banner with text that reads, J Wayne and Elsie M Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction, vintage design by McKitterick

This is an archived version of James Gunn's original Center for the Study of Science Fiction website, designed, built, and managed by McKitterick. The Center was run by Gunn, Johnson, and McKitterick 1992-2021, then taken over by the KU English department in 2022.

CSSF history overview 1969 - 2021

All content (except where otherwise noted) copyright Christopher McKitterick, 1992-2022.
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Science Fiction Awards,
Student Work, and Scholarships

The KU centers for science fiction studies have hosted and presented several awards for excellence in science fiction writing and scholarship.

John W. Campbell Memorial Award

1973 - 2020. The John W Campbell Memorial Award honored the best science fiction novel of the year. Juried.

Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award

Since 1987. The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award honors the best short science fiction of the year. Juried.

Lifeboat to the Stars Award

2013. The Lifeboat Foundation offers an award for the best work of science fiction that contributes to an understanding of the benefits, means, or difficulties of interstellar travel.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame

1996 - 2004. Each year, the SF Hall of Fame honored four individuals on the basis of continued excellence and long-term contribution to the science fiction and fantasy field. Two inductees were living contributors, and two were posthumous. (Since 2005 housed and presented at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.)

Mark Bourne Speculative Fiction Writing Scholarship

2015 - 2019. The Bourne Award was funded by an alum to help outstanding SF writers attend Johnson's and McKitterick's summer writing workshops, particularly for attendees coming from other states and countries and grad students. For more about the workshops, see McKitterick's page.

James E. Gunn Award for Science Fiction Writing

2005 - 2020. Prize for the author of an outstanding SF story written for a KU course, founded and supported by original Gunn SF Center Director McKitterick.

Christopher Gunn Graduate Research Assistantship
  or Scholarship in Science Fiction Studies

2009 - 2020. Award to help outstanding scholars and writers afford to study either SF literature or SF writing through the original J Wayne and Elsie M Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. GRAs work out a project proposal with the directors in advance of their service, and scholarship recipients must submit a project proposal that assists the Center's mission to be considered.

This website was associated with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), the University of Kansas, and other organizations, and is owned by Chris McKitterick. Web developer since 1992 is Chris McKitterick.

This website and its contents are copyright 1992-present by Christopher McKitterick except where noted, and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (Feel free to use and adapt for non-profit purposes, with attribution. For publication or profit purposes, please contact McKitterick.)

Creative Commons License
Works on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

updated 5/21/2021