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Indistinguishable from Magic: Tom Hunter, Arthur C. Clarke Awards, interviewed
10/03/2008 . Source: Jessica Martin 
On the day of the shortlist announcement for the 2008 Arthur C. Clarke Award, SF Crowsnest's own Jessica talks to award administrator Tom Hunter about how the Clarke awards are perceived by readers and science fiction fans, being compared to the Man Booker Prize, and promoting UK literary science fiction. SF Crowsnest: There's a vast number of science fiction literature awards to choose from these days so what is it that sets the Arthur C. Clarke Award apart?
Tom Hunter: What I find most interesting is how all of the different awards see themselves and how they are perceived by the readers and SF fans. Certainly I think the Clarke Award is up there in the big four along with the likes of the Hugo, Nebula and the Philip K. Dick Awards, but even in among just these there's an incredible amount of variation. For instance an appointed judging panel decides the Clarke Award whereas the Hugo is more of a populist vote.
Interestingly, the comparison I hear most these days is with the Man Booker Prize. Again this comes down to the way people see the Award rather than any defining principle of the Award itself, but it's certainly true there's this popular perception that a typical Clarke's shortlist will feature as many borderline general and literary fiction books as it does those published under the banner of science fiction.
It's important to remember that when it was first established one of the central remits of the Arthur C. Clarke Award was to promote UK literary science fiction, however the exact boundaries of what constitutes an SF genre work have always necessarily been somewhat elastic.
One of the things I find most fun about the Clarke Award is that on the one hand there are all these people who think we're somehow trying to be deliberately literary at the expense of 'proper' SF, others whose definition of science fiction is so broad our judges would never finish reading all the submissions we'd have to call in, and finally there's our judging panel themselves (who change from year to year) who are empowered to make their own active decisions about whether a novel might be eligible or not and are given the freedom to request specific novels from publishers for consideration if they seem appropriate.
The annual excitement and speculation around the shortlist is definitely a big part of what makes the Arthur C. Clarke Award so special. In many ways the Award isn't so much about picking the 'best' book of the year (although we are still very good at that too) and is more about pushing at the edges of our genre. It's one possible map amongst many, never the whole territory, and the shortlist at its best is both the perfect introduction to the state of modern sf as well as a first tantalising glimpse of what the future might hold.
SF Crowsnest: How did you first get involved in running the Award?
TH: Short answer is they asked and I jumped at the chance. The slightly longer answer is it seems the Award has been there in the background of my connection with science fiction for as long as I can remember.
Even as far back as college we were studying Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, the first ever winner of the Award, and the practice I had debating the relative merits and overt science fictional / dystopian elements of the book with my tutor gave me an early grounding in SF critical theory, even if I didn't know it at the time.
Later, when I got to university and had my first taste of real money (ok, student loan), the first place I hit was the campus book shop, and I started noticing the Clarke Award mentioned on the covers of winning books such as Vurt and Fairyland. I even got into university partly on the basis of science fiction as the lecturer interviewing me was a huge William Gibson fan. He was supposed to be questioning me on Stanislavski's acting method and my opinions on modernising Shakespeare and so on, but we basically talked about Neuromancer for an hour then he offered me a place right away. A couple of years on and I even ended up co-running his seminar on Blade Runner.
Post university I kept involved by setting up an sf writing group at an Arts venue I worked at, and this led directly to me attending my first convention and then on to a deeper level of involvement working as editor of the British Science Fiction Association's Matrix Magazine. After that an offer to be a part of the Clarke Award seemed like the perfect next step and was highly flattering to boot!
First and foremost though I'm a reader of science fiction, and being a part of the Clarke Award is simply the best way I know to recommend all of the different books I love to as many people as possible. The more work we do to promote the shortlists and winners the more attention we can bring to the genre, which will all hopefully lead to increased sales for the authors and even more excellent writers being commissioned in the future.
SF Crowsnest: What are some of the highlights of this year's shortlist?
TH: Where to start? It's a great list, no doubt, and it's been a great year for UK science fiction publishing across the board. Submissions were way up from last year and I was particularly pleased to see lots of mainstream and general fiction imprints actively putting their authors forward alongside all of the continuing support we receive from the main science fiction publishers. Whichever way you look at it there was certainly lots of great choices this year.
What's really pleased me is the level of variety on this year's list. As I said earlier, for me the Clarke Award's ability to keep pushing at the boundaries of what we consider to be science fiction is one of the key reasons it's remained such a vital part of the sf literary landscape. We might not pretend to have all of the answers, but the Award has certainly been at the forefront of asking the right questions about where our genre is heading.
On a personal note, I think the fact we have an all UK author shortlist speaks volumes about the continued strength of the genre and it's a real buzz to see the first ever nomination for a Young Adult book this year. I was also really pleased to see such a mix of titles and authors, ranging from genre favourites and past Clarke Award nominees to first time authors and submissions from both the small presses and big publishing companies.
I'm also looking forward to all the surprise and debate we attract around those books that haven't made it on to the shortlist, and this year looks like being no exception. Seeing the level of passion and informed debate that occurs around the announcement of a Clarke Award shortlist is perhaps the most encouraging part of running the Award, and it's also definitely one of the most fun.
SF Crowsnest: Are there special critical criteria for the judging panel in any particular year?
TH: The members of our judging panel are nominated by our supporting organisations, the Science Fiction Foundation, the British Science Fiction Association and, for the first time this year, SF Crowsnest.
This gives us a great range of knowledge and experience and a typical jury might consist of academics, professional journalists, science fiction writers and active members of the science fiction community. Having said that, I'm not so sure there is such a thing as a typical jury, and it's always a surprise to see the final shortlist results.
There are definite guidelines in place for helping judge the Award, but we also like to ensure that the debate is as free as possible. A lot of people think that they can spot trends in the shortlist and winners from year to year, but with an ever-changing panel of jury members I have to say that until I see the list in writing I'm never quite sure which way things will go.
SF Crowsnest: How involved is Sir Arthur in the Award these days?
TH: The Award is still directly supported by Sir Arthur via Rocket Publishing, his UK representatives who donate the winning prize to us every year, and his brother Fred was a guest at last year's ceremony. I recently sent him a report of everything we're up to as well to make sure he's always in the loop.
His original purpose in establishing the Award to promote UK science fiction is still right at the heart of our agenda and informs everything we're doing, from our publicity activity through to the partners we work with and the fact that the Award, like any number of sf fandom organisations, is still entirely staffed by willing volunteers. There's a canon of great science fiction writing now, and the Award should be as much a part of that legacy as it as an instrument for suggesting the master works of the future.
SF Crowsnest: When do we get to find out this year's winner?
TH: We're back at the Sci-Fi London Film Festival again this year, and we'll be announcing the winner at a special ceremony as part of the opening night celebrations.
Though the interest generated around the shortlist is one of my favourite things about being a part of the Award, I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the ceremony, as it's always such a great night!
The Sci-Fi London Festival has been a really good supporter of the Award, and there's something very exciting about the way this partnership has worked to bring fans of literary and media science fiction together under one roof.
SF Crowsnest: And finally, can you give us any advance clue on who'll take the prize this year?
TH: Hah! Sorry, but no. That's a privilege of the judging panel alone, and even I don't get to know the result in advance. I'm going to be sitting there in the audience waiting for the opening of the golden envelope along with everyone else, and to be honest I don't think I'd want it any other way. 
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