- Wen Spencer
- Winner, 2003
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To understand the impact of being nominated for the
John Campbell Award, one needed the Internet. Prior to 2002, a search
on my name only pulled up my website and a handful of places reviewing
my book. A month later, however, and my name was spread across the world,
along with the word "finalist" translated into every language of man.
I cannot see it as coincidence that a short time later, a Russian
publisher bought the rights to translate my novels into Russian.
Seconds after winning, the news went out again, in the languages of the
world, that I was a winner. The John Campbell will be an amazing boast
to my career.
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- Thomas Harlan
- Finalist, 2001
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I can't say I expected to win the Award - I really
don't think enough people have read my books to carrying the polls -
but it was fabulous to be nominated. For one thing, it convinced
all my relatives I hadn't been wasting my time! I suspect my publisher
also breathed a sigh of relief, feeling their gamble (and buying
four books from an unpublished writer has -got- to be a gamble) had
paid off. My only regret is that my grandmother Velda, who had always
been a great supporter of my creative efforts, died three months
before I received the first nomination.
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- Cory Doctorow
- Best New Writer, 2000
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I think the jury's still out on the aftermath
of my winning the Campbell. I've had a few stories and articles and
reviews come out since, and I got a great turnout at the launch of
my book, but I've hardly been showered with flowers and hounded by
the press.
But there's an internal experience that's pretty good. In those
moments when the writing stubbournly refuses to come, there's that
cozy bit of knowledge -- I actually won. I won the goddamn Campbell
Award.
At my first Worldcon in 1994, I resolved to be one of the people
in tuxedoes on the floor of the awards. I won the Campbell a month
after a turned in my first novel, a month after my first book came out.
If there's one overweening bit of marvellousness from the Campbell Award,
it's the sense of accomplishment after years of trying and
dreaming, the confidence that all dreams can come true.
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- Susan R. Matthews
- Finalist, 1998
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Entering the world of the published science fiction
novelist comes with keen awareness of the ferociously high level of
quality of the works that compete for readership, and the inevitable
role that circumstance and even luck may play in whose book finds a
place in the public consciousness and whose does not. Being nominated for a
Campbell award is sharing the stage, even as a newcomer, with the movers
and shakers of our community and our craft; it's a wonderful feeling.
A Campbell nomination is a priceless token from the science fiction
reading community, a message that "We're taking you seriously."
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- Andy Duncan
- Finalist, 1998
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I was thrilled to be a Campbell and Hugo nominee
in '98. I'd thank all my supporters personally, if I knew who they were!
My biggest thrill, though, is that my fiction continues to be published
and read. And that's a thrill all aspiring writers can have, if they work
hard and persevere. Campbell season comes and goes, but for the other
rewards of writing, we all enjoy lifetime eligibility.
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- Michael A. Burstein
- Best New Writer, 1997
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On the most basic level, winning the Campbell was
an exhilirating experience. The best part was knowing that my writing, as
little as it was out there, had struck some sort of chord with the
readers of science fiction. I'm still amazed that I beat out four
novelists with a handful of short stories.
And on another level, I have to admit that the Campbell has made some
people on this field take me a little more seriously. For a new writer
who is still trying to sell his first novel, that's a very important thing.
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- P.J. Plauger
- Best New Writer, 1975
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I deeply appreciated winning the Campbell Award.
Had I won a Hugo or a Nebula that same year (and I think I came close),
I would probably have become a full-time SF writer. But alas, I fell
among bad companions and have instead spent the past quarter century
writing computer software, and writing about computer software.
Rarely can I spare the time to let the story ideas bubbling in my head
turn into ink. I feel kinda guilty sometimes, but I'm not giving back
my plaque.
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