Administration & Rules

Administrators: David G. Hartwell, Gordon Van Gelder
Sponsoring organization: The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society
Sponsoring Convention: Norwescon

RULES

1. The current administrators of the Philip K. Dick Awards are David G. Hartwell
   ((212) 388-0100, ext. 883) and Gordon Van Gelder (201) 876-2551).
   
2. Sponsors. The award is sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. The contact person is Gary Feldbaum, 117 Alexis Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19115, Tel: (215) 563-2511; fax (215) 563-3833. The award ceremony held each year in March is sponsored by Norwescon (the Northwest Science Fiction Society). The contact person there is William Sadorus (206) 957-5758; fax (206) 554-2664.
3. Awards Criteria. The award is given to a distinguished original science fiction paperback published for the first time during the award year in the U.S.A. A second award may be given for the runner-up.
   
   
   
   1. Original. The work must be original. Single-author collections of short stories are eligible and anthologies are eligible provided their components are eligible. (An anthology which is predominantly new could potentially be given the award even if a few of the stories are reprints; this question should be referred to the administration for adjudication.)
      
   2. Science fiction. Fantasy is generally considered not eligible. The judges may make their own decision as to what is science fiction.
      
   3. Paperback. The work must be a paperback original. Trade paperbacks are eligible, but simultaneous hardcover and paperback publication renders a work ineligible (since the intent of the award is to promote the "neglected" category of mass-market paperback originals.) Self-published works are ineligible. No less than three of the nominees on the final ballot must be mass-market paperback originals.
      
   4. U.S.A. The award is for first time publication in the U.S.A. Therefore, a book published earlier, or in hardcover, or both, in another country may be eligible in its first U.S. appearance.
      

4. Submissions. Only a few publishers can be relied on to send out books. The chair will have to pursue publishers.

5. Reading and recommending. No judge is required to read all the eligible works, although each judge is encouraged to look at as many as possible,
   even if means browsing in bookstores. Judges should try to apportion reading among themselves so that every eligible work is read by at least one judge; then, from among those that the first readers like, other judges should read more. All judges should read all the eventual nominees plus, presumably, all the
   strong candidates. A judge need not read the entire book to form an opinion; if
   you read a few pages and are convinced that it is not a contender, you can put
   it down and move on.
   
6. Timing. The final nominations are due by the end of the first week in January. This is a hard and fast deadline because the nominations must be announced in Locus and other publications at the end of January and need to
   be public in time to get proper notice before Norwescon in March, when the
   ceremony is held to announce the winners. The final decision as to the winners must be made by the end of January, transmitted to the administration in writing
   (To: David G. Hartwell, 153 Deerfield Lane, Pleasantville, NY 10570) and then
   kept confidential until the ceremony in March, thus giving all the nominees
   their share of glory until the winners are announced. The administration will
   consult with Norwescon to plan the annual ceremony (and we may inform the winners in advance, so that they can make reasonable plans to attend Norwescon).