Clifford D. Simak - Wikipedia

Clifford D. Simak - Wikipedia
Jump to content
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American science fiction writer (1904–1988)
"Simak" redirects here. For the village in Iran, see
Simak, Iran
Clifford D. Simak
Born
Clifford Donald Simak
1904-08-03
August 3, 1904
Millville, Wisconsin
, U.S.
Died
April 25, 1988
(1988-04-25)
(aged 83)
Minneapolis
, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation
Journalist, popular writer
Alma mater
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Period
1931–1986 (fiction)
Genre
Science fiction, fantasy
Subject
Popular science
Notable works
Way Station
City
The Visitors
Simak's first story, "The World of the Red Sun", was listed on the cover of
Wonder Stories
in 1931.
Simak as pictured in
Wonder Stories
in 1931.
Clifford Donald Simak
August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American
science fiction
writer and journalist. He won three
Hugo Awards
and one
Nebula Award
The
Science Fiction Writers of America
made him its third
SFWA Grand Master
and the
Horror Writers Association
made him one of three inaugural winners of the
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
He is associated with the
pastoral science fiction
subgenre.
Early life, education, and journalism career
edit
Simak was born in
Millville, Wisconsin
in 1904.
The son of Czech immigrant John Lewis Simak, from
Mokřice
and Margaret, née Wiseman, he attended the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
and then taught in the public schools until 1929.
He later worked at various newspapers in the
Midwest
. He began a lifelong association with the
Minneapolis Star and Tribune
(in
Minneapolis
Minnesota
) in 1939, which continued until his retirement in 1976. He became news editor of the
Minneapolis Star
in 1949 and coordinator of
Minneapolis Tribune
Science Reading Series
in 1961.
Writing career
edit
The first installment of Simak's "Time Quarry" was the cover story in the debut issue of
Galaxy Science Fiction
in 1950.
Simak's novelette "Installment Plan" was the cover story in the February 1959 issue of
Galaxy Science Fiction
Simak became interested in science fiction after reading the works of
H. G. Wells
as a child. His first contribution to the literature was "The World of the Red Sun", published by
Hugo Gernsback
in the December 1931 issue of
Wonder Stories
with one opening illustration by
Frank R. Paul
Within a year, he placed three more stories in Gernsback's
pulp magazines
and one in
Astounding Stories
, then edited by
Harry Bates
Yet his only science fiction publication between 1932 and 1938 was "
The Creator
" (
Marvel Tales
#4, March–April 1935), a story with religious implications, which was then rare in the genre.
Once
John W. Campbell
, at the helm of
Astounding
from October 1937,
10
began redefining the field, Simak returned and was a regular contributor to
Astounding Science Fiction
(as it was renamed in 1938)
10
throughout the
Golden Age of Science Fiction
(1938–1950). At first, as in the 1939 serial novel
Cosmic Engineers
, he wrote in the tradition of the earlier "super science" subgenre that
E. E. "Doc" Smith
perfected, but he soon developed his own style, which is usually described as gentle and
pastoral
11
During this period, Simak also published a number of war and western stories in pulp magazines.
City
, a
fix-up
novel from this period based on short stories with a common theme of mankind's eventual exodus from Earth, won the International Fantasy Award.
Simak continued to produce award-nominated novels throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Aided by a friend, he continued writing and publishing science fiction and, later, fantasy, into his 80s. He believed that science fiction not rooted in scientific fact was responsible for the failure of the genre to be taken seriously, and stated his aim was to make the genre a part of what he called "realistic fiction."
Themes
edit
This section
needs additional citations for
verification
Please help
improve this article
by
adding citations to reliable sources
in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources:
"Clifford D. Simak"
news
newspapers
books
scholar
JSTOR
June 2022
Learn how and when to remove this message
Simak's stories often have a rural setting, which led to his style being described as "pastoral" or "
pastoral science fiction
".
12
: 27
Crusty individualistic backwoodsman characters often appear - for example, Hiram Taine, the protagonist of "
The Big Front Yard
". Hiram's dog "Towser" (sometimes "Bowser") is common to many of Simak's works. The rural setting is not always idyllic; for instance, in
Ring Around the Sun
, it is largely dominated by intolerance and isolationism.
Many of his aliens have a dry, otherworldly sense of humor, and others are unintentionally amusing, in their speech, behavior or appearance. His robots are full of personality, as are his dogs. By contrast, his "heroes" are ciphers. His protagonists are often boring men, never described and never reappearing. One of Simak's editors objected to his stories because his heroes were "losers". Simak replied, "I like losers."
13
Many of Simak's story lines involve a quest, or a mission. Characters set out, alone, and acquire companions, often unlikely matches, along the way. On the journey, some fall by the wayside, and of these, some are reunited with the group, whilst others never heard from again.
