Center for the Study of Science Fiction News

John W. Campbell Memorial Award Finalists Announced

LAWRENCE, KS - May 10, 2013
Also available in .doc or .pdf version

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas is pleased to announce the 2013 finalists for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best novel of the year:

The Hydrogen Sonata, by Iain M. Banks
Any Day Now, by Terry Bisson
Existence, by David Brin
The Rapture of the Nerds, by Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross
Empty Space, by M. John Harrison
Intrusion, by Ken MacLeod
Railsea, by China Miéville
The Fractal Prince, by Hannu Rajaniemi
Blue Remembered Earth, by Alastair Reynolds
Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer, by Adam Roberts
2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson
Slow Apocalypse, by John Varley
Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson

The Campbell Award is one of the major annual awards for science fiction. The first Campbell Award was presented at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. Since then the Award has been presented in various parts of the world: at California State University at Fullerton; at St. John's College, Oxford; at the World SF Writers Conference in Dublin; in Stockholm; at the World SF meeting in Dublin again; the University of Kansas; and in a joint event with the SFRA Convention in Kansas City in 2007.

Since 1979, the Campbell Award has been presented during the Campbell Conference at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as the focal point of a weekend of discussions about the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.

The Award was created to honor the late editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, now named Analog. Campbell, who edited the magazine from 1937 until his death in 1971, is called by many writers and scholars the father of modern science fiction. Writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss established the award in Campbell's name as a way of continuing his efforts to encourage writers to produce their best possible work.

The Campbell Award differs from most other major awards in the field by being restricted to the novel and by its method of selection. The Hugo Awards are voted on by some thousand of the several thousand members who attend the World Science Fiction Convention, which meets annually at different locations on Labor Day weekend. The Nebula Awards are voted on by some hundred of the nearly three thousand members of the Science Fiction Writers of America and presented at the annual Nebula Award meeting usually held late in the Spring.

The Campbell Award is selected by a committee small enough to discuss among its members all of the nominated novels. The current jury consists of Gregory Benford, Paul Di Filippo, Sheila Finch, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Paul Kincaid, Christopher McKitterick, Pamela Sargent, and T.A. Shippey.

The Award will be presented Friday, June 14, at the Campbell Conference, held at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, June 14-16, 2014.  

Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award Finalists Announced

LAWRENCE, KS - May 10, 2013
Also available in .doc or .pdf version

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas is pleased to announce the 2013 finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short story of the year:

"Things Greater Than Love," Kate Bachus, Strange Horizons (19 March 2012).
"Immersion," Aliette de Bodard, Clarkesworld (June 2012).
"Scattered Along the River of Heaven," Aliette de Bodard, Clarkesworld (January 2012).
"Close Encounters," Andy Duncan, The Pottawottamie Giant (PS Publishing). NOTE: Duncan, a juror, removed the story from consideration.
"The Grinnell Method," Molly Gloss, Strange Horizons (3 September & 10 September 2012).
"The Weight of History, The Lightness of the Future," Jay Lake, Subterranean Press Magazine (Spring 2012).
"The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species," Ken Liu, Lightspeed (August 2012).
"Mono No Aware," Ken Liu, The Future Is Japanese (Haikasoru).
"Nahiku West," Linda Nagata, Analog (October 2012).
Eater-of-Bone, Robert Reed, (PS Publishing).
"The Peak of Eternal Light," Bruce Sterling, Edge of Infinity (Solaris).
"(To See the Other) Whole Against the Sky," E. Catherine Tobler, Clarkesworld (November 2012).
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall, by Nancy Kress (Tachyon Press).

The Sturgeon Award was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Center, and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon, including his partner Jayne Engelhart Tannehill and Sturgeon's children, as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction. The current jury consists of Elizabeth Bear, Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, George Zebrowski, and Noël Sturgeon, Trustee of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Estate.

Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his best-known novel is the classic, More Than Human), Sturgeon also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a regular visiting writer at the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died in 1985. His books, manuscripts, and papers are deposited at the University of Kansas.

The Sturgeon Award will be presented Friday, June 14, at the Campbell Conference, held at the Oread Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, June 14-16, 2014.

Andy Duncan and James Gunn:
Guest Authors for 2013 Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop

LAWRENCE, KS - April 9, 2013

Science Fiction Grand Master James Gunn - who founded the Center for the Study of SF at KU and taught the workshop from 1985 to 2010 - joins this summer's Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop for Week One of the Workshop. Also, Andy Duncan has once again agreed to serve as guest author for Week Two of the Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop. Welcome back, Jim and Andy! Author and CSSF Director Christopher McKitterick, who served as guest author from 1996 to 2010, has led the Workshop since 2011.

For 2013, the Workshop meets from June 2 - 14, followed by the Campbell Awards and Conference, which runs from June 13 - 16, which in turn is followed by the two-week Intensive Science Fiction Institute. Gunn joins us for the first week of the Workshop, for lunches throughout, and for the Conference; Andy joins us for the second week plus the Conference; and our Campbell Award- and Sturgeon Award-winning authors are usually on hand for the last day or two of the Workshop to share their expertise.

The Workshop is a fantastic experience, intended especially for writers who have just begun to publish or who need that final bit of insight or skill to become a published author. We work with all brands of speculative fiction, including horror, fantasy, magical realism, slipstream, speculative philosophy, all genres of science fiction, and so on, and it's a wonderful way to bond with fellow writers in a friendly and dedicated atmosphere. Plus we go out to dinner every night at a different restaurant in downtown Lawrence, watch lots of (both admirable and awful) SF film, and write our brains out.

