Gaylactic Spectrum Awards

The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) topics in a positive way.[1] Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic Network, with awards first awarded in 1999. In 2002 the awards were given their own organization, the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation.[2]

Gaylactic Spectrum Awards
Logo of the Gaylactic Spectrum Award Foundation
Awarded forExcellence in LGBT speculative fiction
CountryUnited States
Presented by
    • Gaylactic Network (1999–2001)
    • Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation (2002–present)
First awarded1999
WebsiteSpectrumawards.org/

The major award categories are for best novel, short fiction, and other works. The winners and short list of recommended nominees are decided by a jury. One of the most recognized authors, Melissa Scott has received the most awards overall, with five wins. She also holds the record for most nominations. Works of any format produced before the awards were first given were eligible to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame", although no work has been inducted since 2003. The list of award winners and Hall of Fame inductees has been called a "who's who of science fiction" by the GLBTQ Encyclopedia Project.[1] This article lists the winners in each of the categories, and the inductees to the Hall of Fame.

Award process

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Since their inception, the awards were given in categories for novels and best other work. Other categories were also added and removed in intervening years, including categories for short fiction (since the second year) and comic books for one year. A short lived "People's Choice" award voted by convention attendees was also awarded to one work from any of the category nominee short lists. The award for best novel was the only one to have been handed out every year since the awards began. As of 2014 there were three regular categories: novels, short fiction and other works. The "other works" category included comic books, graphic novels, movies, television episodes, multimedia, anthologies, story collections, gaming products, artwork, and music.[3]

 
Samuel R. Delany won a special Lifetime Achievement award.

The categories are open to submission of English-language works released during the prior calendar year in North America that include "significant positive GLBT content". The time-frame of eligibility is based on copyright date for first printing for written works, cover date for magazines and comic books, release date for films, first air date for television. Works had to have been "professionally" published or distributed to be eligible for consideration and be wholly original and legal. The judges can choose to extend eligibility for a work due to oversight, confusion regarding release dates, or problems with availability. An open nomination/recommendation process is used to identify works to be considered by the judges. Works of any format produced before the inception of the awards are eligible to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame"; these inductees were selected solely by the judges.[3]

The results are decided by a panel of judges from the list of submitted nominees; nominations can be made by anyone. The judges are volunteers from science fiction fandom and GLBT community, with one volunteer as the "Award Administrator". The judges review each recommended work and the longlist of nominees is reduced via review and discussion to a shortlist of finalists, and then one or more winners is chosen by consensus or vote. The results are generally announced and presented at Gaylaxicon, a convention dedicated to LGBT science fiction, although on occasion they are presented at Worldcon.[4][5]

Each award consists of an etched image on lucite on a stand, using a spiral galaxy in a triangle logo, based on the logo of the Gaylactic Network. The award winner's name, work title, award year and category are etched on a small plaque on the base or on the plexiglass itself. A small cash stipend is also awarded to winners in the Best Novel category. The cost of the awards is paid through individual donations and fundraising events.[3]

Winners

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Melissa Scott has won the most awards.

Melissa Scott holds the record for the most award wins (five) and nominations (thirteen).[6] Other authors and editors who have won the award multiple times are Nicola Griffith, David Gerrold, Keith Hartman, Laurie J. Marks, and Stephen Pagel.[6][7] Samuel R. Delany is notable for winning a special "Lifetime Achievement" award.[8] Steve Berman and Tanya Huff were finalists seven times without winning.[6]

Per Locus's database, the most recent award was given in 2019 for novels, in 2010 for short fiction and in 2003 for the hall of fame.[8]

List of winners

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In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the award ceremony. The notes column details the type of media for entries in the other works category, or the name of the publication in which the entries were first published in the short fiction category. The years are linked to the appropriate year in literature, comics, television or film articles.

