News of the Week

Stephenson, Steele head 1996 Hugo winners

onnie Willis served as the toastmaster for the 1996 Hugo Awards, which were presented on Sunday, Sept. 1, at the 54th World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif. Willis's quick wit, expert timing and fast thinking kept the crowd amused and entertained during the presentation ceremony, which didn't quite come off without a hitch as many of the presenters weren't sure exactly when to present what award to which recipient. In her characteristic, self-amused style, Willis smoothed over the rough spots and kept the Hugo nominees on the edge of their seats at the same time.

Neal Stephenson was the surprise winner of this year's Hugo Award for Best Novel, a surprise not because he won the award but because he appeared in person to receive it. Few people in the audience had ever seen Stephenson, and no one knew the reclusive writer was in attendance at Worldcon. The crowd fell into a kind of hushed awe as he took the stage for his acceptance speech.

Worldcon Guest of Honor James White presented the award to Stephenson and chided him, "This is a very serious and distinguished award. You shouldn't be smiling." Nevertheless, Stephenson and the other award recipients had big smiles for the audience as they accepted their 1996 Hugos. The winners are:

Best Novel
The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson (Bantam Spectra)

"To the extent that this is being construed as a trophy, a competition that pitted me against the other nominees, I'm frankly a little bit uneasy about it," Stephenson said. "If instead of that we think of it as a token of appreciation, an award that, owing to a silly technicality of the rules can only be handed out to one person at a time, I'm honored and delighted to accept it."

Best Novella
"The Death of Captain Future," by Allen Steele (Asimov's, October 1995)

"Hot sh*t! Yea!" Steele said. He went on to thank editor Gardner Dozois and executive editor Sheila Williams at Asimov's, the late Edmond Hamilton (who created the Captain Future character), and his wife Linda "for everything."

Best Novelette
"Think Like a Dinosaur," by James Patrick Kelly (Asimov's, June 1995)

"Uh, gosh. Wow!" Kelly said. "I want to thank the people who helped me make this story. I workshopped it with the Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop, who read it in manuscript. I'd like to thank Michael Burstein for some key research. And I'd like to thank, most of all, Sheila Williams and Gardner Dozois for giving it such a great showcase."

Best Short Story
"The Lincoln Train," by Maureen F. McHugh (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, April 1995)

Accepted by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. "Maureen gave me a note and she gave me an acceptance speech," Rusch said. "And it says that Maureen wanted me to pick up the award as the editor who published 'The Lincoln Train,' but she really owed a debt of gratitude to Mike Resnick for making her write it."

Best Non-Fiction Book
Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, by John Clute (Dorling Kindersley)

"The book was a kind of outreach book, we thought at first," Clute said. "It was mainly designed -- we thought -- to bring this world here to the outside world, and I'm extremely happy and very grateful that it seems to have reached some of us in this room as well. Thank you very much."

Best Dramatic Presentation
"The Coming of Shadows" (Babylon 5, by Warner
Brothers)

Accepted by Babylon 5 creator and producer, J. Michael Straczynski. Straczynski thanked many people, but "most of all the fans of the show, who believed in us at a time when the media wrote us off, TV Guide wrote us off, the critics wrote us off, and they all said we would be a one-show, one-season, one-episode wonder. You guys believed in us, you stood behind us, you supported us, and this is yours as well as mine. Thank you."

Best Professional Editor
Gardner Dozois

"I'd like to thank all of my friends and family, and I'd like to thank all of you, the readers," Dozois said. "We're very grateful you like what we're doing. Thank you very much."

Best Professional Artist
Bob Eggleton

"I really feel very privileged to be in this crowd of everybody who's been nominated and everybody who's ever won this award," Eggleton said. "It's an inspiration."

Best Original Artwork
Dinotopia: The World Beneath, by James Gurney (Turner)

"This award comes at time when new dreams are forming, where Dinotopia, hopefully, can become through film and other media, even more a believable world that we all can travel to," Gurney said. "So thank you, and I'll see you there."

