Robert J. Sawyer

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Robert J. Sawyer bigraphy, stories - Canadian writer

Robert J. Sawyer : biography

29 April 1960 –

Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 21 novels published, and his short fiction has appeared in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Amazing Stories, On Spec, Nature, and many anthologies. Sawyer has won the Nebula Award (1995), the Hugo Award (2003), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (2006).

Sawyer was born in Ottawa and is now a resident of Mississauga.

Teaching and public speaking

Sawyer has taught science-fiction writing at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, and the Banff Centre. In 2000, he served as Writer-in-Residence at the Richmond Hill, Ontario, Public Library. In 2003, he was Writer-in-Residence at the Toronto Public Library’s Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy (the first person to hold this post since Judith Merril herself in 1987). In 2006, he was Writer-in-Residence at the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Also in 2006, he was the Edna Staebler Writer-in-Residence at the Kitchener Public Library in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, following on the Region of Waterloo’s choice of Sawyer’s Hominids as the "One Book, One Community" title that all 490,000 residents were encouraged to read in 2005. In 2007 he was the Berton House Writer-in-Residence at Berton House in Dawson City. In 2009, he was the first-ever Writer-in-Residence at the Canadian Light Source, Canada’s national synchrotron facility in Saskatoon.

Sawyer is a frequent keynote speaker about technology topics, and has served as a consultant to Canada’s Federal Department of Justice on the shape future genetics laws should take.

Editing and scholarly work

In addition to his own writing, Sawyer edits the science-fiction imprint for Red Deer Press, part of Canadian publisher Fitzhenry & Whiteside; contributes to The New York Review of Science Fiction; is The Canadian Encyclopedia’s authority on science fiction; and is a judge for L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest.

Influence and recognition

Canadian cultural significance

Sawyer has long been an advocate of Canadian science fiction. He lobbied hard for the creation of the Canadian Region of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The Canadian Region was established in 1992, and Sawyer served for three years on SFWA’s Board of Directors as the first Canadian Regional Director (1992–1995). He also edited the newsletter of the Canadian Region, called Alouette in honor of Canada’s first satellite; the newsletter was nominated for a Prix Aurora Award for best fanzine.

International reception

In addition to his popularity at home, Sawyer’s work is well received internationally. All of his novels have been issued by New York publishing houses and translated editions have appeared in Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, Hungarian, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, and Spanish. Sawyer has won major international awards for his writing including the Hugo Award (selected by attending and supporting members of Worldcon), the Nebula Award (selected by members of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) and the jury-selected John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

Professional associations

Sawyer has been active in other writers’ organizations, including the Crime Writers of Canada, the Horror Writers Association, and the Writers’ Union of Canada (for which he has served on the membership committee), and he is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada, which represents Canadian scriptwriters.

Major awards

  • 1991 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long Work in English, for Golden Fleece
  • 1992 Homer Award for Best Novel, for Far-Seer
  • 1993 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story, for "Just Like Old Times"
  • 1993 Homer Award for Best Novel, for Fossil Hunter
  • 1995 Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire for Best Foreign Short Story, "You See But You Do Not Observe"
  • 1995 Nebula Award for Best Novel, for The Terminal Experiment
  • 1995 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long Work in English, for The Terminal Experiment
  • 1996 Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel, for End of an Era
  • 1996 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long Work in English, for Starplex
  • 1997 Science Fiction Chronicle Reader Award for Best Short Story, for "The Hand You’re Dealt"
  • 1999 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long Work in English, for Flashforward
  • 2000 Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Frameshift
  • 2001 Hugo Award nominee in the Best Novel category for Calculating God
  • 2002 Seiun Award for Best Foreign Novel, for Illegal Alien
  • 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novel, for Hominids
  • 2005 Analog Analytical Laboratory Award for Best Short Story, for "Shed Skin"
  • 2005 Prix Aurora Award for Best Work in English (Other) for Relativity
  • 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, for Mindscan
  • 2007 Toronto Public Library Celebrates Reading Award
  • 2007 Galaxy Award (China) for "Most Popular Foreign Author"
  • 2007 Prix Aurora Award for Best Short Work in English, for "Biding Time"
  • 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long Form in English, for Wake
  • 2010 Hugo Award nominee in the Best Novel category for Wake