The Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous calendar years. It is named after Astounding Science Fiction (now Analog Science Fiction and Fact), a foundational science fiction magazine. The award is sponsored by Dell Magazines, which publishes Analog.

Between its founding in 1973 and 2019, the award was named after Astoundings long-time editor John W. Campbell, one of the most influential figures in the early history of science fiction. In the aftermath of 2019 winner Jeannette Ng's acceptance speech, in which she described Campbell as a fascist, the science fiction fandom community discussed whether it was appropriate to continue honoring Campbell in this way; the editor of Analog subsequently announced that the award had been renamed.

The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), represented by the current Worldcon committee, and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award. All finalists receive a pin, while the winner receives a plaque. Beginning in 2005, the award has also included a tiara; created at the behest of 2004 winner Jay Lake and 2005 winner Elizabeth Bear, the tiara is passed from each year's winner to the next.

Eligibility and voting Writers are eligible for the Astounding Award for two years, and become eligible once they have a work of science fiction or fantasy published in a professional publication. Final decisions on eligibility are decided by the Hugo Administrators while qualification criteria are set by the sponsor, Dell Magazine. The eligibility criteria for what counts as a professional publication are roughly similar to those of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). As of 2023, qualifying publications must meet at least one of the following criteria: be accepted by SFWA; have at least 10,000 readers; pay the writer at least 8 cents a word and a total of at least US$80; or be self-published or published through a small press, with earnings for the author of at least US$3,000 in one year.

Members of the current and previous Worldcon are eligible to nominate new writers under the same procedures as the Hugo Awards. Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, at which point a shortlist is made of the six most-nominated writers—five prior to 2017—with additional finalists possible in the case of ties. Voting on the ballot of six finalists is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.

Between 1977 and 1984, works by winners and finalists of the award were collected in the New Voices series of anthologies, edited by George R. R. Martin, in five volumes covering the awards from 1973 through 1977. Michael A. Burstein, who was a finalist in 1996 and won in 1997, commented that the largest effect of winning or being a finalist is not on sales but instead that it gives credibility with established authors and publishers. Criticism has been raised about the award that due to the eligibility requirements it honors writers who become well-known quickly, rather than necessarily the best or most influential authors from a historical perspective.

Over the 54 years the award has been active, 226 writers have been finalists. Of these, 55 authors have won, including one tie. There have been 63 writers who were finalists twice, 22 of whom won the award in their second year.

Winners and finalists

In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than the year when the writer's eligible work was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Although the award is not given explicitly for any particular work, and such works are not recorded by the World Science Fiction Society or Dell Magazines, a selection of works that the writer in question published in the eligibility period are listed. This list includes novels and short stories, and is not intended to be comprehensive. Entries with a yellow background and an asterisk (*) next to the writer's name have won the award; those with a gray background are the other finalists on the shortlist.

