CSFFA Hall of Fame Plaque Presented to H. A. Hargreaves

Cliff Samuels, CSFFA Awards Co-ordinator (left), Hank Hargreaves (Center), Robert Runté, Hall of Fame Committee Member, 2015 (right)

The Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association's Hall of Fame acknowledges outstanding achievements that contribute to the stature of Canadian science fiction / fantasy. Inductees names are inscribed on a two-sided trophy. The two back-to-back faces are in the spirit of Janus, Roman God of doorways, of decisions and of beginnings and endings. They look forward to the future, as much of Science Fiction always has, and back to the past, which is the home of most of Fantasy. The trophy is currently on display at the Merril Collection of the Toronto Public library.

The male face represents the field of Fantasy with elements of Bacchus, Loki and the Green Man in the wild look and secretive, ironic smile. His helmet is the Knight’s helmet of Classical Fantasy. His wild face reminds us of not only the myths and legends that underlie all literature but also of dark fantasy and all of its eldritch children.


The female face is timeless, a homage to the sub-genre of Time Travel. Her helmet is a retro space helmet, referencing the traditional role of Space in Science Fiction. The retro helmet is also a bow to the sub-genre of Steam Punk, a part of the growing field of Alternate History
.

In addition, inductees are presented with a personal plaque with the two engraved images of the trophy's faces. In 2015, three authors were inducted into the Hall of Fame for outstanding lifetime achievements: Dave Duncan, H.A Hargreaves, and Micheal Coney.

Michael Coney passed away in 2005 and Dave Duncan received his plaque at a ceremony at VCon 41, Vancouver.

Dr. Hargreaves, however, was in hospital and could not receive his plaque until now. On Sunday, December 7, 2015, Cliff Samuels, CSFFA Awards Coordinator, and Robert Runté, Senior Editor at Five Rivers Publishing and one of five members of the CSFFA Hall of Fame Selection Committee for 2015, presented Dr. Hargreaves with his plaque at his home in Calgary.

Five Rivers Publishing salutes Dr. Hargreaves for his outstanding contributions to Canadian science fiction. His pioneering SF story collection ,North by 2000 (the first ever marketed as Canadian Science Fiction, influenced many of the next generation of Canadian writers, and remains a classic. (For a detailed discussion of Hargreaves significance by editor and critic Robert Runté, see our previous post on Dr. Hargreaves.)

In our second year, Five Rivers made the decision to published an expanded edition of Dr. Hargreaves collection as North by 2000+ to ensure these stories remained in print for a new generation of readers; and went on to publish his non-SF short story collection, Growing Up Bronx for the first time in 2012.




(Photo of  Presentation: Aylson Hargreaves; Trophy Photos from MonSFFA webpage)