# SFWAns - 2015 Grandmaster? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937 "2015-02-17T18:36:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/1 "2015-02-17T18:36:24Z")
In January 2012, the 2012 SFWA Grand Master was announced (Willis) In December 2012, the 2013 SFWA Grandmaster was announced (Wolfe) In December 2013, the 2014 SFWA Grandmaster was announced (Delany) It’s late February 2015 and I haven’t seen an announcement for 2015 Grand Master. I know that Grand Masters aren’t designated every year - is 2015 going to be a skip year? P.S. If the SFWA Officers and Past Presidents want my opinion (unlikely), I’d say Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, and C. J. Cherryh are a good short list to choose from… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/2 "2015-02-17T23:30:59Z")
If Vernor Vinge becomes a Grandmaster I am officially really old. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/3 "2015-02-17T23:53:49Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If Vernor Vinge becomes a Grandmaster I am officially really old. Though Vinge hit it big in the 90s with Fire Upon The Deep and Deepness in the Sky, he’s been writing since 1965, same as Niven. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/4 "2015-02-18T01:38:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Though Vinge hit it big in the 90s with Fire Upon The Deep and Deepness in the Sky, he’s been writing since 1965, same as Niven. I was actually thinking of his work in the 80s when he started to become known and successful. I first read the parts of _The Peace Wa_r and _Marooned in Real Time_ that were published in Analog. I know he had modest success before then but that is when gained popular success. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/5 "2015-02-18T02:11:25Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I was actually thinking of his work in the 80s when he started to become known and successful. I first read the parts of _The Peace Wa_r and _Marooned in Real Time_ that were published in Analog. I know he had modest success before then but that is when gained popular success. Yeah, he came to my attention in the 80s, too (I got a college friend started on SF with Peace War); I was surprised when I realized how far back his writing career started. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/6 "2015-02-18T02:34:18Z")
When they picked Delany, they lost all credibility with me. Dude _sucks_ as an author. On all accounts a decent human being, but that isn’t what’s being voted on here. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/7 "2015-02-18T02:47:31Z")
I haven’t heard anything about it, and the Neb voting just finished its first round, so there’s a good chance there won’t be a nominee.\* They tend to announce it early these days (it used to be announced at the Nebula Awards, though the honoree knew about it. Alfred Bester had been notified, but died before the Awards; SFWA decided (for good reason) to ignore the rule that the grand master could only go to living authors)… Of those mentioned, Niven seems the most likely choice. He started sooner than the other two and was a major name in the field before either entered it. Cherryh would be the next; she was at the top longer than Vinge and there is a push to have more female Grand Masters. \*The Damon Knight Grand Master award (ironically, Damon hated the very concept of Grand Master) is not chosen like a Nebula; the President makes a choice with the advice of the past presidents and the Board, but I don’t think either of the the two latter groups ever shot down a nomination. (I was on the SFWA Board for three years; we named two grand masters, Farmer and Leguin). ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/8 "2015-02-18T02:52:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > When they picked Delany, they lost all credibility with me. Dude _sucks_ as an author. On all accounts a decent human being, but that isn’t what’s being voted on here. Delany was clearly the best author in the field in the 60s and 70s. His later work is spotty (his last really good novel was **Stars in My Pocket** ), but his influence on the field is enormous; without Delany, there would be not William Gibson, for instance. His nomination was long overdue and **Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection** and even **Dhalgren** (which, I’ll admit isn’t for everyone) are deeper and more challenging than nearly everything that’s been written before or since. Naming him Grand Master was way overdue. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/9 "2015-02-18T04:18:52Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Delany was clearly the best author in the field in the 60s and 70s. His later work is spotty (his last really good novel was **Stars in My Pocket** ), but his influence on the field is enormous; without Delany, there would be not William Gibson, for instance. His nomination was long overdue and **Babel-17, The Einstein Intersection** and even **Dhalgren** (which, I’ll admit isn’t for everyone) are deeper and more challenging than nearly everything that’s been written before or since. Naming him Grand Master was way overdue. Yes to all that. (Except maybe the Best part. There were a lot of Bests in those days.) And I would double down with his shorter work. His \*Driftglass \*collection contains essentially his first ten published short fictions, and half of them were award nominees. “Time, Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones” is one of the best works in the genre. I’ve argued that “The Star Pit” is even better. The Grandmaster Award was designed to honor writers whose best work came before the Nebulas were established. In real world terms nobody could stop it once it started and so it’s lead to arguments like these. The big problem with it is the requirement that the recipient must be alive. That cuts such a giant hole into who’s eligible that the Award has become, well not quite meaningless, but greatly devalued. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/10 "2015-02-18T05:04:13Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I was actually thinking of his work in the 80s when he started to become known and successful. I first read the parts of _The Peace Wa_r and _Marooned in Real Time_ that were published in Analog. I know he had modest success before then but that is when gained popular success. His breakout work was _[True Names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_Names)_ in 1981. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/11 "2015-02-18T13:29:42Z")
Speaking of Grand Masters, William F. Nolan was just named Grand Master by the World Horror Society, an excellent choice. ---
**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:** [February 18, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/12 "2015-02-18T14:00:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I haven’t heard anything about it, and the Neb voting just finished its first round, so there’s a good chance there won’t be a nominee.\* They tend to announce it early these days (it used to be announced at the Nebula Awards, though the honoree knew about it. Alfred Bester had been notified, but died before the Awards; SFWA decided (for good reason) to ignore the rule that the grand master could only go to living authors)… > > Of those mentioned, Niven seems the most likely choice. He started sooner than the other two and was a major name in the field before either entered it. Cherryh would be the next; she was at the top longer than Vinge and there is a push to have more female Grand Masters. Thanks RealityChuck. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/13 "2015-03-02T17:08:27Z")
The [Tor website](http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/03/sfwa-damon-knight-memorial-grand-master-award-larry-niven) has just said it’ll be Larry Niven No complaints from me on their choice. As if they’d listen anyway! ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/14 "2015-03-02T17:28:23Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > The [Tor website](http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/03/sfwa-damon-knight-memorial-grand-master-award-larry-niven) has just said it’ll be Larry Niven > > No complaints from me on their choice. As if they’d listen anyway! No complaints from me either… Thanks for the heads-up! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/15 "2015-03-02T17:32:29Z")
Good choice - even though I’ve found most of his later material to be total hackwork, the rest of his product speaks for itself. Well deserved award. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/16 "2015-03-02T19:32:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Of those mentioned, Niven seems the most likely choice. Looks like I called it. 🙂 And, no, I had no inside information. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sfwans-2015-grandmaster/712937/17 "2015-03-03T02:16:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Looks like I called it. 🙂 > > And, no, I had no inside information. I called it last year! [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16902049&postcount=11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16902049&postcount=11)