"[1] Locus magazine listed it as one of the "major awards" of written science fiction.

[1] Among members of the panel have been Gregory Benford, Paul A. Carter, James Gunn, Elizabeth Anne Hull, Christopher McKitterick, Farah Mendlesohn, Pamela Sargent, and Tom Shippey.

Nominations were submitted by publishers and jurors, and collated by the panel into a list of finalists to be voted on.

[5] The Center for the Study of Science Fiction itself was taken over by the English department of the University of Kansas in 2022, which subsequently ended the conference and award.

Greg Bear had the most nominations without winning at nine, followed by Sheri S. Tepper at six, James K. Morrow at five, and William Gibson, Ken MacLeod, Charles Stross, and Peter Watts at four.