2002 Prometheus Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: There are some choices made by the Libertarian Futurist Society that simply mystify me. I can understand why they would want to honor The Prisoner. The themes reflected in A Clockwork Orange and It Can't Happen Here are certainly ones that would be of interest to someone of a libertarian bent. And the Libertarian Futurist Society seems to have never met a Heinlein work that they didn't want to honor. But the presence of The Lord of the Rings on the list of Hall of Fame nominees simply mystifies me. I cannot see how Tolkien's work related in any way to libertarianism. I suppose one might consider it "libertarian" that the heroic characters in the trilogy seek to resist Sauron's efforts to enslave the "free peoples of Middle-Earth", but that seems like an awfully tenuous connection even if one regards it in its most favorable light.

Best Novel

Winner:

Psychohistorical Crisis by Donald M. Kingsbury

Other Nominees:

The American Zone by L. Neil Smith

Enemy Glory by Karen Michalson
Falling Stars by Michael F. Flynn
Hosts by F. Paul Wilson

Hall of Fame

Winner:

The Prisoner written and produced by Patrick McGoohan

Other Nominees:
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) by J.R.R. Tolkien

Requiem by Robert A. Heinlein

Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

Book Award Reviews     Home

2002 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Comments: Already in possession of a Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2002 Ursula K. Le Guin proved that she was still at the top of her game by winning the Best Novel Award for The Other Wind, and earning another nomination for her novella The Finder. I'm not sure how often a writer earns an award honoring their entire career and then goes on to garner even more top-level recognition, but the fact that Le Guin did exactly that is yet more evidence of her extraordinary talent.

That said, I think that Neil Gaiman's American Gods was a superior novel to The Other Wind, and a more inventive fantasy. On the other hand, Gaiman has no shortage of awards on his trophy shelf, including several for American Gods, so I'm not really going to feel sorry for him losing out here.

Best Novel

Winner:
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

Other Nominees:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Brown Harvest by Jay Russell
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll

Best Novella

Winner:
The Bird Catcher by S.P. Somtow

Other Nominees:
Cleopatra Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand
Eternity and Afterward by Lucius Shepard
The Finder by Ursula K. Le Guin
Karuna, Inc. by Paul Di Filippo
Struwwelpeter by Glen Hirshberg

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
Queen for a Day by Albert E. Cowdrey

Other Nominees:
His Own Back Yard by James P. Blaylock
The Honeyed Knot by Jeffrey Ford
Legerdemain by Jack O'Connell
Something to Hitch Meat To by Nalo Hopkinson

Best Anthology

Winner:

The Museum of Horrors edited by Dennis Etchison

Other Nominees:
The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Twelve edited by Stephen Jones
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women edited by Stephen Jones
Stigmata edited by Jerad Walters

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourteenth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Best Collection

Winner:

Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson

Other Nominees:
Dark Universe: Stories 1951-2001 by William F. Nolan

The Essential Ellison: A 50-Year Retrospective: Revised and Expanded by Harlan Ellison; edited by Terry Dowling with Richard Delap and Gil Lamont

Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
Talking in the Dark by Dennis Etchison

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
George Scithers
Forrest J Ackerman

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Allen Koszowski

Other Nominees:
Donato Giancola
John Jude Palencar
Douglas Walters
Gahan Wilson

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
(tie) Stephen Jones
(tie) Jo Fletcher

Other Nominees:
Randy Broecker
Ellen Datlow
Douglas E. Winter

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Raymond Russell and Rosalie Parker

Other Nominees:
Peter Crowther
Paula Guran
Jerad Walters
Michael Waltz

Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

Book Award Reviews     Home

2002 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: ConJose in San Jose California

Comments: After the let down of 2001 in which Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire took home the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the universe was set right again in 2002 when Neil Gaiman won the Best Novel Hugo for his magnificent book American Gods. Not only that, Ted Chiang won for his excellent novella Hell Is the Absence of God, and a book about Chesley Bonestell's art won Best Related Book. How good a writer is Ted Chiang? At CapClave in 2011 I overheard Bud Sparhawk say that he was glad that Chiang hadn't written any stories that year, so someone else would have a chance to win something.

Oh, and a little movie made in New Zealand won the Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo. It was produced and directed by a minor Kiwi director whose previous experience mostly consisted of making modestly budgeted horror movies and based upon a fifty year old novel by a South African transplant living in England who really only published four or five books in his whole writing career. Perhaps you remember it? It was called The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. On a more serious note, 2002 did mark the end of an era, as this was the last year that a single Best Dramatic Presentation Hugo Award would be handed out. In 2003 and beyond the award would be split into "Long Form" and "Short Form" categories, essentially differentiating between "movies" and "everything else".

2002 also saw the including of a "one time only" category for Best Website, an award that Locus promptly won with their well-managed and highly informative website. Unlike other links on this page, the links in the names of the winning and nominated websites don't take you to my review of the website, but rather directly to the website itself.

