Eligibility and voting by award
- Eligibility and voting by award
Arthur C Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award [1] is awarded every year to the best science fiction novel which received its first British publication during the previous calendar year. The Award is chosen by jury. Note that the Clarke is serious about being a "science fiction" award and does not subsume fantasy under the SF label.
Aurealis Awards
Juried awards for works by Australian writers, regardless of where they are published. [2]
Aurora Awards
Fan awards given by Canadian fans.
Prix Boréal
Francophone Canadian award, voted by fans. Voting takes place during the Congrès Boréal.
British Science Fiction Association Awards
The BSFAs [3] are fan awards voted on by members of the BSFA and by members of the current year's Eastercon. The current categories are Novel, Short Fiction and Artwork.
Campbell
Not to be confused with the Campbell Memorial award, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is for a writer whose first work of science fiction or fantasy was published in the previous two calendar years. It is nominated, voted on, and awarded by the Worldcon membership exactly like the Hugos. The Awards is presented by Dell Magazines, who have subcontracted administration of the Award to WSFS. An unofficial list of eligible authors (of all genders) is maintained at Writertopia [4].
Campbell Memorial
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel is for a novel published anywhere in the world in the previous year. It is awarded by a small, persistent jury, consisting of: Gregory Benford, Paul A. Carter, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Christopher McKitterick, Farah Mendlesohn, Pamela Sargent, and T.A. Shippey. Books are nominated in December of their eligible year by the jurors, and potentially by publishers (Chris McKitterick invites contact on the Campbell Memorial website). Finalists are announced in April, and the winner determined in May. The award is handed out on the 4th of July weekend at the Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
Carl Brandon Awards
These juried awards are given by the Carl Brandon Society [5]. There are two awards. The Parallax Award is given to works of fiction created by a person of color. The Kindred Award is given to any work of speculative fiction dealing with issues of race and ethnicity; nominees may be of any racial or ethnic group.
Ditmar Awards
The Ditmars are fan awards voted on by Australian fans. You have to be an Australian resident to vote, otherwise there are no voting qualifications.
Hugo
Eligible works are those first published in the previous calendar year anywhere in the world, in any language. Works first published in a language other than English are also eligible on their first publication anywhere in the world in English. Works are nominated by anyone who is a supporting or attending member of the previous Worldcon or the Worldcon that will hand out the award that year. For the 2008 awards, members of either the Yokohama or Denver Worldcons can nominate. Voting on the final ballot is open only to supporting and attending members of the current year's Worldcon, which for 2008 will be Denver. The 2008 Hugos will be awarded August 9th, 2008, in Denver, Colorado.
The full rules for the Hugo Awards are available in Article 3 of the WSFS Constitution [6]. For more detailed information about how the Hugos work see the Hugo FAQ [7] and Hugo Voting Explanation [8] at Emerald City.
Lambda Literary Award
One of 24 awards handed out annually by the Lambda Literary Foundation, the country's leading organization for LGBT literature, is for Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror.
Locus Poll
The Locus Poll is run by Locus Magazine through its web site [9]. Voting is open to anyone who can access the online voting form (which, if you are reading this, means YOU!). The voting period is generally around March with short lists being announced in April and the awards presented at a ceremony at the Science Fiction Museum in June. Note that there is no second round of voting on the short lists. The winners are decided by the online vote but Locus announces the top five positions (without giving their order) so as to generate publicity for the Poll.
The voting form lists suggested authors and works taken primarily from the previous year's Recommended Reading List (published in the January issue of Locus). However, write-in nominees are allowed. Novels are divided into four categories: SF, fantasy, YA and first novel. The final say as to which novel a category belongs in is taken by the Locus staff.
Nebula
Voted and presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA).
Philip K. Dick
The Philip K. Dick Award [10] is for science fiction published originally in the USA in paperback form. Works published in 2007 will be given a 2007 award in 2008. Awards are decided by a small panel of judges which changes every year. The judges for 2007's books are: Steve Miller, Chris Moriarty, Steven Piziks, Randy Schroeder, and Ann Tonsor Zeddies. The award will be given at Norwescon, March 20-23, 2008, in Seattle.
Sidewise Awards
The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History honors the best genre publications of the year. Two awards, the Short-Form and Long-Form, are handed out annually. Selection of work is made by a panel of six readers. To be considered, a work must have either first English-language publication or first American publication in the calendar year prior to the year in which the award is to be presented.
Spectrum Awards
The Spectrum Awards [11] are given for works in science fiction, fantasy and horror which include positive explorations of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters, themes, or issues. They are juried awards with an open nomination process (i.e. anyone may nominate a work, but the jury decides who wins). The current categories are Novel, Short Fiction and Other.
Sunburst Award
The Sunburst [12] is a juried award for "Canadian Literature of the Fantastic" (so can be a collection or even short fiction as well as a novel). Eligible works must be written by Canadians but can be published in any country.
Sturgeon
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is for a short story published anywhere in the world in the previous year. It is awarded by a small, persistent jury, consisting of: James Gunn, Kij Johnson, Frederik Pohl, George Zebrowski, and Noel Sturgeon. It is nominated, voted on, and awarded exactly like the Campbell Memorial Awards are, except that Chris McKitterick invites "a wide variety of science-fiction reviewers and serious readers", as well as editors, to send in nominations.
Tiptree
The James Tiptree, Jr. Award [13] is for a work of any form published anywhere in the world "which expands or explores our understanding of gender". Works published in 2007 will be given a 2007 award in 2008. "Anyone and everyone" is encouraged to nominate works using the web form on the tiptree.org website. Awards are decided by a panel of five judges which differs every year. The winners will be announced in March of 2008 and the awards presented at Wiscon on May 24, 2008.
World Fantasy
The World Fantasy Award [14] is for works published anywhere in the world in the previous year. Works are nominated and voted on by a combination of members of the World Fantasy Convention and a small panel of judges which differs every year. Two of the five nominees in each category are chosen by the membership, the other three by the judges. The winners are chosen by the judges from the list of nominees. For the 2007 awards, the judges were announced in late February 2007, and the announcement noted that all materials sent to them must be received by June 1; it will probably be similar for the 2008 awards. The 2008 awards will be given out at the World Fantasy Convention, on Sunday afternoon, November 2, 2008, in Alberta.