Literary award · United States · since 1974

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award

Award. Established 1974 in United States.

About Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award

The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to a living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was first awarded in 1975, to Robert Heinlein. In 2002, it was renamed after Damon Knight, the founder of SFWA, who had died that year. The presentation is made at the annual SFWA Nebula Awards banquet, commonly during May, but it is not one of the Nebulas, which recognize the preceding calendar year's works and are selected by vote of all Association members. The Grand Master selection is made by the current president; there is no jury or formal nomination procedure or voting.

From the Wikipedia article “Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2025Nicola Griffith—
2024Susan Cooper—
2023Robin McKinley—
2022Mercedes Lackey—
2021Nalo Hopkinson—
2020Lois McMaster Bujold—
2019William Gibson—
2018Peter S. Beagle—
2018William Gibson—
2017Jane Yolen—
2016C. J. Cherryh—
2015Larry Niven—
2014Samuel R. Delany—
2013Gene Wolfe—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data