The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have announced that Harry Harrison will receive their Grand Master award next April at the 2009 Nebula Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California.
This announcement is the earliest SFWA has named a Grand Master, by several months. Indeed, before the last decade or so, the identity of the Grand Master (if any) was kept as secret as the other winners, only being revealed at the ceremony. Earlier administrations decided to make the announcement early, to give the recipient time to prepare his or her attendance and time to enjoy it, and to get some publicity value outt of it. When asked why this announcement is so much earlier, new SFWA President Russell Davis told SFScope: “I’ve always felt that making decisions like choosing the Grand Master should be done relatively early for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, we want to give everyone involved time to plan on attending the event and the more information they have about the particulars—like the Grand Master selection—the more likely it is that they’ll be able to schedule attending, and be excited about doing so. Secondly, we’re going to have a pretty steady stream of news and press releases about the LA Nebula Weekend, and this helps build not only anticipation for participants and attendees, but helps SFWA create and maintain positive media attention in various venues about our activities.
“One of the keys to having a successful organization, in my opinion, is a regular stream of good news and positive changes for the membership. The Grand Master selection is good news for both the recipient and the membership.”
Harry Harrison may be best known for his The Stainless Steel Rat, which grew into a 10-novel series. He published his first sf story, “Rock Diver,” in the August 1951 issue of Worlds Beyond. After that, he wrote more than 60 novels, eight collections of short fiction, six non-fiction books, and many stories. He also edited 35 anthologies.
Harrison was born 12 March 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, and drafted into the US Army in 1943, following his graduation from high school. His experiences during World War II led him to write about Bill, the Galactic Hero. He also wrote Make Room! Make Room!, the novel which inspired the film Soylent Green.
“There are few moments in life that can be taken out and savored in memory. One happened today,” Harrison said. “A phone call from our President Russell Davis with the startling news that I was to be the 2009 Grand Master nearly led to the collapse of a stout writer!”
Harrison is many things, a world traveler among them. His web site lists the many places he’s lived, including England, which he has called home since 1975.He’s also an artist, having done illustration for many of the sf magazines before he became a writer. He also illustrated and edited comics in those years. Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss co-founded the John W. Campbell Award for best sf novel (which was recently awarded).
In addition to his own, Harrison has written and edited under a variety of pseudonyms, including: Felix Boyd, Leslie Charteris, Hank Dempsey, Cameron Hall, Wade Kaempfert, and Philip St. John.