Starting in 2011, the Workshop is also available for KU graduate credit as ENGL 757. If you're a grad student who needs summer credit to accelerate that graduation date, perfect! Most attendees, however, simply enroll as a professional workshop rather than for credit. Attendees come to KU from all around the world, so you'll get the chance to work with new people.

Interested? This is quite the opportunity to gain insights from some of the most-respected authors in the field. We are open for applications right now through May 20, but sooner is better as we usually fill early. See the website for details.

Elizabeth Bear and Andy Duncan Join Sturgeon Award Jury

LAWRENCE, KS - April 5, 2013
Also available in .doc or .pdf version

Elizabeth Bear and Andy Duncan have accepted appointment to the jury for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short SF of the year. They replace Frederik Pohl, who retired from the jury after having served for many years, almost since the Award's inception (see the next News item for more about Pohl's retirement).

The Sturgeon Award for the best short science fiction of the year is one of the major annual awards for science fiction. It was established in 1987 by James Gunn, Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU, and the heirs of Theodore Sturgeon, including his widow Jayne Sturgeon and Sturgeon's children, as an appropriate memorial to one of the great short-story writers in a field distinguished by its short fiction.

Sturgeon, born in 1918, was closely identified with the Golden Age of science fiction, 1939-1950, and is often mentioned as one of the four writers who helped establish that age. The others were Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and A. E. van Vogt; all four had their first SF stories published in 1939. In addition to fiction (his best-known novel is the classic, More than Human), Sturgeon also wrote book reviews, poetry, screenplays, radio plays, and television plays, including two classic teleplays for the original Star Trek. He was a popular lecturer and teacher, and was a regular visiting writer at the Intensive Institute on the Teaching of Science Fiction. Sturgeon died in 1985.

His books, manuscripts, and papers have been deposited at the University of Kansas, as he wished. See this page for news and information about the 2011 acquisition, valued at over $600,000.

For its first eight years (1987-1994), the Sturgeon Award was selected by a committee of short-fiction experts headed by Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the Sturgeon Award became a juried award, with winners selected by a committee composed of James Gunn, Frederik Pohl, and Judith Merril. After the 1996 Award, Judith Merril resigned and was replaced by Kij Johnson, the 1994 Sturgeon winner; in 2005, George Zebrowski joined the jury. Since 1999, one of Sturgeon's children has also participated in this process, usually Nöel Sturgeon.

The current jury consists of Elizabeth Bear, Andy Duncan, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, George Zebrowski, and Nöel Sturgeon, Trustee of the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Estate.

Eligible stories are those published in English during the previous calendar year. Nominations come from a wide variety of science-fiction reviewers and serious readers as well as from the editors who publish short fiction. Nominations are collected during the winter by Chris McKitterick, who produces a list of finalists based on nominators' rankings. The jury then reads all of the finalists and debates their merits during the spring until they arrive at a consensus decision in May. The winning author is usually contacted in May and invited to attend the Campbell Conference; the winner often attends the last day or two of the SF Writers Workshop, as well.

The Sturgeon Award is presented during the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as the focal point of a weekend of discussions about the writing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.

Frederik Pohl Steps Down from Sturgeon Award Jury

Chris McKitterick recalls how Pohl changed his life:

I first came to the University of Kansas to take James Gunn's SF Writing Workshop in the summer of 1992, and was both astounded and incredibly pleased to discover that we had the opportunity to work with not only Gunn but another master of the art - completely to ourselves! - Frederik Pohl. I first read his work in the form of Gateway, which still holds a central place in my heart and deeply influenced how I write. That workshop truly changed my life. I felt that I must do my absolute best to become a real SF writer so I could retroactively deserve such access and professional attention. Fred returned to the Workshop and Campbell Conference just about every year for the following two decades, sharing his time, intelligence, and gentle wisdom with other summer-program attendees. Fred is one of the reasons I fell in love with the Center. No one can be Fred, but he inspires us to be our absolute best.

James Gunn shares an excerpt of his essay, "Fred and Me," from the Gateways collection:

We will truly miss Fred's contributions to the Center and the Award. 

Meagan Kane and Mackenzie VanBeest: New AboutSF Coordinators

LAWRENCE, KS - April 2, 2013

Please give a warm welcome to the Center for the Study of Science Fiction's new AboutSF Coordinators, Meagan Kane and Mackenzie VanBeest. They are currently getting up to speed, consulting with prior AboutSF Coordinators, setting up their workspace, and are in the midst of planning for future SF-education outreach. Here is the official AboutSF website:
http://www.aboutsf.com

When in Lawrence, KS, you can find Meagan and Mackenzie throughout the week in the CSSF offices and Lending Library located in 3040 Wescoe (their schedule is posted outside the room). If you prefer Facebook interaction, we have both a page and a group here. AboutSF is also on Facebook; you can find the AboutSF Facebook Group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27027711727

And the Facebook Page here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/About-SF/146611942179102

Speaking of our library, we'll host a grand re-opening later this spring, after we complete alphabetizing our massively improved holdings of books, magazines, digital media, and ephemera.

Meanwhile, welcome to Meagan and Mackenzie!

