Author Emeritus

I should note that Ardath Mayhar has been named as the Author Emeritus for 2008, to be recognized at the Nebula Awards. Although some people have disparaged the honorific as "Grandmaster Lite", it can be a nice way to recognize an author who has a very spectable body of work behind them in their career. Honoring Mayhar this year is a stroke of brilliance insofar as Joe Lansdale is the toastmaster. They are very close and I once heard Mayhar during a talk say Joe was one of her many "adopted grandchildren".

She's a sweet-appearing lady who is a lot tougher than she looks and in her heyday would throw you over her shoulder if your crossed her. She had written a lot of good sf over the years, along with a fair amount of fantasy. She is universally liked and well-regarded among speculative fiction authors.

I met Mayhar at the first Fencon a few years ago; our paths haven't crossed since then. Her health hasn't been the greatest and I think there's been at least one case where I attended a con where she was a guest but couldn't make it. I'm sure Joe will take her to Austin.

I don't recal, if the SFWA had named the Grandmaster for this year.