Monday, December 31, 2001

2001 Mythopoeic Award Nominees

Location: Unknown.

Comments: In 2001 the Mythopoeic Awards came full circle after a fashion as Guy Gavriel Kay's two-part series The Sarantine Mosaic was nominated for the Best Adult Fiction Award. This nomination more or less symbolically takes the award back to its roots in a manner of speaking, as Kay's career in writing was started when he helped Christopher Tolkien edit The Silmarillion many years before. A large proportion of fantasy writers draw their inspiration from Tolkien, but the connection is rarely as clearly drawn as the one between Tolkien and Kay.

Best Adult Fantasy Literature

Winner:
The Innamorati by Midori Snyder

Other Nominees:
Forests of the Heart Charles de Lint
RavenShadow by Win Blevins
The Sarantine Mosaic (Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors) by Guy Gavriel Kay

Best Children's Fantasy Literature

Winner:
Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun

Other Nominees:
Beast by Donna Jo Napoli
Boots and the Seven Leaguers by Jane Yolen
Growing Wings by Laurel Winter
Night Flying by Rita Murphy

Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies

Winner:
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey

Other Nominees:
C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer & Mentor by Lionel Adey
The Crisis and the Quest: a Kierkegaardian Reading of Charles Williams by Stephen N. Dunning
J.R.R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances edited by George Makana Clark and Daniel Timmons
Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-Earth edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter

Myth and Fantasy Studies

Winner:
King Arthur in America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack

Other Nominees:
The Fantasy Literature of England by C.N. Manlove
The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales edited by Jack Zipes
The Quest for the Grail: Arthurian Legend in British Art 1840-1920 by Christine Poulson

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

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2001 Clarke Award Nominees

Location: United Kingdom.

Comments: In 2001 China Miéville won his first Clarke Award for his brilliant novel Perdido Street Station. As Miéville is the most decorated author in the history of the Clarke Award, the only thing that is surprising about his win this year is that it took so long. Between 2001 and the present, Miéville would go on to win the Clarke Award two more times, once in 2005, and once in 2010. If he continues this pattern, and given his talent there's no reason to think he won't, then we should look for Miéville to also win the Clarke Award in 2015.

Winner
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

Shortlist
Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Salt by Adam Roberts

What Are the Arthur C. Clarke Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

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2001 Campbell Award Nominees

Location: Campbell Conference Awards Banquet at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

Comments: In 2001 the Campbell Award judges decided to change things up yet again, eliminating the "honorable mention" category that had been included in 2000, and turning in ballots that resulted in a three way tie for second place. Somewhat lost in the flux is the fact that Poul Anderson won the award for his novel Genesis, which was a nice send-off for the author who sadly died this year. As with many awards that are handed to authors who are in the twilight of their career, it is impossible to tell if this award was handed out for the quality of the book or as a means of honoring an author for his past works. In this case, Genesis was a good book, so it is entirely plausible that the voters were merely honoring the novel itself, although Anderson's publishing history probably didn't hurt.

Best Novel

Winner:
Genesis by Poul Anderson

Second Place:
(tie) Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
(tie) Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
(tie) Infinity Beach by Jack McDevitt

Third Place:
The Fresco by Sheri S. Tepper

Go to previous year's nominees: 2000
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 2002

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