You’re probably missing Andre Norton :) But then, the ambiguous name was deliberate because she expected prejudice against a female author… other two were Ursula Le Guin (neverending love for that woman) and Anne McCaffrey.

Yes, used to be only 6 max in a decade, changed now because the “must still be alive” rule was narrowing the field. To be honest, they’re only just past the stage of honouring the giants of modern SF, which certainly were mostly men (and Ursula).

I can only see two women’s names?

Also, worth noting that it was less than one award per year in the early days which would further narrow the field.

It’s “an award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is awarded to a living author for lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.”

27 given since 1975, but since they’re *lifetime* awards, the winners are heavily skewed by those who were around in the 50’s and 60’s (mostly men). Also to do with having an impact on the whole genre, so getting ANY women on there has been an achievement. 3 places (even if it’s only 1/9 the recipients) means that women are an integral part of sci-fi’s history.

Full list here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Knight_Memorial_Grand_Master_Award

All of which is different to the argument about the “Mammoth Book of…” because the short story field is much more equal. Fair enough women found it hard to win awards in the early days when Asimov, Heinlein and Clarke etc were all over it, but *short* fiction doesn’t have the same landscape at all.

… What is a Sci Fi Grandmaster? How d’you get to become one? How many are there in the world? Is 3 a good number for female representation (as in, are there 6 in total, or 106?)

Okay, that was four questions. Oops.

But I am genuinely interested to know, because I know sweet FA about most sci-fi! I could google it, but maybe there are Other Rookies reading. :)