Simak's stories often say that there is no past time for a time traveler to go to. The world moves along in a stream of time, and to move to a different place in time is to move to another world. Thus in
City
the Earth is overrun by ants, but the intelligent dogs and the remaining humans escape to other worlds in the time stream. In
Ring Around the Sun,
the persecuted paranormals escape to other Earths which, if they could all be seen at once, would be at different stages of their orbit around the Sun, hence the title. In
Time Is the Simplest Thing
a paranormal escapes a mob by moving back in time, only to find that the past is a place where there are no living things and inanimate objects are barely substantial.
Time travel
also plays an important role in
Time and Again
. A long-lost space traveler returns with a message which is science fiction-slanted, yet religious in tone. Having crashed on a planet, he is then nurtured by ethereal duplicates that seem to accompany every sentient being throughout life. His befuddled observations are seized upon by religious factions, and a schism then threatens to erupt into war on Earth.
Intelligence, loyalty and friendship, the existence of God and souls, the unexpected benefits and harm of invention, and tools as extensions of humanity are often explored by Simak's robots, whom he uses as "surrogate humans".
14
They begin as likable mechanical persons, but change in surprising ways. Having achieved intelligence, robots move on to common themes such as, "Why are we here?" and "Do robots have souls"? Examples are the faithful butler Jenkins in
City
, the religious robot Hezekiel in
A Choice of Gods
, the frontier robots in
Special Deliverance
and
A Heritage of Stars
, and the monk-like robots in
Project Pope
who seek heaven.
In "
All the Traps of Earth
", a 600-year-old robot, a family retainer who earned the name Richard Daniel, is considered chattel to be reprogrammed and lose all its memories. The robot runs away, hitches onto a spaceship, and passes through hyperspace unprotected. Daniel gains the ability to see and fix problems in anything – a ship, a robot, a human – telekinetically, but is still drifting and hunted as chattel. He stumbles on a frontier planet and finds a purpose, helping the pioneers as a doctor, a servant, a colonist, and a friend. And here Daniel achieves an epiphany: Human beings are more clever than they know. Human-created robots, set loose, can become agents with para-human abilities that benefit humanity. Thus do robots, and humankind, escape "all the traps of earth".
Simak's work also explored the idea of unknowability and encountering beings or concepts beyond human understanding. Hezekiel in
A Choice of Gods
cannot accept that the God he found was inhuman and abstract: "God must be, forever, a kindly old (human) gentleman with a long, white, flowing beard." In
Special Deliverance
, the humans are stalked by The Wailer, which turns out to be a huge wolf-like creature that bellows an infinitely sad howl. They never learn what the creature is, why it seems sad, or how it got there.
Simak's short stories and longer novellas range from the contemplative and thoughtfully idyllic to pure terror, although the punch line is often characteristically understated, as in "Good Night, Mr. James" and "Skirmish'". There is also a group of humorous stories, including "
The Big Front Yard
".
Way Station
is a psychological study of a lonely man who has to make peace with his past and finally manages to do so, but not without personal loss.
Other traditional science fiction themes in Simak's work include the importance of knowledge and compassion, such as in "Immigrant" and "Kindergarten". Identity play, as in "Good Night, Mr. James" (filmed as
The Outer Limits
The Duplicate Man
in 1964). Fictions come to life in "Shadow Show" and elsewhere, such as the novel
Out of Their Minds
. There is a revolt of the machines in "Skirmish", and a meeting with an alien world in "Beachhead", also known as "You'll Never Go Home Again" (many of these are in his collection
Strangers in the Universe
).
Simak sometimes wrote stories close to his profession as a writer. For example, in the novelette "So Bright the Vision" (1968), he portrayed
artificial intelligence
writing software similar to
ChatGPT
, but focusing on socio-psychological issues.
15
Simak sums up his life's work in the foreword to his collection
Skirmish
. After explaining what themes he avoids – no large-scale
alien invasions
, no
space wars
, no empire sagas – he states:
Overall, I have written in a quiet manner; there is little violence in my work. My focus has been on people, not on events. More often than not I have struck a hopeful note ... I have, on occasions, tried to speak out for decency and compassion, for understanding, not only in the human, but in the cosmic sense. I have tried at times to place humans in perspective against the vastness of universal time and space. I have been concerned where we, as a race, may be going, and what may be our purpose in the universal scheme – if we have a purpose. In general, I believe we do, and perhaps an important one.
Works
edit
Main article:
Clifford D. Simak bibliography
From 1950 to 1986 Clifford Simak wrote more than 30 novels and four non-fiction works, with
Way Station
winning the 1964
Hugo Award
. More than 100 of his short stories were published from 1931 to 1981 in the science fiction, western, and war genres, with "
The Big Front Yard
" winning the 1959 Hugo Award for Best Novelette and "
Grotto of the Dancing Deer
" winning the Hugo and
Nebula Awards
for Best Short Story in 1981.
