KU Science Fiction Center presents literary awards

By Adam Schoof

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Author James Alan Gardner has a “science fiction brain.”

“Writers have instincts for certain things,” Gardner said. “When I think of a story, it turns into science fiction.”

Gardner received one of the awards given out at a ceremony last Friday by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University. Gardner’s story, the “Ray-Gun: A Love Story” won The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for short science fiction. Gardner said he wanted to see where the award would take him.

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Sci-Fi July: KU Science Fiction Center presents literary awards

The Campell Conference on science fiction presents awards, draws out a panel of noted authors.

“It never hurts to put ‘Award Winning Author’ on the cover,” Gardner said.

Along with the Sturgeon award, the center presented the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel of the year. This year authors Cory Doctorow and Ian MacLeod shared the Campbell award. James Gunn, director of the center and professor of English, presents the science fiction awards every year.

“Science fiction is the literature of the human species, because it’s all about the human species,” Gunn said.

The authors signed books Saturday in the Oread Bookstore in the Kansas Union. Students were able to speak with the authors and talk about their shared passion — science fiction.

Sarah Reynolds, Haven graduate student, said she read science fiction because “it looks at how humanity reacts to change.” Brooke Perini, Chattanooga, Tenn. graduate student, said she read science fiction because it glorified science, which is her field of study.

Richard Soden, a computer engineering teacher at DeVry University in Chicago, traveled to Lawrence for the conference. He said he liked science fiction because it attempted to deal with current problems in a future setting.

Nate Williams, Lawrence graduate student and volunteer coordinator for the center, said he came to the University to study science fiction under Gunn.

“Reading science fiction means looking for a connection back to your world, not just about being transported to another,” Williams said.

Chris McKitterick, lecturer of English and associate director of the center, said the Sturgeon and Campbell awards were different from other major literary science fiction awards because a jury of six debated the merit of a work. McKitterick said the Hugo, an award given out by the World Science Fiction Society, and Nebula, given out by Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., were “popularity contests” where anyone could vote.

MacLeod said his book, “Song of Time” was being reconsidered for U.S. publication after winning the Campbell award.

Doctorow said winning the award for his novel “Little Brother” was “vindicating” and said he expected an increase in sales. Doctorow is a supporter of liberalizing copyright laws and has released all his books for free in digital form online.

— — Edited by Jesse Rangel

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