The
Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the
Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the
University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. It is the short fiction counterpart of the
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, awarded by the same organization. The award is named in honor of
Theodore Sturgeon (1918–85), one of the leading authors of the
Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1939 to 1950. The award was established in 1987 by his heirs—including his widow, Jayne Sturgeon—and
James Gunn, at the time the Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. From 1987 through 1994 the award was given out by a panel of science fiction experts led by
Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the committee was replaced by a group of jurors, who vote on the nominations submitted for consideration. The winner is selected by May of each year, and is presented at the
Campbell Conference awards banquet in June at the University of Kansas in
Lawrence. During the 28 years the award has been active, 167 authors have had works nominated, 29 of whom have won, including one tie. No author has won more than once. (
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