The Astounding Award for Best New Writer is an award given out each year by the same folks that give out the Hugo Award. It is selected the same way as the Hugos, and the nominees appear on the same ballot, and the prize is given at the same ceremony, but it is officially not a Hugo.
Though it is administered and run by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention, just like the Hugos, it is sponsored by Analog magazine, and is named for the magazine's former name, Astounding Science Fiction.
The award was established in 1973 as the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (not to be confused with the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best SF novel), after the legendary "Golden Age" editor of Astounding and Analog, John W. Campbell, who personally discovered many of SF's best-known writers. The award was renamed in 2019, effective for 2020, due to discontent with Campbell's legacy of editorials and opinions on race and other issues, culminating in the 2019 winner, Jeannette Ng, calling Campbell a "fascist" during her acceptance speech.
One big difference between the Astounding and the Hugo is that the eligibility period is two years. Any writer whose first professional publication was within the previous two years (and who hasn't already won the award) is eligible to be nominated. This means that many authors end up getting nominated twice.
Winners and finalists:
- Jerry Pournelle (won 1973)
- George Alec Effinger (nominated 1973)
- George R. R. Martin (nominated 1973)
- Spider Robinson (won 1974, tie)
- John Varley (nominated 1975, 1976)
- C. J. Cherryh (won 1977)
- Jack Chalker (nominated 1977, 1978)
- Orson Scott Card (won 1978)
- Bruce Sterling (nominated 1978)
- Stephen R. Donaldson (nominated 1978, won 1979)
- Charles Sheffield (nominated 1979)
- Diane Duane (nominated 1980, 1981)
- S. P. Somtow (as Somtow Sutcharitkul) (nominated 1980, won 1981)
- Robert L. Forward (nominated 1981)
- David Brin (nominated 1982)
- Michael Swanwick (nominated 1982)
- R. A. MacAvoy (won 1984)
- Sheri S. Tepper (nominated 1984)
- Ian McDonald (nominated 1985)
- Melissa Scott (nominated 1985, won 1986)
- Guy Gavriel Kay (nominated 1986)
- Carl Sagan (nominated 1986)
- Tad Williams (nominated 1986)
- Lois McMaster Bujold (nominated 1987)
- Leo Frankowski (nominated 1987)
- Robert Reed (nominated 1987)
- Melanie Rawn (nominated 1989)
- Kristine Kathryn Rusch (nominated 1989, won 1990)
- Allen Steele (nominated 1990)
- Nancy A. Collins (nominated 1990, 1991)
- Ted Chiang (won 1992)
- Laura Resnick (nominated 1992, won 1993)
- Holly Lisle (nominated 1993, 1994)
- Nalo Hopkinson (won 1999)
- Julie E. Czerneda (nominated 1999)
- Cory Doctorow (won 2000)
- Thomas Harlan (nominated 2000, 2001)
- Jo Walton (nominated 2001, won 2002)
- Tobias Buckell (nominated 2002)
- Wen Spencer (nominated 2002, won 2003)
- Elizabeth Bear (won 2005)
- John Scalzi (won 2006)
- Brandon Sanderson (nominated 2006, 2007)
- Sarah Monette (nominated 2006, 2007)
- Mary Robinette Kowal (won 2008)
- Seanan McGuire (won 2010)
- Lauren Beukes (nominated 2011)
- Larry Correia (nominated 2011)
- Dan Wells (nominated 2011)
- Andy Weir (won 2016)
- Lindsay Ellis (nominated 2021)
- Xiran Jay Zhao (nominated 2022, 2024note )
