The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award

Award

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognize excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signifiedby trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons...

 given for a speculative fiction

Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...

 novel or a book-length collection.

History

The name of the award comes from the title of the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb

Phyllis Gotlieb

Phyllis Fay Gotlieb, née Bloom BA, MA was a Canadian science fiction novelist and poet.Born of Jewish heritage in Toronto, Gotlieb graduated from the University of Toronto with degrees in literature in 1948 and 1950 .The Sunburst Award is named for her first novel, Sunburst...

, Sunburst (1964).

The first award was given out in 2001. The award consists of a cash prize (C$1,000 in 2001-2005) and a medallion. The winner is selected by a jury; a new jury is struck each year.

List of past award winners

Year	Winner	Work title
2001	Sean Stewart Sean Stewart Sean Stewart is a U.S.-Canadian science fiction and fantasy author.Born in Lubbock, Texas, Sean Stewart moved to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1968...	Galveston
2002	Margaret Sweatman Margaret Sweatman Margaret Sweatman is a Canadian writer.Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sweatman was educated at the University of Winnipeg, Concordia University and Simon Fraser University....	When Alice Lay Down with Peter
2003	Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican science fiction and fantasy writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.Hopkinson has...	Skin Folk
2004	Cory Doctorow Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...	A Place So Foreign and 8 More
2005	Geoff Ryman Geoff Ryman Geoffrey Charles Ryman is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and surrealistic or "slipstream" fiction.Ryman currently lectures in Creative Writing for University of Manchester's English Department. His most recent full-length novel, The King's Last Song, is set in Cambodia, both at the time of...	Air
2006	Holly Phillips	In the Palace of Repose
2007	Mark Frutkin Mark Frutkin Mark Frutkin is a Canadian novelist and poet. He has published seven books of fiction and three books of poetry, as well as a work of non-fiction...	Fabrizio's Return
2008	Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson Nalo Hopkinson is a Jamaican science fiction and fantasy writer and editor who lives in Canada. Her novels and short stories such as those in her collection Skin Folk often draw on Caribbean history and language, and its traditions of oral and written storytelling.Hopkinson has...	The New Moon's Arms
2009	Andrew Davidson Andrew Davidson (author) Andrew Davidson is a Canadian novelist. He has a B.A. in English literature from the University of British Columbia, and worked as a teacher in Japan before returning to Canada....	The Gargoyle
2010	Adult:A. M. Dellamonica A. M. Dellamonica Alyxandra Margaret Dellamonica is a Canadian science fiction writer who has published over thirty short stories in the field since the 1980s. Dellamonica writes in a number of sub-genres including science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history... Young adult: Hiromi Goto Hiromi Goto Hiromi Goto is a Japanese-Canadian editor, fiction writer, cultural critic, arts advocate, youth organizer, teacher of creative writing and a mother of two children.-Life:...	Indigo Springs Half World
2011	Adult: Guy Gavriel Kay Guy Gavriel Kay Guy Gavriel Kay is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. Many of his novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I or Spain during the time of El Cid... Young adult: Paul Glennon	Under Heaven Bookweirder

Eligibility

Sunburst Award administrator and jury use the broadest possible definition of speculative fiction for eligibility purposes: "science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

, fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

, magic realism

Magic realism

Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...

, horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

, surrealism

Surrealism

Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....

, le fantastique, myth

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

 and legend

Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

, fantastical storytelling, and any other writing beyond the strictly realistic

Realism (arts)

Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...

". To be eligible for the award, a work must be published between January 1 and December 31 of the previous year. Only Canadian citizens and landed immigrants are eligible, however there are no Canadian residency requirements, and three of the five awards presented to date have gone to expatriates (Stewart, Doctorow, Ryman).