AboutSF is the Center's educational-outreach program. We help teachers, librarians, researchers, and readers learn more about speculative literature and how to use it in teaching. AboutSF is a joint project of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at KU, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and the Science Fiction Research Association, with generous support from Tor Books, The Heinlein Prize Trust, and several individual donors.

Cory Doctorow's Talk Recorded and Streamed

The KU School of Journalism streamed the talk, and it will soon be available via YouTube.

Cory Doctorow to Present 2013 Gunn Lecture

Lawrence, KS - February 4, 2013 For immediate release (Scroll down for downloadable versions of the news release and posters) Author, journalist, technology activist, and Boing Boing co-editor Cory Doctorow presents this year's Richard W. Gunn Memorial Lecture: "The Coming War on General Purpose Computing: Every single political issue will end up rehashing the stupid Internet copyright fight." When: Thursday, February 28, 2013 7:30pm - 9:30pm Where: Alderson Auditorium University of Kansas Student Union Lawrence, KS 66045 Cost: Free! Seating is limited, so arrive early to ensure a spot. Jayhawk Ink bookstore will have copies of several of Doctorow's books available to purchase in Alderson Auditorium (as well as the bookstore on Level 2) and get signed by the author after the talk. This is Doctorow's third visit to KU: first in 1999 when his story "Craphound" (his first published story) was a finalist for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and next in 2009 when his novel Little Brother won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Don't miss hearing one of contemporary science fiction's brightest minds talk about some of our most-relevant issues! Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction and the KU Department of English.

Bio:
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist, and technology activist. He is the co-editor of the popular weblog Boing Boing, and a contributor to The Guardian, the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Wired, and many other newspapers, magazines, and websites. He was formerly Director of European Affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit civil-liberties group that defends freedom in technology law, policy, standards, and treaties. He holds an honorary doctorate in computer science from the Open University (UK), where he is a Visiting Senior Lecturer; in 2007, he served as the Fulbright Chair at the Annenberg Center for Public Diplomacy at the University of Southern California.

Doctorow's novels have been translated into dozens of languages and are published by Tor Books and simultaneously released on the Internet under Creative Commons licenses that encourage their re-use and sharing, a move that increases his sales by enlisting his readers to help promote his work. His work has won the Locus, Sunburst, Ontario Library White Pine, Prometheus, Indienet, and John W. Campbell Memorial awards, and been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, Theodore Sturgeon Memorial (for "Craphound"), and British Science Fiction Awards. His latest young-adult novel is Pirate Cinema, a story of mashup guerillas who declare war on the entertainment industry. His latest novel for adults is Rapture of the Nerds, written with Charles Stross and published in 2012. His New York Times Bestseller Little Brother was published in 2008. A sequel, Homeland, was just published. His latest short story collection is With a Little Help, available in paperback, ebook, audiobook and limited edition hardcover. In 2011, Tachyon Books published a collection of his essays, called Context: Further Selected Essays on Productivity, Creativity, Parenting, and Politics in the 21st Century (with an introduction by Tim O'Reilly) and IDW published a collection of graphic stories inspired by his short fiction called Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales of the Here and Now. The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, a PM Press Outspoken Authors chapbook, was also published in 2011.

He co-founded the open-source peer-to-peer software company OpenCola, sold to OpenText, Inc in 2003, and presently serves on the boards and advisory boards of the Participatory Culture Foundation, the Clarion Foundation, The Glenn Gould Foundation, and the Chabot Space & Science Center's SpaceTime project.

In 2007, Entertainment Weekly called him, "The William Gibson of his generation." He was also named one of Forbes Magazine's 2007/8/9/10 Web Celebrities, and one of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders for 2007.

Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in London.

The Lecture Series:
The Gunn Lecture, endowed by Dr. Richard W. Gunn, James Gunn's brother, has featured several science-fiction scholars. Although it has also sponsored speakers on Shakespeare and Ralph Ellison, it often brings distinguished science-fiction scholars to the campus beginning with scholar Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Professor at Duke University; and continuing with Bill Brown, Edgar Carson Waller Professor at the University of Chicago; China Miéville, British author of what has become known as the New Weird; and Nöel Sturgeon, Theodore Sturgeon's daughter, Trustee of his literary estate (which recently made a major donation of his papers to KU), Dean of Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto, and juror on the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. The Center also recently co-sponsored a visit from Michael Chabon, prize-winning author and editor.

Promotional materials:
KU Calendar news item here.
SFWA news item here.
Facebook event page here.
Google+ event page here.
Yelp event page here.

.doc version of full news release here.

Posters:
Poster 1 uses the cover of Doctorow's novel, For the Win:

• pdf version of printable poster 1 here
• doc version of printable poster 1 here
• and here with no "sponsored by" logos
• or click the icons for large .jpg versions of the poster:

Poster 2 uses the cover of Doctorow's novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom:

• pdf version of printable poster 2 here
• .doc version of printable poster 2 here
• or here with no "sponsored by" logos,
• or click icons for large .jpg versions of the poster:

Feel free to use these images and posters on your websites, share them around, remix them to help promote the talk, and so forth!

