Astounding Award for Best New Writer


The Astounding Award for Best New Writer is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous calendar years. It is named after Astounding Science Fiction, a foundational science fiction magazine. The award is sponsored by Dell Magazines, which publishes Analog.
Between its founding in 1973 and 2019, the award was named after Astoundings long-time editor John W. Campbell, one of the most influential figures in the early history of science fiction. In the aftermath of 2019 winner Jeannette Ng's acceptance speech, in which she described Campbell as a fascist, the science fiction fandom community discussed whether it was appropriate to continue honoring Campbell in this way; the editor of Analog subsequently announced that the award had been renamed.
The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society, represented by the current Worldcon committee, and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award. All finalists receive a pin, while the winner receives a plaque. Beginning in 2005, the award has also included a tiara; created at the behest of 2004 winner Jay Lake and 2005 winner Elizabeth Bear, the tiara is passed from each year's winner to the next.

Eligibility and voting

Writers are eligible for the Astounding Award for two years, and become eligible once they have a work of science fiction or fantasy published in a professional publication. Final decisions on eligibility are decided by the Hugo Administrators while qualification criteria are set by the sponsor, Dell Magazine. The eligibility criteria for what counts as a professional publication are roughly similar to those of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. As of 2023, qualifying publications must meet at least one of the following criteria: be accepted by SFWA; have at least 10,000 readers; pay the writer at least 8 cents a word and a total of at least US$80; or be self-published or published through a small press, with earnings for the author of at least US$3,000 in one year.
Members of the current and previous Worldcon are eligible to nominate new writers under the same procedures as the Hugo Awards. Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, at which point a shortlist is made of the six most-nominated writers—five prior to 2017—with additional finalists possible in the case of ties. Voting on the ballot of six finalists is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.
Works by winners and finalists of the award were collected in the New Voices series of anthologies, edited by George R. R. Martin, which had five volumes covering the awards from 1973 through 1977 and which were published between 1977 and 1984. Michael A. Burstein, who was a finalist in 1996 and won in 1997, commented that the largest effect of winning or being a finalist is not on sales but instead that it gives credibility with established authors and publishers. Criticism has been raised about the award that due to the eligibility requirements it honors writers who become well-known quickly, rather than necessarily the best or most influential authors from a historical perspective.
Over the 53 years the award has been active, 222 writers have been finalists. Of these, 54 authors have won, including one tie. There have been 62 writers who were finalists twice, 22 of whom won the award in their second year.

