Author Emeritus

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Author Emeritus was an honorary title annually bestowed by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association upon a living writer "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer active or whose excellent work may no longer be as widely known as it once was." [1] The Author Emeritus was invited to speak at the annual Nebula Awards banquet. [2]

According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction , the award was for "apparently, long-time sf writers not considered worthy of Grand Master eminence". [3] It was inaugurated in 1995 and conferred 14 times in 16 years through 2010 (at the 1994 to 2009 Nebula Awards banquets). [2] The encyclopedia states that the 2001 award was controversial as it went to a writer who was still active at the time, and that after name changes to Author of Distinction in 2004 and Special Honoree in 2014, it "may since have been quietly discontinued". [3]

Honorees

Author Emeritus honorees
YearHonoreeRef.
1995 Emil Petaja (1915–2000)
1996 Wilson Tucker (1914–2006)
1997 Judith Merril (1923–1997)
1998 Nelson S. Bond (1908–2006)
1999 William Tenn (1920–2010)
2000 Daniel Keyes (1927–2014) [4]
2001 Robert Sheckley (1928–2005)
2002
2003 Katherine MacLean (1925–2019) [5]
2004 Charles L. Harness (1915–2005) as Author of Distinction [3]
2005
2006 William F. Nolan (1928–2021) [6] [7] [8]
2007 D. G. Compton (1930– )
2008 Ardath Mayhar (1930–2012) [9] [10]
2009 M. J. Engh (1933– ) [11] [12]
2010 Neal Barrett, Jr. (1929–2014) [13] [14] [15]
2011
2012
2013
2014 Frank M. Robinson as Special Honoree [3]

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References

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