The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is proud to announce that Mercedes Lackey has been named the 38th Damon Knight Grand Master for her contributions to the literature of science fiction and fantasy. 

The SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award recognizes “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.” It is named after author Damon Knight, SFWA’s founder and the organization’s 13th Grand Master. Mercedes Lackey joins 37 writers who’ve been granted the title, including other luminaries such as Nalo Hopkinson, Peter S. Beagle, Connie Willis, Ursula K. LeGuin, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, and Joe Haldeman. 

Embracing science fiction at the early age of ten or eleven, Lackey immersed herself in the works of James H. Schmitz and Andre Norton. An interest in fan fiction strongly encouraged her writing and her first sale was to Friends of Darkover. Her first novel was Arrows of the Queen, first published in 1987. Best known for her Valdemar series, which spans thousands of years and characters, Lackey has written and published over 140 books and short stories through her thirty-four-year professional career. 

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy had the following to say about the organization’s newest Grand Master, “From the time I read my first Mercedes Lackey book as a young woman, her stories have illuminated my imagination and brought joy to my life. With multi-layered fantasy worlds, canny magical systems, and characters who step off the page as living, breathing people, Lackey’s books have made an enormous impact on the genre. She gave me warrior women I could believe in, magic-wielding queer heroes, and characters who suffered, then overcame their physical and emotional traumas. Lackey continues to have a lasting influence on my own work and I’m beyond thrilled to see her honored as SFWA’s newest Grand Master.”

In addition to her writing, Lackey has also contributed to the science fiction and fantasy filking community through songwriting, which earned her five Pegasus Awards. She was also a part of The Stellar Guild, a project conceived by the late Mike Resnick, which paired well-known authors with lesser known creatives in an effort to boost their visibility. 

An online video gamer, craftsperson, ball-jointed doll collector, radar-enthusiast during tornado season, and raptor rehabilitationist, Lackey’s journeys into all of these hobbies have influenced her most popular works. 

The 38th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master award will be presented to Lackey during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference and the 57th Nebula Awards, May 19–22, 2022.. The conference will be SFWA’s first hybrid event, taking place in person in Los Angeles, and aboard the virtual Airship Nebula online. We will be opening registration soon, so keep an eye on nebulas.sfwa.org for more information! 

March 15, 2021 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 56th Annual Nebula Awards®.The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on June 5, 2021, hosted by returning Toastmaster Aydrea Walden.

SFWA is pleased to welcome back Aydrea for a second year. Walden has written for the series Yin Yang Yo! and created, written, and starred in the Webby-nominated series Black Girl in a Big Dress. She has worked in the animation department on the films The Croods, Home, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Walden also performs, appearing in her one-woman show, The Oreo Experience: A Total Whitey Trapped in a Black Chick’s Body, the short film Sci-Fi 60, and an episode of The Mandalorian.

 

NOVEL

Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK)

The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US & UK)

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)

The Midnight Bargain, C.L. Polk (Erewhon)

Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga; Solaris)

Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)

NOVELLA

“Tower of Mud and Straw”, Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)

Finna, Nino Cipri (Tordotcom)

Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)

“Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon”, Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)

The Four Profound Weaves, R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)

Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom)

NOVELETTE

“Stepsister”, Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)

“The Pill”, Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)

“Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)

“Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)

“Where You Linger”, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Shadow Prisons”, Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as “The Shadow Prison Experiment”, “Shadow Prisons of the Mind”, and “The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma”, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)

SHORT STORY

“Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math”, Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)

“A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)

“The Eight-Thousanders”, Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20)

“My Country Is a Ghost”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

 

THE ANDRE NORTON NEBULA AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)

Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll)

A Game of Fox & Squirrels, Jenn Reese (Holt)

Star Daughter, Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)

 

GAME WRITING

Blaseball, Stephen Bell, Joel Clark, Sam Rosenthal (The Game Band)

Hades, Greg Kasavin (Supergiant) 

Kentucky Route Zero, Jake Elliott (Cardboard Computer)

The Luminous Underground, Phoebe Barton (Choice of Games)

Scents & Semiosis, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Cat Manning, Caleb Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee (Self)

