Awards in SF Literature

By: Chris Wyatt
Date: Wednesday, September 04, 2002

While best known for handing out the Hugo awards, the World Science Fiction Convention (called World Con) also gives out other prizes related to SF literature and fan culture. Here's a breakdown of some of the various non-Hugo awards given at this year's World Con in San Jose, California.

The John W. Campbell Award is sponsored by Dell magazines. The award honors the best new writer, meaning the best writer whose first novel was issued within the last two calendar years. This year the award went to Jo Walton. Her first novel was THE KING'S PEACE.

The Seiun is Japan's top genre fiction honor. The "best translated" categories are designed to honor foreign (i.e. Non-Japanese) works which were first translated into Japanese during the last calendar year. The two "translated" Seiuns are given during World Con.

Seiun for Best Translated Short Story:

[Tie] "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, and "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Michael Swanwick

Seiun for Best Translated Novel:

THERE AND BACK AGAIN by Pat Murphy

Interestingly "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula"; however, the award is the Japanese version of the Hugo (meaning voted on by readers), not a version of the Nebulas (which are only voted on by publishing insiders).

The Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award is given out every year to a writer, either living or dead, whose work is important, yet has fallen into obscurity. The award is intended to awaken new interest in important works that may, for some reason or the other, be currently overlooked. This year the award was given to R. A. Lafferty. Lafferty, who died earlier this year, is the author of excellent volumes like PAST MASTER and SPACE CHANTY.


First Fandom Awards are given in honor of lifetime achievement in the world of SF fandom.

First Fandom Hall of Fame Award:

Arthur C. Clarke

First Fandom Posthumous Hall of Fame:

Martha Beck

First Fandom also honors the SF collecting world with the Sam Moskowitz Achieve award, which is given "for excellence in collecting." This year it went to Robert A. Madle.

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