One more short story, "I Had No Head and My Eyes Were Floating Way Up in the Air", had been written in 1973 for publication in
Harlan Ellison
's never-published anthology
The Last Dangerous Visions
and was first published posthumously in 2015.
16
One of his short stories, "Good Night, Mr. James", was adapted as "The Duplicate Man" on
The Outer Limits
in 1964. Simak notes this is a "vicious story—so vicious that it is the only one of my stories adapted to television."
13
Awards and honors
edit
The
Science Fiction Writers of America
made Simak its third
SFWA Grand Master
in 1977, after
Robert Heinlein
and
Jack Williamson
In 1987 the
Horror Writers Association
named him one of three inaugural winners of the
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
, with
Fritz Leiber
and
Frank Belknap Long
Asteroid
228883 Cliffsimak
, discovered by French amateur astronomer
Bernard Christophe
in 2003, was named in his memory.
17
The official
naming citation
was published by the
Minor Planet Center
on March 30, 2010 (
M.P.C.
69496
).
18
Other lifetime awards
Minnesota Academy of Science Award
for distinguished service to science 1967
First Fandom Hall of Fame award
1973
Best-of-year literary awards
Retro Hugo
for best novelette, “
Rule 18
” (
Astounding Science-Fiction
, July 1938)
Retro Hugo for best novelette, "City" (
Astounding Science-Fiction
, May 1944)
19
International Fantasy Award
for best fiction book (1953) for
City
Hugo Award
for best novelette (1959) for "
The Big Front Yard
Hugo Award for best novel (1964) for
Way Station
Jupiter Award
for best novel (1978) for
A Heritage of Stars
Hugo Award for best short story (1981) for "
Grotto of the Dancing Deer
Nebula Award
for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"
Locus Award
for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"
Analytical Laboratory
award for best short story (1981) for "Grotto of the Dancing Deer"
Personal life
edit
Simak married Agnes Kuchenberg on April 13, 1929, and they had two children, Richard "Dick" Scott (1947–2012) and Shelley Ellen. In his novel
Time and Again
he wrote, "I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty three years and have two children. My favorite recreation is fishing (the lazy way, lying in a boat and letting them come to me). Hobbies: Chess, stamp collecting, growing roses." He dedicated the book to his wife Kay, "without whom I'd never have written a line". He was well liked by many of his science fiction-writing friends, especially
Isaac Asimov
He died in Minneapolis on April 25, 1988.
20
21
References
edit
"NLS: Say How"
Library of Congress
Archived
from the original on February 8, 2019
. Retrieved
December 30,
2017
"Simak, Clifford D."
Archived
August 14, 2014, at the
Wayback Machine
The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index to Literary Nominees
Locus Publications
. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
"Science Fiction Novelist Clifford D. Simak, 83"
The Los Angeles Times
. April 29, 1988. p. 46.
Archived
from the original on July 24, 2019
. Retrieved
October 22,
2017
– via
Newspapers.com
"Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master"
Archived
July 1, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved June 18, 2012.
"Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement"
Archived
November 15, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
. Horror Writers Association (HWA). Retrieved April 5, 2013.
Cokinos, Christopher. "The Pastoral Complexities of Clifford Simak: The Land Ethic and Pulp Lyricism in Time and Again".
Extrapolation
Volume 55, Number 2
"Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992"
FamilySearch
. June 19, 1912.
"DigiArchiv of SRA Trebon - ver. 25.07.28"
digi.ceskearchivy.cz
. Retrieved
September 26,
2025
Clifford D. Simak
at the
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
(ISFDB). Retrieved April 5, 2013.
"Astounding/Analog – Series Bibliography"
Archived
December 11, 2016, at the
Wayback Machine
. ISFDB. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
Sandro Pergameno, introduction to the Italian edition of
Project Pope
. Nord, Milan, 1982.
Ewald, Robert J. (2006).
"The Early Simak"
When the Fires Burn High and the Wind is from the North: The pastoral science fiction of Clifford D. Simak
. Wildside Press LLC.
ISBN
978-1-55742-218-7
Simak, C.D.
Skirmish
. Author's foreword.
Simak, C.D.
Skirmish: The great short fiction of Clifford D. Simak
. Author's foreword.
"ChatGPT Predicted 55 Years Ago in Science Fiction Novel"
. March 9, 2023.
Simak, Clifford D. (October 2015).
I Am Crying All Inside and Other Stories
. Open Road Integrated Media. pp.
61–
82.