Best Novel

Winner:
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Other Finalists:
The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Passage by Connie Willis
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Best Novella

Winner:

Fast Times at Fairmont High by Vernor Vinge

Other Finalists:
The Chief Designer by Andy Duncan
The Diamond Pit by Jack Dann
May Be Some Time by Brenda W. Clough
Stealing Alabama by Allen M. Steele

Best Novelette

Winner:

Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang

Other Finalists:
The Days Between by Allen M. Steele
Lobsters by Charles Stross
The Return of Spring by Shane Tourtellotte
Undone by James Patrick Kelly

Best Short Story

Winner:

The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick

Other Finalists:
The Bones of the Earth by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Ghost Pit by Stephen Baxter
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Mike Resnick
Spaceships by Michael A. Burstein

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

The Art of Chesley Bonestell by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III, with Melvin H. Schuetz

Other Finalists:
The Art of Richard Powers by Jane Frank
Being Gardner Dozois by Michael Swanwick
I Have This Nifty Idea . . . Now What Do I Do With It? by Mike Resnick
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey
Meditations on Middle-Earth edited by Karen Haber

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Other Finalists:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More, With Feeling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Monsters, Inc.
Shrek

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Ellen Datlow

Other Finalists:
Gardner Dozois
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Stanley Schmidt
Gordon van Gelder

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Michael Whelan

Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Bob Eggleton
Frank Kelly Freas
Donato Giancola

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Absolute Magnitude edited by Warren Lapine
Interzone edited by David Pringle

The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney

Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter

Speculations edited by Susan Fry, published by Kent Brewster

Best Fanzine

Winner:

Ansible edited by Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Mimosa edited by Richard Lynch and Nicki Lynch
Plokta edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies, and Mike Scott

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Jeff Berkwits
Bob Devney
John L. Flynn
Mike Glyer
Steven H. Silver

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Teddy Harvia

Other Finalists:
Sheryl Birkhead
Brad Foster
Sue Mason
Frank Wu

Best Web Site

Winner:
Locus Online, webmaster Mark R. Kelly

Other Finalists:
SciFi.com, general manager Craig Engler
SF Site, publisher and managing editor Rodger Turner
Strange Horizons, editor-in-chief Mary Anne Mohanraj
Tangent Online, senior editor Dave Truesdale, webmaster Tobias S. Buckell

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Jo Walton

Other Finalists:
Tobias S. Buckell
Alexander C. Irvine
Wen Spencer
Ken Wharton

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

2002 Hugo Longlist     Book Award Reviews     Home

2002 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Mythcon XXXIII in Boulder, Colorado.

Comments: 2002 is the first year for which we have actual data concerning the actual location and date for the Mythopoeic Awards. It seems almost unbelievable that this sort of information was simply not preserved for all of the previous years, but the simple fact is that until very recently most organizations handing out genre awards seem to have been exceptionally poor at keeping records, at least until the pervasiveness of the internet made such sloppiness almost impossible to get away with. The result is that so much information about many genre awards, even awards that have always been controlled by a single organization like the Mythopoeic Society, has simply been lost in the mists of time, and will likely never be recovered.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold

Other Nominees:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Declare by Tim Powers
Ill Met by Moonlight by Sarah A. Hoyt
The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin

Best Children's Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson

Other Nominees:

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson

The Two Princess of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
The Wizard's Dilemma by Diane Duane

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:

Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-Earth edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter

Other Nominees:
C.S. Lewis, Poet: The Legacy of His Poetic Impulse by Don W. King

J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances edited by George Makana Clark and Daniel Timmons

Women Among the Inklings: Gender, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams by Candice Fredrick and Sam McBride

Myth and Fantasy Studies

Winner:

The Owl, the Raven & the Dove: The Religious Meaning of the Grimms' Magic Fairy Tales by G. Ronald Murphy

Other Nominees:

Fairytale in the Ancient World by Graham Anderson

The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson

Twice Upon a Time: Women Writers and the History of the Fairy Tale by Elizabeth Wanning Harries

Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

Book Award Reviews     Home

2002 Locus Award Nominees

Location: Westercon in Los Angeles, California.

Comments: In 2002, and only for 2002, the Locus Awards introduced the Best Website category, which was ultimately won by SF Site, a website that can be found here. Although SF Site is still a going concern, it seems like a wounded and possibly dying one. And when one looks at the collection of websites that were nominated for the award, it is interesting to see both how much and how little the internet has changed over the years. Scifiction.com, Strange Horizons, and SciFi.com are still regularly updated. So is Tangent Online, although Dave Truesdale seems bound and determined to drain the site of all credibility, which makes me think its long-term prospects may not be particularly good. On the other hand, Science Fiction Weekly hasn't had an update since 2005. Fantastic Metropolis appears not to have had an update since 2010. Infinity Plus appears to have vanished and been replaced by the website of a general book publisher. Shadowmarch folded long ago, but Tad Williams talks about it and makes references to it on his personal website. From one perspective the fact that half of the websites listed in 2002 are still in existence and are still publishing new content (although in some cases, much less content), could be considered to be a hopeful sign. On the other hand, a fifty percent casualty rate is awfully high.

