A lifetime achievement Award presented to living authors (only) by the Nebula Committee of the Science Fiction Writers of America, as part of the annual Nebula Awards presentation. The Grand Master Award was inaugurated in 1975, when the first presentation was made to Robert A Heinlein. In theory this honour is awarded only from time to time, but since 1995 it has become rare for a year to be skipped. It goes always to writers who are senior in both status and years. Since 2002 it has been formally known as the Damon Knight Grand Master Award.
Also listed below are further SFWA life-achievement honours. Author Emeritus awards were introduced in 1995 for, apparently, long-time sf writers not considered worthy of Grand Master eminence; in 2004 this briefly became the more tactful Author of Distinction. Some controversy ensued when Robert Sheckley, then by no means retired from writing, was named as Author Emeritus in 2001. Both Grand Master and Author Emeritus are now announced well in advance of the Nebulas: for example, the 2009 winners were both released in Summer 2008, in which year the term "Author Emerita" was introduced for the lesser honour's fourth female recipient. The Solstice Award for life achievement – which unlike Grand Master and Author Emeritus/Emerita may be presented to deceased as well as living authors – was added in 2009. In that year, the Ray Bradbury Award for achievement in genre drama was also presented.
In all listings below, the years given are the years in which the award was made. [DRL]
Grand Master
Author Emeritus
Solstice Award
Ray Bradbury Award
This was given only once, as below, as an award for overall career achievement. For SFWA presentations to individual dramatic works and/or their scripts, see Nebula.
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