ISBN
978-1-5040-1267-6
"228883 Cliffsimak (2003 PT4)"
Minor Planet Center
Archived
from the original on March 3, 2016
. Retrieved
August 27,
2019
"MPC/MPO/MPS Archive"
Minor Planet Center
Archived
from the original on April 26, 2020
. Retrieved
August 27,
2019
"1945 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced"
. July 29, 2020.
Bramscher, Paul.
"Clifford Simak's Biography"
. Paul Bramscher. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011
. Retrieved
March 19,
2017
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link
(archive.org link)
"Clifford D. Simak, 83, Journalist And Science-Fiction Writer, Dies".
The New York Times
. April 28, 1988. p. D27.
Sources
edit
Contemporary Authors
. New Revision Series. Detroit, Gale Research Co.
Sam Moskowitz
Seekers of Tomorrow
(1967) (one chapter covers Simak)
"Obituaries: Clifford D. Simak."
The Herald
(Melbourne)
, April 29, 1988.
Weatherby, W. J. "Obituary of Clifford Simak, realist of SF". Guardian Newspapers Limited/
The Guardian
(London), April 29, 1988.
Further reading
edit
Muriel R. Becker
Clifford D. Simak, a Primary and Secondary Bibliography
(1980).
Hardy Kettlitz
Clifford D. Simak: pastorale Harmonien
, Shayol Verlag, 2012. (German).
Mark Owings
The Electric Bibliograph 1: Clifford D. Simak
Phil Stephensen-Payne
Clifford D. Simak: A Working Bibliography
(1991,
ISBN
1-871133-28-9
External links
edit
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Clifford D. Simak
Digital collections
Works by Clifford D. Simak in eBook form
at
Standard Ebooks
Works by Clifford D. Simak
at
Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Clifford D. Simak
at the
Internet Archive
Works by Clifford D. Simak
at
LibriVox
(public domain audiobooks)
The Science Fiction Short Stories of Clifford D. Simak
Physical collections
Clifford Donald Simak Papers
Other biographical information
Clifford D. Simak
at the
Internet Speculative Fiction Database
Clifford D. Simak
at the Internet Book List
Clifford D. Simak
at
IMDb
Clifford D. Simak – The International Bibliography
Clifford D. Simak
at
Find a Grave
Other links
"An Interview with Clifford D. Simak"
from
Tangent
, May 1975
"City Slickers, Country Bumpkins, Ants, Robots and Mutants" (
Part One
and
Part 2
) at
The Grantville Gazette
Novels by
Clifford D. Simak
The Creator
(1946)
Cosmic Engineers
(1950)
Time and Again
(1951)
City
(1952)
Ring Around the Sun
(1953)
Time is the Simplest Thing
(1961)
Way Station
(1963)
All Flesh is Grass
(1965)
The Werewolf Principle
(1967)
Why Call Them Back from Heaven?
(1967)
The Goblin Reservation
(1968)
Shakespeare's Planet
(1976)
The Visitors
(1980)
Project Pope
(1981)
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
Fritz Leiber
Frank Belknap Long
Clifford D. Simak
(1987)
Ray Bradbury
Ronald Chetwynd-Hayes
(1988)
Robert Bloch
(1989)
Hugh B. Cave
Richard Matheson
(1990)
Gahan Wilson
(1991)
Ray Russell
(1992)
Joyce Carol Oates
(1993)
Christopher Lee
(1994)
Harlan Ellison
(1995)
Ira Levin
Forrest J Ackerman
(1996)
William Peter Blatty
Jack Williamson
(1997)
Ramsey Campbell
Roger Corman
(1998)
Edward Gorey
Charles L. Grant
(1999)
Nigel Kneale
(2000)
John Farris
(2001)
Stephen King
J. N. Williamson
(2002)
Martin H. Greenberg
Anne Rice
(2003)
Michael Moorcock
(2004)
Peter Straub
(2005)
Thomas Harris
(2006)
John Carpenter
Robert Weinberg
(2007)
F. Paul Wilson
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
(2008)
Brian Lumley
William F. Nolan
(2009)