Best Science Fiction Novel
Winner:
1.   Passage by Connie Willis

Other Nominees:
2.   Shadow of the Hegemon by Orson Scott Card
3.   The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson
4.   Return to the Whorl by Gene Wolfe
5.   Defender by C.J. Cherryh
6.   Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod
7.   Nekropolis by Maureen F. McHugh
8.   Probability Sun by Nancy Kress
9.   Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
10. Origin: Manifold 3 by Stephen Baxter
11. The Pickup Artist by Terry Bisson
12. Ship of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
13. Terraforming Earth by Jack Williamson
14. Appleseed by John Clute
15. The Secret of Life by Paul J. McAuley
16. The Merchants of Souls by John Barnes
17. Dark Light by Ken MacLeod
18. Metaplanetary by Tony Daniel
19. Dervish Is Digital by Pat Cadigan
20. Going, Going, Gone by Jack Womack
21. Limit of Vision by Linda Nagata
22. The Cassandra Complex by Brian Stableford
23. Eyes of the Calculor by Sean McMullen
24. Maelstrom by Peter Watts
25. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
26. A Paradigm of Earth by Candas Jane Dorsey
27. Deepsix by Jack McDevitt
28. Whole Wide World by Paul J. McAuley
29. Angel of Destruction by Susan R. Matthews

Best Fantasy Novel
Winner:
1.   American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Other Nominees:
2.   The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin
3.   The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.   The Wooden Sea by Jonathan Carroll
5.   Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
6.   The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
7.   Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub
8.   From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
9.   Otherland: Sea of Silver Light by Tad Williams
10. Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
11. The Dreamthief's Daughter by Michael Moorcock
12. Smoking Poppy by Graham Joyce
13. Mother of Kings by Poul Anderson
14. Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker
15. Lirael by Garth Nix
16. Past the Size of Dreaming by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
17. The Beyond by Jeffrey Ford
18. Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey
19. Bold as Love by Gwyneth Jones
20. The House in the High Woold by Jeffrey E. Barlough
21. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
22. The Shadows of God by J. Gregory Keyes
23. The One Kingdom by Sean Russell
24. The Hauntings of Hood Canal by Jack Cady
25. Lost by Gregory Maguire

Best First Novel
Winner:
1.    Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Other Nominees:
2.   The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
3.   The Ill-Made Mute by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
4.   The Ghost Sister by Liz Williams
5.   Alien Taste by Wen Spencer
6.   Divine Intervention by Ken Wharton
7.   Ill Met by Moonlight by Sarah A. Hoyt
8.   Illumination by Terry McGarry
9.   Dance of Knives by Donna McMahon
10. Inca by Suzanne Allés Blom
11. Archangel Protocol by Lyda Morehouse
12. Swim the Moon by Paul Brandon
13. Eccentric Circles by Rebecca Lickiss
14. The Love-Artist by Jane Alison
15. Enemy Glory by Karen Michalson
16. Children of the Shaman by Jessica Rydill

Best Novella
Winner:
1.   The Finder by Ursula K. Le Guin

Other Nominees:

2.   Fast Times at Fairmont High by Vernor Vinge

3.   The Chief Designer by Andy Duncan
4.   deck.halls@boughs/holly by Connie Willis
5.   Eternity and Afterward by Lucius Shepard
6.   Stealing Alabama by Allen M. Steele
7.   New Light on the Drake Equation by Ian R. MacLeod
8.   Viewpoint by Gene Wolfe
9.   Yesterday's Tomorrows by Kate Wilhelm
10. Karuna, Inc. by Paul Di Filippo
11. The Caravan from Troon by Kage Baker
12. The Diamond Pit by Jack Dann
13. Cleopatra Brimstone by Elizabeth Hand
14. Sunday Night Yams at Minnie and Earl's by Adam-Troy Castro
15. Glacial by Alastair Reynolds
16. May Be Some Time by Brenda W. Clough
17. Silent Her by Barry B. Longyear

Best Novelette
Winner:
1.   Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang