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
David Feintuch
(This award is not technically a Hugo, but it is listed on the Hugo ballot and voted on in the same fashion.)

"For those of you who write science fiction, thank you for enriching my life," Feintuch said. "For those of you who read science fiction, thank you for supporting the love of my life. For those of you who always thought maybe someday, maybe someday you could write, when this is over put the masquerade costumes away and go home and do it, because I'm here to tell you that miracles happen."

Hugo Awards were also presented in several non-professional categories:

Best Semi-Prozine
Locus, edited by Charles N. Brown

Best Fanzine
Ansible, edited by Dave Langford

Best Fan Writer
Dave Langford

Best Fan Artist
William Rotsler

See a complete list of the first-place voting results for this year's Hugo Awards as well as a list of honorable mentions.

Earlier in the ceremony the Seiun Awards -- the Japanese equivalent of the Hugos, which are awarded to translated works -- were awarded to The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Timelike Infinity by Stephen Baxter and "Robot Visions" by Isaac Asimov. The Big Heart Award in memory of E. Everett Evans was presented to Dick Daniels, and Erle Melvin Korshak and Frank K. Kelly received the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award.

Robert Silverberg also gave a brief eulogy for Elsie A. Wolheim, the wife of Donald A. Wolheim and the co-founder of DAW Books, who was to have been a special guest of honor at the Worldcon. When Silverberg was finished, the audience gave Betsy Wolheim a standing ovation.

Editor's Note: This story was changed on Sept. 11 to correct a mistake in the text. Robert Silverberg gave a eulogy for Elsie Wolheim, the wife of Donald A. Wolheim, not Betsy Wolheim, as we had mistakenly written. Betsy Wolheim is the daughter of Elsie and Donald and currently heads DAW Books. We apologize for any confusion this error may have caused.

SFW readers predict 4 of 7 Hugo winners

early 1,000 people voted in the first annual Science Fiction Weekly Reader Appreciation Awards, which officially closed at noon on Monday, Aug. 26. The awards were based on seven categories taken from the 1996 Hugo Award nomination ballot and represented the equivalent of a virtual straw poll for the Hugos.

SFW readers accurately predicted the Hugo winners in four out of the seven categories, including surprise winner Allen Steele for Best Novella. Although not technically a Hugo, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer was included as one of the categories in the poll, although our readers picked Michael Burstein while the actual award went to David Feintuch.

See the complete voting results.

Pictured clockwise from top left are David Brin, Allen Steele, Mike Resnick, Michael Burstein, J. Michael Straczynski and John Clute.

The awards themselves were presented at an informal party held Friday, Aug. 30, at the 54th World Science Fiction. All of the winners were in attendance, except for Maureen F. McHugh, who was not at the convention. The winners were:

Best Novel
Brightness Reef, by David Brin

Brin told the audience that he would rather win the SFW award than the Hugo, since two of his Uplift books had already won Hugos and it would be inappropriate if another Uplift book won the Hugo.

Best Novella
"The Death of Captain Future," by Allen Steele

Not knowing that he was going to walk away with the Hugo two nights later, Steele said he was pleased to win the SFW Award since at least he would have something to take home with him from the Worldcon.

Best Novelette
"Where the Old Gods Die," by Mike Resnick

Resnick said he especially valued the award because it was voted on by readers rather than other professionals in the field.

Best Short Story
"The Lincoln Train," by Maureen F. McHugh
Mike Resnick also accepted the Best Short Story award, this time on behalf of Maureen F. McHugh. Although the story first appeared in print in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Resnick had commissioned it nearly three years ago for an anthology.

Best Non-fiction Book
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, by John Clute

Clute was pleased that SFW readers voted in favor of The Illustrated Encyclopedia since the SFW readership was international in scope, showing that the book was crossing cultural boundaries.

