The Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award was created in 1989 by Ted Turner

Ted Turner

Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

, to be awarded to an unpublished work of fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

 offering creative and positive solutions to global problems. Ishmael

Ishmael (novel)

Ishmael is a 1992 philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn. It examines mythology, its effect on ethics, and how that relates to sustainability. The novel uses a style of Socratic dialogue to deconstruct the notion that humans are the end product, the pinnacle of biological evolution...

by Daniel Quinn

Daniel Quinn

Daniel Quinn is an American writer described as an environmentalist. He is best known for his book Ishmael , which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991....

 won the award in 1991, which will not be awarded again, and was selected out of 2500 entries by a celebrity

Celebrity

A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...

 panel including famous sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...

. The award was worth $500,000, the largest single sum ever awarded to a single work of literature.

Turner created the prize in hopes of combining literary merit with potential solutions to near-term environmental concerns. While unveiling the award he said, "The great minds of today need to focus on the problems of global significance if humanity is to see new tomorrows" adding, "These awards are designed to encourage writing by authors throughout the world and in all languages that creates positive solutions to global problems."

In addition to a $500,000 award, the fellowship included a hardcover publishing contract with Turner Broadcasting's publishing unit and $50,000 to market the book and a film option. Three awards of merit were also presented, which included $50,000, a publishing contract and film option, to Sara Cameron for her novel "Natural Enemies", Janet Keller for "Necessary Risks" and Andy Goldblatt for "The Bully Pulpit."

In addition to Ray Bradbury, the judges included: Nobel Laureate for Literature, Nadine Gordimer, novelists Wallace Stegner

Wallace Stegner

Wallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, often called "The Dean of Western Writers"...

, Peter Matthiessen

Peter Matthiessen

Peter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...

, William Styron and Rodney Hall as well as Betty and Ian Ballantine

Ian Ballantine

Ian Keith Ballantine was a pioneering American publisher who founded and published the innovative paperback line of Ballantine Books from 1952 to 1974 with his wife, Betty Ballantine....

, founders of Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...

. Thomas H. Guinzburg, former president of Viking Press

Viking Press

Viking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...

 and founder of Paris Review

Paris Review

The Paris Review is a literary quarterly founded in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen and George Plimpton. Plimpton edited the Review from its founding until his death in 2003. In its first five years, The Paris Review published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip Larkin, V. S...

, was the managing director.