Other Nominees:
2.   On the High Marsh by Ursula K. Le Guin
3.   On K2 with Kanakaredes by Dan Simmons
4.   The Lady of the Winds by Poul Anderson
5.   The Old Rugged Cross by Terry Bisson
6.   Isabel of the Fall by Ian R. MacLeod
7.   Lobsters by Charles Stross
8.   The Days Between by Allen M. Steele
9.   Undone by James Patrick Kelly
10. In the Un-Black by Stephen Baxter
11. Life on Earth by Pat Cadigan
12. Have Not Have by Geoff Ryman
13. The Measure of All Things by Richard Chwedyk
14. Computer Virus by Nancy Kress
15. The Other Real World by Howard Waldrop
16. The Quijote Robot by Robert Sheckley
17. Rhido Wars by Neal Barrett, Jr.
18. Monster Story by Kage Baker
19. This Shape We're In by Jonathan Lethem
20. And No Such Things Grow Here by Nancy Kress
21. Into Greenwood by Jim Grimsley
22. Firebird by R. Garcia y Robertson
23. Know How, Can Do by Michael Blumlein
24. The Two Dicks by Paul J. McAuley
25. Major Spacer in the 21^st Century by Howard Waldrop
26. Neutrino Drag by Paul Di Filippo
27. Doing the Unstuck by Paul Di Filippo
28. First to the Moon! by Stephen Baxter and Simon Bradshaw
29. The Boy by Robert Reed
30. The Return of Spring by Shane Tourtellotte
31. Troubadour by Charles Stross
32. The Ferryman's Wife by Richard Bowes
33. The Cat's Pajamas by James Morrow
34. Mirror by Robert Reed
35. The Applesauce Monster by Kage Baker
36. The Dread and Fear of Kings by Richard Paul Russo
37. More Adventures on Other Planets by Michael Cassutt

Best Short Story
Winner:

1.   The Bones of the Earth by Ursula K. Le Guin

Other Nominees:

2.   The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick

3.   Incognita, Inc. by Harlan Ellison
4.   The Ghost Pit by Stephen Baxter
5.   Senator Bilbo by Andy Duncan
6.   In Glory Like Their Star by Gene Wolfe
7.   Grey Earth by Stephen Baxter
8.   Anomalies by Gregory Benford
9.   Creature by Carol Emshwiller
10. The Milk of Human Kindness by Brian Stableford
11. Ave de Paso by Catherine Asaro
12. Queen by Gene Wolfe
13. The Building by Ursula K. Le Guin
14. The Shadow by Thomas M. Disch
15. Charlie's Angels by Terry Bisson
16. Cut by Megan Lindholm
17. Unique Visitors by James Patrick Kelly
18. His Own Back Yard by James P. Blaylock
19. The Honeyed Knot by Jeffrey Ford
20. Small Houses by James P. Blaylock
21. The Infodict by James Van Pelt
22. A Slow Saturday Night at the Surrealist Sporting Club by Michael Moorcock
23. Exclusion by Daniel Abraham
24. The Black Heart by Patrick O'Leary
25. What We Did That Summer by Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg
26. The God of Dark Laughter by Michael Chabon
27. Little Brother by Walter Mosley
28. The Ground He Stood On by J.R. Dunn
29. The Exchange, by Nicholas Sporlander by Jeff VanderMeer
30. Self-Portrait, with Melanoma, Final Draft by Paul Park
31. Non-Disclosure Agreement by Scott Westerfeld

Best Collection
Winner:

1.   Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Other Nominees:

2.   The Collected Stories by Arthur C. Clarke

3.   The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge by Vernor Vinge
4.   From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF of Fredric Brown by Fredric Brown
5.   Skin Folk by Nalo Hopkinson

6.   The Complete Science Fiction of William Tenn: Volume One, Immodest Proposals by William Tenn

7.   Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link
8.   The Other Nineteenth Century by Avram Davidson
9.   Strange Trades by Paul Di Filippo
10. The Complete Short Stories by J.G. Ballard
11. Trigger & Friends by James H. Schmitz
12. Night Moves and Other Stories by Tim Powers
13. Thirteen Phantasms and Other Stories by James P. Blaylock
14. City of Saints and Madmen: The Book of Ambergris by Jeff VanderMeer
15. Quartet by George R.R. Martin
16. Strange Days: Fabulous Journeys with Gardner Dozois by Gardner Dozois
17. Meet Me in the Moon Room by Ray Vukcevich
18. Impact Parameter and Other Quantum Realities by Geoffrey A. Landis
19. Futureland by Walter Mosley
20. 50 in 50 by Harry Harrison
21. Stories for an Enchanted Afternoon by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
22. The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists by Norman Partridge
23. Other Voices, Other Doors by Patrick O'Leary
24. Claremont Tales by Richard A. Lupoff
25. Jubilee by Jack Dann

Best Anthology
Winner:

1.   The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection edited by Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:

2.   The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourteenth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

3.   Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction edited by Al Sarrantonio
4.   Starlight 3 edited by Patrick Nielsen Hayden
5.   Year's Best SF 6 edited by David G. Hartwell
6.   Futures edited by Peter Crowther
7.   Year's Best Fantasy edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
8.   The SFWA Grand Masters: Volume Three edited by Frederik Pohl
9.   Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century edited by Orson Scott Card

10. A Woman's Liberation: A Choice of Futures By and About Women edited by Connie Willis and Sheila Williams

11. The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20^th Century edited by Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg

