james_nicoll ([info]james_nicoll) wrote,
@ 2008-02-13 09:47:00
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Has the Grandmaster Award served its purpose?
Am I confused when I think that the original idea behind the Grandmaster was to provide a way to honor those significant authors whose best work mostly predated the Nebula Award?

It's been 43 years since the Nebulas began. It seems likely that most of the people who would have met the original conditions to win the Grandmaster [1] have since either won it, won a Nebula or died (I expect the third group is the largest). Is there a reason beyond habit for keeping the Grandmaster Award?

1: As I recall, the original condition to win a Grandmaster was to be Robert Heinlein but that is probably too restrictive a catagory for an ongoing award.

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[info]shimgray
2008-02-13 03:45 pm UTC (link)
...probably too restrictive a catagory for an ongoing award.

I suppose it might explain the enduring popularity of "write a Heinlein novel" among older writers, as noted earlier in the week...

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[info]beamjockey
2008-02-13 10:36 pm UTC (link)
There is no fashion for writing Jack Williamson novels. At least, not yet.

(Jack was GM #2.)

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[info]jeffreyab
2008-02-13 03:51 pm UTC (link)
It makes a nice lifetime achievement award, to give someone in the twilight of their career, to give their sales a boost, so they have something to retire on.

Which begs the question does it actually boost sales?

I think Gene Wolfe would be the best current candidate.

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[info]mckitterick
2008-02-13 04:09 pm UTC (link)
Exactly: I know that James Gunn was hugely moved by the honor, and it's the only award he keeps on his desk. It also introduces young writers to the old guard during the Award ceremonies.

But does it up sales? Hard to know. Jim has gotten conflicting results: He sold movie rights to The Immortals, but hasn't been able to sell a new novel before it's completed. The latter might simply be due to a publisher's concerns about an older writer surviving through the novel's completion. We'll see.

But I've always loved the Grand Master award, and I hope SFWA continues to give it.

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[info]montoya
2008-02-13 03:52 pm UTC (link)
Whatever the original idea, it makes sense to have a Lifetime Achievement award, I think.

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[info]prof_brotherton
2008-02-14 07:54 am UTC (link)
Ditto. And it isn't like there's such a glut of big awards that one more dilutes their meaning.

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[info]oldsma
2008-02-13 03:57 pm UTC (link)
I think it is a good way to acknowledge someone who is second-best almost every year for a long time.

MAO

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I don't like the thought of "second best"
[info]emt_hawk
2008-02-13 05:26 pm UTC (link)
but certainly as a serious contender for a long time.


I got an award that I had no control over, for an action I took because I chose to do it, and someone thought I should get an award for it. There were a dozen other people who had received letters of recommendation, and were not selected. The fact that they were not selected did not diminish their actions in the least. Of course, the next question is "how many years should they be a contender for, to receive this award?"

--Hawk

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[info]martin_wisse
2008-02-13 04:29 pm UTC (link)
If it should be replaced, it should be with a Prime Mover award.

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