Via Rich Horton
“The Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award for 2025 is awarded to Kris Neville. Kris Ottman Neville (1925-1980) began publishing SF in 1949, and gained attention with several early stories, in particular “Bettyann” (1951), about an alien girl marooned on Earth growing up in Southwest Missouri (where Neville grew up) with no knowledge of her heritage. Other impressive early stories include “Hunt the Hunter”, “Casting Office”, and “As Holy and Enchanted”. His production slackened in the 1960s but he continued publishing until his death, with such memorable stories as “Ballenger’s People”, “From the Government Printing Office”, and “The Reality Machine”. He published about a half-dozen novels, including an expansion of Bettyann. Much of his later work, including a sequel to Bettyann called “Bettyann’s Children”, was written in collaboration with his wife Lil. He was a highly respected technical writer and an expert on epoxies, and as such he may be regarded as one of those writers who might have made a bigger mark in SF if he wasn’t ao successful in other fields. We hope this award prompts more attention on the fine body of work he did produce.
Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.
Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.