List of winners
Year Author(s) / Editor(s) / Director(s) Title Publisher / Producer Note Category Ref.
1999 Ann Harris Accidental Creatures Tor Novel Novel [9]
Stephen Leigh Dark Water's Embrace Avon Eos Novel Novel [9]
Nicola Griffith & Stephen Pagel Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction Overlook Anthology Other work [10]
2000 Keith Hartman The Gumshoe, the Witch, and the Virtual Corpse Meisha Merlin Novel Novel[A] [10]
Peg Kerr The Wild Swans Warner Aspect Novel Novel [10]
Eleanor Arnason "Dapple" Bantam Dell in Asimov's SF 09/99 Short fiction [10]
Spike Jonze & Charlie Kaufman Being John Malkovich USA Films Film Other work [10]
2001 David Gerrold Jumping Off the Planet Tor Novel Novel [11]
Joss Whedon et al. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fox/Mutant Enemy Prod. Television series Other work[A] [11]
2002 Hugh Nissenson The Song of the Earth Algonquin Novel Novel [12]
Alexis Glynn Latner "Kindred" Overlook in Bending the Landscape: Horror Short fiction [12]
Nicola Griffith & Stephen Pagel Bending the Landscape: Horror Overlook Anthology Other work [12]
2003 Laurie J. Marks Fire Logic Tor Novel Novel [13]
Sarah Monette "Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland" Small Beer Press Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet #11 Short fiction [13]
Mark Millar et al. The Authority issues #28-29 DC Comics Comic book issues Comic/graphic novel [13]
Judd Winick et al. Green Lantern issues #153-155, "Hate Crime" DC Comics Comic book issues Comic/graphic novel [13]
Michael Rowe (ed.) Queer Fear II Arsenal Pulp Press Anthology Other work [13]
2004 Nalo Hopkinson The Salt Roads Warner Novel Novel [14][15]
Barth Anderson "Lark Till Dawn, Princess" Warner Aspect in Mojo: Conjure Stories Short fiction [14][15]
Tony Kushner Angels in America HBO Television series Other work [14][15]
Greg Rucka & Michael Lark Gotham Central issues #6–10, "Half a Life" DC Comics Comic book issues Other work [14][15]
2005 Laurie J. Marks Earth Logic Tor Novel Novel [16]
Richard Hall "Country People" Southern Tier in Shadows of the Night Short fiction [16]
2006 Karin Lowachee Cagebird Warner Aspect Novel Novel [17]
2007 Hal Duncan Vellum Del Rey Novel Novel [18]
David Gerrold "In the Quake Zone" SFBC in Down These Dark Spaceways Short fiction [18][19]
Joy Parks "Instinct" Arsenal Pulp Press in The Future Is Queer Short fiction [18][19]
Christopher Barzak "The Language of Moths" Sovereign Media in Realms of Fantasy Short fiction [18][19]
Richard Labonté & Lawrence Schimel (eds.) The Future Is Queer Arsenal Pulp Press Anthology Other work [18][19]
Russell T Davies et al. Torchwood Season 1 BBC Television series Other work [18][19]
James McTeigue James McTeigue et al. V for Vendetta Warner Bros. Film Other work [18][19]
2008 Ginn Hale Wicked Gentlemen Blind Eye Books Novel Novel [20][21]
Joshua Lewis Ever So Much More Than Twenty Lethe Press in So Fey Short fiction [20][21]
2009 Elizabeth Bear The Stratford Man (Hell and Earth/Ink and Steel) Roc Duology Novel [22]
2010 Richard Morgan The Steel Remains Del Rey Novel Novel [23]
Hal Duncan The Behold of the Eye Lethe Press in Lone Star Stories/Wilde Stories 2009 Short fiction [23]
Melissa Scott The Rocky Side of the Sky Lethe Press in Periphery Short fiction [23]
2011 Kathe Koja Under the Poppy Small Beer Press Novel Novel [24]
2012 J. A. Pitts Honeyed Words Tor Novel Novel [25]
2013 Madeline Miller The Song of Achilles Ecco Press Novel Novel [26]
2014 Melissa Scott & Amy Griswold Death By Silver Lethe Press Novel Novel [27]
2015 Melissa Scott Fairs' Point Lethe Press Novel Novel [27]
2016 Ian McDonald Luna: New Moon Tor Novel Novel [28]
2017 Heather Rose Jones Mother of Souls Bella Books Novel Novel [29]
2018 Ellen Klages Passing Strange Tor.com Novel Novel [30]
2019 Elizabeth Bear Stone Mad Tor.com Novel Novel [31]

A People's Choice award winner.

Hall of Fame

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Hall of Fame
Year Author(s) / Editor(s) Book Title Publisher / Producer Media Ref.
1999 Maureen F. McHugh China Mountain Zhang Tor Novel [9]
1999 Eric Garber & Lyn Paleo (eds.) Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror G. K. Hall Non-fiction [9]
2000 Nicola Griffith Slow River Del Rey Novel [32]
2000 Ellen Kushner Swordspoint Tor Novel [32]
2000 Theodore Sturgeon The World Well Lost Universe (June 1953) Short fiction [10]
2000 Donald P. Bellisario Quantum Leap episode "Running for Honor" Belisarius Prod. Media (TV) [10]
2000 Richard O'Brien & Jim Sharman The Rocky Horror Picture Show 20th Century Fox Media (Film) [10]
2001 Arthur C. Clarke Imperial Earth Orion Novel [33]
2001 Mary Doria Russell The Sparrow & Children of God Fawcett Novels [33]
2001 Francesca Lia Block Dangerous Angels aka The Weetzie Bat books Harpercollins Novel series [33]
2002 Samuel R. Delany Dhalgren Bantam Novel [34]
2002 Joanna Russ The Female Man Bantam Novel [34]
2002 Scott Lobdell et al. Alpha Flight issue #106 Marvel Comics Comic book [34]
2002 Geoff Ryman Was Harpercollins Novel [34]
2003 Suzy McKee Charnas The Holdfast Chronicles Ballantine, Tor Novel [13]
2003 Ursula K. Le Guin The Left Hand of Darkness Ace Novel [13]
2003 Melissa Scott Shadow Man Tor Novel[A] [13]
2003 Diane Duane Tale of the Five series (aka The Middle Kingdoms) Tor Novel [13]

A People's Choice Award winner.

See also

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References

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  34. ^ a b c d Kelly, Mark R. "2002 Gaylactic Spectrum Awards". The Locus Index to SF Awards. Locus Publications. Archived from the original on 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
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