose studies in electrical engineering were interrupted by World War II army service in Europe, began his subscription to Astounding Science Fiction/Analog upon his return, and had the issues bound, year by year, until his death in 1995. He also had his copies of Galaxy Science Fiction bound until he gave them to his daughter in 1970. She also is a science-fiction reader, as are her three sisters and her three daughters. Mr. Spear worked as a civil engineer after the late 1960s, maintaining and designing renovations for military buildings, including the Pentagon.

Amy Spears Bennett’s mother also was an electrical/electronic engineer with a degree from Cornell, and a science-fiction reader, until her death in 2001. She worked on NASA contracts for the Lunar Excursion Module radars and one of the forerunners of the internet, ARPA Net. Of her four daughters two became engineers (one currently working on nuclear power systems), one became an accountant, and one, Amy, became a nurse, earned a doctorate in nursing science, and is currently working in nursing education as coordinator of a practical nursing program in Philadelphia.

Amy Bennett comments that she and her sisters cut their teeth on their father’s Astounding/Analog collection and found that reading science fiction prepared them for real and rapid change in today’s society. “For us, today’s shocking headlines (Men Waling on the Moon!) are yesterday’s interesting stories. And we are prepared to think about the effects on society, and possible approaches to handling consequences, because science fiction authors have already done so.” In fact, her youngest daughter is studying the social and ethical challenges of science and technology at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.

For full release, click here.

Robin Bailey and Jim Butcher
to Read and Sign Books in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, KS — April 18, 2005

As many local SF readers know, Robin doesn't do a lot of formal book signings in the Kansas City area. Therefore, we want to alert you to an upcoming event at the Waldenbooks & More store in the Westbrooke Village Shopping Center at 75th and Quivira. On Sunday, May 22nd, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., I'll be reading and signing copies of his new DRAGONKIN series.

Also present for this event will be fellow local science fiction and fantasy author, Jim Butcher, whose exciting DRESDEN series from Penguin/Roc has been very successful. He'll also be reading and signing books.

The folks at Waldenbooks & More are planning to make something of a party and a science fiction celebration with this event. So please add it to your calendars, drop by and say hello, and buy some good books. I hope to see you there!

For more information, call Waldenbooks & More at 913-962-1428.

Kij Johnson's Fudoki Nominated for World Fantasy Award

LAWRENCE, KS— August 6, 2004

Today it was announced that local author Kij Johnson's current novel, Fudoki, is a finalist for the World Fantasy Award. Once again, congratulations, Kij! This year's winners were announced during the World Fantasy Convention, October 28th-31st, in Tempe, Arizona.

Kij Johnson's Fudoki Finalist for Mythopoeic Fantasy Award

LAWRENCE, KS— June 11, 2004

Recently it was announced that local author Kij Johnson's current novel, Fudoki, is a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. Congratulations again, Kij! This year's winners were announced during Mythcon 35, July 30th-August 2nd, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kij Johnson's Fudoki Finalist for James Tiptree, Jr. Award

LAWRENCE, KS— April 5, 2004

Today it was announced that local author Kij Johnson's current novel, Fudoki, was a finalist for the 2003 James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Congratulations, Kij!

James Gunn's "Elixer" in May 2004 Analog Magazine

LAWRENCE, KS— March, 2004

The short story, "Elixer," is Gunn's newest publication, available as the opening story in the May 2004 Analog. This story will also appear in the expanded edition of The Immortals, to be published by Pocket Books in July 2004.

CSA: The Confederate States of America Wows Sundance Attendees

LAWRENCE, KS— JANUARY 20, 2004

University of Kansas professors Matthew Jacobson and Kevin Willmott have made a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival! Their film, CSA: The Confederate States of America, is a feature-length speculative documentary about an alternate present in a world where the South won the Civil War, and chattel slavery is still legal. (Click here for the Lawrence Journal-World story.)

