Infinity Award

[psocoptera]

Ha - apparently SFWA has continued to feel so bad about having failed to name Butler a Damon Knight Grandmaster that they've now invented an entirely new parallel award for people who inconveniently died before they could get Grandmastered. See file770 writeup here. I'll be very interested to see who else they prioritize in the backfilling effort.

ETA: apparently this year's Grandmaster was also announced back in November, which I somehow never hear about! Robin McKinley! Feels extremely plausible in the ongoing "catching up of the women" project - she's 70, and formative/foundational for a lot of younger writers, and I think has some kind of chronic illness (ME/CFS maybe?) that probably adds some extra "how is she even doing in this pandemic" worry. And is of course terrific and I've re-read some of her books a bunch of times. Very pleasing choice.

Comments

[psocoptera]

Predicting it now, the next one goes to Diana Wynne Jones (as per my wild speculation that no Grandmaster award was given in 2011 because DWJ announced in summer of 2010 that her chemo wasn't working and then died in March 2011 before the award, which has to go to a living author, could be presented). Greg Bear probably goes on the list. And perhaps they'll wait and give Card an Infinity after his death instead of a Grandmaster before it so he can't say anything too awful in the awards ceremony.

[psocoptera]

Terry Pratchett, although it surprises me a little that they didn't Grandmaster Terry Pratchett, who knew he was sick for awhile - surprises me enough that I wonder if he turned it down or quietly took himself off the list or something. Zelazny, Joanna Russ, Philip K Dick, Theodore Sturgeon, and Iain M Banks also all seem like plausible candidates. Banks is another one who apparently announced in April 2013 he had cancer and died of it in June of that year, a very short and mistimed window for Grandmastering while living.

[glynhogen]

I know he turned down a Hugo-I-think nomination for Going Postal on the basis of not wanting to deal with the stress (among other things). So it's always possible; but it's also hard to argue with the Grandmasters that were selected during that period.

[psocoptera]

Yeah, I don't have a "they definitely should have given it to Pratchett in 20XX instead of Y" - honestly, even the Grandmasters whose stuff I don't know very well (who is James Gunn?) I tend to assume they were important and amazing to a pool of people that doesn't happen to include me.