Ellen Datlow
Al Feldstein
(2010)
Rick Hautala
Joe R. Lansdale
(2011)
Clive Barker
Robert McCammon
(2012)
R. L. Stine
Stephen Jones
(2013)
Jack Ketchum
Tanith Lee
(2014)
Alan Moore
George A. Romero
(2015)
Dennis Etchison
Thomas F. Monteleone
(2016)
Linda Addison
(2017)
Graham Masterton
(2018)
Owl Goingback
Thomas Ligotti
(2019)
Carol J. Clover
Jewelle Gomez
Marge Simon
(2020)
Jo Fletcher
Nancy Holder
Koji Suzuki
(2021)
Elizabeth Massie
Nuzo Onoh
John Saul
(2022)
Mort Castle
Cassandra Peterson
Steve Rasnic Tem
(2023)
David Cronenberg
Del & Sue Howison
(2024)
Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awards
(SFWA Grand Masters)
1975–1999
Robert A. Heinlein
(1975)
Jack Williamson
(1976)
Clifford D. Simak
(1977)
L. Sprague de Camp
(1979)
Fritz Leiber
(1981)
Andre Norton
(1984)
Arthur C. Clarke
(1986)
Isaac Asimov
(1987)
Alfred Bester
(1988)
Ray Bradbury
(1989)
Lester del Rey
(1991)
Frederik Pohl
(1993)
Damon Knight
(1995)
A. E. van Vogt
(1996)
Jack Vance
(1997)
Poul Anderson
(1998)
Hal Clement
(1999)
2000–present
Brian Aldiss
(2000)
Philip José Farmer
(2001)
Ursula K. Le Guin
(2003)
Robert Silverberg
(2004)
Anne McCaffrey
(2005)
Harlan Ellison
(2006)
James Gunn
(2007)
Michael Moorcock
(2008)
Harry Harrison
(2009)
Joe Haldeman
(2010)
Connie Willis
(2012)
Gene Wolfe
(2013)
Samuel R. Delany
(2014)
Larry Niven
(2015)
C. J. Cherryh
(2016)
Jane Yolen
(2017)
Peter S. Beagle
(2018)
William Gibson
(2019)
Lois McMaster Bujold
(2020)
Nalo Hopkinson
(2021)
Mercedes Lackey
(2022)
Robin McKinley
(2023)
Hugo Award for Best Novelette
Retro Hugos
Rule 18
" by
Clifford D. Simak
(1939)
The Roads Must Roll
" by
Robert A. Heinlein
(1941)
Foundation
" by
Isaac Asimov
(1943)
Mimsy Were the Borogoves
" by
Lewis Padgett
(1944)
First Contact
" by
Murray Leinster
(1946)
The Little Black Bag
" by
Cyril M. Kornbluth
(1951)
"Earthman, Come Home" by
James Blish
(1954)
1955–1960
The Darfsteller
" by
Walter M. Miller Jr.
(1955)
Exploration Team
" by
Murray Leinster
(1956)
The Big Time
" by
Fritz Leiber
(1958)
The Big Front Yard
" by
Clifford D. Simak
(1959)
1967–1980
The Last Castle
" by
Jack Vance
(1967)
Gonna Roll the Bones
" by
Fritz Leiber
(1968)
The Sharing of Flesh
" by
Poul Anderson
(1969)
Goat Song
" by
Poul Anderson
(1973)
The Deathbird
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1974)
Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1975)
The Borderland of Sol
" by
Larry Niven
(1976)
The Bicentennial Man
" by
Isaac Asimov
(1977)
Eyes of Amber
" by
Joan D. Vinge
(1978)
"Hunter's Moon" by
Poul Anderson
(1979)
Sandkings
" by
George R. R. Martin
(1980)
1981–1990
The Cloak and the Staff
" by
Gordon R. Dickson
(1981)
Unicorn Variation
" by
Roger Zelazny
(1982)
Fire Watch
" by
Connie Willis
(1983)
Blood Music
" by
Greg Bear
(1984)
Bloodchild
" by
Octavia E. Butler
(1985)
"Paladin of the Lost Hour" by
Harlan Ellison
(1986)
Permafrost
" by
Roger Zelazny
(1987)
Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1988)
Schrödinger's Kitten
" by
George Alec Effinger
(1989)
Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another
" by
Robert Silverberg
(1990)
1991–2000
The Manamouki
" by
Mike Resnick
(1991)
Gold
" by
Isaac Asimov
(1992)
The Nutcracker Coup
" by
Janet Kagan
(1993)
Georgia on My Mind
" by
Charles Sheffield
(1994)
The Martian Child
" by
David Gerrold
(1995)
Think Like a Dinosaur
" by
James Patrick Kelly
(1996)
Bicycle Repairman
" by
Bruce Sterling
(1997)
We Will Drink a Fish Together...