If you are unfamiliar with Doctorow's work and would like to get acquainted with it, here's a short reader (from the CSSF "Science, Technology, & Society" course) - all available free online:

Short story, “I, Robot.”
Short-short story, “Printcrime.”
Chapter 4 from the Campbell Award-winning novel, Little Brother.
    Want to read more Doctorow stories? Novels? See the recommended reading, below.
Essay, “I Can't Let You Do That, Dave: What it means to design our computers and devices to disobey us.”
Essay, “Disorganised but effective: The most profound social revolutions in human history have arisen whenever a technology comes along that lowers transaction costs for everyone.”
Essay, “Internet copyright law has to have public support if it's going to work.”
Essay, “A Vocabulary for Speaking about the Future.”

Want to read more Doctorow articles and essays? Here's some more recommended reading to become familiar with his work:

• Doctorow's just-released novel, Homeland, (sequel to Little Brother), is already available for free download here.
• The novel, Little Brother, is available for free download in several formats here or plain HTML here. Doctorow also provides some great teaching materials for the book here. Won the Campbell Award.
• The very recent novel, Pirate Cinema, is available for free download here.
• The story, “Craphound,” his first short-story publication and a finalist for the Sturgeon Award.
• Go here for free downloads of some of his most-popular short stories.
• Go here for free downloads of the graphic-novelization of six of his most-popular short stories in .epub or .pdf formats for the book, Cory Doctorow's Futuristic Tales Of The Here And Now.
• Discussion about “Where Characters Come from,” published in Locus.
• Essay, “With a Little Help: Cory Doctorow kicks off a unique publishing experiment - and a monthly PW column” (full archive of his PW series here).
• Essay, “Just because something has value doesn't mean it has a price: If every last shred of incidental online value is given a price tag, we'll never harvest the full fruits of our ingenuity.”
• Go here for links to many more of Doctorow's online articles.

Call for Applications for AboutSF Coordinator, Webmaster

Lawrence, KS - January 22, 2013

We have just announced a call for applications for both the AboutSF Coordinator position and the AboutSF Webmaster position. See this page for full details.

We will accept applications until February 4, 2013, unless filled sooner - or later if we don't get appropriate applicants.

Kij Johnson Delivers Inaugural Pembroke Lecture

Oxford, England - January 18, 2013

CSSF Associate Director and KU Fiction-Writing Professor Kij Johnson gave the inaugural Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature at Oxford. The official website contains lots of photos, information, and a podcast of the talk. Here's the original press release.

Pembroke College invited award-winning author Kij Johnson to deliver the inaugural Pembroke Lecture on Fantasy Literature in Honor of JRR Tolkien. This is the first annual lecture in the series designed to explore the history and current state of fantasy literature. Johnson also offered a fiction masterclass at Pembroke on January 19th.

The series is intended to memorialize Tolkien, who was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke for twenty years; he wrote The Hobbit and much of The Lord of the Rings during his time at the college. The lectures are sponsored through a grant from the Pembroke Annual Fund.

In the photo below, organizers of the lecture found a photograph of Tolkien standing outside Pembroke, and then combined it with a photo of Johnson standing near the same spot. "These photographs demonstrate how we are all, literally, walking in the footsteps of people from the past!"

"Lifeboat to the Stars" Award to be Presented at 2013 Campbell Conference

Lawrence, KS - October 23, 2012

The Lifeboat Foundation announced today that it will present an award for the best work of science fiction published in 2011 or 2012 that contributes to an understanding of the benefits, means, or difficulties of interstellar travel. The award, of $1,000, will be presented at the 2013 Campbell Conference to be held at the University of Kansas June 13-16.

The motto of the state of Kansas is "Ad Astra Per Aspera."

Eric Klien, President and administrator of the Foundation, said that travel to other solar systems is one way in which humanity can survive catastrophes, natural or manmade, and can contribute to humanity's understanding of the universe and of itself. "Many of our members are science-fiction writers, as well as scientists, and science fiction has the ability to explore the unknown and its human implications. We want to encourage writers to contribute their imaginations to these vital purposes."

For its part, the Campbell Conference, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, has selected interstellar travel as the topic for the 2013 Conference, which includes a roundtable discussion around a single topic. The Conference also features its traditional awards - the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction of the year.

Robert J. Sawyer, the distinguished Canadian science-fiction writer, chairs the "Lifeboat to the Stars" award committee, which includes science-fiction author Greg Bear as its honorary chair. Sawyer will present the award at the award dinner on Friday, June 13, and will give a talk, open to the public, about the Lifeboat Foundation and his own writing on Thursday, June 12. Sawyer is the author of several novels, including FLASH FORWARD, which was adapted into a television series. Nominations for the Lifeboat award should be e-mailed to Sawyer.

Lifeboat's coordinating judge is Robert J. Sawyer, their consulting judge is Greg Bear, and their other judges include Catherine Asaro, Jason Batt, Sherry E. Bell, Kevin M. Berry, Don V. Black, Stephan Vladimir Bugaj, Brenda Cooper, David Gerrold, Niklas Järvstråt, Jim Karkanias, Rouslan Krechetnikov, Wes Kretzschmar, Eva-Jane Lark, Mike E. McCulloch, George Perry, Allen M. Steele, Jr, John K. Strickland Jr, and Allen G. Taylor.
 
The Lifeboat Foundation will also present a bibliographical survey at the 2013 Campbell Conference covering science-fictional methods of interstellar travel.
 
The Chair of the Interstellar Travel Bibliographical Survey is Lifeboat's James Blodgett. Other members of the survey team include Tracy Atkins, Jason Batt, Greg Bear, Kevin M. Berry, André Caminoa, David Gerrold, Niklas Järvstråt, Eva-Jane Lark, Mike E. McCulloch, Robert J. Sawyer, Allen M. Steele Jr, John K. Strickland Jr, and Allen G. Taylor.

