Nicola Griffith is the latest SF Grandmaster
A worthy addition to the ranks
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association ahs named author Nicola Griffith as the latest (41st) Damon Knight Grand Master, joining the company of such authors as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Joe Haldeman, Robert Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Connie Willis, and a number of other notable figures.
Griffith was born on September 30th, 1960 in England. She began publishing in the 1980s, and published her first novel, Ammonite, in 1993. The book earned a considerable amount of acclaim, winning the James Tiptree Jr. and Lambda Literary awards, and was nominated for the 1994 British Science Fiction Association, Locus, and Arthur C. Clarke awards.
In the years that followed, she published an additional eight novels, including Slow River, So Lucky, Hild, and Spear. She published her latest novel, Menewood, in 2023. Her work pays particular attention to themes around gender and sexuality, and she earned her PhD in 2017 University of East Anglia with her doctoral thesis, "Norming the Other: Narrative Empathy Via Focalised Heterotopia."
SFWA President Kate Ristau said in the announcement that Griffith "challenges us to reconsider the past and imagine a better, more inclusive future. She is the perfect Grand Master for our present moment, demonstrating through her life and work how to find one’s self, one’s purpose, and one’s community in complicated times, and to embrace those things joyfully and fully."
On her blog, Griffith wrote "yes, I’ve had a few days to sit with this. No, I still can’t wrap my head around it. I will, I just haven’t yet. !!!!!!! WOW !!!!!!!"
The award is presented annually to a living author in recognition of their lifetime of achievements within the field, and 2025 marks the 50th year for the honor. It was originally awarded to Robert Heinlein in 1975, and has been handed out (mostly) annually ever since. Susan Cooper was awarded the prize in 2024, while Robin McKinley was named grandmaster in 2023. Griffith will be presented with this year's award during the 60th Annual Nebula Awards Conference, which will be held between June 5th and 8th in Kansas City, Missouri.