John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
Encyclopedia
The John W. Campbell
Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison
and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name. Unlike other major science fiction
awards, such as the Hugo
and the Nebula
, recipients are selected by a jury.
The award ceremony has been held in a number of places over the years, but since 1979, has been held during the Center for the Study of Science Fiction
's annual Campbell Conference
at the University of Kansas
, where it is often the focus of the weekend-long conference that also includes readings and discussions of the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.
In 1976, the jury felt that no truly outstanding novels had been published the previous year, and so the award was given retrospectively to a novel published in 1970. In 1994, no award was given, due to a breakdown in the nomination process.
Historian Paul A. Carter, author of The Creation of Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Magazine Science Fiction, retired from the jury in 2009, when Di Filippo and Finch joined the committee. In 2008, Kincaid replaced Farah Mendlesohn
.
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison
Harry Harrison is an American science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green...
and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name. Unlike other major science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
awards, such as the Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
and the Nebula
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
, recipients are selected by a jury.
The award ceremony has been held in a number of places over the years, but since 1979, has been held during the Center for the Study of Science Fiction
Center for the Study of Science Fiction
The Center for the Study of Science Fiction is an educational institution, associated with the University of Kansas, that emerged out of the science-fiction programs that James Gunn created there beginning in 1970....
's annual Campbell Conference
Campbell Conference (science fiction)
The Campbell Conference is an academic science fiction event put on yearly by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. The Campbell Conference is the concluding event of the CSSF Writers Workshop in Science Fiction and the Novel Writers Workshop in Science Fiction,...
at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, where it is often the focus of the weekend-long conference that also includes readings and discussions of the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.
In 1976, the jury felt that no truly outstanding novels had been published the previous year, and so the award was given retrospectively to a novel published in 1970. In 1994, no award was given, due to a breakdown in the nomination process.
Jury members
, the members of the award jury are:- Nebula-winning author and physicist Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, author of the novel TimescapeTimescapeTimescape is a 1980 novel by science fiction writer Gregory Benford . It won the 1980 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards, and the 1981 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel... - Science fiction author and critic Paul Di FilippoPaul Di FilippoPaul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...
- Nebula-winning author and scholar Sheila FinchSheila FinchSheila Finch is a science fiction author. She has won the Nebula Award for her 1998 novella “Reading the Bones,” which was later expanded into a novel...
- Hugo-winning author and scholar James GunnJames Gunn (author)- Further reading :James E. Gunn The Listeners, BenBella Books, ISBN 1-932100-12-1 -External links:*...
, Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master AwardDamon Knight Memorial Grand Master AwardThe Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is an award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is awarded to a living author for lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy. Officially, it is not a Nebula Award though it is awarded at the Nebula ceremony...
honoree and past president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of AmericaScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of AmericaScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, or SFWA is a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. It was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight under the name Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc. and it retains the acronym SFWA after a very brief use of the SFFWA... - Science fiction scholar Elizabeth Anne HullElizabeth Anne HullElizabeth Anne Hull, PhD , is an American academic, political activist and science fiction expert.She is Professor Emerita of William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, where she taught English for over 30 years...
, past president of the Science Fiction Research AssociationScience Fiction Research AssociationThe Science Fiction Research Association , founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media... - Science fiction author and scholar Christopher McKitterickChristopher McKitterickChristopher McKitterick is an American writer of science fiction and an academic concerned with the field. He is Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, a program at the University of Kansas that supports an annual series of classes, workshops, online classes, and , a resource for...
, associate director of the Center for the Study of Science FictionCenter for the Study of Science FictionThe Center for the Study of Science Fiction is an educational institution, associated with the University of Kansas, that emerged out of the science-fiction programs that James Gunn created there beginning in 1970.... - Science fiction critic Paul KincaidPaul KincaidPaul Kincaid is a British science fiction critic. His writing has appeared in a wide range of publications including New Scientist, Times Literary Supplement, Literary Review, New York Review of Science Fiction, Foundation, Science Fiction Studies, Interzone and Strange Horizons. He is a former...
, former chairman of the Arthur C. Clarke AwardArthur C. Clarke AwardThe Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987... - Nebula-winning author and editor Pamela SargentPamela SargentPamela Sargent is an American, feminist, science fiction author, and editor. She has an MA in classical philosophy and has won a Nebula Award. She wrote a series concerning the terraforming of Venus that is sometimes compared to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, but predates it...
, editor of the Women of Wonder anthologies - Science fiction scholar Tom ShippeyTom ShippeyThomas Alan Shippey is a scholar of medieval literature, including that of Anglo-Saxon England, and of modern fantasy and science fiction, in particular the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, about whom he has written several scholarly studies. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars...
, editor of The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
Historian Paul A. Carter, author of The Creation of Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Magazine Science Fiction, retired from the jury in 2009, when Di Filippo and Finch joined the committee. In 2008, Kincaid replaced Farah Mendlesohn
Farah Mendlesohn
Farah Mendlesohn is a Hugo Award-winning British academic and writer on science fiction. In 2005 she won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, which she edited with Edward James....
.
