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 The Arthur C. Clarke Award is the UK’s premier prize for science fiction literature.

2009 Shortlist Announced

Ian R. MacLeod, Paul McAuley, Alastair Reynolds, Neal Stephenson, Sheri S. Tepper and Mark Wernham are the six authors shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2009,the UK’s premier prize for science fiction literature.

The six shortlisted books are:

Song of Time: Ian R. MacLeod - PS Publishing
The Quiet War: Paul McAuley – Gollancz
House of Suns: Alastair Reynolds – Gollancz
Anathem: Neal Stephenson – Atlantic
The Margarets: Sheri S. Tepper – Gollancz
Martin Martin’s on the Other Side: Mark Wernham – Jonathan Cape

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Remembering Sir Arthur

In his 90th birthday reflections video released on YouTube in December 2007, Sir Arthur said he had 'no regrets and no more personal ambitions'. He listed three 'last wishes': some evidence of extra-terrestrial life; adoption of clean energy sources; and an end to the long-drawn civil war in Sri Lanka.

He added: "I’ve had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer, space promoter and science populariser. Of all these, I want to be remembered most as a writer – one who entertained readers, and, hopefully, stretched their imagination as well." Read more

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Ian R. MacLeod Wins ACCA 2009 PDF Print E-mail

Song of Time by Ian R. MacLeod and published by PS Publishing is the winner of this year’s Arthur C. Clarke Award, the UK’s premier prize for science fiction literature.


The announcement was made at the award’s official ceremony held in London, Piccadilly on the evening of Wednesday 29th April at an exclusive event held as part of the opening celebrations of this year’s SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival.


The annual award is presented for best science fiction novel of the year and selected from a list of novels whose UK first edition was published in the previous calendar year.


This year’s prize was presented by Angie Edwards, Sir Arthur’s niece and Director of Rocket Publishing, and Marek Kukula, Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich.


Speaking after the ceremony, Award Administrator Tom Hunter said:


"I’m absolutely delighted for Ian R. MacLeod that Song of Time was chosen as the winner of this year’s Clarke Award. It was a very strong shortlist this year, with a lot of speculation and debate, so both Ian and Pete Crowther of PS Publishing have every right to be feeling especially proud with this win today.


“The reaction to the announcement has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, and I’m especially pleased that this year the prize very deservedly went to PS Publishing, who in recent years have proved themselves to be an exemplary example of a boutique small press publisher and a vital cornerstone of the UK’s science fiction community.”


Chair of the Judges Paul Billinger added:


“Set in a near-future England, Song of Time is a rich and subtle novel that couples themes of memory and identity with well crafted and all too human characters. Following the thoughtful reflections of an elderly musician as she contemplates her death (and, as this is the future, what may come next) the novel is infused throughout with the love of music and contains some of the most evocative writing on the subject for many years. This is a well deserved winner and a novel to savour.”

The winner receives a prize of £2009 and a commemorative engraved bookend.


The judging panel for the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award were Chris Hill and Ruth O’Reilly for the British Science Fiction Association, Robert Hanks and Rhiannon Lassiter for the Science Fiction Foundation and Pauline Morgan for SF Crowsnest. Paul Billinger represents the Arthur C. Clarke Award as the Chair of Judges.

 
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The Arthur C. Clarke Award is the most prestigious award for science fiction in Britain, presented annually for the best science fiction novel of the year.

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