The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, trade name, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional sci ...

(SFWA) to a living writer of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. It was first awarded in 1975, to Robert Heinlein. In 2002, it was renamed after Damon Knight, the founder of SFWA, who had died that year. 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 works and are 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. The recipient is announced in advance, commonly during the preceding calendar year. From 1995 to 2010, SFWA also gave some writers the title of Author Emeritus. 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.The Inaugural Infinity Award Honoree: Octavia E. Butler
"

(SFWA), April 27, 2023.

History

The first Grand Master, Robert Heinlein, was named in 1975. The Grand Master Award was originally limited to six recipients per decade; six were presented in the ten years to 1984 and twelve in the twenty years to 1994. From 1995, the award has been conferred annually, with the exception of 2002 and 2011.

Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...

was the first woman to receive the award, in 1984. As of 2024,

Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson (born 20 December 1960) is a Jamaican-born Canadian speculative fiction writer and editor. Her novels – ''Brown Girl in the Ring (novel), Brown Girl in the Ring'' (1998), ''Midnight Robber'' (2000), ''The Salt Roads'' (2003), ' ...

is the youngest person to have received the award; she was aged 59. From 1995 to 2010, 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." Recipients were invited to speak at the annual Nebula Awards banquet. Fourteen honorees were named in the sixteen years the award was given. As of 2024, there has been no overlap between Grand Masters and Authors Emeritus. The award's status as a consolation prize was a matter of controversy.

Grand Masters

As of 2024, 40 Grand Masters have been created. The list below shows the year of the award ceremonies for each respective recipient. Awards are announced in advance of the ceremony, sometimes in the preceding year.

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. 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."

Anthologies

In 1989, the anthology '' Grand Masters' Choice'' was published, edited by

and Ingrid Zierhut. 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 Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

. Collectively, they honor the first fifteen recipients of the award.

References

External links

"SFWA Grand Master Award"
in ''

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 appea ...

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Michael Moorcock at 2008 Nebula Award Ceremony
(flickr)
Harry Harrison and Robert Silverberg at 2009 Nebula award ceremony
(twitpic) {{Science fiction Science fiction awards 1974 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1974