__NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of the field, the Rhyslings are named for a character in a science fiction story: the blind poet Rhysling, in Robert A. Heinlein's short story " The Green Hills of Earth".

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared ...

'', 3rd edition (online). Ed. John Clute, David Langford, and Peter Nicholls. 2013. Accessed 19 February 2013 The award is given in two categories: "Best Long Poem", for works of 50 or more lines, and "Best Short Poem", for works of 49 or fewer lines. The nominees for each year's Rhysling Awards are chosen by the members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA). Each member may nominate one work for each of the categories. The nominated works are then compiled into an anthology called '' The Rhysling Anthology'', and members of the Association then vote on the final winners. From 2005 to 2011, the Awards were presented in July at a ceremony at

Readercon Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction/ ...

. While the "Best Short Poem" category allows very short poems to be entered the SFPA also has the

Dwarf Stars Award The Dwarf Stars Award is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction Poetry Association to the author of the best horror, fantasy, or science fiction poem of ten lines or fewer published in the previous year. The award was established in 2 ...

which is for poems from one to ten lines. In 2005, the SFPA published an anthology of the winning poems, ''The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase''.

Best Long Poem winners

*1978: Gene Wolfe, ''The Computer Iterates the Greater Trumps'' *1979: Michael Bishop, ''For the Lady of a Physicist'' *1980: Andrew Joron, ''The Sonic Flowerfall of Primes'' *1981:

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominatio ...

, ''On Science Fiction'' *1982:

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, ''The Well of Baln'' *1983: Adam Cornford, ''Your Time and You: A Neoprole's Dating Guide'' *1984:

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have ...

, ''Saul's Death: Two Sestinas'' *1985:

Siv Cedering Siv Cedering (February 5, 1939 – November 17, 2007) was a Swedish-American poet, writer, and artist. She occasionally published as Siv Cedering Fox. Early life Siv Cedering was born 30 kilometers south of the arctic circle in rural Överkali ...

, ''A Letter from Caroline Herschel (1750-1848)'' *1986: Andrew Joron, ''Shipwrecked on Destiny Five'' *1987: W. Gregory Stewart, ''Daedalus'' *1988:

Lucius Shepard Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism. Career Shepard was a native of Lynchburg, Virginia where ...

, ''White Trains'' *1989 (tie):

Bruce Boston Bruce Boston (born 1943) is an American speculative fiction writer and poet. Early years Bruce Boston was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California.Diane SeversonInterview with Bruce Boston''Amazing Stories'' March 15, 2013 (accessed ...

, ''In the Darkened Hours'';

John M. Ford John Milo "Mike" Ford (April 10, 1957 – September 25, 2006) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet. A contributor to several online discussions, Ford composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated ...

, ''

Winter Solstice, Camelot Station "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station" is a poem by John M. Ford, about the Knights of the Round Table at a train station in Camelot. It was first published as Ford's Christmas card,Patrick McKinnon Patrick McKinnon's poems, prose, collage and criticism have appeared in more than 700 literary magazines worldwide including ''Atom Mind'', ''Henry Miller's Stroker'', ''North American Review'', ''Pulpsmith'' and ''Minnesota Monthly''. In 19 ...

, ''dear spacemen'' *1991:

David Memmott David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''The Aging Cryonicist in the Arms of His Mistress Contemplates the Survival of the Species While the Phoenix Is Consumed by Fire'' *1992: W. Gregory Stewart, ''the button and what you know'' *1993: William J. Daciuk, ''To Be from Earth'' *1994: W. Gregory Stewart and Robert Frazier, ''Basement Flats: Redefining the Burgess Shale'' *1995:

David Lunde David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''Pilot, Pilot'' *1996: Margaret B. Simon, ''Variants of the Obsolete'' *1997: Terry A. Garey, ''Spotting UFOs While Canning Tomatoes'' *1998: Laurel Winter, ''why goldfish shouldn't use power tools'' *1999:

, ''Confessions of a Body Thief'' *2000:

Geoffrey A. Landis Geoffrey Alan Landis (; born May 28, 1955) is an American aerospace engineer and author, working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on planetary exploration, interstellar propulsion, solar power and photovoltaics. He h ...

, ''Christmas (after we all get time machines)'' *2001:

, ''January Fires'' *2002: Lawrence Schimel, ''How to Make a Human'' *2003 (tie): Charles Saplak and Mike Allen, ''Epochs in Exile: A Fantasy Trilogy''; Sonya Taaffe, ''Matlacihuatl's Gift'' *2004:

Theodora Goss Theodora Goss (born September 30, 1968) is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry ...

, ''Octavia Is Lost in the Hall of Masks'' *2005:

Tim Pratt Tim Pratt (born December 12, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. He won a Hugo Award in 2007 for his short story " Impossible Dreams". He has written over 20 books, including the Marla Mason series and several Path ...

