For Immediate Release
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On August 26, 2007, Robert J. Sawyer of Toronto, Canada, won China's top science-fiction award, the Galaxy Award, in the category "Most Popular Foreign Author of the Year." The award, voted on by Chinese readers, was presented at the Chengdu International Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival, the largest science-fiction conference ever held in China. (The last international SF&F conference in China was held ten years ago, in 1997.)
Chinese translations of Sawyer's novels are published by Science Fiction World, headquartered in Chengdu, and his short stories have appeared in Science Fiction World magazine, the world's largest-circulation SF publication; Sawyer is also a past columnist for that magazine.
In his acceptance speech Sawyer said, "I come from Toronto, which was bidding against Beijing to hold the 2008 Olympics. In fact, I was on a committee to help decide arts and cultural programs that would be held in conjunction with the Olympics, should they be awarded to Toronto. And so I have to confess that I was sad when it was announced that China was getting the 2008 Games. But I forgive you now! I don't know how many of my countrymen and countrywomen will bring home medals next year — but I feel like I've just won a Gold for Canada."
Sawyer added, "Seriously, the great thing about science fiction is that it transcends national boundaries. It's wonderful to be at a conference along with writers from the United States, England, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, New Zealand, and Canada. Science fiction really is the literature of Planet Earth."
Sawyer and his wife, poet Carolyn Clink, were on hand in Chengdu — the capital of Sichuan province — for the ceremony. Science-fiction writers David Brin, David Hill, Nancy Kress, and Michael Swanwick from the US and fantasy novelist Neil Gaiman from the UK also attended the conference, as did promiment US critic Elizabeth Anne Hull.
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