reported by Deb Houdek Rule

On August 29, 2003, in Toronto, Canada, site of the 53rd World Science Fiction Convention, the Heinlein Society presented the first Heinlein Awards. The first award was presented posthumously to Virginia "Ginny" Gerstenfeld Heinlein in recognition of her enormous contributions to the science fiction field. Not only did she collaborate with her husband Robert Heinlein in the idea creation phase of his books, she was a technical consultant for many of the scientific aspects integral to his novels. For example, the horticultural and terraforming information in "Farmer in the Sky" came from Ginny Heinlein--she was both a chemist and a well-qualified horticulturalist. Ginny Heinlein also contributed, and will continue to do so long after her passing, to the advancement of the endeavor to put humans in space. As well as making a multi-million dollar contribution to the Naval Academy for the Heinlein Chair, she managed the largest literary estate, leaving behind yet more millions to be used to promote our space-faring future. To those who knew her personally, she is universally regarded as having been a grand lady and well deserving of this award.

Acceptance of Virginia Heinlein's award Joe Haldeman, presenting Amy Baxter and Eleanor Wood, accepting

The next Heinlein Award presented was the award for outstanding published work in hard science fiction or technical writings inspiring the human exploration of space. This award was given to author Michael Flynn by a panel of judges including many of the leading writers in the field. The judges were Greg Bear, Joe Haldeman, Yoji Kondo, Elizabeth Moon, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Spider Robinson, Stanley Schmidt, Herb Gilliland, and John Hill.

Michael Flynn's works include: Fallen Angels, Firestar, In the Country of the Blind, The Nanotech Chronicles, Rogue Star, Lodestar, Falling Stars, and The Wreck of the River of Stars.