The John W. Campbell Memorial Award

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for the best science-fiction novel of the year is one of the three major annual awards for book-length science fiction, and the only juried award of its history and stature.

History
Selection and jury
Winners
Finalists
Conference
Campbell Award trophy
Campbell Award history article by Harry Harrison and Sam J. Lundwall
John W. Campbell: The Man Who Invented Modern Fantasy and the Golden Age of Science Fiction

History

Authors and scholars Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss established the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of the year as a way of continuing Campbell's efforts to encourage writers to produce their best possible work: "to carry on and expand the tradition that Campbell had started, that of assuring the literary growth and development of science fiction." Campbell, who edited Astounding Science Fiction magazine, now named Analog from 1937 until his death in 1971, is called by many writers and scholars the father of modern science fiction, as it guided the evolution of SF during our Golden Age.

In 1977, Harrison wrote this about the award's inception:

"When John died it was a blow to all of us. After the memorial service a number of his writers were talking, and out of the talk came the Astounding anthology, what has been called the last issue of the Campbell magazine. It was a good tribute to a good editor. There is another tribute I think of just as highly, the award for the best SF novel of the year presented in his name and memory. An award I am sure he would have loved because it instantly became involved in controversy when the first prizes was presented. How John enjoyed a good argument and a good fight! That this fight sprawled through the letter columns of Analog for some months would have cheered him even more."

The first Campbell Memorial Award was presented at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1973. Since then the Award has been presented in various parts of the world: California State University at Fullerton in 1974; St. John's College, Oxford, England, in 1975; the First World SF Writers Conference in Dublin, Ireland, in 1976; Stockholm, Sweden in 1977; the World SF meeting in Dublin again in 1978; the Conference and Awards in Lawrence, KS, starting in 1979; a joint Conference/ SFRA Conference event in Kansas City in 2007; and as part of the special "Conference Academic Programming" track of MidAmeriCon II (WorldCon 2016) in Kansas City, Missouri.

Since 1979, the Campbell Award has often been presented during the Conference Awards Banquet, usually held on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as the focal point of a weekend of discussions about the writing, editing, illustration, publishing, teaching, and criticism of science fiction.

For a fuller discussion about the founding of the award, see this article by Harry Harrison and Sam J. Lundwall, and for more about Campbell and his legacy, see this article by Christopher McKitterick.

Selection Process and Committee

The Campbell Award differs from most other major awards in the field by being restricted to the novel and by its method of selection. The Hugo Awards are voted on by some thousand of the several thousand members who pay advance fees to attend the World Science Fiction Convention, which meets annually at different locations on Labor Day weekend. The Nebula Awards are voted on by a few hundred of about two thousand members of the Science Fiction Writers of America and presented at the annual Nebula Award meeting usually held late in the Spring.

The Campbell Award is selected by a distinguished committee small enough to discuss among its members all of the nominated novels. The current jury:

• Gregory Benford
• Sheila Finch
• Paul Kincaid since 2008
• Christopher McKitterick since 2002 (Chair beginning 2018)
• Pamela Sargent since 1997
• Lisa Yaszek since 2016

The jury has been honored to have some of the most distinguished members of the SF world, including authors, scholars, and academics from the field. Former jurors include:

• Kingsley Amis
• Paul A. Carter retired in 2009 after serving almost since the Award's inception
• Paul Di Filippo from 2009-2015
• James Gunn served the jury since its earliest days until his death in December, 2020, and was committee Chair from 1978-2018
• Elizabeth Anne Hull until her death in 2021
• Sam Lundwall until 1996
• Farah Mendlesohn from 2006-2008
• Eric Rabkin
• T.A. Shippey served the Campbell Award for 40 years. He joined the panel of judges in its second year, which looked at the novels for 1974, and retired in 2015.
• Brian Stableford
• Robert H. Wilcox
• Originating jury (1972 - 1973): Brian W. Aldiss, Tom Clareson, Harry Harrison, Willis McNelly, and Leon Stover

Starting in 2004, winners of the Campbell Award began receiving personalized trophies.
The permanent Award, beside the new trophies in this photo, bears the names of every winner.

