Damon Knight

During a Fireside Chat on Friday, August 28 at this year's Worldcon in Los Angeles (LAcon V), the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) was proud to announce the latest recipient of its Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award: Nancy Kress. SFWA President Kate Ristau and Operations Director Russell Davis were on-scene to celebrate Kress's extensive contributions to the genre in community.

The SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award recognizes “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.” It is named after author Damon Knight, SFWA’s founder and the organization’s 13th Grand Master. Initially, the Grand Master wasn’t given out every year, but from 1975 to 2026 much has changed in our field, including the consistency with which we award this prestigious post. The Grand Master is a title usually conferred well in advance of SFWA's next Nebula Awards Conference, and its announcement creates more opportunities to inspire excellence in the field, on the road to the Nebula Ballot and Finalist section.

SFWA's 43rd Grand Master joins a group of powerful writers, including N.K. Jemisin, Nicola Griffith, Peter S. Beagle, Connie Willis, Nalo Hopkinson, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, Robin McKinley, Joe Haldeman, among other legends of genre fiction.

Nancy Kress is the author of thirty novels, four story collections, and three books on
writing fiction. Her work has won six Nebulas, two Hugos, a Sturgeon, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. Her most recent novel, Observer, co-written with Dr. Robert Lanza, concerns the nature of consciousness, reality, and love. Her forthcoming novel set in the court of Henry VIII, The Queen’s Witch, marks a return to her roots in fantasy. Nancy’s work has been translated into nearly two dozen languages, none of which she can read. She has taught writing at various venues in the United States and abroad, including both Clarions, fifteen years co-teaching with Walter Jon Williams at the intense workshop Taos Toolbox, workshops in Beijing, and a semester as Picador Guest Lecturer at the University of Leipzig. Nancy lives in Seattle with her husband, writer Jack Skillingstead, and Pippin, the world’s most stubborn Chihuahua.

SFWA President Kate Ristau reflects on the timeliness of this selection:

When we choose a SFWA Grand Master, the discussion begins with the Past Presidents. Year after year, Nancy’s name has come up as an author who is long overdue for this award. She has made an incredible impact on our industry not only with her work, but also with her teaching at both Clarions and Taos Toolbox, as well as workshops in Beijing and Leipzig.

She has spent decades writing at the cutting edge of genetics, biotechnology, and human transformation, asking what happens when science changes not only our world, but our understanding of what it means to be human.

There could not be a more prescient time to honor Nancy’s contributions. As we confront the impact of AI on our work and on our livelihoods, Nancy reminds us what it means to be human: to question, to imagine, to connect. Not only that, but to recognize that our humanity cannot be separated from the choices we make about our future.

Former SFWA Presidents further attest to the strength of Kress's work and contributes to her community:

I met Nancy when we were both teaching at Taos Toolbox. She was as smart, gracious, and generous as everyone in the industry says. I’m tremendously pleased to see her join the ranks of SFWA’s Grand Masters and I know she’ll continue to contribute to the new generations of writers following in her illustrious footsteps.

Jeffe Kennedy (SFWA President, 2021-2024)

Nancy Kress is a master of realistic science fiction that draws you in and keeps you there with her inventive stories and her memorable characters. Her writing is what Hugo Gernsback had in mind when he helped invent the genre.

Paul Levinson (SFWA President, 1998-2001)

“Good writing + good science = an extraordinary talent.”

Barbara Hambly (SFWA President, 1994-1996)

SFWA's next Nebula Awards Conference will be held in Seattle, June 3-7, 2027, where the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award will be formally bestowed upon Nancy Kress.

The program theme is INTO THE UNKNOWN, and preliminary programming announcements will emerge in September 2026. Conference tickets are on sale for $275 until December 31, 2026, and SFWA is looking forward to an event that will cultivate strong conversations around the state of genre. It is this organization's privilege to start that conversation by celebrating Grand Master Nancy Kress's tremendous accomplishments across science fiction, fantasy, and related genres.