Joss Whedon has won the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America's Bradbury Award for excellence in screenwriting. The creator of hit TV series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse, as well as the Web hit, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, will be honored during the Nebula Awards Weekend, April 24-26, in Los Angeles, Calif.
"Like everyone who picks up a pen, I was a rabid Bradbury fan and as greatly influenced by him as any other writer I read," Whedon said. "To receive the award named for him is an honor I'd not dreamed of. In my defense, it didn't exist back then. What did exist were the very lovely, very twisted and very human stories that warped my impressionable mind, and that I have tried, in whatever medium they will let me, to measure up to."
SFWA president Russell Davis praised Whedon's "substantial and superior body of work . . . His impact as a writer, producer and director on the science fiction and fantasy film and television landscape is undeniable, and he is more than deserving of this recognition from our organization."
In 2010, this award will become the annual Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation for works including motion pictures, television, Internet, radio, audio and stage productions.
Also at the Nebula Awards Weekend, Harry Harrison will be honored as the next Damon Knight Grand Master, and M.J. Engh as Author Emerita. The SFWA Service Award will be presented to Victoria Strauss, while Kate Wilhelm, Martin H. Greenberg and the late Algis Budrys will be honored with the inaugural SFWA Solstice Award.