Nominations come from the science-fiction publishers as well as individual jurors. Nominations are usually requested from the committee and publishers in November-December by Chris McKitterick, and the jurors read and debate the merits of these books through late April or early May. This process produces a list of finalists based on jurors' rankings, published in May. Only books that have received votes for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (or on some occasions, Honorable Mention) make it onto the list of finalists, so this serves as a great "recommended reading" list. After vigorous debate on the merits of the finalists, the final decision arises from a vote by the jurors. The winning author is usually contacted in May and invited to attend the Conference at SF Center's expense, and often attends the last day or two of McKitterick's Speculative Fiction Writing Workshop and Kij Johnson's SF/F/H Novel Writing Workshop as well. Occasionally, when an author cannot attend, we invite the work's editor or a representative to accept the award on their behalf.

Eligible novels are those published (or only available) in English during the previous calendar year (for example, the 2016 Campbell Award went to a novel first published in English in 2015). We are beginning to see more foreign novels that were published in prior years make it onto our list of finalists, and welcome international publishers to submit nominations to better represent the best in book-length SF.

How to Nominate a Work
for the Campbell Memorial Award

If you are a science-fiction publisher interested in participating in the Award nominations process or for more information, please contact McKitterick in November: cmckit.sf@gmail.com

We also consider self-published work of merit. Most jurors read only print books.

Campbell Award Winners

The Award has honored an wide diversity of authors from around the world, including a number of first-time novelists, as listed below from most-recent to the first in 1973.

Click here to see all the Campbell Award finalists back to 2003.

2019

1st Blackfish City, by Sam J. Miller

2nd The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal

3rd Theory of Bastards, by Audrey Schulman

2018

1st The Genius Plague, by David Walton

2nd (tie) The Moon and the Other, by John Kessel

2nd (tie) The People's Police, by Norman Spinrad

3rd The Rift, by Nina Allen

2017

1st Central Station, by Lavie Tidhar

2nd Rosewater, by Tade Thompson

3rd (tie) The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

3rd (tie) Underground Airlines, by Ben Winters

2016

1st Radiomen, Eleanor Lerman

2nd (tie) Going Dark, Linda Nagata

2nd (tie) The Thing Itself, Adam Roberts

3rd The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi

2015

1st The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North

2nd A Darkling Sea, James L. Cambias

3rd The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu (Ken Liu, translator)

2014

1st Strange Bodies, Marcel Theroux

2nd Evening's Empires, Paul McAuley

3rd The Red: First Light, Linda Nagata

2013

1st Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer, Adam Roberts

2nd Any Day Now, Terry Bisson

3rd (tie) Alif the Unseen, G. Willow Wilson

3rd (tie) Empty Space, M. John Harrison

2012

1st (tie) The Islanders, Christopher Priest

1st (tie) The Highest Frontier, Joan Slonczewski

3rd Embassytown, China Miéville

Honorable Mention Osama, by Lavie Tidhar

2011

1st The Dervish House, Ian McDonald

2nd How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, Charles Yu

3rd The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi

2010

1st The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi

2nd Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America, Robert Charles Wilson

3rd The City & the City, China Miéville

2009

1st (tie) Song of Time, Ian MacLeod

1st (tie) Little Brother, Cory Doctorow

3rd The Philosopher's Apprentice, James Morrow

2008

1st  In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan

2nd The Yiddish Policeman's Union, Michael Chabon

3rd The Execution Channel, Ken MacLeod

2007

1st  Titan, Ben Bova

2nd  The Last Witchfinder, James Morrow

3rd (tie) Farthing, Jo Walton

3rd (tie) Blindsight, Peter Watts

2006

1st  Mindscan, Robert J. Sawyer

2nd  Spin, Robert Charles Wilson

3rd  The Summer Isles, Ian R. Macleod

2005

1st  Market Forces, Richard Morgan

2nd  Air, Geoff Ryman

3rd  The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger

2004

1st  Omega, Jack McDevitt

2nd  Natural History, Justina Robson

3rd  The X President, Philip Baruth

2003

1st  Probability Space, Nancy Kress

2nd  Kiln People, David Brin

3rd  Hominids, Robert J. Sawyer

2002

1st (tie)  Terraforming Earth, Jack Williamson

1st (tie)  The Chronoliths, Robert Charles Wilson

2nd  (no award due to tie)