The Campbell Conference, which has been offered at the University of Kansas in Lawrence since 1978, is a feature of the summer science-fiction program. That program begins with two-week Writers Workshops in short stories and in novels, led by Chris McKitterick and Kij Johnson, the multiple-award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy and an assistant professor in the University's MFA writing program. The Conference is followed by the two-week Intensive Science Fiction Institute.

Dates Announced for 2013 Summer SF Program

Lawrence, KS - November 27, 2012

See our Courses and Campbell Conference pages for details, and keep an eye out for updates. We will begin accepting applications for the Workshops in early 2013.

Vote for the Best 20th and 21st Century SF&F
Bonus: Lots of SF/F reading lists

Lawrence, KS - November 27, 2012

If you love science fiction and fantasy of any length, now's your chance to make your favorite works known! For the next few days (through the end of November), Locus Online is operating a survey of the best SF/F of the past 112 years on their website.

List what you consider the best novels in two separate categories - SF and fantasy - and combined SF/F in the novella, novelette, and short-story length. (Lots of horror in there, too; you pick where you think it best fits.) The 20th century gets 10 ranked positions for each category, and 21st century fiction gets five.

Here are some resources to refresh your memory:

• The Center for the Study of Science Fiction's Basic Science Fiction Library: Mostly lists novels, but also contains some short fiction. This list is ordered by author, spanning all time. Includes publication dates and even links where we could find them! If you see any glaring omissions, please let us know and we'll consult about adding those works.
• The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best SF novel winners list: Goes back to 1972 novels (that is, the first Campbell Award-winning novel in 1973 was for a novel published in 1972).
• The John W. Campbell Memorial Award finalist list: Goes back to 2003. I recommend looking through the finalist lists of the major awards, because what you might consider the best works don't always win.
• Locus put together this fantastic list of 20th century SF/F novels: They mix SF and fantasy, so you'll have to decide on some of these where a novel belongs. How did they get on this list? "The lists include, first, every title that's won a Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, British Fantasy, British SF, Campbell, Sturgeon, Clarke, International Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, or Bram Stoker award [except for first novels categories]. Second, every title that has been a nominee or runner-up for any two of these awards is included. Third, for 20th century novels, every title included in four or more reference works or polls, such as David Pringle's Science Fiction: 100 Best Novels, Neil Barron's Anatomy of Wonder, NPR's recent poll, and some 50 other works and polls compiled as part of the sfadb.com project, is included. For 21st century novels, since relatively few such references are recent enough to cover that period, the bar is lowered to inclusion in any one such work. The bars are set so that the number of titles added to the lists from such references is about the same as the number of titles included due to award standings."
• The Locus list of 21st century SF/F novels: See above notes for details.
• NPR's crowd-sourced Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books of all time.
• The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short SF: Goes back to 1986 stories of all length shorter than the novel (that is, the first Sturgeon Award-winner in 1987 was for a short work published in 1986).
• The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist list: Goes back to 2003.
• The Locus list of 20th century short SF/F. How did they get on this list? "For short fiction, the supplement to awards data is the number of anthology and collection reprints a story has accumulated, based on data compiled in the Locus Index to Science Fiction by William Contento. For 20th century stories, the bar is more than 8; for 21st century stories, the bar is more than 2, though the Index is not complete through 2010 and some recent titles have been added based on manual inspection of various year's-best anthologies. Again, the bars are set so that the final lists are roughly divided between titles via award references and titles via reprint references. For works not on the short fiction lists, there are word-count guidelines on the 20th century short fiction page."
• The Locus list of 21st century short SF/F: See above for details. Also note that the letters in the publication-date info for suggestions of which category to use: ss is for short story, nvt is for novelette, nva is for novella.
• The Nebula Award for best SF/F of the year list: This is Wikipedia's novel list, but also links to all the other lengths. (The official SFWA Nebula Award site only goes back to 2000.)
• Hugo Award for best SF/F of the year list: Links to all the winners, of all lengths, and finalists, too.

That's a lot of reading references! I hope you find it useful not just for voting on the Locus survey, but for future reading, too.

Jane Frances Gunn Obituary

Lawrence, KS - September 27, 2012

Jane Frances Gunn, 87, died Thursday, Sept. 27, at Brandon Woods. She was born in Phillipsburg, Kansas, April 8, 1925, the younger daughter of Ira and Olive Anderson. She was raised and attended grade and high school in Osborne, Kansas. She attended McPherson College for one year before transferring to the University of Kansas and earning a bachelors degree from the School of Journalism in 1947. After her children were raised she studied toward a masters degree in English.

In the School of Journalism, she met James Gunn, who had returned from three years of service in the Navy during World War II. They were married the day after she had completed her last class. She worked for the KU News Bureau, as a secretary to the head librarian at Northwestern University, as a reporter for the Kansas City Kansan, as the librarian for the KU School of Journalism, and as the co-owner and later sole owner of the Emporium, a Lawrence art consignment gallery.

TThe Gunns returned to Lawrence from Kansas City, Missouri, in 1955. Mr. Gunn held several positions with the University, retiring in 1993 as a professor of English. Their elder son Christopher died in 2005. She is survived by Mr. Gunn, of the home, and her younger son Kevin, of Lawrence.

