The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) caught us flat-footed by announcing their award winners early this year. The 40th annual SFRA conference, titled “Engineering the Future and Southern-Fried Science Fiction and Fantasy”, will be held 11-14 June at the Hotel Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia. The Guest of Honor will be Michael Bishop, with Special Guest Authors including: F. Brett Cox, Paul Di Filippo, Andy Duncan, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Jack McDevitt, and Warren Rochelle.
This year’s SFRA awards—which recognize contributions to the SFRA and the wider field of science fiction and fantasy scholarship—go to:
The Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to SF and fantasy scholarship: Brian Attebery.
The Pioneer Award for the best critical essay-length work of the year: Neil Easterbrook for “Giving an Account of Oneself: Ethics, Alterity, Air”.
The Clareson Award for Distinguished Service to SF and fantasy scholarship: Hal Hall.
The Mary Kay Bray Award for the best essay, interview, or extended review to appear in the SFRA Review in the past year: Sandor Klapcsik for his review of Rewired (SFRAR #284).
The Graduate Student Paper Award for the best essay presented at the 2008 SFRA conference: Dave Higgins for “The Imperial Unconscious: Samuel R. Delany’s The Fall of the Towers.”