12. Nebula Awards Showcase 2001 edited by Robert Silverberg
13. Night Visions 10 edited by Richard Chizmar
14. Supermen: Tales of the Posthuman Future edited by Gardner Dozois
15. Worldmakers: SF Adventures in Terraforming edited by Gardner Dozois

16. The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume Twelve edited by Stephen Jones

17. The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20^th Century edited by Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Book
Winner:

1.   Being Gardner Dozois by Michael Swanwick

Other Nominees:

2.   Meditations on Middle-Earth edited by Karen Haber

3.   Deep Future by Stephen Baxter

4.   What If Our World Is Their Heaven? The Final Conversations of Philip K. Dick edited by Gwen Lee and Doris Elaine Sauter

5.   The Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines from the Beginning to 1950 by Mike Ashley

6.   Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter by Jack Zipes

7.   Book of the Dead: Friends of Yesteryear: Fictioneers & Others by E. Hoffmann Price

8.   Space and Beyond: The Frontier Theme in Science Fiction edited by Gary Westfahl

9.   The Martian Named Smith: Critical Perspectives on Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land by William H. Patterson, Jr. and Andrew Thornton

10. The Hidden Library of Tanith Lee: Themes and Subtexts from Dionysos to the Immortal Gene by Mavis Haut

11. Storyteller: The Official Orson Scott Card Bibliography and Guide by Michael R. Collings

12. Shadows in the Attic: A Guide to British Supernatural Fiction 1820-1950 by Neil Wilson

13. Ramsey Campbell and Modern Horror Fiction by S.T. Joshi

Best Art Book
Winner:

1.   Spectrum 8: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art edited by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner

Other Nominees:

2.   The Art of Chesley Bonestell by Ron Miller and Frederick C. Durant III, with Melvin H. Schuetz; art by Chesley Bonestell

3.   The Art of Richard Powers by Jane Frank; art by Richard Powers
4.   The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett; illustrated by Paul Kidby
5.   The Great American Paperback by Richard A. Lupoff

6.   Testament: The Life and Art of Frank Frazetta by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner; art by Frank Frazetta

7.   Fantasy of the 20^th Century: An Illustrated History by Randy Broecker

8.   Offerings: The Art of Brom by Brom
9.   The Art of Stephen Youll: Paradox by Stephen Youll
10. The Red Tree by Shaun Tan
11. The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines by Peter Haining
12. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells and Tom Kidd
13. Wings of Twilight: The Art of Michael Kaluta by Michael Kaluta
14. Dark Dreamers: Facing the Masters of Fear by Beth Gwinn and Stanley Wiater
15. The Artful Dodger: Images & Reflections by Nick Bantock
16. Ground Zero by Fred Gambino
17. Hardyware: The Art of David A. Hardy by Chris Morgan

Best Editor
Winner:
1.   Gardner Dozois

Other Nominees:
2.   Ellen Datlow
3.   Gordon van Gelder
4.   David G. Hartwell
5.   Patrick Nielsen Hayden
6.   Stanley Schmidt
7.   Terri Windling
8.   David Pringle
9.   Martin H. Greenberg
10. Jim Baen
11. Shawna McCarthy
12. Peter Crowther
13. (tie) Warren Lapine
      (tie) Gavin Grant
15. Stephen Jones
16. Al Sarrantonio
17. Paul Barnett
18. Jennifer Brehl
19. Scott Edelman

Best Magazine
Winner:
1.   Fantasy & Science Fiction

Other Nominees:
2.   Asimov's
3.   Analog
4.   Interzone
5.   Sci Fiction
6.   Realms of Fantasy
7.   Science Fiction Weekly
8.   The New York Review of Science Fiction
9.   Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
10. Weird Tales
11. Science Fiction Chronicle
12. Ansible
13. Spectrum SF
14. Cemetery Dance
15. Black Gate
16. The Third Alternative
17. Strange Horizons
18. Talebones
19. Absolute Magnitude

Best Book Publisher or Imprint
Winner:
1.   Tor

Other Nominees:
2.   DAW
3.   (tie) Ace
      (tie) Baen
5.   Del Rey
6.   HarperCollins/Eos
7.   Bantam Spectra
8.   NESFA Press
9.   Golden Gryphon Press
10. Voyager
11. Gollancz
12. St. Martin's
13. Subterranean Press
14. Warner Aspect
15. Roc
16. Meisha Merlin
17. SFBC
18. Wildside Press
19. Pocket

Best Artist
Winner:
1.   Michael Whelan

Other Nominees:
2.   Bob Eggleton
3.   Jim Burns
4.   Thomas Canty
5.   Frank Frazetta
6.   Stephen Youll
7.   Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
8.   Donato Giancola
9.   Brom
10. (tie) Shaun Tan
      (tie) Vincent Di Fate
12. John Jude Palencar
13. Luis Royo
14. Don Maitz
15. Josh Kirby
16. J.K. Potter
17. Alan M. Clark
18. Boris Vallejo
19. Frank Kelly Freas
20. David Cherry
21. Michael Kaluta
22. Ron Walotsky
23. Julie Bell
24. (tie) Paul Kidby
      (tie) Dominic Harman
26. Rowena Morrill

Best Website
Winner:
1.   SF Site

Other Nominees:
2.   Sci Fiction
3.   Science Fiction Weekly
4.   Strange Horizons
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Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

Book Award Reviews     Home

2002 Nebula Award Nominees

Location: Kansas City, Missouri.

