Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Past Nominations and Wins

1969

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., published by Delacorte. Nominated for Best Novel in 1969

Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was a highly acclaimed writer who wrote several science fiction novels, including Slaughterhouse Five, based on his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden in World War II, and The Sirens of Titan. His first published short story was “Report on the Barnhouse Effect,” which appeared in Collier’s. Perhaps his best known short story was “Harrison Bergeron.” In addition to writing science fiction and more mainstream novels, Vonnegut’s fiction was filled with cutting satire. One of his most enduring characters was science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, who appeared in multiple books. Philip José Farmer wrote the book Venus on the Half Shell using the Trout name as a pseudonym. Vonnegut was nominated for the Nebula Award for the novel Slaughterhouse-Five. In 2015, Vonnegut was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.