The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the blind poet Rhysling, in Robert A. Heinlein's short story "The Green Hills of Earth".[1] The award is given in two categories: "Best Long Poem", for works of 50 or more lines, and "Best Short Poem", for works of 49 or fewer lines.[1]
The nominees for each year's Rhysling Awards are chosen by the members of the Science Fiction Poetry Association (SFPA). Each member may nominate one work for each of the categories. Until 2022, all nominated works were compiled into an anthology called The Rhysling Anthology, and members of the Association would then vote on the final winners. In 2022, the process was changed such that the nominees are instead presented to a jury, who select no more than 50 finalists for the short award, and no more than 25 for the long award. Now only these finalist are compiled into the anthology and put to a final vote by the SFPA membership.[2] From 2005 to 2011, the Awards were presented in July at a ceremony at Readercon. In 2022, eligibilty guidleines were changed to exclude peoms also nominated for the Dwarf Stars Award or the Elgin Awards.[2]
In 2005, the SFPA published an anthology of the winning poems, The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase.[3][4]
Winners and Runners Up
From 1978 to 1994, only a first-place winner was awarded. In 1995, a number of runners up were named[5] and in 1996, a number of "Honorable Mentions" were given.[6] Since 1997, 2nd and 3rd place have also been honored, and from 2020 onward, "Honorable Mentions" have been mentioned once again.
Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga, Black Spot Books
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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and/or horror. The SFPA oversees the quarterly production of literary journals dedicated to speculative poetry and the annual publication of anthologies associated with awards administered by the organization, i.e. the Rhysling Awards for year's best speculative poems in two length categories and the Dwarf Stars Award for year's best very short speculative poem. Every year since 2013, the SFPA has additionally administered the Elgin Awards for best full-length speculative poetry collection and best speculative chapbook.
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↑ Roger Dutcher and Mike Allen, ed. (2005). The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase. Science Fiction Poetry Association in cooperation with Prime Books. p.170 pp. ISBN0-8095-1162-2. This collection presents more than twenty-five years of the best poetry in the field of speculative literature.
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