Comments: 2002 was a good year for Catherine Asaro. Obviously, winning the Nebula Award for Best Novel is the foundation for a good year for any science fiction author. But because that was not enough to honor this author's work, she was also nominated in the best Novella category for her story A Roll of the Dice. Both stories are set in her expansive Skolian Saga, which at this point has to be reckoned as one of the most comprehensive and interesting science fiction series that have been written.

I know Best Script was a relatively new category for the Nebula voters, but it seems like they were still working out the kinks in the selection process. Either that, or those selecting the ballot simply lost their minds in 2002, because I cannot fathom how O Brother, Where Art Thou? got onto the ballot. Granted, it was loosely based upon Homer's epic poem The Odyssey, but that's such a tenuous connection given that the story itself has no speculative fictional elements. In the same time period, the Hugo Award voters managed to nominate both the Dune miniseries and the movie Frequency, neither of which appear on the Nebula ballot. One might argue that either of those choices are not as good as O Brother, Where Art Thou? as dramatic presentations, but both have the distinction of actually being speculative fiction, which the Coen brothers movie is not.

Best Novel

Winner:
The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro

Other Nominees:
The Collapsium by Wil McCarthy
Declare by Tim Powers
Eternity's End by Jeffrey A. Carver
Mars Crossing by Geoffrey A. Landis
Passage by Connie Willis
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
The Tower at Stony Wood by Patricia A. McKillip

Best Novella

Winner:

The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson

Other Nominees:
The Diamond Pit by Jack Dann
May Be Some Time by Brenda W. Clough
Radiant Green Star by Lucius Shepard
A Roll of the Dice by Catherine Asaro

Best Novelette

Winner:

Louise's Ghost by Kelly Link

Other Nominees:
Auspicious Eggs by James Morrow
Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites by William Shunn
The Pottawatomie Giant by Andy Duncan
To Kiss the Star by Amy Sterling Casil
Undone by James Patrick Kelly

Best Short Story

Winner:
The Cure for Everything by Severna Park

Other Nominees:
The Elephants on Neptune by Mike Resnick
Kaddish for the Last Survivor by Michael A. Burstein
Mom and Dad at the Home Front by Sherwood Smith
Wound the Wind by George Zebrowski

Best Script

Winner:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by James Schamus, Kuo Jung Tsai, and Hui-Ling Wang

Other Nominees:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Body by Joss Whedon
O Brother, Where Art Thou? by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

X-Men story by Tom DeSanto and Bryan Singer; screenplay by David Hayter

Go to previous year's nominees: 2001
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2003

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: In 2001 the Mythopoeic Awards came full circle after a fashion as Guy Gavriel Kay's two-part series The Sarantine Mosaic was nominated for the Best Adult Fiction Award. This nomination more or less symbolically takes the award back to its roots in a manner of speaking, as Kay's career in writing was started when he helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion many years before. A large proportion of fantasy writers draw their inspiration from Tolkien, but the connection is rarely as clearly drawn as the one between Tolkien and Kay.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Innamorati by Midori Snyder

Other Nominees:

Forests of the Heart Charles de Lint

RavenShadow by Win Blevins

The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) by Guy Gavriel Kay

Best Children's Fantasy Literature

Winner:
Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun

Other Nominees:

Beast by Donna Jo Napoli

Boots and the Seven Leaguers by Jane Yolen
Growing Wings by Laurel Winter
Night Flying by Rita Murphy

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:

J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey

Other Nominees:
C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer & Mentor by Lionel Adey

The Crisis and the Quest: a Kierkegaardian Reading of Charles Williams by Stephen N. Dunning

J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances edited by George Makana Clark and Daniel Timmons

Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-Earth edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter

Myth and Fantasy Studies

Winner:

King Arthur in America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack

Other Nominees:

The Fantasy Literature of England by C.N. Manlove

The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales edited by Jack Zipes
The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 Clarke Award Nominees

Location: United Kingdom.

Comments: In 2001 China Miéville won his first Clarke Award for his brilliant novel Perdido Street Station. As Miéville is the most decorated author in the history of the Clarke Award, the only thing that is surprising about his win this year is that it took so long. Between 2001 and the present, Miéville would go on to win the Clarke Award two more times, once in 2005, and once in 2010. If he continues this pattern, and given his talent there's no reason to think he won't, then we should look for Miéville to also win the Clarke Award in 2015.