" by
Bill Johnson
(1998)
Taklamakan
" by
Bruce Sterling
(1999)
10
16
to 1
" by
James Patrick Kelly
(2000)
2001–2010
"Millennium Babies" by
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(2001)
Hell Is the Absence of God
" by
Ted Chiang
(2002)
Slow Life
" by
Michael Swanwick
(2003)
Legions in Time
" by
Michael Swanwick
(2004)
The Faery Handbag
" by
Kelly Link
(2005)
Two Hearts
" by
Peter S. Beagle
(2006)
The Djinn's Wife
" by
Ian McDonald
(2007)
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
" by
Ted Chiang
(2008)
Shoggoths in Bloom
" by
Elizabeth Bear
(2009)
"The Island" by
Peter Watts
(2010)
2011–2020
"The Emperor of Mars" by
Allen Steele
(2011)
Six Months, Three Days
" by
Charlie Jane Anders
(2012)
The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi
" by
Pat Cadigan
(2013)
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
", by
Mary Robinette Kowal
(2014)
The Day the World Turned Upside Down
" by
Thomas Olde Heuvelt
, translated by Lia Belt (2015)
Folding Beijing
" by
Hao Jingfang
, translated by
Ken Liu
(2016)
The Tomato Thief
" by
Ursula Vernon
(2017)
The Secret Life of Bots
" by
Suzanne Palmer
(2018)
If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again
" by
Zen Cho
(2019)
Emergency Skin
" by
N. K. Jemisin
(2020)
2021–present
"Two Truths and a Lie" by
Sarah Pinsker
(2021)
"Bots of the Lost Ark" by
Suzanne Palmer
(2022)
The Space-Time Painter
" by
Hai Ya
(2023)
The Year Without Sunshine
" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2024)
The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea
" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2025)
Hugo Award for Best Short Story
Retro Hugos
How We Went to Mars
" by
Arthur C. Clarke
(1939)
Robbie
" by
Isaac Asimov
(1941)
"The Twonky" by
Lewis Padgett
(1943)
"King of the Gray Spaces" by
Ray Bradbury
(1944)
I, Rocket
" by
Ray Bradbury
(1945)
Uncommon Sense
" by
Hal Clement
(1946)
To Serve Man
" by
Damon Knight
(1951)
The Nine Billion Names of God
" by
Arthur C. Clarke
(1954)
1955–present
Allamagoosa
" by
Eric Frank Russell
(1955)
The Star
" by
Arthur C. Clarke
(1956)
Or All the Seas with Oysters
" by
Avram Davidson
(1958)
That Hell-Bound Train
" by
Robert Bloch
(1959)
Flowers for Algernon
" by
Daniel Keyes
(1960)
The Longest Voyage
" by
Poul Anderson
(1961)
Hothouse
" by
Brian W. Aldiss
(1962)
The Dragon Masters
" by
Jack Vance
(1963)
No Truce with Kings
" by
Poul Anderson
(1964)
Soldier, Ask Not
" by
Gordon R. Dickson
(1965)
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1966)
Neutron Star
" by
Larry Niven
(1967)
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1968)
The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1969)
Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones
" by
Samuel R. Delany
(1970)
Slow Sculpture
" by
Theodore Sturgeon
(1971)
Inconstant Moon
" by
Larry Niven
(1972)
Eurema's Dam
" by
R. A. Lafferty
/ "
The Meeting
" by
Frederik Pohl
and
C. M. Kornbluth
(1973)
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1974)
The Hole Man
" by
Larry Niven
(1975)
Catch That Zeppelin!
" by
Fritz Leiber
(1976)
Tricentennial
" by
Joe Haldeman
(1977)
Jeffty Is Five
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1978)
Cassandra
" by
C. J. Cherryh
(1979)
The Way of Cross and Dragon
" by
George R. R. Martin
(1980)
Grotto of the Dancing Deer
" by
Clifford D. Simak
(1981)
The Pusher
" by
John Varley
(1982)
Melancholy Elephants
" by
Spider Robinson
(1983)
Speech Sounds
" by
Octavia E. Butler
(1984)
The Crystal Spheres
" by
David Brin
(1985)
Fermi and Frost
" by
Frederik Pohl
(1986)
Tangents
" by
Greg Bear
(1987)
Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers
" by
Lawrence Watt-Evans
(1988)
Kirinyaga
" by
Mike Resnick
(1989)
Boobs
" by
Suzy McKee Charnas
(1990)
Bears Discover Fire
" by
Terry Bisson
(1991)
A Walk in the Sun
" by
Geoffrey A. Landis
(1992)
Even the Queen
" by
Connie Willis
(1993)
Death on the Nile
" by
Connie Willis
(1994)
None So Blind
" by
Joe Haldeman
(1995)
The Lincoln Train
" by
Maureen F. McHugh
(1996)
The Soul Selects Her Own Society
" by
Connie Willis
(1997)
The 43 Antarean Dynasties
" by
Mike Resnick
(1998)
The Very Pulse of the Machine
" by
Michael Swanwick
(1999)
Scherzo with Tyrannosaur
" by
Michael Swanwick
(2000)
"Different Kinds of Darkness" by
David Langford
(2001)
The Dog Said Bow-Wow
" by
Michael Swanwick
(2002)
Falling onto Mars
" by
Geoffrey A. Landis
(2003)
A Study in Emerald
