The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to a living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was first awarded in 1975, to Robert Heinlein. In 2002, it was renamed after Damon Knight, the founder of SFWA, who had died that year.

History

The first Grand Master, Robert Heinlein, was named in 1975. The Grand Master Award was originally limited to six recipients per decade; six were presented in the ten years to 1984 and twelve in the twenty years to 1994. From 1995, the award has been conferred annually, with the exception of 2002 and 2011.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

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!Year

!Recipient

!Ref.

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!1975

| (1907–1988)

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!1976

| (1908–2006)

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!1977

| (1904–1988)

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|-

!1978

|—

|

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!1979

| (1907–2000)

|

|-

!1980

|—

|

|-

!1981

| (1910–1992)

|

|-

!1982

|—

|

|-

!1983

|—

|

|-

!1984

| (1912–2005)

|

|-

!1985

|—

|

|-

!1986

| (1917–2008)

|

|-

!1987

| (1920–1992)

|

|-

!1988

| (1913–1987)

|

|-

!1989

| (1920–2012)

|

|-

!1990

|—

|

|-

!1991

| (1915–1993)

|

|-

!1992

|—

|

|-

!1993

| (1919–2013)

|

|-

!1994

|—

|

|-

!1995

| (1922–2002)

|

|-

!1996

| (1912–2000)

|

|-

!1997

| (1916–2013)

|

|-

!1998

| (1926–2001)

|

|-

!1999

| (1922–2003)

|

|-

!2000

| (1925–2017)

|

|-

!2001

| (1918–2009)

|

|-

!2002

|—

|

|-

!2003

| (1929–2018)

|

|-

!2004

| (1935–)

|

|-

!2005

| (1926–2011)

|

|-

!2006

| (1934–2018)

|

|-

!2007

| (1923–2020)

|

|-

!2008

| (1939–)

|

|-

!2009

| (1925–2012)

|

|-

!2010

| (1943–)

|

|-

!2011

|—

|

|-

!2012

| (1945–)

|

|-

!2013

| (1931–2019)

|

|-

!2014

| (1942–)

|

|-

!2015

| (1938–)

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|-

!2016

| (1942–)

|

|-

!2017

| (1939–)

|

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!2018

| (1939–)

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!2019

| (1948–)

|

|-

!2020

| (1949–)

|

|-

!2021

| (1960–)

|

|-

!2022

| (1950–)

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|-

!2023

| (1952–)

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|-

!2024

|Susan Cooper (1935–)

|

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!2025

|Nicola Griffith (1960–)

|

|-

!2026

|N.K. Jemisin (1972–)

|

|}

Infinity Award

In 2023, SFWA announced the creation of the Infinity Award, which posthumously honors creators who died before they could be considered for the Grand Master Award. SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy said, "Over the years, so many creators have been passed over for the Grand Master nod, for one reason or another. Some died tragically early. Others were not recognized for their work during their lifetimes because of cultural prejudices and blind spots."

Further reading

<!-- official announcements 2009/10 to 2013/14 -->

  • "Joe Haldeman named Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master" . SFWA. December 15, 2009. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  • "SFWA names Connie Willis recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award" . SFWA. January 16, 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  • 2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master awarded to Gene Wolfe" . SFWA. December 13, 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  • "2013 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award: Samuel R. Delany" . SFWA. December 4, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  • "2015 Larry Niven Named SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master" . SFWA. March 2, 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  • "SFWA Grand Master Award" in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
  • Michael Moorcock at 2008 Nebula Award Ceremony (flickr)
  • Harry Harrison and Robert Silverberg at 2009 Nebula award ceremony (twitpic)