Best Dramatic Presentation
"The Coming of Shadows," by J. Michael Straczynski

Straczynski revealed that the SFW award was the first award Babylon 5 had ever earned. Little did he know two nights later it would earn another, in the form of a Hugo.

Best New Writer
Michael Burstein

Burstein said he had been following the awards and was pleased to have been named Best New Writer by SFW readers, although he was disappointed that his short story "Tele-Absence" had lost in the Best Short Story category by one vote.

Restropective Hugos honor 1946

he Retrospective Hugo Awards for Achievement in Science Fiction and Fantasy for 1946 were presented in honor of the 50th anniversary of Pacificon I, the first Los Angeles-area World Science Fiction Convention. The awards were presented during a short ceremony Aug. 30 at the 54th World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif. The winners are:

Best Novel
The Mule, by Isaac Asimov (Astounding, November-December 1945; also published as Part II of Foundation and Empire)

Best Novella
Animal Farm, by George Orwell (Secker and Warburg)

Best Novelette
"First Contact," by Murray Leinster (Astounding, May 1945)

Best Short Story
"Uncommon Sense," by Hal Clement (Astounding, September 1945)

Best Dramatic Presentation
The Picture of Dorian Gray (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Best Professional Editor
John W. Campbell, Jr.

Best Professional Artist
Virgil Finlay

Best Fanzine
Voice of the Imagi-Nation, edited by Forrest J Ackerman

Best Fan Writer
Forrest J Ackerman

Best Fan Artist
William Rotsler

Top SF artists earn Chesley Awards

om Kidd, Don Maitz and Bob Eggleton each walked away with an award for best cover illustration during the 11th Annual Chesley Awards. The awards were presented by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists at a ceremony held Friday, Aug. 31, at the World Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim, Calif. This year's winners are:

Best Cover Illustration, Hardback Book
Tom Kidd for Kingdoms of the Night (by Allan Cole & Chris Bunch, Del Rey Books)

Best Cover Illustration, Paperback Book
Don Maitz for A Farce to be Reckoned With (by Roger Zelazny & Robert Sheckley, Bantam Spectra Books)

Best Cover Illustration, Magazine
Bob Eggleton for Analog, January 1995

Best Interior Illustration
James Gurney for Dinotopia: The World Beneath (by James Gurney, Turner Books)

Best Monochrome Work, Unpublished
Todd Lockwood for Cerebus

Best Color Work, Unpublished
Stephen Hickman for The Archers

Best Three-Dimensional Art
Barclay Shaw for Wonderland (wood)

Best Art Director
Jamie Warren Youll for Bantam Spectra Books

Award for Artistic Achievement
Thomas Canty

Award for Contribution to ASFA
Ingrid Neilson for her work on the Chesley Awards and the ASFA elections

The Chesleys were started by ASFA in 1985 to recognize individual works and achievements in the science fiction and fantasy art community. They are named after the legendary astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell, whose work has appeared in numerous magazines, films and museums.

Hartwell, Cramer to wed

avid Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, both winners of the World Fantasy Award and noted SF personalities, used the Worldcon as an opportunity to show off Cramer's new engagement ring. The two had formally announced their engagement in early August, although no wedding date has been set.

In addition to his World Fantasy Award, Hartwell is a seven-time Hugo nominee for best editor and has been a popular editor in the field for decades. He is currently a senior editor at Tor Books. Cramer is currently a project editor for Sunburst Communications, Inc.

Hartwell said they had no immediate plans to announce a wedding date. "We plan to enjoy our engagement," he added.

Clarke earns Von Karman Award

ssue 6 of Stat! The Newszine of Sector General reported that the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing will present Arthur C. Clarke with the prestigious Von Karman Award in a ceremony to be held Oct. 8. The award was announced the last week of August.

Dr. Tsien, one of the co-founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will attend the ceremony. According to Stat!, the climax of Clarke's newly completed 3001: The Final Odyssey takes place in "Tsienville" on Europa.

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