  *   Winners and joint winners

+ YearWriterWork(s) 1973 * "Peace with Honor", A Spaceship for the King "The Eight Thirty to Nine Slot", What Entropy Means to Me "Stretch of Time" "The Hero" "Stop Me Before I Tell More" "Stranger in the House" 1974 * "The Guy with the Eyes" * "Stranger in the House" "Pigeon City" "Wendigo's Child" Testament XXI 1975 * "Epicycle" "Nostalgia Tripping" Walk to the End of the World "Outer Concentric", "The Examination" "Hot Spot" "Picnic on Nearside" 1976 * "Twilla", "San Diego Lightfoot Sue" "Picnic on Nearside" "The Splendid Freedom", "Helium" Tin Soldier The Warriors of Dawn 1977 * Gate of Ivrel A Jungle of Stars The Warriors of Dawn "Closed Circuit" 1978 * "Ender's Game" Lord Foul's Bane A Jungle of Stars "We All Have to Go" "Man-Made Self", Involution Ocean 1979 * Lord Foul's Bane Inherit the Stars "We All Have to Go" "Longshanks", Godsfire "The Tryouts" "What Song the Sirens Sang" 1980 * "The Tryouts", Enemy Mine "Sunsteps" The Door into Fire Daughter of the Bright Moon "The Works of His Hand, Made Manifest" "Dragon Story" 1981 * "Sunsteps" "The Singing Diamond", Dragon's Egg "Spareen Among the Tartars" The Door into Fire The Orphan "A Dragon in the Man" 1982 * The Revolution from Rosinante, Long Shot for Rosinante The Orphan Sundiver The Breaking of Northwall, The Ends of the Circle "The Feast of St Janis", "Ginungagap" 1983 * The Breaking of Northwall, The Ends of the Circle The Red Magician "Emergence" "Brainchild" Dreamrider An Image of Voices 1984 * Tea with the Black Dragon "Brainchild", "In the Face of My Enemy" The Red Magician An Image of Voices, Flexing the Warp King's Blood Four The Sleeping Dragon 1985 * "The Taylorsville Reconstruction" The Game Beyond "Elemental" "Lazuli" "Music of the Spheres" "The Islands of the Dead" 1986 * The Game Beyond The Summer Tree Contact "Recalling Cinderella" Tailchaser's Song "Shanidar" 1987 * "Recalling Cinderella", "Face Value" Shards of Honor Fire Sanctuary "Projectile Weapons and Wild Alien Water" The Cross-Time Engineer "Mudpuppies" 1988 * "Surviving", Pennterra "Projectile Weapons and Wild Alien Water" "Dress Rehearsal" In Conquest Born The Net 1989 * Walkabout Woman Through a Brazen Mirror Liege-Killer "Sing" Dragon Prince The Guardsman Journey to Fusang 1990 * "Sing" "Live from the Mars Hotel", Orbital Decay Sunglasses After Dark Twistor The Eight 1991 * "The Music Box", The Kobayashi Maru Sunglasses After Dark Twistor Strange Invasion, In Between Dragons "Thirteen Days of Glory" 1992 * "Tower of Babylon", "Understand" "No Room for the Unicorn" "Wings" Into the Dark Lands Moonwise 1993 * "No Room for the Unicorn" "The Winterberry" "Wings" Into the Dark Lands Fire in the Mist "Apotheosis" 1994 * Virtual Girl Fire in the Mist "Apotheosis" The Well-Favored Man "A Fireside Chat" 1995 * Vurt "Ash Minette" "Sibling Rivalry" Midshipman's Hope "Heart of Molten Stone" 1996 * Midshipman's Hope, Challenger's Hope "Ash Minette" "TeleAbsence" The Shape-Changer's Wife Lethe 1997 * "TeleAbsence" The Shape-Changer's Wife Celestial Matters The Fortunate Fall Wind From a Foreign Sky 1998 * The Sparrow An Exchange of Hostages "Beluthahatchie" Celestial Matters The Fortunate Fall 1999 * Brown Girl in the Ring In the Garden of Iden "First Contact" An Exchange of Hostages "The Big One" 2000 * "Craphound" "Time Gypsy" "I Don't Know and I Don't Care" Code of Conduct The Shadow of Ararat 2001 * Code of Conduct The King's Peace The Shadow of Ararat "State of Disorder" "A Diagram of Rapture" 2002 * The King's Peace "Rossetti Song" Divine Intervention Alien Taste "Fish Merchant" 2003 * Alien Taste "The Political Officer" Divine Intervention Warchild "Nucleon" 2004 * "Into the Gardens of Sweet Night" "Nucleon" Warchild "Little Gods" Spin State 2005 * Hammered The Year of Our War The Etched City "O One" "The Third Party" 2006 * Old Man's War The Etched City Mélusine "O One", Here, There & Everywhere Elantris The Year of Our War 2007 * His Majesty's Dragon The Lies of Locke Lamora Mélusine Elantris, Mistborn: The Final Empire The Sky's the Limit 2008 * "Portrait of Ari" The Lies of Locke Lamora Infoquake The Blade Itself Grey Acacia: The War with the Mein 2009 * Acacia: The War with the Mein "Butterfly, Falling At Dawn" Thunderer "Metamorphoses in Amber" "Lester Young and the Jupiter's Moons' Blues" 2010 * Rosemary and Rue Thunderer Soulless "Soulmates" "Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela" 2011 * The Magicians "Hooves and the Hovel of Abdel Jameela" Zoo City Monster Hunter International I Am Not a Serial Killer 2012 * "The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees" "1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur" Of Blood and Honey Redemption in Indigo "Ray of Light" 2013 * "1963: The Argument Against Louis Pasteur" The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo Three Parts Dead Of Blood and Honey, And Blue Skies From Pain Blackbirds 2014 * A Stranger in Olondria The Lives of Tao Three Parts Dead Nexus Chang'e Dashes from the Moon 2015 * The Lives of Tao Kaiju Apocalypse "Totaled" "Shakedown Cruise" "Sucker Punch" 2016 * The Martian Red Rising Traitor's Blade Nethereal "The Fisher Queen", "Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" 2017 * Too Like the Lightning "Haunted", "Of Blood and Bronze" An Equation of Almost Infinite Complexity Infomocracy Everything Belongs to the Future "Waters of Versailles", "Two-Year Man", "The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill" 2018 * "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" The Bear and the Nightingale Heroine Complex Under the Pendulum Sun "A Series of Steaks", "Fandom for Robots" An Unkindness of Ghosts 2019 * Under the Pendulum Sun The Bear and the Nightingale The City of Brass The Poppy War "A Series of Steaks", "Fandom for Robots" An Unkindness of Ghosts 2020 * The Poppy War City of Lies The Ruin of Kings "Advice for Your First Time at the Faerie Market" Empire of Sand Silver in the Wood 2021 * Silver in the Wood Axiom's End The Vanished Birds The Space Between Worlds The Unspoken Name The Ruin of Kings 2022 * She Who Became the Sun Legendborn The Space Between Worlds The Unspoken Name Winter's Orbit Iron Widow 2023 * Legends & Lattes The Bruising of Qilwa "Christopher Mills, Return to Sender" Comes Slowly Ocean's Echo 2024 * Iron Widow To Shape a Dragon's Breath The Book Eaters "I AM AI" Godkiller The Death I Gave Him 2025 * To Shape a Dragon's Breath These Burning Stars Godkiller "Contract of Ink and Skin" The West Passage "Mirage in Double Vision" 2026 * The Raven Scholar Sargassa So Let Them Burn Greenteeth "Scalp" The West Passage

Notes

Citations

Cited references Clute, John; Langford, David; Nicholls, Peter, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.; ). ESF Ltd.