3rd  Probability Sun, Nancy Kress

2001

1st Genesis, Poul Anderson

2000

1st  A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge

2nd  Darwin's Radio, Greg Bear

3rd  Greenhouse Summer, Norman Spinrad

1999

1st  Brute Orbits, George Zebrowski

2nd  Starfarers, Poul Anderson

3rd  Distraction, Bruce Sterling

1998

1st  Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman

2nd  Slant, Greg Bear

3rd  Secret Passages, Paul Preuss

1997

1st  Fairyland, Paul McAuley

2nd  Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson

3rd  The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell

1996

1st  The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter

2nd  The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson

3rd  Chaga, Ian McDonald

1995

1st  Permutation City, Greg Egan

2nd  Brittle Innings, Michael Bishop

3rd  No award

1994

1st  No award

2nd  Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress

3rd  Moving Mars, Greg Bear

1993

1st  Brother to Dragons, Charles Sheffield

2nd  Sideshow, Sheri S. Tepper

3rd  A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge

1992

1st  Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede, Bradley Denton

2nd  The Difference Engine, William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

3rd (tie)  A Woman of the Iron People, Eleanor Arnason;

3rd (tie)  Stations of the Tide, Michael Swanwick;

3rd (tie)  The Silicon Man, Charles Platt

1991

1st  Pacific Edge, Kim Stanley Robinson

2nd  Queen of Angels, Greg Bear

3rd  Only Begotten Daughter, James Morrow

1990

1st  The Child Garden, Geoff Ryman

2nd  Farewell Horizontal, K. W. Jeter

3rd  Good News from Outer Space, John Kessel

1989

1st  Islands in the Net, Bruce Sterling

2nd  The Gold Coast, Kim Stanley Robinson

3rd  Dragonsdawn, Anne McCaffrey

1988

1st  Lincoln's Dreams, Connie Willis

2nd  The Sea and Summer, George Turner

3rd  The Unconquered Country, Geoff Ryman

1987

1st  A Door into Ocean, Joan Slonczewski

2nd  This Is the Way the World Ends, James Morrow

3rd  Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card

1986

1st  The Postman, David Brin

2nd  Galapagos, Kurt Vonnegut

3rd (tie)  Kiteworld, Keith Roberts;

3rd (tie)  Blood Music, Greg Bear

1985

1st  The Years of the City, Frederik Pohl

2nd  Green Eyes, Lucius Shepherd

3rd  Neuromancer, William Gibson

1984

1st  The Citadel of the Autarch, Gene Wolfe

2nd  The Birth of the People's Republic of the Antarctic, John Batchelor

3rd  Tik-Tok, John Sladek

1983

1st  Helliconia Spring, Brian W. Aldiss

2nd  No Enemy But Time, Michael Bishop

3rd  None awarded

1982

1st  Riddley Walker, Russell Hoban

2nd  None awarded

3rd  None awarded

1981

1st  Timescape, Gregory Benford

2nd  The Dreaming Dragons, Damien Broderick

3rd  The Shadow of the Torturer, Gene Wolfe

1980

1st  On Wings of Song, Thomas M. Disch

2nd  Engine Summer, John Crowley

3rd  The Unlimited Dream Company, J. G. Ballard

1979

1st  Gloriana, Michael Moorcock

2nd  And Having Writ..., Donald Benson

3rd  Altered States, Paddy Chayefski

1978

1st  Gateway, Frederik Pohl

2nd  Roadside Picnic, Arkady & Boris Strugatsky

3rd  A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick

1977

1st  The Alteration, Kingsley Amis

2nd  Man Plus, Frederik Pohl

3rd  Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm

1976

1st  The Year of the Quiet Sun, Wilson Tucker*

2nd  The Stochastic Man, Robert Silverberg

3rd  Orbitsville, Bob Shaw

*The committee felt that no truly outstanding original novel was published in 1975. 1st place, therefore, was a "special retrospective award" made to a truly outstanding original novel that was not adequately recognized in the year of its publication (1970).

1975

1st  Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick

2nd  The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin

3rd  None awarded

1974

1st (tie)  Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke;

1st (tie)  Malevil, Robert Merle

2nd (tie)  The Embedding, Ian Watson;

2nd (tie)  The Green Gene, Peter Dickinson

Special non-fiction award: The Cosmic Connection, Carl Sagan

To the right is the poster from the second-ever Campbell Award presentation (held at Fullerton in 1974). The Campbell Award is now presented each year during the Conference, usually held in Lawrence, KS. Click the image to see a larger size.

1973

1st  Beyond Apollo, Barry N. Malzberg

2nd  The Listeners, James Gunn

3rd  Darkening Island (Fugue for a Darkening Plain), Christopher Priest

Special award for excellence in writing: Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg

Campbell Award finalists
Campbell Award trophy
Conference
Campbell Award history article by Harry Harrison and Sam J. Lundwall
John W. Campbell: The Man Who Invented Modern Fantasy and the Golden Age of Science Fiction

updated 8/10/2022