Science Fiction Writers of America President John Scalzi writes, “The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has named Connie Willis, one of the most-awarded and beloved science fiction writers of her generation, as its 2011 recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. Congratulations Connie!”
“When I heard that Connie was going to be named a Grand Master, I was surprised, because I assumed she’d long since been given the honor. It’s overdue and well deserved – congratulations, Connie, and welcome to the club.” –Joe Haldeman, 2010 Grand Master
“My most treasured childhood possession is Terry Carr’s 1984 Year’s Best Science Fiction anthology, not least because it contains Connie Willis’s “Blued Moon”. Her writing changed my understanding of what SF is and what it can be: funny, poignant, wise, feminist. And then I read “All My Darling Daughters” and my concept of SF expanded again, in entirely different directions. Thirty years on, I’m still floored by those stories; Willis’s work bears up startlingly well under rereading. It doesn’t rely on shock or in-jokes or other stale devices. It’s just plain smart, and built on the backs of instantly recognizable characters. I’m thrilled that SFWA is honoring such a fine writer and beloved member of the SF community.” –Rose Fox, Publisher’s Weekly
I met Connie Willis thirty years ago and have been an eyewitness to her dramatic rise from promising young writer to award-winning professional to a figure of historic importance to science fiction. Although she is well loved for her humor — and deservedly so – it is her stories of desperate people in crisis, of good people confronting evil and of ordinary people finding their nobility that form the foundation of her amazing career. She stands at the very center of our genre and is without question one of the best writers of my or any other generation. –James Patrick Kelly, 2-time Hugo Award winner
SFWA Names Connie Willis Recipient of the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
(Thanks, John!)