Anyone who has read Isaac Asimov’s autobiographical material knows that he was not adverse to receiving recognition for his work. He delighted in his Hugos, his Grand Mastership, and in his Nebulas (even if the Science Fiction Writers of America–SFWA –managed to misspell both his first and last names on one of them). In conversation, though, he said that the acceptance and professional publication of a story was an important achievement award as well. The other awards were fun, but they were obviously unobtainable without publication. And there are many stories that once read–"The Ugly Little Boy," "Liar!"–stay with us forever, even if they don’t receive award recognition in their own time. By founding Asimov’s in 1977, Isaac gave other writers another outlet in the shrinking world of SF magazine publishing where they could receive that ultimate recognition.

Asimov’s initiated our Readers’ Awards in 1987. They give you the chance to let us know what you think of our stories, poetry, and art. It’s fun to witness your diverse opinions and to read the notes that you often write on the ballots. In the first years, I counted all the ballots myself, and I’ve attended all the Readers’ Award celebrations. My earliest memories of the award are often tied to thoughts of Isaac.

The first winners were Connie Willis for "Spice Pogrom," James Patrick Kelly for "The Prisoner of Chillon," and Isaac Asimov for "Robot Dreams." The awards reception was held in a beautiful room overlooking New York City in the United Nations Plaza Hotel. Although "Robot Dreams" was a powerful story, Isaac was embarrassed when he discovered that he’d received an award from his own magazine. We told him, though, that even if it was his magazine, the readers had spoken, and he had to accept their judgment. Isaac refused the small monetary prize that went with the award, so I believe we donated it to the Space Camp. Isaac had had tough competition for the award that year. Second place for short story went to Harlan Ellison and third went to Kim Stanley Robinson.

The awards were held in the same location a year later. That year, the winners included Kim Stanley Robinson for "Mother Goddess of the World," Pat Murphy for "Rachel in Love," and Lawrence Watt-Evans for "Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers." A special award was given to Harlan Ellison for his film script, I, Robot: The Movie, which had been serialized to much acclaim in the magazine. As he was about to give his acceptance speech, Stan Robinson told me he saw Isaac standing across the room. He suddenly realized the debt he owed to the Good Doctor. In his speech, Stan warmly thanked Isaac for his inspiring fiction and nonfiction, which had influenced his own career, and he thanked him for founding the magazine that has given a home to so many authors. Isaac was very touched by this speech and he never forgot it. Isaac told me he thought it was the first time he had heard a public acknowledgment of his contributions to a younger generation of writers.

After the first two years, we stopped holding the awards on their own weekend in New York City, and began to give them over the Nebula Awards weekend. With the Nebulas, the location of the Readers’ Award’s celebration moved from city to city. In the spring of 1991, however, the awards, and the Nebulas, returned to New York. On the evening of April 27, James Patrick Kelly and Robert Frazier, who had shared an award for their poem "A Dragon’s Yuletide Shopping List" (that year, Jim also won a Readers’ Award for his novella, "Mr. Boy"), were standing in the mezzanine of the Grand Hyatt Hotel with Terry Bisson, who had won the Best Short Story award with "Bears Discover Fire." Looking down at the pre-Nebula cocktail party, they spied Isaac. They all thought it would be fun to have him autograph their Readers’ Awards, since normally only the editor signed the certificates. Once again, Isaac was delighted. Their timing was perfect, too, because that was the last Nebula banquet Isaac was ever to attend.

Although Isaac died in April 1992, the previous year’s awards are not the last ones that I associate with him. We published some wonderful novellas in 1992, including Lucius Shepard’s Hugo-award winning "Barnacle Bill the Spacer" and Isaac Asimov’s "Cleon the Emperor"–one of the final chapters in his preeminent Foundation series. The two stories ran neck-and-neck throughout the voting process. On the last day, the final ballot to cross my desk gave a third-place vote (worth one point) to one of the stories. This vote nudged the story into the only tie we ever had for first place. I thought the results would have made Isaac happy. Our readers had found a way to thank a master for his superb tale while continuing to encourage the works of another gifted author.

While the short-fiction markets keep on shrinking, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine still provides authors with the opportunity to get their work before their readers. And once again, you have let us know which stories ranked amongst your favorites. This year’s Readers’ Award winners are listed below. They’ll receive their awards at a breakfast party in Chicago during the 2005 Nebula awards weekend.