In October of 1992, I met Rick Wilber at the World Fantasy Convention in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Rick is a college professor and a science fiction writer whose stories have often appeared in Asimov’s. At the convention, we hatched the idea of an award that would honor the legacy of Isaac Asimov and encourage the works of younger writers. Isaac, who had begun publishing science fiction stories when he was eighteen, had died that spring. When he was a young man, there were numerous magazines vying for short fiction. During the ten years that we worked together, he often mentioned that he had founded Asimov Science Fiction magazine so that talented writers who were just starting out would find the same kind of welcoming home for their stories that he had once found. Nowadays, there are far fewer fiction magazines, and Rick and I both felt that starting an award aimed at the works of younger writers would be a way to further Isaac’s objective. The creation of this award, which came to be known by the extremely long name of The Isaac Asimov Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing was announced ten years ago at the 1993 Conference on the Fantastic in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The award is co-sponsored by two organizations that strongly believe in promoting the works of early career writers, the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts and our own magazine. It is also supported by the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida. The judges for the award are Rick Wilber, Gardner Dozois, and me.

On Saturday, March 22, 2003, almost all of the finalists were in attendance at this year’s awards banquet at the Conference on the Fantastic. Our winner, Bryn Neuenschwander, was a recent graduate from Harvard University where she majored in archeology and folklore. Bryn submitted a number of stories to this year’s contest, and two of them were finalists. She received an expense-paid trip to the conference and a check for $500 for "Calling into Silence," and an Honorable Mention for "The Legend of Anahata."

Matthew Kirby, a student at Utah State University, was our first runner-up. He is majoring in history, has a minor in psychology, and plans to study for a masters degree in child psychology. He received a certificate and a two-year subscription to Asimov’s for his story, "A Book of Revelation."

This year’s second runner-up, Thomas Seay, was one of last year’s finalists as well. Thomas is a senior at Georgia Tech who hopes to study with James Gunn at the University of Kansas next year. He received his award and a one-year complimentary subscription to Asimov’s for his tale "Alone Again." In addition, he received an Honorable Mention for "Weathered Mountains."

We met Karina Sumner-Smith, an English major at York University in Toronto, Ontario, last year when she was a finalist for the award. Unfortunately, she could not be in attendance this year, but she received another Honorable Mention for "She Is Elizabeth Lynn Rhodea."

Authors at the conference included Brian Aldiss, Suzy McKee Charnas, John Clute, Charles De Lint, Nick DiChario, Stephen Donaldson, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Joe Haldeman, Elizabeth Hand, Alex Irvine, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Daniel Keyes, David Lunde, Patricia McKillip, Peter Straub, and Tim Sullivan. One of the conference highlights always comes from the time these authors spend chatting informally with the Asimov Award finalists poolside at the conference hotel.

Asimov’s is proud to support these academic awards with IAFA. The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts is a worldwide network of scholars, educators, writers, artists, filmmakers, critics, editors, publishers, and performers who share an interest in studying and celebrating the fantastic in all art forms, disciplines, and media.

We are actively looking for next year’s winner. The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2003. All full-time undergraduate students at any accredited university
or college are eligible. Stories must be in English, and should run from 1,000 to 10,000 words. No submission can be returned, and all stories must be previously unpublished and unsold. There is a $10 entry fee, with up to three stories accepted for each fee paid. Checks should be made out to the Asimov Award. There is no limit to the number of submissions from each writer. Each submission must include the writer’s name, address, phone number, and college or university on the cover sheet, but please do not put your name on the actual story.

Before entering the contest, please contact Rick Wilber for more information, rules, and manuscript guidelines. Rick can be reached care of:

Asimov Award

School of Mass Communications

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida 33620

Rwilber@chuma.cas.usf.edu

Next year’s winner will be announced at the 2004 Conference on the Fantastic, in the pages of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, and on our website.