Earlier today at a small gathering in Lawrence, Kansas, SFWA President Robin Wayne Bailey asked James Gunn to be honored by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America as the next Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master. The selection was made by the SFWA Board of Directors in conjunction with the living past presidents of SFWA. Presentation of the award will be made during the Nebula Awards® Weekend in New York, NY on May 11-13, 2007.

James Gunn is the twenty fourth writer recognized by SFWA as a Grand Master. He joins Robert A. Heinlein (1974), Jack Williamson (1975), Clifford D. Simak (1976), L. Sprague de Camp (1978), Fritz Leiber (1981), Andre Norton (1983), Arthur C. Clarke (1985), Isaac Asimov (1986), Alfred Bester (1987), Ray Bradbury (1988), Lester del Rey (1990), Frederik Pohl (1992), Damon Knight (1994), A. E. van Vogt (1995), Jack Vance (1996), Poul Anderson (1997), Hal Clement (1998), Brian Aldiss (1999), and Philip Jose Farmer (2000), Ursula K. Le Guin (2003), Robert Silverberg (2004), Anne McCaffrey (2005), and Harlan Ellison (2006).

Until 2002 the title was simply "Grand Master." In 2002 it was renamed in honor of SFWA's founder, Damon Knight, who died that year.

Gunn started writing science fiction in 1948, was a full-time freelance writer for four years, and has had nearly 100 stories published in magazines and books. He is the author of 26 books and the editor of 10; his master's thesis was serialized in a pulp magazine. Four of his stories were dramatized over NBC radio's "X Minus One"; "The Cave of Night" was dramatized on television's Desilu Playhouse in 1959 as "Man in Orbit"; and The Immortals was dramatized as an ABC-TV "Movie of the Week" in 1969 as "The Immortal" and became an hour-long series in 1970-71. Following a career at the University of Kansas he is presently professor emeritus of English and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction.

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Formal announcement released November 30:

The Board of Directors of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. is pleased to announce that writer, editor and professor James Gunn has been chosen to receive the 2007 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

James Gunn's impact on the field of science fiction has been enormous. He began writing in 1948 and has authored 26 novels and over one hundred short stories. He's also edited ten books, including NEBULA AWARDS STORIES 10 and THE BEST OF ASTOUNDING: CLASSIC SHORT NOVELS FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION. His stories been performed as radio and television dramas, and his novel, THE IMMORTALS, was transformed into an ABC-TV "Movie of the Week," and then into a one-hour television series called THE IMMORTAL. Carl Sagan lauded his novel, THE LISTENERS, as one of the finest first-contact novels ever written.

As a scholar and historian of the science fiction field, James Gunn stands second to none. His six-volume series, THE ROAD TO SCIENCE FICTION is an unmatched and comprehensive overview of the sf genre. ALTERNATE WORLDS: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION received a special award from the 1976 World Science Fiction Convention, and in 1983 he won a coveted Science Fiction Achievement Award (commonly called a "Hugo") for ISAAC ASIMOV: THE FOUNDATIONS OF SCIENCE FICTION.

He served as the president of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers, Inc., from 1971-1972 and as president of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980-1982. He's received an Eaton Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Pilgrim Award from SFRA, and he currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.

Ever a proponent of the value of SF as literature -- his personal motto is "Let's Save the world through science fiction -- Jame's Gunn's influence as a teacher has been far-reaching. His students have included such major SF award winners as John Kessel, Bradley Denton and Pat Cadigan, along with numerous others. His Center for the Study of Science Fiction, established on the campus of KU in Lawrence, Kansas, hosts an annual week-long writing program in conjunction with the John W. Campbell Conference at which teachers, students and writers interact in a series of weekend-long discussions. As a teacher and writer, he has lectured in eleven countries, including China and the former Soviet Union. Never one to rest or even slow down, he now spearheads "About SF," a comprehensive website aimed at reaching out to other teachers, students and readers with reading lists, lesson plans, online classes, a speakers' bureau and more. SFWA is proud to serve as one of the sponsors of "About SF." SFWA takes great pride in honoring this very deserving author.

The presentation of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award will take place at the SFWA Nebula Awards Weekend, May 11-13 at the Marriott Hotel in the Financial Center, New York City, New York. Room rates are $219 a night. Interested members of the public are welcome.

Best regards,

Robin Wayne Bailey
President,
SFWA, Inc.

Updated November 30, 2006