Winner
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Shortlist
Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Salt by Adam Roberts

What Are the Arthur C. Clarke Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 Campbell Award Nominees

Location: Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

Comments: In 2001 the Campbell Award judges decided to change things up yet again, eliminating the "honorable mention" category that had been included in 2000, and turning in ballots that resulted in a three way tie for second place. Somewhat lost in the flux is the fact that Poul Anderson won the award for his novel Genesis, which was a nice send-off for the author who sadly died this year. As with many awards that are handed to authors who are in the twilight of their career, it is impossible to tell if this award was handed out for the quality of the book or as a means of honoring an author for his past works. In this case, Genesis was a good book, so it is entirely plausible that the voters were merely honoring the novel itself, although Anderson's publishing history probably didn't hurt.

Best Novel

Winner:

Genesis by Poul Anderson

Second Place:

(tie) Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle

(tie) Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
(tie) Infinity Beach by Jack McDevitt

Third Place:

The Fresco by Sheri S. Tepper

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Location: World Fantasy Convention, Montreal, Canada.

Comments: With two wins and another nomination, 2001 was Andy Duncan's year at the World Fantasy Awards. Despite this, a lot of people who consider themselves to be fantasy fiction fans probably have no idea who Andy Duncan is, in all likelihood because Duncan has not published any novels. This simple fact clearly illustrates the primacy of novels in the modern publishing world, and is, I think, one of the primary reasons that fiction publishing is having difficulties. In the 1950s and 1960s, a writer could make a decent living and achieve a fair amount of fame simple by publishing a lot of short fiction. This allowed many writers to hone their craft while still earning enough money to pay their bills while devoting themselves to writing full time. In more recent years, unless you can churn out a publishable novel or two while you are holding down a "day job", you simply aren't going to ever have a viable career as an author. As a case in point, more than a decade after his stellar year of 2001, Andy Duncan's primary job is teaching English at Frostburg State University. I don't begrudge Andy the opportunity to teach a subject that he loves, but the fact that he hasn't published more due to his need to hold down a "paying" job is something of a tragedy.

Best Novel

Winner:
(tie) Declare by Tim Powers
(tie) Galveston by Sean Stewart

Other Nominees:
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
The Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky
Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Best Novella

Winner:
The Man on the Ceiling by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem

Other Nominees:
Blue Kansas Sky by Michael Bishop
Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol by Elizabeth Hand
Mr Dark's Carnival by Glen Hirshberg
Mr. Simonelli or the Fairy Widower by Susanna Clarke
Pelican Cay by David Case
Seventy-Two Letters by Ted Chiang

Best Short Fiction

Winner:
The Pottawatomie Giant by Andy Duncan

Other Nominees:
Down Here in the Garden by Tia V. Travis
Is There Anybody There? by Kim Newman
Lincoln in Frogmore by Andy Duncan
The Raggle Taggle Gypsy-O by Michael Swanwick
The Saltimbanques by Terry Dowling
Shoe and Marriage by Kelly Link

Best Anthology

Winner:

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree R. Thomas

Other Nominees:
Dark Terrors 5 edited by Stephen Jones and David Sutton
Shadows and Silence edited by Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden
Vanishing Acts edited by Ellen Datlow

Whispers from the Cotton Tree Root: Caribbean Fabulist Fiction edited by Nalo Hopkinson

The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Thirteenth Annual Collection edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Best Collection

Winner:

Beluthahatchie and Other Stories by Andy Duncan

Other Nominees:
Blackwater Days by Terry Dowling
Magic Terror: Seven Tales by Peter Straub
Perpetuity Blues and Other Stories by Neal Barrett, Jr.
The Perseids and Other Stories by Robert Charles Wilson
Travel Arrangements by M. John Harrison

Lifetime Achievement

Winner:
Philip José Farmer
Frank Frazetta

Other Nominees:
None

Best Artist

Winner:
Shaun Tan

Other Nominees:
Jim Burns
Kinuko Y. Craft
Les Edwards
Daniel Merriam
John Jude Palencar

Special Award, Professional

Winner:
Tom Shippey

Other Nominees:
Ellen Datlow
Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner
William K. Schafer
Gary Turner and Marty Halpern

Special Award, Non-Professional

Winner:
Bill Sheehan

Other Nominees:
Benjamin Cossel, Jeremy Lassen, and Jason Williams
Peter Crowther
Philip J. Rahman and Dennis E. Weiler
Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden
Raymond Russell and Rosalie Parker

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 Prometheus Award Nominees

Location: Worldcon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Comments: In the book and the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke envisioned that by the year 2001 humanity have orbital colonies, regular passenger flights to Earth orbit, and a somewhat permanent manned presence on the Moon. The reality was slightly less impressive - 2001 was the year in which we finally got reliable public information concerning where and when the Prometheus Awards were bestowed. Although I'm pleased that the Prometheus Awards data is available, I think I'd rather have orbital colonies.

