# Awards



## Lirineth (Jun 27, 2006)

It is very common to read that this or that writer has won an award for one or various of his/her novels, i have heard of one called Nebula which i am lead to believe is a very important one.

I have no problem in admiting that i don't have a clue as to the which are these acknowledgments, but i would be most grateful if one of you could give me an idea, maybe a list of the main 5/10, so that when i read that he/she won the XXXX award i would know whether its one of the 'big' ones or not.

Cheers


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## j d worthington (Jun 27, 2006)

I believe the earliest was the Jules Verne Grand Prix awards, toward the earlier part of the twentieth century, though I know little about them. They were certainly prestigious at the time, though I don't know if they remain an ongoing thing. There's the Hugos, named after Hugo Gernsback, the creator of the first all-sf magazine (so the story goes; actually, there were earlier ones, but they were mostly short-lived and didn't get much attention), which was first awarded in 1953 to *The Demolished Man*, by Alfred Bester; and remains a rather prestigious award to this day. It is awarded at the World Science Convention each year (held over the Labor Day weekend, first Monday in September and the weekend preceding), and are chosen by the readers.

The Nebula you've heard mention of is actually in many ways more important, as it is chosen by the writers: specifically the SFWA (unless they've changed this by expanding it to include other organizations), or the Science Fiction Writers of America (which includes writers from all over the globe, actually, but began here, hence the name). The first of these was awarded in 1963, if I remember correctly, or 1964; to cover stories published before the inception of this award a set of volumes were published recognizing ones that should have won such an award had it been around: The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volumes One and Volumes Two A and Two B -- quite massive tomes covering an awful lot of very good reading.

There was also the short-lived International Fantasy Award, from the early to the late 1950s, as I recall -- the last recipient was The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but others were *Earth Abides*, by George R. Stewart and *More Than Human*, by Theodore Sturgeon (as well as others that slip my mind at the moment).

Then there's the World Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award for horror/dark fantasy, and the Edgar, given out by the Mystery Writers of America, but which sometimes includes things that classify as dark fantasy.

I know there are others, but right now my brain seems to be dripping onto the carpet, so I can't remember them right off hand. Perhaps Chris could enlighten you further. Each of these is considered quite a coup, and the majority of works that have earned these (though not all) are certainly worth a read.


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## dwndrgn (Jun 27, 2006)

The Hugo
http://www.worldcon.org/hugos.html

The Nebula
http://dpsinfo.com/awardweb/nebulas/

Those are the two biggies and  here are some others:
Bram Stoker
Book award given by the Horror Writer's Association for superior achievement in horror fiction.
www.horror.org/stokers.htm 

Arthur C. Clarke Award
Yearly award for the best science fiction novel published in the U.K. Founded by Arthur C. Clarke, the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Browse winners and shortlists, or learn about award judges.
www.appomattox.demon.co.uk/acca

Locus Awards
Yearly award presented to winners of Locus Magazine's annual readers' poll of favorite science fiction and fantasy titles.
www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Locus.html

Aurora Award
Canada's highest award for achievements in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.
www.granite.sentex.net/~dmullin/aurora


That should help...


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## Lacedaemonian (Jun 27, 2006)

The Booker Prize.

The Nobel Prize.

The Pulitzer.


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## j d worthington (Jun 27, 2006)

Lacedaemonian said:
			
		

> The Booker Prize.
> 
> The Nobel Prize.
> 
> The Pulitzer.


Spot on. Since this is a sff forum, I stupidly assumed the awards meant were within these fields, but it doesn't say that anywhere, does it? In which case, you've a whole bushel of the things that are pretty prestigious.... The ones Lace mentions are certainly at the highest level, when it comes to prestigious prizes.....


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## Lirineth (Jun 28, 2006)

Thanks so much for all the answers they do clarify a lot.

Sorry i was not a bit more clear, but anyway the mentioning of the Booker, Nobel and Pulitzer of course was great.

By the way I know about the Nobel and the Pulitzer but what line of writing does the Booker honour?

Cheers
L


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## littlemissattitude (Jun 29, 2006)

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, usually called the Booker Prize, is awarded each year for the best original full-length novel in the English language written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_prize.


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