“John W. Campbell, for whom this award was named, was a fucking fascist”. That was the opening sentence of Jeannette Ng’s acceptance speech at the Dublin 2019 Hugo Awards. I was in the audience and the room erupted in applause the moment she said it:
And she is right. Campbell was a fascist, a reactionary, a racist and it’s long overdue that the Campbell Award for Best New Writer is renamed, just like the World Fantasy Award lost its Lovecraft bust a few years back. Back then, it was an uphill struggle to get that far, but fortunately this time things are different:
Named for Campbell, whose writing and role as editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later renamed Analog Science Fiction and Fact) made him hugely influential in laying the groundwork for both the Golden Age of Science Fiction and beyond, the award has over the years recognized such nominees as George R.R. Martin, Bruce Sterling, Carl Sagan, and Lois McMaster Bujold, as well as award winners like Ted Chiang, Nalo Hopkinson, and John Scalzi.
However, Campbell’s provocative editorials and opinions on race, slavery, and other matters often reflected positions that went beyond just the mores of his time and are today at odds with modern values, including those held by the award’s many nominees, winners, and supporters.
As we move into Analog’s 90th anniversary year, our goal is to keep the award as vital and distinguished as ever, so after much consideration, we have decided to change the award’s name to The Astounding Award for Best New Writer.
It’s frankly amazing — to coin a phrase — to see the editors of analog, long the most stodgy, rightwing of the traditional science fiction magazines, respond so quickly and so willingly. Personally I expected this to be another shot in the sf kulturwars, just like the removal of Lovecraft from the WFA was back then, but it seems sf’s reactionary forces have lost the fight. Perhaps it’s a sign of how far the field has matured, diversified in the years since we first had to confront our own complicity in the racism, sexism and other bigotry endemic in our societies. In some ways, the Sad Puppies attempt to hijack the Hugos for their reactionary values and the bruised egos of petty little men was the best thing that ever happened to us. It forced us to look more closely at how we acted, which values we celebrated and who we considered part of our worlds.
But…
That it had to take until 2019 for this to happen, that it had to be done –again– by a person of colour using their temporary clout to shame us in doing so, rather than being able to celebrate their own success, that means we’re not there yet. And reading that Analog editorial message, it does still soft pedal Campbell’s true nature. We’re still too hesitant in confronting our true history as a genre and a fandom. It’s still too often the people directly impacted by the racism, sexism and other bigotry consciously or unconsciously present in fandom who have to do the hard work of rooting it out.
This is an important victory, but there’s still work to do.