Recipients
From the Campbell Award official website (which also lists runners-up):- 1973 - Beyond ApolloBeyond ApolloBeyond Apollo is a novel by Barry N. Malzberg, first published in 1972 in a hardcover edition by Random House.Malzberg credits the inspiration for the novel to "I Have My Vigil", a 1969 short story by fellow science fiction writer Harry Harrison....
, Barry N. MalzbergBarry N. MalzbergBarry Nathaniel Malzberg is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy.-Overview:Initially in his post-graduate work Malzberg sought to establish himself as a playwright as well as a prose-fiction writer. His first two published novels were issed by Olympia Press... - 1974 (tie) - Rendezvous with RamaRendezvous with RamaRendezvous with Rama is a novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1972. Set in the 22nd century, the story involves a cylindrical alien starship that enters Earth's solar system...
, Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
; MalevilMalevilMalevil is a 1972 science fiction novel by French writer Robert Merle. It was adapted into a 1981 film directed by Christian de Chalonge and starring Michel Serrault, Jacques Dutronc, Jacques Villeret and Jean-Louis Trintignant .-Plot summary:...
, Robert MerleRobert MerleRobert Merle was a French novelist.-Biography:Born in Tébessa in French Algeria, he moved to France in 1918. A professor of English Literature at several universities, during World War II Merle was conscripted in the French army and assigned as an interpreter to the British Expeditionary Force... - 1975 - Flow My Tears, The Policeman SaidFlow My Tears, The Policeman SaidFlow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a 1974 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick about a genetically enhanced pop singer and television star who loses his identity overnight. The story is set in a futuristic dystopia, where America has become a police state after a Second Civil War. The novel...
, Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered... - 1976 - The Year of the Quiet SunThe Year of the Quiet Sun (novel)The Year of the Quiet Sun is a 1970 science fiction novel by Wilson Tucker about the use of forward time travel to ascertain future political and social events. It won a retrospective John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1976...
, Wilson TuckerWilson TuckerArthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
(special retroactive award for a novel from 1970) - 1977 - The AlterationThe AlterationThe Alteration is a 1976 alternate history novel by Kingsley Amis, set in a parallel universe in which the Reformation did not take place. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1977.-Creative origins:...
, Kingsley AmisKingsley AmisSir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism... - 1978 - GatewayGateway (novel)Gateway is a 1977 science fiction novel by American writer Frederik Pohl. Gateway won the 1978 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 1978 Locus Award for Best Novel, the 1977 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 1978 John W. Campbell Award. It is the opening novel in the Heechee saga...
, Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem... - 1979 - GlorianaGloriana (novel)Gloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen is an award-winning work of literary fantasy by British novelist Michael Moorcock. It was first published in 1978 and has remained in print ever since.-Genre:...
, Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels.... - 1980 - On Wings of SongOn Wings of SongOn Wings of Song is a 1979 science fiction novel by Thomas M. Disch. It was first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in three installments in February to April 1979....
, Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch 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 nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W... - 1981 - TimescapeTimescapeTimescape is a 1980 novel by science fiction writer Gregory Benford . It won the 1980 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards, and the 1981 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel...
, Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine... - 1982 - Riddley WalkerRiddley WalkerRiddley Walker is a science fiction novel by Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award in 1983...
, Russell HobanRussell HobanRussell Conwell Hoban is an American writer, now living in England, of fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magic realism, poetry, and children's books-Biography:... - 1983 - Helliconia Spring, Brian W. Aldiss
- 1984 - The Citadel of the Autarch, Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
- 1985 - The Years of the City, Frederik PohlFrederik PohlFrederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
- 1986 - The PostmanThe PostmanThe Postman , is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by David Brin. A drifter stumbles across the uniform of an old United States Postal Service letter carrier and with empty promises of aid from the "Restored United States of America", gives hope to a community threatened by local warlords...
, David BrinDavid BrinGlen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:... - 1987 - A Door into OceanA Door Into OceanA Door into Ocean is a 1986 feminist science fiction novel by Joan Slonczewski. The novel shows themes of ecofeminism and nonviolent revolution, combined with Slonczewski's own mastery of knowledge in the field of biology.-Plot summary:...
, Joan Slonczewski - 1988 - Lincoln's DreamsLincoln's DreamsLincoln's Dreams is about a historical researcher studying the U.S. Civil War who meets a young woman who seems to be dreaming General Lee's dreams. Connie Willis brings to her writing a sense of realism and apparently detailed research into historical aspects of her fiction...
, Connie WillisConnie WillisConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear... - 1989 - Islands in the NetIslands in the NetIslands in the Net, a 1988 science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1989, and was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards that same year.-Overview:...
, Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:... - 1990 - The Child GardenThe Child GardenThe Child Garden is a 1989 science fiction novel by Geoff Ryman. It won both the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1990....
, Geoff RymanGeoff RymanGeoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing for University of Manchester's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of... - 1991 - Pacific Edge, Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
- 1992 - Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on GanymedeBuddy Holly is Alive and Well on GanymedeBuddy Holly is Alive and Well on Ganymede is a 1991 comedic science fiction novel by Bradley Denton. It won the 1992 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.-Plot:...
