The fifth annual Geffen Awards, for works of Israeli science fiction, were presented October 16th at ICon, Israel's biggest SF convention, in Tel Aviv with convention Guest of Honor Orson Scott Card presiding.
Winners for best fantasy and SF novels of 2003 were Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Stanislaw Lem's Solaris.
Other nominees for fantasy novel were Coraline, also by Neil Gaiman, The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman, Jehereg by Steven Brust, Last Call by Tim Powers, and Fevre Dream by George R Martin. Other nominees in the SF category were In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker, Belarus by Lee Hogan, The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin, and Passage by Connie Willis.
Winners in Israeli categories were Sometimes It’s Different by Vered Tuchterman for best novel, and "All-of-Me(TM)" by Guy Hasson for short story. Mr. Card presented the award for both winners in those categories.
Tuchterman's Sometimes It’s Different is a collection of short stories that deal with the strange moments of reality, some set in our own reality and others in futuristic and strange realities. Hasson's "All-of-Me(TM)" deals with the possible ramifications of personality duplication.
Other nominees in the novel category for 2003 were The Road to Heaven by Gyle Haareven (a collection of short stories set in dreamlike realities), The Guide of the Perplexed by Gilad Azmon (set 30 years in the future after the destruction of the state of Israel), Hatchling by Guy Hasson (a novel by one of Israel’s young and promising Science Fiction writers), and Red Night by Gal Amir (an original vampires novel set during the last 500 years in Israel).
Other nominees in the short story category were “I Carry You” by Hamutal Levin, the story of a brilliant young girl who lives in a reality where human intelligence is degrading; “Serach” by Ilan Eshkoli, which tells the story of an old woman who lives in a Kibutz in modern day Israel since biblical times; “All Men In Peace and Harmony” by Vered Tuchterman, which tells the story of two fighting military units: one Israeli and the other Palestinian, when suddenly a hostile alien spaceship lands and both Israeli and Palestinian have to unite against the common enemy; and “one time cutlery” by Asaf Ashery, a story about a confrontation over a one time cutlery between an strange software engineer who cant deal with silverware and environmental fanatic that recycle takes a surprising turn.
ICon 2003, held in Tel Aviv October 14-16, 2003, was the biggest Science Fiction and Fantasy convention ever to take place in Israel. It was spread over three different adjoining sites in the heart of Tel Aviv’s nightlife area. Orson Scott Card participated in numerous events, including a workshop with audience titled "1001 Ideas in One Hour".
— Rani Graff
Links
Locus Index to SF Awards —
Past Geffen winners by Year
Results of Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire for 2004 include Robert Holdstock's Celtika and Peter S. Beagle's The Rhinoceros who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances in translated categories, and Fabrice Colin's Dreamericana
and Jean-Jacques Girardot's "Dedales Virtuels" in French-language categories.
The award ceremony will take place at the Utopiales 2003 festival in Nantes, held 8 - 11 November.
A complete list of winners is given at Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire.
Links
Locus Index to SF Awards —
Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire
Winners of the German "Phantastik Preis" were announced October 11, 2003, at Buchmesse Convent 2003 in Frankfurt. Results were determined by over 3000 mostly German fans who voted online.
Winners include Stephen King & Peter Straub's Black House (Das schwarze Haus) in the international novel category, J.K. Rowling as international author of the year, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as best feature film, and www.theonering.net
as best international internet-site.
Complete results are listed at SFWA News, 2003 German Phantastic winners. See also phantastik.de.
Links
Locus Index to SF Awards —
German Phantastik Preis