" by
Neil Gaiman
(2004)
Travels with My Cats
" by
Mike Resnick
(2005)
Tk'tk'tk
" by
David D. Levine
(2006)
Impossible Dreams
" by
Tim Pratt
(2007)
Tideline
" by
Elizabeth Bear
(2008)
Exhalation
" by
Ted Chiang
(2009)
Bridesicle
" by
Will McIntosh
(2010)
For Want of a Nail
" by
Mary Robinette Kowal
(2011)
The Paper Menagerie
" by
Ken Liu
(2012)
"Mono no aware" by
Ken Liu
(2013)
The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere
" by
John Chu
(2014)
No award (2015)
Cat Pictures Please
" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2016)
Seasons of Glass and Iron
" by
Amal El-Mohtar
(2017)
Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™
" by
Rebecca Roanhorse
(2018)
"A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" by
Alix E. Harrow
(2019)
As the Last I May Know
" by
S. L. Huang
(2020)
"Metal Like Blood in the Dark" by
T. Kingfisher
(2021)
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather
" by
Sarah Pinsker
(2022)
Rabbit Test
" by
Samantha Mills
(2023)
Better Living Through Algorithms
" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2024)
"Stitched to Skin Like Family Is" by
Nghi Vo
(2025)
Locus Award for Best Short Story
"The Region Between" by
Harlan Ellison
(1971)
The Queen of Air and Darkness
" by
Poul Anderson
(1972)
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1973)
The Deathbird
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1974)
The Day Before the Revolution
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1975)
Croatoan
" by Harlan Ellison (1976)
"Tricentennial" by
Joe Haldeman
(1977)
Jeffty Is Five
" by Harlan Ellison (1978)
"Count the Clock that Tells the Time" by Harlan Ellison (1979)
The Way of Cross and Dragon
" by
George R. R. Martin
(1980)
Grotto of the Dancing Deer
" by
Clifford D. Simak
(1981)
"The Pusher" by
John Varley
(1982)
"Sur" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1983)
"Beyond the Dead Reef" by
James Tiptree Jr.
(1984)
"Salvador" by
Lucius Shepard
(1985)
"With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole" by Harlan Ellison (1986)
Robot Dreams
" by
Isaac Asimov
(1987)
"Angel" by
Pat Cadigan
(1988)
"Eidolons" by Harlan Ellison (1989)
"Lost Boys" by
Orson Scott Card
(1990)
Bears Discover Fire
" by
Terry Bisson
(1991)
"Buffalo" by
John Kessel
(1992)
Even the Queen
" by Connie Willis (1993)
"Close Encounter" by Connie Willis (1994)
None So Blind
" by Joe Haldeman (1995)
The Lincoln Train
" by
Maureen F. McHugh
(1996)
"Gone" by
John Crowley
(1997)
"Itsy Bitsy Spider" by
James Patrick Kelly
(1998)
"Maneki Neko" by
Bruce Sterling
(1999)
macs
" by
Terry Bisson
(2000)
"The Missing Mass" by
Larry Niven
(2001)
"The Bones of the Earth" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(2002)
"October in the Chair" by
Neil Gaiman
(2003)
Closing Time
" by
Neil Gaiman
(2004)
"Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" by
Neil Gaiman
(2005)
"Sunbird" by
Neil Gaiman
(2006)
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
" by
Neil Gaiman
(2007)
"A Small Room in Koboldtown" by
Michael Swanwick
(2008)
Exhalation
" by
Ted Chiang
(2009)
"An Invocation of Incuriosity" by
Neil Gaiman
(2010)
"The Thing About Cassandra" by
Neil Gaiman
(2011)
"The Case of Death and Honey" by
Neil Gaiman
(2012)
"Immersion" by
Aliette de Bodard
(2013)
The Road of Needles
" by
Caitlín R. Kiernan
(2014)
"The Truth About Owls" by
Amal El-Mohtar
(2015)
Cat Pictures Please
" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2016)
Seasons of Glass and Iron
" by
Amal El-Mohtar
(2017)
"The Martian Obelisk" by
Linda Nagata
(2018)
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
" by
P. Djèlí Clark
(2019)
"The Bookstore at the End of America" by
Charlie Jane Anders
(2020)
"Little Free Library" by
Naomi Kritzer
(2021)
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather
" by
Sarah Pinsker
(2022)
Rabbit Test
" by
Samantha Mills
(2023)
"How to Raise a Kraken in Your Bathtub" by
P. Djèlí Clark
(2024)
Nebula Award for Best Short Story
1965–1979
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1965)
The Secret Place
" by
Richard McKenna
(1966)
Aye, and Gomorrah
" by
Samuel R. Delany
(1967)
"The Planners" by
Kate Wilhelm
(1968)
Passengers
" by
Robert Silverberg
(1969)
Good News from the Vatican
" by
Robert Silverberg
(1971)
When It Changed
" by
Joanna Russ
(1972)
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death
" by
James Tiptree Jr.