, ''Soul Searching'' *2006: Kendall Evans and David C. Kopaska-Merkel, ''The Tin Men'' *2007: Mike Allen, ''The Journey to Kailash'' *2008: Catherynne M. Valente, ''The Seven Devils of Central California'' *2009:

, ''Search'' *2010: Kendall Evans and Samantha Henderson, ''In the Astronaut Asylum'' *2011: C. S. E. Cooney, ''The Sea King's Second Bride'' *2012: Megan Arkenberg, ''The Curator Speaks in the Department of Dead Languages'' *2013: Andrew Robert Sutton, ''Into Flight'' *2014: Mary Soon Lee, ''Interregnum'' *2015: F.J. Bergmann, ''100 Reasons to Have Sex with an Alien'' *2016: (tie) Krysada Panusith Phounsiri, ''It Begins With A Haunting''; Ann K. Schwader, ''Keziah'' *2017:

, ''Rose Child'' *2018:

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gra ...

, ''The Mushroom Hunters'' *2019:

Sarah Tolmie Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a ...

, ''Ursula le Guin in the Underworld'' *2020: Rebecca Buchanan, "Heliobacterium daphnephilum"

Best Short Poem winners

*1978 (tie):

Duane Ackerson Duane Ackerson (October 17, 1942 – April 19, 2020) was an American writer of speculative poetry and fiction. Не taught at the University of Oregon, then headed the creative program at Idaho State University. He lived in Salem, Oregon, where ...

, "The Starman"; Andrew Joron, "Asleep in the Arms of Mother Night"; Sonya Dorman, "Corruption of Metals" *1979 (tie):

, "Fatalities"; Steve Eng, "Storybooks and Treasure Maps" *1980 (tie): Robert Frazier, "Encased in the Amber of Eternity"; Peter Payack, "The Migration of Darkness" *1981: Ken Duffin, "Meeting Place" *1982: Raymond DiZazzo, "On the Speed of Sight" *1983:

Alan P. Lightman Alan Paige Lightman is an American physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur. He has served on the faculties of Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is currently a Professor of the Practice of the Humanities a ...

, "In Computers" *1984: Helen Ehrlich, "Two Sonnets" *1985:

, "For Spacers Snarled in the Hair of Comets" *1986:

Susan Palwick Susan Palwick (born 1960 in New York City) is an American writer and associate professor emerita of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. She began her professional career by publishing "The Woman Who Saved the World" for ''Isaac Asimov's Sc ...

, "The Neighbor's Wife" *1987 (tie): Jonathan V. Post, "Before the Big Bang: News from the Hubble Large Space Telescope"; John Calvin Rezmerski, "A Dream of Heredity" *1988 (tie):

, "The Nightmare Collector"; Suzette Haden Elgin, "Rocky Road to Hoe" *1989: Robert Frazier, "Salinity" *1990: G. Sutton Breiding, "Epitaph for Dreams" *1991:

, "Eighteen Years Old, October Eleventh" *1992:

, "Song of the Martian Cricket" *1993:

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

, "Will" *1994 (tie):

, "Spacer's Compass";

Jeff VanderMeer Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The t ...

, "Flight Is for Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over" *1995: Dan Raphael, "Skin of Glass" *1996:

, "Future Present: A Lesson in Expectation" *1997: W. Gregory Stewart, "Day Omega" *1998: John Grey, "Explaining Frankenstein to His Mother" *1999: Laurel Winter, "egg horror poem" *2000: Rebecca Marjesdatter, "Grimoire" *2001:

, "My Wife Returns as She Would Have It" *2002: William John Watkins, "We Die as Angels" *2003:

Ruth Berman Ruth Berman is an American writer of weird science fiction and speculative poetry. In 2003, she won the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem. She was also the winner of the 2006 Dwarf Stars Award for her poem ''Knowledge Of''. In 1973, she was a ...

, "Potherb Gardening" *2004: Roger Dutcher, "Just Distance" *2005: Greg Beatty, "No Ruined Lunar City" *2006: Mike Allen, "The Strip Search" *2007: Rich Ristow, "The Graven Idol's Godheart" *2008: F.J. Bergmann, "Eating Light" *2009:

Amal El-Mohtar Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine ''Goblin Fruit'' since 2006. El-Moh ...

, "Song for an Ancient City" *2010: Ann K. Schwader, "To Theia" *2011:

, "Peach-Creamed Honey" *2012: Shira Lipkin, "The Library, After" *2013: Terry A. Garey, "The Cat Star" *2014:

, "Turning the Leaves" *2015:

Marge Simon Marge Baliff Simon (born 1942) is an American artist and a writer of speculative poetry and fiction. Biography Early life Marge Simon was born in Bethesda, Maryland, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Education and career She received her B ...

, "Shutdown" *2016:

, "Time Travel Vocabulary Problems" *2017:

, "George Tecumseh Sherman's Ghosts" *2018: Mary Soon Lee, "Advice to a Six-year-old" *2019: Beth Cato, "After Her Brother Ripped the Heads from Her Paper Dolls" *2020: Jessica Jo Horowitz, "Taking, Keeping"

References

External links

Official list of Rhysling Award winners
{{Science fiction R Science fiction awards Fantasy poetry American poetry awards Fantasy awards Horror fiction awards