Sturgeon Award Finalists

Finalists have been announced for this year's Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, given annually to the best short science fiction of the year. The winner will be announced at this year's Campbell Conference, held July 7-10, 2005, in Lawrence, Kansas.

"An Appeal to Adolf", Ian Watson (Conqueror Fantastic)

"Arabian Wine", Gregory Feeley (Asimov's Apr/May 2004)

"The Baum Plan for Financial Independence", John Kessel (Sci Fiction 24 Mar 2004)

"Dancer in the Dark", David Gerrold (F&SF Apr 2004)

"The Fear Gun", Judith Berman (Asimov's Jul 2004)

"The Gladiator's War: A Dialogue", Lois Tilton (Asimov's Jun 2004)

"Invisible Kingdoms", Steven Utley (F&SF Feb 2004)

"The Lost Pilgrim", Gene Wolfe (The First Heroes)

"The Magical Negro", Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu (Dark Matter II: Reading the Bones)

Mere, Robert Reed (Golden Gryphon)

"The Risk-Taking Gene as Expressed by Some Asian Subjects", Steve Tomasula (Denver Quarterly Fall 2004)

"Savant Songs", Brenda Cooper (Analog Dec 2004)

"Scout's Honor", Terry Bisson (Sci Fiction 28 Jan 2004)

"Sergeant Chip", Bradley Denton (F&SF Sep 2004)

"Singing My Sister Down", Margo Lanagan (Black Juice)

"Start the Clock", Benjamin Rosenbaum (F&SF Aug 2004)

"Stone Animals", Kelly Link (Conjunctions 43: Beyond Arcadia)

"The Strange Redemption of Sister Mary Ann", Mike Moscoe (Analog Nov 2004)

"Venus Flowers at Night", Pamela Sargent (Microcosms)

"The Voluntary State", Christopher Rowe (Sci Fiction 5 May 2004)

Stories are listed here alphabetically by title. The stories by Bradley Denton and Christopher Rowe are currently on this year's Hugo ballot; the Rowe, Tilton, and Moscoe stories were nominated earlier this year for the Nebula Award. Stories are nominated for the Sturgeon Award by a committee of reviewers and editors chaired by Chris McKitterick, and the winners are chosen by Frederik Pohl, James Gunn, and Kij Johnson, with the assistance of Noel Sturgeon, Theodore Sturgeon's daughter.