The Gaylactic Spectrum Awards are given to works of science fiction, fantasy and horror that explore LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) topics in a positive way.[1] Established in 1998, the awards were initially presented by the Gaylactic Network, with awards first awarded in 1999. In 2002 the awards were given their own organization, the Gaylactic Spectrum Awards Foundation.[2]
The major award categories are for best novel, short fiction, and other works. The winners and short list of recommended nominees are decided by a jury. One of the most recognized authors, Melissa Scott has received the most awards overall, with five wins. She also holds the record for most nominations. Works of any format produced before the awards were first given were eligible to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame", although no work has been inducted since 2003. The list of award winners and Hall of Fame inductees has been called a "who's who of science fiction" by the GLBTQ Encyclopedia Project.[1] This article lists the winners in each of the categories, and the inductees to the Hall of Fame.
Award process
Since their inception, the awards were given in categories for novels and best other work. Other categories were also added and removed in intervening years, including categories for short fiction (since the second year) and comic books for one year. A short lived "People's Choice" award voted by convention attendees was also awarded to one work from any of the category nominee short lists. The award for best novel was the only one to have been handed out every year since the awards began. As of 2014[update] there were three regular categories: novels, short fiction and other works. The "other works" category included comic books, graphic novels, movies, television episodes, multimedia, anthologies, story collections, gaming products, artwork, and music.[3]
The categories are open to submission of English-language works released during the prior calendar year in North America that include "significant positive GLBT content". The time-frame of eligibility is based on copyright date for first printing for written works, cover date for magazines and comic books, release date for films, first air date for television. Works had to have been "professionally" published or distributed to be eligible for consideration and be wholly original and legal. The judges can choose to extend eligibility for a work due to oversight, confusion regarding release dates, or problems with availability. An open nomination/recommendation process is used to identify works to be considered by the judges. Works of any format produced before the inception of the awards are eligible to be inducted into the "Hall of Fame"; these inductees were selected solely by the judges.[3]
The results are decided by a panel of judges from the list of submitted nominees; nominations can be made by anyone. The judges are volunteers from science fiction fandom and GLBT community, with one volunteer as the "Award Administrator". The judges review each recommended work and the longlist of nominees is reduced via review and discussion to a shortlist of finalists, and then one or more winners is chosen by consensus or vote. The results are generally announced and presented at Gaylaxicon, a convention dedicated to LGBT science fiction, although on occasion they are presented at Worldcon.[4][5]
Each award consists of an etched image on lucite on a stand, using a spiral galaxy in a triangle logo, based on the logo of the Gaylactic Network. The award winner's name, work title, award year and category are etched on a small plaque on the base or on the plexiglass itself. A small cash stipend is also awarded to winners in the Best Novel category. The cost of the awards is paid through individual donations and fundraising events.[3]
Per Locus'sdatabase, the most recent award was given in 2019 for novels, in 2010 for short fiction and in 2003 for the hall of fame.[8]
List of winners
In the following table, the years correspond to the year of the award ceremony. The notes column details the type of media for entries in the other works category, or the name of the publication in which the entries were first published in the short fiction category. The years are linked to the appropriate year in literature, comics, television or film articles.