, Bradley DentonBradley DentonBradley Clayton Denton is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel Blackburn, about a sympathetic serial killer.... - 1993 - Brother to Dragons, Charles SheffieldCharles SheffieldCharles Sheffield , was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society....
- 1994 - No award
- 1995 - Permutation CityPermutation CityPermutation City is a 1994 science fiction novel by Greg Egan that explores many concepts, including quantum ontology, via various philosophical aspects of artificial life and simulated reality. Sections of the story were adapted from Egan's 1992 short story "Dust" which dealt with many of the same...
, Greg EganGreg EganGreg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness... - 1996 - The Time ShipsThe Time ShipsThe Time Ships is a 1995 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. A sequel to The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, it was officially authorized by the Wells estate to mark the centenary of the original's publication. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Philip K. Dick Award in 1996, as...
, Stephen BaxterStephen BaxterStephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :... - 1997 - Fairyland, Paul J. McAuley
- 1998 - Forever PeaceForever PeaceForever Peace is a 1997 science fiction novel by Joe Haldeman. It won the Nebula Award, Hugo Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1998.-Plot:...
, Joe HaldemanJoe HaldemanJoe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known... - 1999 - Brute Orbits, George ZebrowskiGeorge ZebrowskiGeorge Zebrowski is a science fiction author and editor who has written and edited a number of books. He lives with author Pamela Sargent, with whom he has co-written a number of novels, including Star Trek novels.Zebrowski won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1999 for his novel Brute Orbits...
- 2000 - A Deepness in the SkyA Deepness in the SkyA Deepness in the Sky is a Hugo Award–winning science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge. Published in 1999, the novel is a loose prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep...
, Vernor VingeVernor VingeVernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep , A Deepness in the Sky , Rainbows End , Fast Times at Fairmont High ... - 2001 - Genesis, Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
- 2002 (tie) - Terraforming Earth, Jack WilliamsonJack WilliamsonJohn Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...
; The ChronolithsThe ChronolithsThe Chronoliths is a 2001 science fiction novel by Robert Charles Wilson. It was nominated for the 2002 Hugo Award for Best Novel and tied for the 2002 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.-Plot summary:...
, Robert Charles WilsonRobert Charles WilsonRobert Charles Wilson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.Wilson was born in the United States in California, but grew up near Toronto, Ontario. Apart from another short period in the early 1970s spent in Whittier, California, he has lived most of his life in Canada, and in 2007 he... - 2003 - Probability Space, Nancy KressNancy KressNancy Kress is an American science fiction writer. She began writing in 1976 but has achieved her greatest notice since the publication of her Hugo and Nebula-winning 1991 novella "Beggars in Spain" which was later expanded into a novel with the same title...
- 2004 - Omega, Jack McDevittJack McDevittJack McDevitt is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology....
- 2005 - Market ForcesMarket ForcesMarket Forces is a science fiction novel by Richard Morgan, first published in 2004.Set in 2049 in the wake of a global economic downturn called the Domino Recessions, it follows up-and-coming executive Chris as he plunges into the profitable field of Conflict Investment...
, Richard Morgan - 2006 - Mindscan, Robert J. SawyerRobert J. SawyerRobert James Sawyer is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 20 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won over forty awards for his fiction, including the Nebula Award ,...
- 2007 - Titan, Ben BovaBen BovaBenjamin William Bova is an American science-fiction author and editor. He is the recipient of six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor for his work at Analog Science Fiction in the 1970's.-Personal life:...
- 2008 - In War Times, Kathleen Ann GoonanKathleen Ann GoonanKathleen Ann Goonan is an American science fiction writer. Several of her books have been nominated for the Nebula Award. Her debut novel Queen City Jazz was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and her novel In War Times was chosen by the American Library Association as Best Science...
- 2009 (tie) - Little BrotherLittle Brother (Cory Doctorow novel)Little Brother is a novel by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor Books. It was released on April 29, 2008. The novel is about several teenagers in San Francisco who, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge and BART system, defend themselves against the...
, Cory DoctorowCory DoctorowCory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...
; Song of Time, Ian R. MacLeodIan R. MacLeodIan R. MacLeod is a British science fiction and fantasy writer.He was born in Solihull near Birmingham. He studied law and worked as a civil servant before going freelance in early 1990s soon after he started publishing stories, attracting critical praise and awards nominations.-Writings:He is the... - 2010 - The Windup GirlThe Windup GirlThe Windup Girl is a biopunk science fiction novel written by Paolo Bacigalupi and published in September 2009. It was named as the ninth best fiction book of 2009 by TIME magazine, and as the best science fiction book of the year in the Reference and User Services Association's 2010 Reading List...
, Paolo BacigalupiPaolo BacigalupiPaolo Tadini Bacigalupi is an American science fiction and fantasy writer.He has won the Hugo, Nebula, Compton Crook, Theodore Sturgeon, and Michael L. Printz awards, and was nominated for the National Book Award... - 2011 - The Dervish House, Ian McDonald