Inurnment will take place at a later date at Pioneer ceremony. Memorials to the Lawrence Animal Shelter may be sent care of the Warren-McElwain Funeral Home.

Chris McKitterick Discusses SF and Prediction on NPR's "The Daily Circuit"

St. Paul, MN - September 19, 2012

In 1987, L. Ron Hubbard challenged his fellow science fiction writers to forecast what the world would be like in 25 years. Then they put together a "time capsule" of letters to us, now, that was just opened. To discuss how accurately science fiction predicts the future, Chris McKitterick joined AlterNet futurist Sara Robinson and "The Daily Circuit" host Kerri Miller in a piece entitled, "What did science fiction writers predict for 2012?"

SSee McKitterick's blog for links to the original "time capsule" article, his own predictions, and more.

Kij Johnson Book Tour Announced
to Promote At the Mouth of the River of Bees

Lawrence, KS - September 12, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson is now on a book tour. Here are the dates and locations:

9/14    DreamHaven Books, 2301 East 38th Street, Minneapolis MN 55406
9/18    7 pm The Raven, 6 East 7th St., Lawrence, KS, 66044
9/29    7 pm Ad Astra Books & Coffee House, 141 N. Santa Fe, Salina, KS 67401
9/26    Writers Voice interview air date
10/9    Quail Ridge Books,, Ridgewood Shopping Center, 3522 Wade Avenue, Raleigh, NC

Kij's first collection of short work, At the Mouth of the River of Bees, is now available from Small Beer Press.

Kij Johnson Wins the Hugo Award!

Chicago, Illinois - September 3, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson's novella, The Man Who Bridged the Mist" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011), has won the Hugo Award - in addition to having just won the Nebula Award..

Congratulations, Kij!

Kij is a new Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Kansas English Department starting this Fall semester.

Campbell and Sturgeon Award Winners Announced

Lawrence, KS - June 29, 2012
For immediate release (.doc version here)

The winners of this year's John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science fiction novel and Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction have been revealed, Christopher McKitterick, Director of the University of Kansas Center for the Study of Science Fiction, announced today.

The Campbell Award is shared by Christopher Priest's The Islanders (Gollancz) and Joan Slonczewski's The Highest Frontier (Tor). Third place goes to China Miéville's Embassytown (Ballantine/Del Rey), and Lavie Tidhar's Osama (PS Publishing) takes Honorable Mention.

Paul McAuley's "The Choice" (Asimov's) won the Sturgeon Award. Second place goes to Charlie Jane Anders' "Six Months Three Days" (Tor.com), and third place goes to Ken Liu's "The Paper Menagerie" (F&SF). Finalists for both awards were also announced on the Center's website.

Winners are invited to accept their awards at the University of Kansas Awards Banquet on Friday, July 6, and will be featured at the Campbell Conference on Saturday and Sunday. Slonczewski will be present to accept her award, and Asimov's editor Sheila Williams will accept for McAuley.

Using the theme "Communication and Information," this year's Campbell Conference explores how changing technologies and the ways we gather and share information is changing science fiction and how we buy, share, and tell the stories that define the genre. Saturday afternoon, Kij Johnson hosts a curated readings session, which includes several attending authors and scholars, and serves to launch the new James Gunn's Ad Astra journal. Other authors and editors attending include Robin Wayne Bailey, M.C. Chambers, Tina Connolly, Andy Duncan, Sheila Finch, James Gunn, Kij Johnson, Vylar Kaftan, Larry Martin, McKitterick, and Eric T. Reynolds.

This is the fourth time in Campbell Award history that juror balloting has resulted in a tie: in 1974 between Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama and Robert Merle's Malevil; in 2002 between Jack Williamson's Terraforming Earth and Robert Charles Wilson's The Chronoliths; and in 2009 between Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and Ian MacLeod's Song of Time.

Priest and McAuley are Britons. A full-time author, Priest won the BSFA award in 1974 for Inverted World, in 1998 for The Extremes, in 2002 for The Separation, and in 2011 for The Islanders. He also won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the World Fantasy Award for The Prestige (1995). McAuley is a biologist who has taught at universities around the world, and is now a full-time author. His first novel, Four Hundred Billion Stars, won the 1988 Philip K. Dick Award; Fairyland won the 1997 Campbell Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award; and has been nominated for many more. Slonczewski is a Professor of Biology at Kenyon College, a novelist, and a textbook author. She also won the 1997 Campbell Award for A Door into Ocean, the only author besides Frederik Pohl to have been so honored twice.

Chris McKitterick on NPR's "The Daily Circuit"

St. Paul, MN - June 12, 2012

Chris McKitterick joined SF scholar and editor Gary Wolfe and "The Daily Circuit" host Kerri Miller to talk about influential SF and fantasy novels and offer suggestions for summer reading. See McKitterick's blog for links, recommendations, and more.

James Gunn Remembers Ray Bradbury

Lawrence, KS - June 6, 2012

"Ray Bradbury lived his own story, one that was as magical as any of the fantasies and science fiction he published, and his enjoyment of his transformation from impressionable child to iconic child-in-adult storyteller was embodied in all his stories and relationships. As few in the field of science fiction have been, he was a bridge between the two cultures - not Snow's science and literature but science fiction and literature. That growing acceptance - fifty years in development - may be symbolized by Ray's essay about his early imprinting with the magic of imagination in this week's science-fiction issue of the New Yorker. He will be missed but his life will be celebrated.

