SFWA has named Susan Cooper as the 40th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master. Congratulations to Ms. Cooper. Susan Cooper is known primarily for a five book sequence entitled The Dark is Rising. I have a copy of the SFBC omnibus edition in a box somewhere, but I haven’t read it. Like most of her work, it is written for younger readers, but it can also be enjoyed by adults. She has written a few other books for children and middle grade readers.

Some general thoughts on this awad to follow below the fold.

The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award was originally called the SFWA Grandmaster Award. The award was established by Damon Knight, and in 2002, it was renamed in his honor. Knight died in 2002.

Originally, the award was to be given to a living author, with no more than six being given in a decade. With the exception of 2002 and 2011, the award has been given annually.

Robert A. Heinlein was the first recipient (1975), followed by Jack Williamson (1976), Clifford D. Simak (1977), L. Sprague de Camp (1979), Fritz Leiber (1981). I’m  going to list the rest of the winners without years. They are: Andre Norton, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, Ray bradbury, Lester del Rey, Frederik Pohl, Damon Knight, A. E. Van Vogt, Jack Vance Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Brian W. Aldiss, Phillip Jose Farmer, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robert Silverberg, Anne McCaffery, Harlan Ellison, James Gunn, Michael Moorcok, James Gunn, Harry Harrison, Joe Haldeman, Connie Willis, Gene Wolfe, Samuel R. Delany, Larry Niven, C. J. Cherryh, Jane Yolen, Peter S. Beagle, William Gibson, Lois McMaster Bujold, Nalo Hopkinson, Mercedes Lackey, Robin McKinley, and the most recent, Susan Cooper.

I’ve read most of those writers, some extensively, although in some cases it’s been years. The exceptions are Delany, Hopkinson, and Lackey. (Lackey is an interesting case, because she was disinvited to the Nebula weekend after being named a Grandmaster because of something she said that was considered offensive.) I have no interest in reading Delany. I simply havne’t gotten to Hopkinson, and from what I know of her writing, I’m probably not Lackey’s target audience. The one time I met her, she seemed to be a pleasant person.

An interesting thing occurred in 1995. SFWA instituted an Author Emeritus Award for writers whose work was either not well known or who weren’t actvely writing any more. It didn’t last long, as it was seen as a consolation prize. The winners, from 1995 through 2010 (with no awards given in 2002 and 2005), were Emil Pataja, Wilson Tucker, Judith Merril, Nelson S. Bond, William Tenn, Daniel Keyes, Robert Shckley *, Katherine McLean, Charles L. Harness, William F. Nolan, D. G. Compton, Ardath Mayhar, M. J. Engh, Neal Barrett, Jr., and in 2014 as a special honoree, Frank M. Robinson.  (I’ve not read Pataja, Compton, Engh, or Robinson, although I have books by all of them.)

*WTF, Sheckley was still actively writing and should have been considered a Grand Master.

The Author Emertis award was controversial, and many saw it as a consolation prize. It seems to have been retired.

Last year, SFWA launched the Infinity Award, meant to honor writers who died before they could be considered a GRand Master. The first, and so far only, recipient was Octavia Butler. I think this type of award is long overdue to be given.

So, now that I’ve summarized the history of this award and listed  the winners, I’m going to say some things that may be considered churlish. I do not mean to denigrate Ms. Cooper, and I genuinely offer my congratulations.

But take a minute to scan that list and see who is missing. Aside from Grodon R. Dickson, Roger Zelazny,  Mike Resnick, and Jerry Pournelle, all of whom I think should have been considered for the Grand Master, a number of names come to mind. Just this year, we’ve lost David Drake, Terry Bisson, Howard Waldrop, Brian Lumley, Tom Purdom, and Christopher Priest. Last year, Michael Bishop died. So did Sydney Van Scyoc, Rachel Pollock, Eric Brown, Michael Reeves, John Jakes, and Suzy McKee Charnas.

None of these writers are elegible for Grand Master status now, although some don’t have a body of work that would justify it. So now, let me ask the question that will make me look bad?

Does Susan Cooper?

The Dark Is Rising may be one of the greatest fantasies ever written. I honestly don’t know. But large body of work she really doesn’t have.

Just off the top of my head, these writers come to mind: Charles de Lint, Neil Gaiman, Tim Powers, James P. Blaylock, Walter Jon Williams, Timothy Zahn, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Esther M. Freisner, Ian Watson, Brian Stableford. Greg Egan, Stephen Donaldson.

We can argue the merits of the works of the authors I’ve named as well as others who slipped my mind or whose work I’m not familiar with. My point is that if an award is going to be for lifetime achievement, it should be for a substantial body of work. I’m not sure The Dark Is Rising meets that standard. There are number of writers whose work does.  If a single work or series is going to be the basis of a lifetime achievement award, then it should be something that is at least familiar to most everyone, even if not everyone has read it. Does The Dark Is Rising meet that standard? I have my doubts.

The Grand Master Award is voted on by the members of SFWA. I think. There may be a committee that makes the selection. I’m not a member of SFWA, never have been, and no longer have any desire to be.

Which is to say, my opinion means nothing. Really, it doesn’t. So take it as you will. The choice just makes me wonder.

What are your thoughts?