After consulting with the Board of Directors and participating past presidents, SFWA President, Robin Wayne Bailey, has announced the Grand Master and Author Emeritus to be honored at the Nebula Award Weekend^® in Tempe Arizona.

William F. Nolan will serve as the 2006 Author Emeritus.

Born in 1928 in Kansas City, Missouri, William sold his first fiction in 1954. His work has included a broad range of material, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, westerns and mysteries. He's authored over 150 stories and 75 books, including 13 novels. Among the best-known of his novels is Logan's Run, co-authored with George Clayton Johnson, and later on his own, Logan's World and Logan's Search. His work has earned praise from such writers as Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Joe R. Landsdale.

The Grand Master will be Harlan Ellison.

Since his first sale, "Glowworm," to Infinity Science Fiction in 1956, Harlan Ellison has shaped and sometimes re-shaped modern science fiction. As a writer and as an anthologist, his influence, though sometimes controversial, has been vast. He's won a remarkable nine Hugo Awards, three Nebula Awards, many script-writing awards for his television work, two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, two World Fantasy Awards (including one for life achievement), and six Bram Stoker Awards (including one for lifetime achievement). His 1992 novelette "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" was selected from more than 6,000 short stories published in the U.S. for inclusion in the 1993 edition of Best American Short Stories

Harlan was one of the founders of Science Fiction Writers of America and served as the first vice-president. Always a champion for writers, he led the fight against AOL with his "Kick Internet Piracy" campaign to hold internet service providers responsible for pirate sites. He also helped to launch the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

The 2006 Nebula Awards Weekend will be May 4-7 at the Tempe Mission Palms in Tempe Arizona. This was the site of the 2004 World Fantasy Convention. The room rate will be $137/night which will include wireless Internet and airport shuttle.

Hotel reservations may be made by phone at (800) 547-8705 or at (480) 894-1400. Online reservations are unavailable at this time. More details about the Nebula Awards^® Weekend are available at http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2006/.

William F. Nolan

Harlan Ellison

Posted November 21, 2005