Locus Online: SFWA to Alter Ellison Award

SFWA to Alter Ellison Award

A source close to the Board of Directors of the Science Fiction Writers of America has revealed that a secret vote was taken last Wednesday to change the wording on the Grandmaster Award which will be given to Harlan Ellison at the Nebula Awards Banquet on May 6, 2006 in Tempe, Arizona.

"The problem is that Harlan has on occasion been pretty confrontational about being called a science fiction writer and yet it says 'Science Fiction Writers' there on the award. We were afraid that he wouldn't show up, or else denounce SFWA from the stage or maybe even attack the darn thing with a ball peen hammer. We certainly don't want to put our toastmaster, Connie Willis, in harm's way."

Originally it was thought that the word Science could be replaced by Speculative, but according to the unnamed source, "there just wasn't enough room." There are reportedly various proposals under consideration to resolve SFWA's dilemma. These including placing black electrical tape over the words Science Fiction and changing the word Science to Short to honor Ellison's acknowledged mastery of the short story. "We're going to keep our solution a secret, even from Harlan," said the source. "We think everyone will be happy."

	FEATURES 2006 Archive 2005 Archive Features Indexes Contributors Books, Magazines Reviewed Movies Reviewed Advertisement LINKS Links Portal E-mail Locus Online		Saturday 1 April 2006 SFWA to Alter Ellison Award A source close to the Board of Directors of the Science Fiction Writers of America has revealed that a secret vote was taken last Wednesday to change the wording on the Grandmaster Award which will be given to Harlan Ellison at the Nebula Awards Banquet on May 6, 2006 in Tempe, Arizona. "The problem is that Harlan has on occasion been pretty confrontational about being called a science fiction writer and yet it says 'Science Fiction Writers' there on the award. We were afraid that he wouldn't show up, or else denounce SFWA from the stage or maybe even attack the darn thing with a ball peen hammer. We certainly don't want to put our toastmaster, Connie Willis, in harm's way." Originally it was thought that the word Science could be replaced by Speculative, but according to the unnamed source, "there just wasn't enough room." There are reportedly various proposals under consideration to resolve SFWA's dilemma. These including placing black electrical tape over the words Science Fiction and changing the word Science to Short to honor Ellison's acknowledged mastery of the short story. "We're going to keep our solution a secret, even from Harlan," said the source. "We think everyone will be happy." Reported by Jacky Telemark Lisp, whose favorite month is June.
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