In 1965, two pretty great things happened in science fiction: Damon Knight founded SFWA, and one of its earliest members published a book that would become a classic that continues to inspire.
It’s no wonder, then, that as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association marks 60 years as an organization committed to the uplift and defense of writers in the genre, we would turn our sights to some of the people who worked and dreamed with us from the start.
SFWA is honored to name Frank Herbert, acclaimed author of the Dune series, among other thought-provoking works of science fiction with sweeping ecological, economic, and sociopolitical depth, as our 2025 recipient of the SFWA Infinity Award.
Now in its third year, the SFWA Infinity Award serves to highlight the achievements of creators who did not live long enough to be considered for the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award, but who achieved a distinct and tremendous legacy in science fiction and fantasy.
Frank Herbert first published in the genre in 1952, with a story called “Looking for Something” in Startling Stories. He carved out clear thematic territory with a serial tale in Astounding that grew into The Dragon in the Sea (Doubleday, 1956): a book informed by global strife and oil anxieties.
Herbert’s most famous work was similarly inspired by the world around him: an idea just too big to contain in a single article about the Oregon dunes.
Despite a few early run-ins with rejection, and with a little help from a publisher better known for auto-repair manuals, Dune (1965) grew in acclaim to become the much-beloved SFF franchise that exists today.
Dune was SFWA’s first Nebula winner for Best Novel, chosen over 11 other finalists, and it won joint honors for the Hugo, too. But on the financial front, Dune was not an immediate commercial success. Instead, it initially boosted Herbert in work closely aligned with the ecological, sociopolitical, and philosophical themes that his writing advanced. Posthumously, his series would be continued by his son, Brian Herbert, and Kevin J. Anderson, working off the extensive notes Frank Herbert left about his SF universe.
In life, though, Herbert’s writing was always responding to our own.
As SWFA President Kate Ristau reflects on this year’s Infinity recipient:
“Frank Herbert was a master of the craft whose most famous work emerged from close attention to the environment around him. Since 1965, Dune has inspired generation after generation of writers. His most highly acclaimed series, a master class in worldbuilding, drew routinely on real political history during its creation, and it now serves to remind us that science fiction and fantasy are natural mediums for challenging hierarchies and fighting for the greater good. Like the Fremen, we can refuse to accept living in systems broken for most of us by design, and we can become better stewards of the lands we call home.
Herbert launched a conversation that hasn’t stopped since he got started. His legacy can be seen not only in the number of writers who build on his work today with stories tackling ongoing ecological and sociopolitical challenges, but also in the number who write in constructive dissent with aspects of his initial universe. He encouraged us to think about how setting informs character, whether on the distant sands of Arrakis or in ecosystems close to home.
Herbert’s most famous novel is now larger than Shai-Hulud in the imaginations of SFF writers, but it began as but a dream and a struggle, pursued by a writer responding to the challenges in his time.
Now it’s our turn to honor and celebrate Herbert’s powerful work, by carrying forward the best of his ambition into the stories we tell to confront the challenges in our own.”
Speaking on behalf of his family, Brian Herbert writes: “I’m sure my parents, Frank and Beverly Herbert, would have been thrilled that the prestigious Infinity Award is being granted to Frank Herbert, the legendary author of DUNE. While Frank Herbert authored numerous novels, including his magnum opus, it’s important to note that my mother was also a professional writer, and she was with him every step of the way during their 37 years of marriage, providing him with expert advice on everything he wrote. This is her award as much as it is my father’s. I’m very sorry that I cannot attend the convention, but want to personally thank the officers and members of SFWA, as well as the millions of Frank Herbert fans all over the world, for this great award.”
The SFWA Infinity Award will be presented at this year’s Nebula Awards Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, where a 2024 film inspired by Herbert’s writing is on this year’s ballot: a reminder of the many generations of writers who have been moved by Herbert’s words.
We hope to see you out in Kansas City: in celebration of Frank Herbert, our latest Nebula finalists and other very special guests, and 60 years of SFF excellence in the best of creative community.
