Rotsler Award Winners

Award for Long-Time Achievement as a Fanartist

List by Year

The Rotsler Award: for lifetime work of outstanding fan artists.

Bill Rotsler (1926-1997) knew everyone and did everything. He located the fossils, crystals, and stones for the Nebula Award trophies of the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA). He went house-hunting with Marilyn Monroe. He wrote science fiction. He sculpted with welded steel rods. He celebrated the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon) as his birthday.

In the s-f community he was best known for graphic art. As a fanartist his cartoons were deft, his serious drawing fine, his fluency downright breathtaking. He won four Hugo Awards, twenty years apart, in 1975 and 1979, 1996 (when he also won the Retro-Hugo for 1946) and 1997; a remarkable span.

The Rotsler Award was created by the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, Inc. (SCIFI, Inc.) in his memory in 1997, to honor the lifetime work of outstanding fanzine artists. It is awarded yearly by a specially appointed panel (the current judges are Claire Brialey, Mike Glyer, and John Hertz) and, by arrangement with the LASFS, it is presented at the Loscon. Its recipients receive a $300 honorarium and a plaque. Traditionally there is an exhibit of the current recipient's work in the Loscon Art Show. There is a website at www.scifiinc.org/rotsler.

Rotsler Award Recipients