Hey! Look--I've got another one!

I know the following information has been circulating widely via email and blogs, but in truth, it hasn't officially been released to the media. Until I worked up this release and sent it out, that is:

SFWA names Grand Master, Author Emeritus

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have named Harlan Ellison Grand Master and William F. Nolan Author Emeritus for 2006. The pair will be honored at the Nebula Award Weekend® in Tempe Arizona May 4-7.

SFWA President Robin Wayne Bailey made the announcement after consulting with the SFWA Board of Directors and participating past presidents.

The 2006 Author Emeritus was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1928. Nolan sold his first fiction in 1954 and his work has included a broad range of material, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, westerns and mysteries. He has authored over 150 stories and 75 books, including 13 novels. Among the best-known of his novels is Logan’s Run, co-authored with George Clayton Johnson, and later on his own, Logan’s World and Logan’s Search. His work has earned praise from such writers as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Joe R. Landsdale.

The 2006 Grand Master made his first sale, “Glowworm,” to Infinity Science Fiction in 1956, and since then Ellison has shaped and sometimes re-shaped modern science fiction. As a writer and as an anthologist, his influence--though sometimes controversial--has been vast. Ellison has won a remarkable nine Hugo Awards, three Nebula Awards, many script-writing awards for his television work, two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, two World Fantasy Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), and six Bram Stoker Awards (including one for lifetime achievement). His 1992 novelette “The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore” was selected from more than 6,000 short stories published in the U.S. for inclusion in the 1993 edition of Best American Short Stories

Ellison was one of the founders of SFWA and served as the organization’s first vice-president. Always a champion for writers, he led the fight against AOL with his “Kick Internet Piracy” campaign to hold internet service providers responsible for pirate sites. He also helped to launch the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

More details about the Nebula Awards® Weekend are available at http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2006/.

About SFWA

Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA® has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers' organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 1,500 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals. Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards® for the year’s best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

More to come. But that's pretty much a given, isn't it?

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