The 2022 awards were announced at the banquet at the conclusion of the 2023 conference in Dresden, Germany. Congratulations to all winners!
Student Paper Award
The Student Paper Award is presented to an outstanding scholarly essay read at the annual conference of the SFRA by a student.
The winner of the 2021 award is Josie Holland (University of Richmond) for their paper “Constructing Radical Queer Futures and Deconstructing Noir Fiction in The Penumbra Podcast.”
Mary Kay Bray Award
The Mary Kay Bray Award is given for the best review to appear in the SFRA Review in a given year.
This year’s awardee is Dennis Wilson Wise for his “Review of Hidden Wyndham: Life, Love, Letters” (SFRA Review 52.1).
The selection committee also awarded an honorable mention to Jeremy Brett for his “Review of WandaVision” (SFRA Review 52.1).
SFRA Book Award
The SFRA Book Award is given to the author of the best first scholarly monograph in SF, in each calendar year.
This year’s winner is Emily Midkiff for Equipping Space Cadets: Primary Science Fiction for Young Children.
The selection committee also awarded an honorable mention to Anne Stewart for Angry Planet: Decolonial Fiction and the American Third World.
Thomas D. Clareson Award
The Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service is presented for outstanding service activities-promotion of SF teaching and study, editing, reviewing, editorial writing, publishing, organizing meetings, mentoring, and leadership in SF/fantasy organizations.
This year’s awardee is Shelley S. Streeby (Professor in the Departments of Ethnic Studies and Literature at the University of California, San Diego).
SFRA Innovative Research Award
The SFRA Innovative Research Award (formerly the Pioneer Award) is given to the writer or writers of the best critical essay-length work of the year.
This year’s awardee is Paweł Frelik for his essay “Power Games: Towards the Rhetoric of Energy in Speculative Video Games,” from Er(r)go. Teoria – Literatura – Kultura 44 (2022). The selection committee also awarded an honorable mention to Nora Castle for her essay “In Vitro Meat: Contemporary Narratives of Cultured Flesh,” from Extrapolation 63.2 (2022).
SFRA Award for Lifetime Contributions to SF Scholarship
Originally the Pilgrim Award, the SFRA Award for Lifetime Contributions to SF Scholarship was created in 1970 by the SFRA to honor lifetime contributions to SF and fantasy scholarship. The award was first named for J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book, Pilgrims through Space and Time and altered in 2019.
This year’s awardee is Steven Shaviro (DeRoy Professor of English Wayne State University Department of English).