Attendees of last summer's Campbell Conference will remember this film. Good luck to all involved!

Congratulations!

CSSF Workshop Alumni Publications

Click here to see CSSF Workshop alumni publications and awards. So many alumni of the Workshop have been published lately that it's difficult keeping up with you. Look them up here and be sure to share with us if you're not listed!

Kij Johnson's New Fudoki Garners Publisher's Weekly Kudos

NEW YORK, NY— NOVEMBER 18

Publisher's Weekly Editors' Fiction Picks for the Year 2003

Kij's book has just been named one of the eight best SF/F novels of the year! Below is their full review from last month:

Publisher's Weekly Editors' Fiction Picks for October 2003

Each month Publisher's Weekly's Forecasts editors select titles being published in the next month they deem exceptional. The following is an excerpt from the editors' fiction recommendations (one book of five, including one by Toni Morrison) for October 2003:

Fudoki by Kij Johnson (Tor Books, $24.95, ISBN 0-765-30390-6)

"Johnson's mesmerizing second fantasy based on Japanese myth surpasses her inspired debut, The Fox Woman (2000). As the half-sister, aunt and great-grandaunt of the last three Japanese emperors, respectively, the princess Harueme has lived a long life of privilege at court, but now she is dying and must go to a convent. While sorting through her belongings, she comes across several blank notebooks. To fill them, Harueme spins the tale of a nameless tortoiseshell cat living in a ramshackle estate in the capital. When a fire raging through the city destroys the estate, the cat is the only survivor. The author interweaves the story Harueme tells with Harueme's own, equally absorbing tale. To call Johnson a stylist is to call Michael Jordan a basketball player - each word and phrase glitters gemlike on the page. This tale of life and dying, of love and humanity, soars with feline grace."

Congratulations Kij! This novel is now available.

More Lawrence writers publishing news!

Matthew Candelaria Wins Writers of the Future Golden Quill Award!

LAS ANGELES, CA— JULY 9

Matthew Candelaria, a graduate student who has been working with James Gunn on a couple of projects and has attended the last few SF Writer's Workshops, won the Golden Quill Award (grand prize) at this year's Writers of the Future contest, in a grand venue at the Beverly Hills Hotel at a black-tie dinner thronged with famous people in and out of science fiction.

This makes three of Gunn's students (Merry Simmons, Dylan Otto Krider, and now Matthew) who have won the grand prize, three years in a row.

Congratulations Matthew! And congrats to Jim for being such a great teacher and mentor!

Kij Johnson Reads at Lawrence Public Library

LAWRENCE, KS— March 31, 2004

Local author Kij Johnson will read from her current novel, Fudoki, at the public library at 7pm on Wednesday the 31st of March. The Raven Bookstore will have copies of her works available for purchase, and Kij will sign books after the reading.

Appearances in Local Authors Series at the Oread Bookstore

LAWRENCE, KS
Oread Books, level 2 in the Kansas Union on the KU campus in Lawrence, continues an ongoing series of meet-the-author events featuring campus and community authors. The events are scheduled from 5:30 to 6:30 PM during Oread Books’ regular Thursday evening hours. The public is invited to converse with local authors while enjoying complimentary coffee or tea in the relaxed atmosphere of the store’s browsing area. Several of the authors’ titles will be available for signing. The bookstore has excellent local-author and SF/F sections.

