__NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of the field, the Rhyslings are named for a character in a science fiction story: the blind poet Rhysling, in

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

's short story "

The Green Hills of Earth "The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. One of his Future History stories, the short story originally appeared in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' (February 8, 1947), and it was collected ...

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

"Rhysling Award."
''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'', 3rd edition (online). Ed. John Clute, David Langford, and Peter Nicholls. 2013. Accessed 19 February 2013 The award is given in two categories: "Best Long Poem", for works of 50 or more lines, and "Best Short Poem", for works of 49 or fewer lines. The nominees for each year's Rhysling Awards are chosen by the members of the

Science Fiction Poetry Association The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA) is a society based in the United States with the aim of fostering an international community of writers and readers interested in poetry pertaining to the genres of science fiction, fantasy, ...

(SFPA). Each member may nominate one work for each of the categories. The nominated works are then compiled into an anthology called ''

The Rhysling Anthology ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', and members of the Association then vote on the final winners. From 2005 to 2011, the Awards were presented in July at a ceremony at

Readercon Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction/ ...

. While the "Best Short Poem" category allows very short poems to be entered the SFPA also has the

Dwarf Stars Award The Dwarf Stars Award is an annual award presented by the Science Fiction Poetry Association to the author of the best horror, fantasy, or science fiction poem of ten lines or fewer published in the previous year. The award was established in 20 ...

which is for poems from one to ten lines. In 2005, the SFPA published an anthology of the winning poems, ''The Alchemy of Stars: Rhysling Award Winners Showcase''.

Best Long Poem winners

*1978:

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

, ''The Computer Iterates the Greater Trumps'' *1979: Michael Bishop, ''For the Lady of a Physicist'' *1980:

Andrew Joron Andrew Joron (born March 6, 1955) is an American writer of Experimental literature, experimental poetry, speculative fiction, and lyrical and critical essays. He began by writing science fiction poetry. Joron's later poetry, combining scientific a ...

, ''The Sonic Flowerfall of Primes'' *1981:

Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nomination ...

, ''On Science Fiction'' *1982:

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, ''The Well of Baln'' *1983:

Adam Cornford Adam Cornford (born 26 February 1950) is a British poet, journalist, and essayist and a great-great-grandson of Charles Darwin. From 1987 to 2008 he led the Poetics Program at New College of California in San Francisco. Biography Adam Francis C ...

, ''Your Time and You: A Neoprole's Dating Guide'' *1984:

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have wo ...

, ''Saul's Death: Two Sestinas'' *1985:

Siv Cedering Siv Cedering (February 5, 1939 – November 17, 2007) was a Swedish-American poet, writer, and artist. She occasionally published as Siv Cedering Fox. Early life Siv Cedering was born 30 kilometers south of the arctic circle in rural Överkal ...

, ''A Letter from Caroline Herschel (1750-1848)'' *1986:

, ''Shipwrecked on Destiny Five'' *1987:

W. Gregory Stewart W. Gregory Stewart (born in Toronto) is a poet most associated with speculative fiction. He has won the Rhysling Award four times. He was born in 1950 in Canada, has lived in Australia, and currently resides in Los Angeles. Aside from poetry he als ...

, ''Daedalus'' *1988:

Lucius Shepard Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism. Career Shepard was a native of Lynchburg, Virginia where ...

, ''White Trains'' *1989 (tie):

Bruce Boston Bruce Boston (born 1943) is an American speculative fiction writer and poet. Early years Bruce Boston was born in Chicago and grew up in Southern California.Diane SeversonInterview with Bruce Boston''Amazing Stories'' March 15, 2013 (accessed S ...

, ''In the Darkened Hours'';

John M. Ford John Milo "Mike" Ford (April 10, 1957 – September 25, 2006) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet. A contributor to several online discussions, Ford composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated ...

, ''

Winter Solstice, Camelot Station "Winter Solstice, Camelot Station" is a poem by John M. Ford, about the Knights of the Round Table at a train station in Camelot. It was first published as Ford's Christmas card,Patrick McKinnon, ''dear spacemen'' *1991: David Memmott, ''The Aging Cryonicist in the Arms of His Mistress Contemplates the Survival of the Species While the Phoenix Is Consumed by Fire'' *1992:

, ''the button and what you know'' *1993: William J. Daciuk, ''To Be from Earth'' *1994:

and Robert Frazier, ''Basement Flats: Redefining the Burgess Shale'' *1995:

David Lunde David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''Pilot, Pilot'' *1996: Margaret B. Simon, ''Variants of the Obsolete'' *1997: Terry A. Garey, ''Spotting UFOs While Canning Tomatoes'' *1998:

Laurel Winter Laurel Winter (born Laurel Anne Hjelvik in Columbus, Montana; April 22) is an author of fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. In childhood, she attended a one-room schoolhouse. Her first published fantasy story was "Mail Order Eyes" in 1988. She ...