"Personally, I had the privilege of meeting Ray a number of times, both in Los Angeles and at several science-fiction conventions, particularly the World Science Fiction Convention in Atlanta where I had him give a moving and eloquent guest-of-honor speech about his love for science fiction and what it had given him - his life - and what it had to offer to the world. And I'm glad that KU featured him speaking at the Lied Auditorium in his later years, and that I had the privilege of sitting next to him at dinner and enjoying a personal conversation.

"One of my regrets is that I was never able to add a filmed interview with Ray to my Science Fiction Lecture Film series. We tried to make arrangements twice, but were never able to complete arrangements."

Ray Bradbury (official page and Wikipedia article) was born on August 22, 1920, and made the world a better place through June 5, 2012. He will be missed by everyone in the SF world, and millions more who don't see genre distinctions. Among his many awards and recognitions, he was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, and the ceremony took place at the 2001 Nebula Awards in Los Angeles, where Robin Wayne Bailey had the honor of inducting him.

Sturgeon Award Finalists Announced

Lawrence, KS - May 20, 2012

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award jury has decided upon the top short SF of 2011. See the finalists here.

Kij Johnson Wins the Nebula Award!

Arlington, VA - May 19, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson's novella, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011), has won the Nebula Award - in addition to being up for the Hugo Award. This is Kij's third Nebula in a row!

Congratulations, Kij!

Campbell Award Finalists Announced

Lawrence, KS - May 9, 2012

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award jury has decided upon the top SF novels of 2011. See the finalists here.

Upcoming Science Fiction Events in the Area

"High Adventure with Hadley Rille Books" event at Prospero's Books. Several area authors will read from and sign books, including Z.S. Adani, Sue Blalock, M.C. Chambers, Terri-Lynne DeFino, Karin Rita Gastreich, Chris Gerrib, Christopher McKitterick, Melissa Mickelsen, Mark Nelson, Shauna Roberts, and Hadley Rille Books editor Eric T. Reynolds.

When:
Thursday, May 24, 2012
6:00pm

Where:
Prospero's Books
1800 W. 39th Street
Kansas City, MO

The Kansas City ConQuest SF Convention takes place on Memorial Day Weekend. This year's guests of honor include Gardner Dozois, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Ursula Vernon, and many more. As has been the case for several years now, AboutSF is again the recipient for Sunday's Charity Auction. Thank you, KaCSFFS!

When:
May 25-27, 2012

Where:
Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
Kansas City, MO

Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! is a visual-media-based convention, and 2012 is its first (hopefully annual) event.

When:
May 18-20, 2012

Where:
Bartle Hall Grand Ballroom
301 West 13th Street
Kansas City, MO 64105

And of course don't miss the Center's Campbell Conference!

When:
July 5-8, 2012

Where:
The Oread Hotel
1200 Oread Ave (two blocks north of the KU Kanas Union)
(with a couple informal events before and after elsewhere)
Lawrence, KS

Book-Release Event for Aftermaths Anthology April 13

Kij Johnson Nominated for the Hugo Award

Lawrence, KS - April 7, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson's novella, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" (Asimov's Science Fiction, October/November 2011), is now also a finalist for the Hugo Award - in addition to being up for the Nebula Award.

"Super Nerd Night" - Lawrence Event Supports AboutSF

John Tibbetts Celebrates the 100th Birthday Of Literary Icons
Tarzan of the Apes and John Carter of Mars

Kij Johnson Joins KU's MFA Program

Lawrence, KS - March 13, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson has been hired by the University of Kansas English Department as Assistant Professor of Fiction Writing. Kij is the newest faculty member in the Department's MFA in Creative Writing program. She is hired as a fiction specialist, though she will also offer courses in speculative fiction and related topics.

With a growing number of speculative-fiction courses in both literature and writing, and two current faculty members, KU's English Department continues to strongly support SF. If you're looking for a graduate or undergraduate program where you can study SF, consider KU!

Welcome, Kij!

James Gunn Sells Three Books!

Lawrence, KS - March 10, 2012

CSSF Founding Director James Gunn has just sold three books, including his newest novel:

Transcendental, to be published by Tor Books. Campbell Conference and SF Writers Workshop attendees have heard excerpts from this wonderful new novel.

Co-authored with Jack Williamson in 1954 and originally published in 1955, Star Bridge will be published in Tor Books' classic reprint series.

Together the two novels, almost 60 years apart, bookend a career and in some ways the space epic itself. Also to be reprinted:

Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction, to be published in China by the Beijing Division of the Shanghai Century Publishing Company. By a marvelous serendipity, the book was translated by Sasha Jiang, the Center's 2012 visiting scholar from China.

Congratulations, Jim!

Andy Duncan Joins CSSF Science Fiction Writers Workshop for 2012

Lawrence, KS - March 6, 2012

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction again offers the Science Fiction Writers Workshop on short-fiction writing. SFWA Science Fiction Grand Master James Gunn established the Workshop in 1985 and led it on his own until 1996, when author and CSSF Director Christopher McKitterick began co-teaching; Kij Johnson also co-taught from 1996-2002, before branching off her own SF&F Novel Writing Workshop, offered during the same two-week period. Gunn stepped back his participation in 2010, but plans to drop in from time to time to meet the workshoppers and offer words of writing wisdom, and he usually joins us for lunch in the (very good) adjoining dorm cafeteria. We'll likely enjoy other special-guest authors and editors, as well. Starting in 2011, McKitterick leads the first week, and this year guest author Andy Duncan leads the second week.