November 2003 Appearances:

• November 20: Kij Johnson – Lawrence, Kansas Lecturer in the Department of English at KU, Johnson is a former managing editor for fantasy gaming publisher Wizards of the Coast and researcher for the Microsoft Corporation. She has completed two novels set in a mythical Japan and is at work on a third. Her first novel, The Fox Woman, involves a fox who became a woman, and was described in a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly as “steeped in historical detail.” The just-published Fudoki takes on another animal totem, entering the world of a feline creature known as Kagaya-hime, a sometime woman warrior, occasional philosopher, and reluctant confidante to noblemen. Stop by the bookstore after Kimberly Blaeser's presentation and say hi!
• November 6: James C. Cisneros – Holton, Kansas Native American non-traditional KU student Cisneros’ new novel Moccasins, Money and Murder is a fictionalized account of conflict and cultural change he experienced within his tribe, the Kickapoo nation. During his service as treasurer of the tribal council, his attempts to expose what he saw as financial improprieties connected with Indian gaming resulted in his being removed from office and from the reservation. A movie screenplay is underway. Cisneros graduated from Haskell Indian Junior College in 1982, attended universities in California, and has worked for several tribes in California and Kansas, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and three major banks. He is also the founder of the Native American Junior Golf Association in Mayetta.
• October 30: Robin Wayne Bailey – Kansas City, Missouri Bailey is the author of numerous novels and short stories, including the Brothers of the Dragon series, the critically-acclaimed Shadowdance, Night’s Angel (an omnibus collection of his Frost novels) and Swords Against the Shadowland - named one the best seven novels of 1998 by Science Fiction Chronicle. He is a regular contributor to the best-selling anthology series Thieves World. His most recent book, Dragonkin, is the first volume of a new fantasy trilogy.

Previous guests in the Oread Books Local Authors Series include retired nuclear engineer Robert C. Hagan, KU Professor of Design Pok Chi Lau, and poet Dave Malone. New or established local writers interested in appearing in the series may contact the store for details.

Writers of the Future Presentation

LAWRENCE, KS— SEPTEMBER 17

The Oread Bookstore (in the Kansas Union of the KU campus) hosted a presentation about William Widder's new book, Master Storyteller, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, and two representatives of the publisher gave a wonderful talk and showed a short film about the Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contest. It was followed by a reading and autographing session at which Matthew Candelaria, a graduate student in the English Department who won the grand prize in the Writers for the Future Contest, signed copies of the Writers and Illustrators of the Future anthology.

Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners Announced

LAWRENCE, KS— JULY 12, 2003

Two unusual circumstances marked this year’s Campbell and Sturgeon Awards presented July 11 at the University of Kansas, James Gunn, director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, announced today. For the first time, the Theodore Sturgeon Award for the best short SF of the year went to a story published on the internet. Lucius Shepard’s “Over Yonder” was published on the SciFiction section, edited by Ellen Datlow, of SciFi.com. Second place was awarded to “Bronte’s Egg” by Richard Chwedyk, published in Fantasy and Science Fiction; and third place, to “Singleton” by Australian Greg Egan, published in the British Interzone.

The other unusual circumstance: the John W. Campbell Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year for the first time went to someone who had earlier won the Sturgeon Award. Nancy Kress’s Probability Space took first place (a earlier novel in the series, Probability Sun, took third place last year). Moreover, Kress’s husband, the late Charles Sheffield, had won the Campbell Award a decade before, the first husband and wife to be so honored. Second place in the Campbell Awards went to David Brin’s Kiln People; third place went to Robert J. Sawyer’s Hominids. All three novels were published by Tor Books.

The award to Shepard was presented by Frederik Pohl, a member of the Sturgeon Award final jury; James Gunn read an acceptance letter from Shepard. The award to Kress was presented by Elizabeth Anne Hull, a member of the Campbell jury; Kress was present to accept the award.

At the dinner four persons were inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society and the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction. The posthumous inductions went to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Damon Knight; living authors inducted were Kate Wilhelm, who is Knight’s widow, and Wilson “Bob” Tucker. Wilhelm was present for her induction, and also accepted for Tucker.

The dinner was followed by the Campbell Conference July 12-13, at which “History and Science Fiction” was the topic for discussion, and the showing of a locally produced alternate history documentary titled “CSA: The Confederate States of America.”