, ''why goldfish shouldn't use power tools'' *1999:

, ''Confessions of a Body Thief'' *2000: Geoffrey A. Landis, ''Christmas (after we all get time machines)'' *2001:

, ''January Fires'' *2002:

Lawrence Schimel Lawrence Schimel (born October 16, 1971) is a bilingual (Spanish/English) American writer, translator, and anthologist. His work, which frequently deals with gay and lesbian themes as well as matters of Jewish identity, often falls into the genres ...

, ''How to Make a Human'' *2003 (tie): Charles Saplak and Mike Allen, ''Epochs in Exile: A Fantasy Trilogy'';

Sonya Taaffe Sonya Taaffe is an American author of short fiction and poetry based out of Massachusetts. She grew up in Arlington and Lexington, Massachusetts and graduated from Brandeis University in 2003 where she received a B.A. and M.A. in Classical Studi ...

, ''Matlacihuatl's Gift'' *2004:

Theodora Goss Theodora Goss (born September 30, 1968) is a Hungarian-American fiction writer and poet. Her writing has been nominated for major awards, including the Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, World Fantasy, and Seiun Awards. Her short fiction and poetry ...

, ''Octavia Is Lost in the Hall of Masks'' *2005:

Tim Pratt Tim Pratt (born December 12, 1976) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and poet. He won a Hugo Award in 2007 for his short story " Impossible Dreams". He has written over 20 books, including the Marla Mason series and several Path ...

, ''Soul Searching'' *2006: Kendall Evans and

David C. Kopaska-Merkel David C. Kopaska-Merkel is an American geologist, poet, and editor. Education and career Kopaska-Merkel holds a doctorate in geology. He has worked for the Geological Survey of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and has co-authored numerous articles on topic ...

, ''The Tin Men'' *2007: Mike Allen, ''The Journey to Kailash'' *2008:

Catherynne M. Valente Catherynne M. Valente (born May 5, 1979) is an American fiction writer, poet, and literary critic. For her speculative fiction novels she has won the annual James Tiptree, Andre Norton, and Mythopoeic Fantasy awards. Her short fiction has a ...

, ''The Seven Devils of Central California'' *2009: Geoffrey A. Landis, ''Search'' *2010: Kendall Evans and Samantha Henderson, ''In the Astronaut Asylum'' *2011: C. S. E. Cooney, ''The Sea King's Second Bride'' *2012: Megan Arkenberg, ''The Curator Speaks in the Department of Dead Languages'' *2013: Andrew Robert Sutton, ''Into Flight'' *2014:

Mary Soon Lee Mary Soon Lee (born 1965) is a British speculative fiction writer and poet. Biography Early life Mary Soon Lee was born in London, England, to a Malaysian Chinese father and an Irish mother. As a child, she enjoyed reading science fiction ...

, ''Interregnum'' *2015: F.J. Bergmann, ''100 Reasons to Have Sex with an Alien'' *2016: (tie) Krysada Panusith Phounsiri, ''It Begins With A Haunting'';

Ann K. Schwader Ann K. Schwader is an American poet and writer of short fiction based in Westminster, Colorado. Schwader is a grand master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, a multiple winner of the Rhysling Awards,Rau, Christina M. (September 2 ...

, ''Keziah'' *2017:

, ''Rose Child'' *2018:

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

, ''The Mushroom Hunters'' *2019: Sarah Tolmie, ''Ursula le Guin in the Underworld'' *2020:

Rebecca Buchanan ''Eternal Haunted Summer'' is an ezine dedicated to Pagan poetry and short fiction. It also features reviews of Pagan works and interviews with Pagan authors, as well as reviews and interviews with authors of works that might interest a Pagan audi ...

, "Heliobacterium daphnephilum"

Best Short Poem winners

*1978 (tie):

Duane Ackerson Duane Ackerson (October 17, 1942 – April 19, 2020) was an American writer of speculative poetry and fiction. Не taught at the University of Oregon, then headed the creative program at Idaho State University. He lived in Salem, Oregon, wher ...