Duncan's story "The Pottawatomie Giant" and his collection Beluthahatchie and Other Stories both won World Fantasy Awards in 2001, and his novella "The Chief Designer" won the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award in 2002. Duncan has been nominated six times for the Nebula Award, twice for the Stoker, three times for the World Fantasy Award, the Shirley Jackson Award twice, and twice for the Hugo Award. His short-story collection, The Pottawatomie Giant & Other Stories, is currently available from PS Publishing. Recent books include Crossroads: Tales of the Southern Literary Fantastic, an anthology co-edited with F. Brett Cox; The Night Cache, a stand-alone novella; and Alabama Curiosities, an offbeat travel guide.

Duncan attended Clarion West in 1994 and studied creative writing at North Carolina State University under John Kessel (another Gunn student). He taught Clarion in 2004 and Clarion West in 2005, was a full-time journalist for 12 years, and taught college for 17 years. He is an assistant professor of English at Frostburg State University in the western Maryland mountains, and an instructor in the Honors College of the University of Alabama. He regularly blogs at Beluthahatchie.

What's Andy's writing like? My favorite description, by Craig Jacobsen in the SFRA Review:

If Harper Lee and Gene Wolfe had a love child, Andy Duncan is it.

Click here to visit Duncan's complete bibliography.

Multiple-award-winner Kij Johnson is also now accepting applications for her SF/F/H Novel Writing Workshop, which runs concurrently with the short-SF workshop.

The workshops usually fill early, so if you're interested in applying, please contact as soon as practical, and we can let you know about openings.

Cory Doctorow Speaks at the Kansas Library Association, April 11

Wichita, KS - February 20, 2012 Cory Doctorow will speak at this year's Kansas Library Association conference in Wichita, KS. Doctorow's "Evening with an Author" talk is entitled, "Copyrights and Human Rights." When: Wednesday, April 11 7:30pm to 8:30pm Where: Hyatt Regency Wichita in Wichita, Kansas Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger - the co-editor of Boing Boing - and the author of the 2009 Campbell Award-winning novel Little Brother.

Nöel Sturgeon Speaks at the University of Kansas, March 5

Lawrence, KS - February 12, 2012 Nöel Sturgeon gave this year's Richard W. Gunn Memorial Lecture, "Avatar and Activism: Ecological Indians, Disabling Militarism, and Science Fiction Imaginaries." Nöel is Theodore Sturgeon's daughter and trustee of his literary estate; Professor of Critical Cultures, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University; and a juror for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. When: Monday, March 5 7:00pm - 8:00pm Where: Malott Room in the University of Kansas Student Union Lawrence, Kansas The Gunn Lecture, endowed by Dr. Richard W. Gunn, James Gunn's brother, has featured several science-fiction scholars. Although it has also sponsored speakers on Shakespeare and Ralph Ellison, it often brings distinguished science-fiction scholars to the campus beginning with scholar Fredric Jameson, William A. Lane Professor at Duke University; and continuing with Bill Brown, Edgar Carson Waller Professor at the University of Chicago; and China Miéille, British author of what has become known as the New Weird. The Center also recently co-sponsored a visit from Michael Chabon, prize-winning author and editor.

Chris McKitterick Gives Keynote Address at UCO Liberal Arts Symposium

Edmond, OK - February 29, 2012

Kij Johnson Nominated for the Nebula Award

Lawrence, KS - February 20, 2012

CSSF Associate Director Kij Johnson's novella, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist" (Asimovs Science Fiction, October/November 2011), is up for the Nebula Award.

Summer Speculative-Fiction Writing Workshops Now Accepting Applications

Lawrence, KS - February 1, 2012

CSSF Director and author Christopher McKitterick is now accepting applications for the speculative-fiction Writing Workshop, which he has co-taught with James Gunn since 1996 and began leading in 2011. This workshop is now available for college graduate credit.

Multiple-award-winner Kij Johnson is also now accepting applications for her SF/F/H Novel Writing Workshop, which runs concurrently with the short-SF workshop.

The workshops usually fill, so if you're interested, please apply as soon as practical. 

"A Basic Science Fiction Library" Gets Nice Mention in WIRED

The February 5, 2012, issue of WIRED magazine has a useful article, "102 Essential Science Fiction Books for Your Kindle." If you're looking to expand your understanding of the genre or build a solid library but haven't yet seen our Basic Science Fiction Library, check it out! Kij Johnson Reading at KU Monday, January 23, 2012 Lawrence, KS Author Kij Johnson will visit the University of Kansas for a whirlwind tour starting this Sunday through Tuesday, and she'll give a reading in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union on Monday at 4:00pm, courtesy of the English Department (she is here as candidate for a fiction-writing associate professor position in the Department). Kij has won the Sturgeon, World Fantasy, Locus, and Nebula awards, and has been nominated multiple times for the Hugo and others. Kij is Associate Director of CSSF and teaches the summer Speculative Fiction Novel Writing Workshop. After the reading there's time for a Q&A, and a reception is planned starting at 5:15pm. Come hear Kij read and talk about writing! Click the image to the right to see the full-resolution version of the flyer.         To see the CSSF news archive from 2011 and back, click here.