Best Novel

Winner:

Forge of the Elders by L. Neil Smith

Other Nominees:

Eagle Against the Stars by Steve White

Lodestar by Michael F. Flynn
The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod
The Truth by Terry Pratchett

Hall of Fame

Winner:

The Survival of Freedom edited by Jerry Pournelle and John F. Carr

Other Nominees:
It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Orion Shall Rise by Poul Anderson
Star Trek - The Next Generation: The Measure of a Man by Melinda Snodgrass
The Wardove by L. Neil Smith

Special Award

Winner:

Poul Anderson

Other Nominees:
None

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

Book Award Reviews     Home

2001 Hugo Award Finalists

Location: The Millennium Philcon in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Comments: J.K. Rowling's Best Novel win for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at the 2001 Hugo awards provoked a minor storm of controversy. Many people in the science fiction fan community were outraged that a young adult fantasy could take home the top science fiction award. Apparently they had never bothered to read the actual description of the Hugo Award, which makes it clear that it is to be bestowed upon the most notable works of science fiction or fantasy published in the prior year. Outrage over the fact that a fantasy about a boy wizard at a magical boarding school won an award that specifically says it can be won by fantasy fiction seems to me to be a bit misplaced.

However, one can justifiably argue that the win for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was undeserved, and that some of the other nominees were superior options. If the voters were intent on picking a fantasy novel, why award Rowling's decidedly mediocre offering instead of George R.R. Martin's excellent book A Storm of Swords? Or for that matter, why choose Goblet of Fire over Sawyer's, Hopkinson's, and MacLeod's work? The problem with the Hugo Award for Best Novel wasn't that it went to a juvenile fantasy, but rather that it went to a Milquetoast juvenile fantasy when other, better books were in the running as well.

Jumping down to the Best Dramatic Presentation category one finds a different issue. While the winning movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, was the right choice, one has to wonder how in the world Chicken Run got on the ballot. Sure, Chicken Run is a fun movie, but how in the world could it be considered one of the best science fiction or fantasy dramatic presentations of the year is beyond me.

Best Novel

Winner:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Other Finalists:
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
The Sky Road by Ken MacLeod
A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Best Novella

Winner:

The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson

Other Finalists:
Oracle by Greg Egan
Radiant Green Star by Lucius Shepard
The Retrieval Artist by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
A Roll of the Dice by Catherine Asaro
Seventy-Two Letters by Ted Chiang

Best Novelette

Winner:

Millennium Babies by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Other Finalists:
Agape Among the Robots by Allen M. Steele
Generation Gap by Stanley Schmidt
On the Orion Line by Stephen Baxter
Redchapel by Mike Resnick

Best Short Story

Winner:

Different Kinds of Darkness by David Langford

Other Finalists:
The Elephants on Neptune by Mike Resnick
The Gravity Mine by Stephen Baxter
Kaddish for the Last Survivor by Michael A. Burstein
Moon Dogs by Michael Swanwick

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:

Greetings from Earth: The Art of Bob Eggleton by Bob Eggleton and Nigel Suckling

Other Finalists:
Concordance to Cordwainer Smith, Third Edition by Anthony R. Lewis
Putting It Together: Turning Sow's Ear Drafts into Silk Purse Stories by Mike Resnick
Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion by James Gifford

Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature by Andrew M. Butler, Edward James, and Farah Mendlesohn

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Other Finalists:
Chicken Run
Frank Herbert's Dune (miniseries)
Frequency
X-Men

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Gardner Dozois

Other Finalists:
Ellen Datlow
David G. Hartwell
Stanley Schmidt
Gordon van Gelder

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Bob Eggleton

Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Frank Kelly Freas
Donato Giancola
Michael Whelan

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:

Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Interzone edited by David Pringle

The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin Maroney

Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew I. Porter

Speculations edited by Denise Lee and Susan Fry, published by Kent Brewster

Best Fanzine

Winner:

File 770 edited by Mike Glyer

Other Finalists:
Challenger edited by Guy H. Lillian III
Mimosa edited by Nicki Lynch and Richard Lynch
Plokta edited by Alison Scott, Steve Davies and Mike Scott
STET edited by Dick Smith and Leah Zeldes Smith

Best Fan Writer

Winner:

Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Bob Devney
Mike Glyer
Evelyn C. Leeper
Steven H. Silver

Best Fan Artist

Winner:

Teddy Harvia

Other Finalists:
Sheryl Birkhead
Brad Foster
Sue Mason
Taral Wayne

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Kristine Smith

Other Finalists:
James L. Cambias
Thomas Harlan
Douglas Smith
Jo Walton

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

2001 Hugo Longlist     Book Award Reviews     Home