, "The Starman";

, "Asleep in the Arms of Mother Night";

Sonya Dorman Sonya Dorman (June 4, 1924 – February 14, 2005), born Sonya Gloria Hess, was the working name of Sonya Dorman Hess. She was born in New York City in 1924 and died in Taos, New Mexico on February 14, 2005, at the age of 80. Dorman published arou ...

, "Corruption of Metals" *1979 (tie):

, "Fatalities";

Steve Eng ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, "Storybooks and Treasure Maps" *1980 (tie): Robert Frazier, "Encased in the Amber of Eternity";

Peter Payack Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, "The Migration of Darkness" *1981: Ken Duffin, "Meeting Place" *1982: Raymond DiZazzo, "On the Speed of Sight" *1983: Alan P. Lightman, "In Computers" *1984: Helen Ehrlich, "Two Sonnets" *1985:

, "For Spacers Snarled in the Hair of Comets" *1986:

Susan Palwick Susan Palwick (born 1960 in New York City) is an American writer and associate professor emerita of English at the University of Nevada, Reno. She began her professional career by publishing "The Woman Who Saved the World" for ''Isaac Asimov's Sc ...

, "The Neighbor's Wife" *1987 (tie):

Jonathan V. Post Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

, "Before the Big Bang: News from the Hubble Large Space Telescope"; John Calvin Rezmerski, "A Dream of Heredity" *1988 (tie):

, "The Nightmare Collector";

Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...

, "Rocky Road to Hoe" *1989: Robert Frazier, "Salinity" *1990: G. Sutton Breiding, "Epitaph for Dreams" *1991:

, "Eighteen Years Old, October Eleventh" *1992:

, "Song of the Martian Cricket" *1993:

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

, "Will" *1994 (tie):

, "Spacer's Compass";

Jeff VanderMeer Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The tr ...

, "Flight Is for Those Who Have Not Yet Crossed Over" *1995:

Dan Raphael Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, "Skin of Glass" *1996:

, "Future Present: A Lesson in Expectation" *1997:

, "Day Omega" *1998: John Grey, "Explaining Frankenstein to His Mother" *1999:

, "egg horror poem" *2000: Rebecca Marjesdatter, "Grimoire" *2001:

, "My Wife Returns as She Would Have It" *2002:

William John Watkins William John Watkins (born 1942) is a science fiction writer and poet. In the 1970s and 1980s he was known for novels, but in the last decade he has primarily been a short story writer and poet. In 2002 he won the Rhysling Award for short poem ...

, "We Die as Angels" *2003:

Ruth Berman Ruth Berman is an American writer of weird science fiction and speculative poetry. In 2003, she won the Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem. She was also the winner of the 2006 Dwarf Stars Award for her poem ''Knowledge Of''. In 1973, she was a f ...

, "Potherb Gardening" *2004:

Roger Dutcher Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

, "Just Distance" *2005:

Greg Beatty Greg Beatty is a Rhysling Award winning author of poetry and prose, primarily in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He received his BA from the University of Washington and a PhD from the University of Iowa. He attended Clarion West, as it w ...

, "No Ruined Lunar City" *2006: Mike Allen, "The Strip Search" *2007: Rich Ristow, "The Graven Idol's Godheart" *2008: F.J. Bergmann, "Eating Light" *2009:

Amal El-Mohtar Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine ''Goblin Fruit'' since 2006. El-Moht ...

, "Song for an Ancient City" *2010:

, "To Theia" *2011:

, "Peach-Creamed Honey" *2012: Shira Lipkin, "The Library, After" *2013: Terry A. Garey, "The Cat Star" *2014:

, "Turning the Leaves" *2015:

Marge Simon Marge Baliff Simon (born 1942) is an American artist and a writer of speculative poetry and fiction. Biography Early life Marge Simon was born in Bethesda, Maryland, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Education and career She received her B ...

, "Shutdown" *2016:

, "Time Travel Vocabulary Problems" *2017:

, "George Tecumseh Sherman's Ghosts" *2018:

, "Advice to a Six-year-old" *2019:

Beth Cato Beth Cato is an American speculative fiction writer and poet,Clute, John.Cato, Beth" In ''SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', March 23, 2020. best known for her Clockwork Dagger and Blood of Earth series. She usually writes as Beth Cato, ...

, "After Her Brother Ripped the Heads from Her Paper Dolls" *2020: Jessica Jo Horowitz, "Taking, Keeping"

References

External links

Official list of Rhysling Award winners
{{Science fiction R Science fiction awards Fantasy poetry American poetry awards Fantasy awards Horror fiction awards