Winners and finalists

In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than the year when the writer's eligible work was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Although the award is not given explicitly for any particular work, and such works are not recorded by the World Science Fiction Society or Dell Magazines, a selection of works that the writer in question published in the eligibility period are listed. This list includes novels and short stories, and is not intended to be comprehensive. Entries with a yellow background and an asterisk next to the writer's name have won the award; those with a gray background are the other finalists on the shortlist.
1973*"Peace with Honor", A Spaceship for the King1973"The Eight Thirty to Nine Slot", What Entropy Means to Me1973"Stretch of Time"1973"The Hero"1973"Stop Me Before I Tell More"1973"Stranger in the House"1974*"The Guy with the Eyes"1974*"Stranger in the House"1974"Pigeon City"1974"Wendigo's Child"1974Testament XXI1975*"Epicycle"1975"Nostalgia Tripping"1975Walk to the End of the World1975"Outer Concentric", "The Examination"1975"Hot Spot"1975"Picnic on Nearside"1976*"Twilla", "San Diego Lightfoot Sue"1976"Picnic on Nearside"1976"The Splendid Freedom", "Helium"1976Tin Soldier1976The Warriors of Dawn1977*Gate of Ivrel1977A Jungle of Stars1977The Warriors of Dawn1977"Closed Circuit"1978*"Ender's Game"1978Lord Foul's Bane1978A Jungle of Stars1978"We All Have to Go"1978"Man-Made Self", Involution Ocean1979*Lord Foul's Bane1979Inherit the Stars1979"We All Have to Go"1979"Longshanks", Godsfire1979"The Tryouts"1979"What Song the Sirens Sang"1980*"The Tryouts", Enemy Mine1980"Sunsteps"1980The Door into Fire1980Daughter of the Bright Moon1980"The Works of His Hand, Made Manifest"1980"Dragon Story"1981*"Sunsteps"1981"The Singing Diamond", Dragon's Egg1981"Spareen Among the Tartars"1981The Door into Fire1981The Orphan1981"A Dragon in the Man"1982*The Revolution from Rosinante, Long Shot for Rosinante1982The Orphan1982Sundiver1982The Breaking of Northwall, The Ends of the Circle1982"The Feast of St Janis", "Ginungagap"1983*The Breaking of Northwall, The Ends of the Circle1983The Red Magician1983"Emergence"1983"Brainchild"1983Dreamrider1983An Image of Voices1984*Tea with the Black Dragon1984"Brainchild", "In the Face of My Enemy"1984The Red Magician1984An Image of Voices, Flexing the Warp1984King's Blood Four1984The Sleeping Dragon1985*"The Taylorsville Reconstruction"1985The Game Beyond1985"Elemental"1985"Lazuli"1985"Music of the Spheres"1985"The Islands of the Dead"1986*The Game Beyond1986The Summer Tree1986Contact1986"Recalling Cinderella"1986Tailchaser's Song1986"Shanidar"1987*"Recalling Cinderella", "Face Value"1987Shards of Honor1987Fire Sanctuary1987"Projectile Weapons and Wild Alien Water"1987The Cross-Time Engineer1987"Mudpuppies"1988*"Surviving", Pennterra1988"Projectile Weapons and Wild Alien Water"1988"Dress Rehearsal"1988In Conquest Born1988The Net1989*Walkabout Woman1989Through a Brazen Mirror1989Liege-Killer1989"Sing"1989Dragon Prince1989The Guardsman1989The Guardsman1989Journey to Fusang1990*"Sing"1990"Live from the Mars Hotel", Orbital Decay1990Sunglasses After Dark1990Twistor1990The Eight1991*"The Music Box", The Kobayashi Maru1991Sunglasses After Dark1991Twistor1991Strange Invasion, In Between Dragons1991"Thirteen Days of Glory"1992*"Tower of Babylon", "Understand"1992"No Room for the Unicorn"1992"Wings"1992Into the Dark Lands1992Moonwise1993*"No Room for the Unicorn"1993"The Winterberry"1993"Wings"1993Into the Dark Lands1993Fire in the Mist1993"Apotheosis"1994*Virtual Girl1994Fire in the Mist1994"Apotheosis"1994The Well-Favored Man1994"A Fireside Chat"1995*Vurt1995"Ash Minette"1995"Sibling Rivalry"1995Midshipman's Hope1995"Heart of Molten Stone"1996*Midshipman's Hope, Challenger's Hope1996"Ash Minette"1996"TeleAbsence"1996The Shape-Changer's Wife1996Lethe1997*"TeleAbsence"1997The Shape-Changer's Wife1997Celestial Matters1997The Fortunate Fall1997Wind From a Foreign Sky1998*The Sparrow1998An Exchange of Hostages1998"Beluthahatchie"1998Celestial Matters1998The Fortunate Fall1999*Brown Girl in the Ring1999In the Garden of Iden1999"First Contact"1999An Exchange of Hostages1999"The Big One"2000*"Craphound"2000"Time Gypsy"2000"I Don't Know and I Don't Care"2000Code of Conduct2000The Shadow of Ararat2001*Code of Conduct2001The King's Peace2001The Shadow of Ararat2001"State of Disorder"2001"A Diagram of Rapture"2002*The King's Peace2002"Rossetti Song"2002Divine Intervention2002Alien Taste2002"Fish Merchant"2003*Alien Taste2003"The Political Officer"2003Divine Intervention2003Warchild2003"Nucleon"2004*"Into the Gardens of Sweet Night"2004"Nucleon"2004Warchild2004"Little Gods"2004Spin State2005*Hammered2005The Year of Our War2005The Etched City2005"O One"2005"The Third Party"2006*Old Man's War2006The Etched City2006Mélusine2006"O One", Here, There & Everywhere2006Elantris2006The Year of Our War2007*His Majesty's Dragon2007The Lies of Locke Lamora2007Mélusine2007Elantris, Mistborn: The Final Empire2007The Sky's the Limit2008*"Portrait of Ari"2008The Lies of Locke Lamora2008Infoquake2008The Blade Itself2008Grey2008Acacia: The War with the Mein2009*Acacia: The War with the Mein2009"Butterfly, Falling At Dawn"2009Thunderer2009"Metamorphoses in Amber"2009"Lester Young and the Jupiter's Moons' Blues"2010*Rosemary and Rue2010Thunderer2010Soulless2010"Soulmates"2010"Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela"2011*The Magicians2011"Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela"2011Zoo City2011Monster Hunter International2011I Am Not a Serial Killer2012*"The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees"2012"1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur"2012Of Blood and Honey2012Redemption in Indigo2012"Ray of Light"2013*"1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur"2013The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo2013Three Parts Dead2013Of Blood and Honey, And Blue Skies From Pain2013Blackbirds2014*A Stranger in Olondria2014The Lives of Tao2014Three Parts Dead2014Nexus2014Chang'e Dashes from the Moon2015*The Lives of Tao2015Kaiju Apocalypse2015"Totaled"2015"Shakedown Cruise"2015"Sucker Punch"2016*The Martian2016Red Rising2016Traitor's Blade2016Nethereal2016"The Fisher Queen", "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers"2017*Too Like the Lightning2017"Haunted", "Of Blood and Bronze"2017An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity2017Infomocracy2017Everything Belongs to the Future2017"Waters of Versailles", "Two-Year Man", "The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill"2018*"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™"2018The Bear and the Nightingale2018Heroine Complex2018Under the Pendulum Sun2018"A Series of Steaks", "Fandom for Robots"2018An Unkindness of Ghosts2019*Under the Pendulum Sun2019The Bear and the Nightingale2019The City of Brass2019The Poppy War2019"A Series of Steaks", "Fandom for Robots"2019An Unkindness of Ghosts2020*The Poppy War2020City of Lies2020The Ruin of Kings2020"Advice for Your First Time at the Faerie Market"2020Empire of Sand2020Silver in the Wood2021*Silver in the Wood2021Axiom's End2021The Vanished Birds2021The Space Between Worlds2021The Unspoken Name2021The Ruin of Kings2022*She Who Became the Sun2022Legendborn2022The Space Between Worlds2022The Unspoken Name2022Winter's Orbit2022Iron Widow2023*Legends & Lattes2023The Bruising of Qilwa2023"Christopher Mills, Return to Sender"2023Comes Slowly2023Ocean's Echo20232024*Iron Widow2024To Shape a Dragon's Breath2024The Book Eaters2024I AM AI2024Godkiller2024The Death I Gave Him2025*To Shape a Dragon's Breath2025These Burning Stars2025Godkiller2025Never Wake2025The West Passage2025Mirage in Double Vision2025---

Cited references