# Jane Yolen named SFWA Grandmaster **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462 "2016-11-30T16:13:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/1 "2016-11-30T16:13:40Z")
Author Jane Yolen is the latest recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, given in recognition of her long career in the genre. Jane has written award-winning fiction and fantasy, as well as children’s books. Her best know title, _Owl Moon_, won a Caldicott medal for its art and is a perennial classic. “The Devil’s Arithmetic” is a standard in high school classrooms today. I’ve known Jane for many years and it’s hard to think of anyone more beloved in the field today, and more deserving of the honor. Trivia note: While a publisher’s assistant, Jane wrote the jacket copy for the first US edition of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/2 "2016-11-30T23:12:58Z")
Logrolling. Jane used to be SFWA President. JK. Of course, she’s a great choice. She’s a giant in her field. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/3 "2016-12-01T00:23:12Z")
Congratulations to Jane Yolen. I liked her “Wild Hunt.” Next year, I wonder if SFWA will pick Vinge (either one). ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/4 "2016-12-01T01:48:58Z")
Good news! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/5 "2016-12-01T03:06:59Z")
That’s awesome. I first read her lyrical fantasy for adults (Briar Rose, I think), but more recently have loved her children’s works. Owl Moon is one of the great picture books, and if you’ve not had a chance to read it, track it down: like Where the Wild Things Are, it’s a poem set to pictures. I’m very happy to hear this. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/6 "2016-12-01T12:37:28Z")
Good choice. Heard her read at an event here a couple of months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/7 "2016-12-01T20:42:22Z")
Jane wrote in November: > [@](#): > > Closing in on 365 books. When that happens I am making bumper stickers: Read a Book a Day by Jane Yolen for a year! Of course if it’s leap year, all bets are off! Since it’s December, she may be at 400 by now. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/8 "2016-12-01T21:20:57Z")
The complete list of Grandmasters: Robert A. Heinlein Jack Williamson Clifford D. Simak L. Sprague de Camp Fritz Leiber Andre Norton Arthur C. Clarke Isaac Asimov Alfred Bester - the only person to receive the honor posthumously Ray Bradbury Lester del Rey Frederik Pohl Damon Knight - the award was renamed in his honor after his death A. E. van Vogt Jack Vance Poul Anderson Hal Clement Brian W. Aldiss Philip José Farmer Ursula K. Le Guin Robert Silverberg Anne McCaffrey Harlan Ellison James Gunn Michael Moorcock Harry Harrison Joe Haldeman Connie Willis Gene Wolfe Samuel Delany Larry Niven C.J. Cherryh Jane Yolen ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/9 "2016-12-01T21:53:52Z")
I’m glad to hear this. Her work deserves wider attention. (I have a copy of her _Wizard’s Hall_ on my desk, in connection with a book on the Harry Potter phenomenon I’ve been working on for a while.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/10 "2016-12-02T02:30:50Z")
Two points. The award cannot be awarded posthumously. In Bester’s case, he was notified he won, but died before the ceremony. And Damon Knight hated the idea of the Grand Master award. It was created by Jerry Pournelle primarily so SFWA could honor Heinlein. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/11 "2016-12-02T02:36:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Two points. The award cannot be awarded posthumously. In Bester’s case, he was notified he won, but died before the ceremony. > > And Damon Knight hated the idea of the Grand Master award. It was created by Jerry Pournelle primarily so SFWA could honor Heinlein. To be fair, Damon hated everything SFWA did after he was president. Including adding fantasy writers. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/12 "2016-12-02T02:49:30Z")
This award should not be given annually. They’re running out of writers. I love Jane Yolen, but still. I said this about the Mystery Writers of America, too, when Stuart Kaminsky was made a Grand Master. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/13 "2016-12-02T04:23:16Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > This award should not be given annually. They’re running out of writers. I love Jane Yolen, but still. > > I said this about the Mystery Writers of America, too, when Stuart Kaminsky was made a Grand Master. It used to was that the Award could be given out only seven times a decade. I have been a member for 41 years and never learned why. These days it appears to be 9 years out of 10. I don’t know why the change was made, or what the official number is, or who thought this was a good idea. SFWA is to organizations what publishing is to industries: a mysterious sinkhole of intuition and assertion devoid of research, facts, logic, or transparency. The Award is constrained by the recipient needing to be alive. No one not eligible for Medicare has ever been given the Award. I’m surprised by the number of [recipients who hit 90](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Knight_Memorial_Grand_Master_Award); the field is not noted for longevity. I’ve never even heard of an older writer noted for fitness. OTOH, the boomer generation is finally old enough to be eligible. That young punk William Gibson is 68. Let 'em all in, I say. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jane-yolen-named-sfwa-grandmaster/773462/14 "2016-12-02T09:24:03Z")
I’ve been pretty satisfied with her work with the Federal Reserve as well. 😉