(1973)
The Day Before the Revolution
" by
Ursula K. Le Guin
(1974)
Catch That Zeppelin!
" by
Fritz Leiber
(1975)
"A Crowd of Shadows" by
Charles L. Grant
(1976)
Jeffty Is Five
" by
Harlan Ellison
(1977)
"Stone" by
Edward Bryant
(1978)
giANTS
" by
Edward Bryant
(1979)
1980–1999
Grotto of the Dancing Deer
" by
Clifford D. Simak
(1980)
The Bone Flute
" by
Lisa Tuttle
(refused, 1981)
A Letter from the Clearys
" by
Connie Willis
(1982)
"The Peacemaker" by
Gardner Dozois
(1983)
Morning Child
" by
Gardner Dozois
(1984)
Out of All Them Bright Stars
" by
Nancy Kress
(1985)
"Tangents" by
Greg Bear
(1986)
"Forever Yours, Anna" by
Kate Wilhelm
(1987)
"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 17: The Deluge" by
James K. Morrow
(1988)
Ripples in the Dirac Sea
" by
Geoffrey A. Landis
(1989)
Bears Discover Fire
" by
Terry Bisson
(1990)
Ma Qui
" by
Alan Brennert
(1991)
Even the Queen
" by Connie Willis (1992)
Graves
" by
Joe Haldeman
(1993)
"A Defense of the Social Contracts" by
Martha Soukup
(1996)
"Death and the Librarian" by
Esther Friesner
(1995)
A Birthday
" by
Esther Friesner
(1996)
"Sister Emily's Lightship" by
Jane Yolen
(1997)
"Thirteen Ways to Water" by
Bruce Holland Rogers
(1998)
"The Cost of Doing Business" by
Leslie What
(1999)
2000–2019
macs
" by
Terry Bisson
(2000)
The Cure for Everything
" by
Severna Park
(2001)
"Creature" by
Carol Emshwiller
(2002)
"What I Didn't See" by
Karen Joy Fowler
(2003)
"Coming to Terms" by
Eileen Gunn
(2004)
"I Live With You" by
Carol Emshwiller
(2005)
"Echo" by
Elizabeth Hand
(2006)
Always
" by
Karen Joy Fowler
(2007)
"Trophy Wives" by
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
(2008)
Spar
" by
Kij Johnson
(2009)
How Interesting: A Tiny Man
" by
Harlan Ellison
/ "
Ponies
" by
Kij Johnson
(2010)
The Paper Menagerie
" by
Ken Liu
(2011)
"Immersion" by
Aliette de Bodard
(2012)
If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love
" by
Rachel Swirsky
(2013)
Jackalope Wives
" by
Ursula Vernon
(2014)
Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers
" by
Alyssa Wong
(2015)
Seasons of Glass and Iron
" by
Amal El-Mohtar
(2016)
Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™
" by
Rebecca Roanhorse
(2017)
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
" by
P. Djèlí Clark
(2018)
"Give the Family My Love" by
A. T. Greenblatt
(2019)
2020–present
"Open House on Haunted Hill" by
John Wiswell
(2020)
Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather
" by
Sarah Pinsker
(2021)
Rabbit Test
" by
Samantha Mills
(2022)
Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200
" by
R. S. A. Garcia
(2023)
Why Don't We Just Kill the Kid In the Omelas Hole
" by
Isabel J. Kim
(2024)
Portal
Speculative fiction
Authority control databases
International
ISNI
VIAF
GND
FAST
WorldCat
National
United States
France
BnF data
Japan
Italy
Czech Republic
Spain
Portugal
Netherlands
Norway
Latvia
Croatia
Chile
Greece
Korea
Poland
Israel
Finland
Catalonia
Belgium
Academics
CiNii
Artists
MusicBrainz
People
Trove
LibraryThing
Deutsche Biographie
DDB
Other
IdRef
Open Library
SNAC
Yale LUX
Retrieved from "
Categories
1904 births
1988 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American short story writers
American male non-fiction writers
American male novelists
American male short story writers
American newspaper editors
American people of Czech descent
American science fiction writers
Hugo Award–winning writers
Nebula Award winners
Novelists from Minnesota
Novelists from Wisconsin
People from Grant County, Wisconsin
SFWA Grand Masters
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Writers from Minneapolis
Hidden categories:
Webarchive template wayback links
CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown
Articles with short description
Short description is different from Wikidata
Use American English from July 2022
All Wikipedia articles written in American English
Use mdy dates from July 2022
Articles needing additional references from June 2022
All articles needing additional references
Articles with Project Gutenberg links
Articles with Internet Archive links
Articles with LibriVox links
Clifford D. Simak
Add topic