The Sturgeon Award stories are nominated by a committee of some two-dozen reviewers and editors chaired by Chris McKitterick, and the winners were chosen by Pohl, Gunn, and Kij Johnson, with the assistance of Noel Sturgeon, from a group of about a dozen finalists. The Campbell Award novels are nominated by publishers and the winners selected by a committee of seven academics and authors chaired by Gunn and consisting of Gregory Benford, Paul A. Carter, Elizabeth Anne Hull, McKitterick, Pamela Sargent, T. A. Shippey, and Ian Watson.

At the conclusion of the ceremony Chancellor Robert Hemenway made a surprise presentation to Frederik Pohl of a citation for his many years of service to science fiction and to the University of Kansas and its science-fiction programs. Pohl has been a guest-writer every summer except two for the past 30 years.

PHOTOGRAPHS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

CSA: The Confederate States of America
screened during Campbell Conference

LAWRENCE, KS— JUNE 18, 2003

University of Kansas professors Matthew Jacobson and Kevin Willmott graciously offered a private screening of their film, CSA: The Confederate States of America, a feature-length speculative documentary about an alternate present in a world where the South won the Civil War, and chattel slavery is still legal. Location is the Kansas Union's Alderson Auditorium on Saturday afternoon for all registered attendees of the Campbell Conference.

Many thanks to the University of Kansas Oread Book Store for sponsoring this event. 

Check out the Conference page for complete information.

Click Here for Coverage of the 2002 Campbell and Sturgeon Awards

Pamela Sargent Joins Campbell Award Jury

LAWRENCE, KS— 1997

Pamela Sargent has accepted appointment to the committee for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the Best SF Novel of the Year, James Gunn, director of the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, announced.

The Campbell Award was founded in 1972 by Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor the editor who presided over science fiction's Golden Age and died in 1971, still editor of the magazine he had taken over in 1937. The award has been presented in various places around the world, including Oxford, Dublin, and Stockholm, but since 1979 it has been presented at the University of Kansas. Membership in the committee that selects the award after discussion, principally by mail, has changed over the years. It now consists of James Gunn, Gregory Benford, Paul A. Carter, Elizabeth Anne Hull, T. A. Shippey, Brian Stableford, Robert H. Wilcox, and Sargent. Sam Lundwall, a long-time Swedish member of the committee, resigned after the 1996 award.

Sargent is a distinguished author of SF and historical novels, including The Venus Trilogy, The Shore of Women, and Ruler of the Sky: A Novel of Genghis Khan. She has won a Nebula Award for short fiction and edited the well-known Women of Wonder anthologies.

Kij Johnson Joins Sturgeon Award Jury

LAWRENCE, KS— 1997

Kij Johnson has accepted appointment to the committee for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the Best Short SF of the Year, James Gunn, director of the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, announced.

The Theodore Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by James Gunn and Sturgeon's heirs, including his widow Jayne Sturgeon, as an appropriate memorial to one of the field's great short-story writers. Sturgeon was closely identified with the Golden Age. Originally the winner was selected by a committee organized by Orson Scott Card, but since 1995, the winning stories have been selected by a committee of three judges from a list nominated by several dozen reviewers, editors, and others familiar with the magazine and original anthology field. Also, for the last four years, one of Theodore Sturgeon's children has participated in the judging process, Noel Sturgeon for this year's Award. The two continuing members of the committee are James Gunn and Frederik Pohl. Judith Merril, a distinguished writer, editor, and critic, resigned from the committee after serving for 1995 and 1996.

Johnson won the Sturgeon Award for her story "Fox Magic" in 1994, and won the IAFA Crawford Award for her novel The Fox Woman in 2001. She has published a number of short stories including an e-book anthology Tales for the Long Rains, and has a new novel, Fudoki, due out early October 2003. She served as managing editor for Tor Books, taught writing at Louisiana State University, worked as the manager for story development at Wizards of the Coast, and currently writes full-time in Lawrence while teaching writing at the University of Kansas.