SFWA Announces Ellison Award SFWA will unveil a new award, the Harlan Ellison Award, at this year's Nebula ceremonies in Los Angeles, according to SFWA President Paul Levinson.
The recipient of the first Harlan Ellison Award will be Harlan Ellison, who also will be presenting the award to himself. The Harlan Ellison Award, which will be announced not annually but at the discretion of the SFWA president, is designed to honor Harlan Ellison, who will be its only eligible recipient, Levinson explained. "Year in and year out, there's no one else like Harlan. He's one of a kind, so no one else is in competition, will ever be in competition."	Photo by Chris Cuffaro
As Ellison Award presenter and recipient, Ellison, a longtime vocal critic of SFWA, will have four total opportunities to make a speech at this year's premiere SFWA event, since he's already scheduled to receive the Bradbury Award and to present the Grand Master Award. "I really don't think he'll repeat himself, though," Levinson said. Also in the works is a Retro-Ellison Award, to be awarded periodically to Ellison in memory of past years, such as 1965 or 1977, when he was unable to win the as-yet-uncreated Ellison Award. "Basically, we're going to give Harlan as many speaking opportunities as possible," Levinson said, "because Harlan equals publicity, and what could SFWA possibly need more than publicity?"

— reported by Andy Duncan