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John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel

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Not to be confused with John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award for short, is a juried literary award that annually recognizes the "best science-fiction novel ... published in English during the previous calendar year." It was established in 1973 by Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor the 1937–1971 science fiction editor John W. Campbell and to continue his life work of encouraging writers.[1]

The Campbell Memorial Award winner is "selected by a committee small enough to discuss among its members all of the nominated novels." (Evidently there were eight members of the jury in 2009, nine in 2010 and 2011.) That distinguishes the Campbell from other "year's best novel" awards such as the Hugo and Nebula. It is also restricted to novels, where many award names including Hugo and Nebula refer to a set of honors in different categories.[1][a]

Since 1979 the award ceremony has been held during the annual Campbell Conference of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF), University of Kansas. It is often the focus of the conference, which also includes readings and discussions of the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction. When possible the Award winning author participates in the preceding two-week science fiction writers workshop as well as the conference.[1]

The 2011 Campbell Memorial Award winner was announced July 8: The Dervish House by Ian McDonald[1] (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, Pyr imprint, 2010). Second and third place honors went to How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi.[1]

The 2012 award will be presented Friday, July 6.[2]

Jury members

There were nine members of the jury for the 2010 and 2011 awards.[1]

  1. Gregory Benford, physicist and Nebula-winning author of the novel Timescape
  2. Paul Di Filippo, science fiction author and critic
  3. Sheila Finch, Nebula-winning author and scholar
  4. James Gunn, Hugo-winning author and scholar, Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award honoree, past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
  5. Elizabeth Anne Hull, science fiction scholar, past president of the Science Fiction Research Association
  6. Christopher McKitterick, science fiction author and scholar, associate director of CSSF
  7. Paul Kincaid, science fiction critic, past chairman of the Arthur C. Clarke Award
  8. Pamela Sargent, Nebula-winning author and editor of the Women of Wonder anthologies
  9. Tom Shippey, science fiction scholar, editor of The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories

Winners

There were Special recognitions beside the preceding year's best novel in 1973 and 1974, a Special retrospective award with "no truly outstanding original novel" recognized in 1976, and no award because of a breakdown in the nomination process [citation needed] in 1994. On three occasions, two novels have been named the year's best; here they are listed on two lines.

Source: the official website homepage incorporates a list of winners and runners up.[1]

Special 1973 award for excellence in writing: Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg[1]
Malevil, Robert Merle
Special 1974 non-fiction award: The Cosmic Connection, Carl Sagan[1]
The Year of the Quiet Sun (1970), Wilson Tucker —"Special retrospective award made to a truly outstanding original novel that was not adequately recognized in the year of its publication"[1]
The Chronoliths, Robert Charles Wilson
Song of Time, Ian R. MacLeod
The Highest Frontier, Joan Slonczewski

Multiple awards

Frederick Pohl won the Campbell Memorial Award twice, in 1978 for the novel Gateway and in 1985 for the collection of linked novellas The Years of the City. Joan Slonczewski has also won the award twice.

Notes

  1. ^ The distinction is nominal since 1987, for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award recognizing the year's best short science fiction is also conferred by CSSF at the same Awards Ceremony (see the conference schedule).
    • The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is another annual literary award conferred by a different organization, the World Science Fiction Society.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The John W. Campbell Memorial Award". The John Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF). The University of Kansas (UK). Updated July 11, 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  2. ^ "Campbell Conference and Awards Ceremony: 'Communication and Information'". CSSF. UK. Updated April 3, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
  3. ^ "Philip K. Dick, Won Awards For Science-Fiction Works". The New York Times. March 3, 1982. Retrieved 2010-03-30. Mr. Dick, author of 35 novels and 6 collections of short stories, received the Hugo Award in 1963 for The Man in the High Castle and, in 1974, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.
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