Living Canon

Arthur C. Clarke Award 1993: Complete list of winners

The 1993 Arthur C. Clarke Award crowned Marge Piercy’s Body of Glass as the year’s best science fiction achievement, cementing the award’s reputation as one of the most prestigious honors in speculative fiction. The Arthur C. Clarke Award, established in 1987 and named after the legendary sci-fi visionary, has become essential reading for anyone tracking the evolution of contemporary science fiction. By singling out Piercy’s novel, the judges highlighted a work that seamlessly blended philosophical depth with imaginative worldbuilding—a reminder that the award consistently favors ambitious storytelling that pushes beyond genre conventions.

Piercy’s win was particularly significant given her standing as a polymath creator already known for powerful literary fiction and poetry. Body of Glass, published that year, brought her distinctive humanist vision to science fiction’s landscape, exploring complex themes of identity, consciousness, and connection in a speculative setting. The recognition underscored a broader trend throughout the early 1990s: major science fiction awards were increasingly gravitating toward literary sophistication and emotional nuance alongside speculative innovation, rather than privileging pure imaginative spectacle.

Below, you’ll find complete details about this year’s honorees and what made their work capture the attention of the Arthur C. Clarke Award judges.

Science Fiction