Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award ( Sturgeon Award for short ) for the best science fiction short story of the year is a literary award . It was founded in 1987 by James Gunn , director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas , and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon , in memory of one of the greatest SF short story writers.
For the first eight years (1987-1994), the winners were chosen by an Orson Scott Card- led committee of short story experts. The prize has been awarded by a jury since 1995. This is James Gunn and Frederik Pohl as permanent members. Judith Merril was initially there, but resigned after the 1996 award and was replaced by Kij Johnson . Since 1999 one of Theodore Sturgeon's children, usually his daughter Noel, has always participated in the voting process. George Zebrowski joined in 2005 and is part of the now five-person jury.
The nominations are made by reviewers, serious readers (original sound on the Sturgeon Award website) and editors of SF short stories. The suggestions are collected over the winter. A list of finalists will be drawn up based on the evaluation by the nominators. During the spring, the jury reads the final nominated works and debates their merits. The winner usually receives notification in May and is invited to the Campbell Conference .
The winner will be publicly announced during the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet held at the University of Kansas . The Sturgeon Award is the short story counterpart to the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best SF novel of the year.
Award winners
Nobody has ever won the Sturgeon Award multiple times. The front runners in the “Losers Club” are James Patrick Kelly , Ian R. MacLeod and Bruce Sterling , who were nominated seven, five and four times, respectively, without having won the award even once. James Patrick Kelly is also the most frequently nominated author to date for the Sturgeon Award, followed by John Kessel and Ursula K. Le Guin with six nominations each.
year | author | Original title |
---|---|---|
1987 | Judith Moffett | Surviving |
1988 | Pat Murphy | Rachel in Love |
1989 | George Alec Effinger | Schrödinger's kitten |
1990 | Michael Swanwick | The Edge of the World |
1991 | Terry Bisson | Bears Discover Fire |
1992 | John Kessel | Buffalo |
1993 | Dan Simmons | This Year's Class Picture |
1994 | Kij Johnson | Fox Magic |
1995 | Ursula K. Le Guin | Forgiveness Day |
1996 | John G. McDaid | Jigoku no Mokushiroku (The Symbolic Revelation of the Apocalypse) |
1997 | Nancy Kress | The Flowers of Aulit Prison |
1998 | Michael F. Flynn | House of Dreams |
1999 | Ted Chiang | Story of Your Life |
2000 | David Marusek | The Wedding Album |
2001 | Ian McDonald | Tendeléo's story |
2002 | Andy Duncan | The chief designer |
2003 | Lucius Shepard | Over Yonder |
2004 | Kage Baker | The Empress of Mars |
2005 | Bradley Denton | Sergeant Chip |
2006 | Paolo Bacigalupi | The Calorie Man |
2007 | Robert Charles Wilson | The Cartesian Theater |
2008 | Elizabeth Bear | Tidelines |
David R. Moles | Finistera | |
2009 | James Alan Gardner | The Ray Gun: A Love Story |
2010 | James Morrow | Shambling Towards Hiroshima |
2011 | Geoffrey A. Landis | The Sultan of the Clouds |
2012 | Paul J. McAuley | The Choice |
2013 | Molly Gloss | The Grinnell Method |
2014 | Sarah Pinsker | In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind |
2015 | Cory Doctorow | The Man Who Sold the Moon |
2016 | Kelly Link | The Game of Smash and Recovery |
2017 | Catherynne M. Valente | The future is blue |
2018 | Charlie Jane Anders | Don't Press Charges and I Won't Sue |
2019 | Annalee Newitz | When Robot and Crew Saved East St. Louis |
Web links
- Official website of the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Awards
- Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award , entry in the Science Fiction Awards + Database
- Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award , indexed in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database