Spiritfarer, Nicolas Guérin, Maxime Monast, Alex Tommi-Morin (Thunder Lotus Games)

THE RAY BRADBURY NEBULA AWARD FOR DRAMATIC PRESENTATION

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Christina Hodson, Warner Bros. Pictures (Clubhouse Pictures/DC Entertainment/Kroll & Co. Entertainment/LuckyChap Entertainment)

The Expanse: “Gaugamela”, Dan Nowak, Amazon Prime (Alcon Entertainment/Alcon Television Group/Amazon Studios/Hivemind/Just So)

The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready”, Michael Schur, NBC (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal)

Lovecraft Country, Season 1, Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Kevin Lau, Wes Taylor, Ihuoma Ofordire, Jonathan I. Kidd, Sonya Winton-Odamtten, HBO Max (Bad Robot/Monkeypaw Productions/Warner Bros.Television)

The Mandalorian: “The Tragedy”, Jon Favreau, Disney+ (Golem Creations/Lucasfilm)

The Old Guard, Greg Rucka, Netflix (Skydance Media/Denver and Delilah Productions/Marc Evans Productions)

The results of the final ballot will be announced at the 56th Annual Nebula Awards® ceremony during the 2021 Nebula Conference Online, June 4–6, 2021. Open to SFWA members and nonmembers alike, the annual Nebula Conference is taking place entirely online for a second year. 

For $125, registered participants will gain entry to professional development panels, virtual socializing spaces dubbed the “Airship Nebula,” mentorship opportunities, office hours with experts, an archive of the content, and access to ongoing educational events throughout the following year. 

Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award To Be Presented to Julia Rios

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) is pleased to announce that the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service Award will be presented to Julia Rios at the 55th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards.

The Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award recognizes a member of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to his or her fellow members.  O’Donnell won the Service Award in 2005 and other recipients have included Lee Martindale, Bud Sparhawk, Jim Fiscus, and Vonda N. McIntyre. The award will be presented at the SFWA Nebula Conference in Woodland Hills, CA, May 28th-31st, 2020.

Rios has established and overseen the SFWA Mentoring Initiative, an all-volunteer service provided free of charge, which aims to connect emerging writers to each other and to established pros with the objective of providing community, sharing knowledge, and offering networking opportunities. Rios is a writer, editor, podcaster, and narrator who has won the Hugo, Aurealis, and Ditmar Awards. They have cohosted the podcasts The Skiffy and Fanty Show and This is Why We’re Like This.

SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal has said about Rios, “One of the most effective pieces of outreach and education that SFWA currently has is our mentorship program. Julia Rios’s work to match mentors and mentees has been the backbone of that program. More importantly, they set up robust processes so that the program is not person dependent and has room for growth.”

The Nebula Awards will be presented during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference, which will run from May 28th – 31st and feature a series of seminars and panel discussions on the craft and business of writing, SFWA’s annual business meeting, and receptions. On May 31st, a mass autograph session will take place at Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills and is open to the public.

The Nebula Awards, presented annually, recognize the best works of science fiction and fantasy published in the United States as selected by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first Nebula Awards were presented in 1966.

The Nebula Awards include four fiction awards, a game writing award, the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. SFWA also administers the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award, and the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

What is SFWA doing about the Nebula conference in response to COVID-19?

At the moment, SFWA is planning to hold the conference with adjustments to reduce the risks of spreading the virus. The SFWA Board and the Nebula Conference events team are talking about this evolving situation daily including the possibility that things may shift enough that we need to cancel the in-person event. We will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments.

The Nebulas are 80 days away and every day brings us a better understanding of what’s happening with COVID-19.

Our challenge is that the hotel will not allow us to cancel the event without paying penalties unless it is “illegal or impossible” to host it. Similarly, they will not offer us any refunds. This limits our choices. With that said, the board’s priority in decision-making still remains with the health and safety of our attendees and by extension their families.

Our team has been discussing a variety of what-if scenarios and how to make the conference as safe as possible. We want to take time to do this right and think that we have the time to do that. We know that you need to make plans as well. We are not going to do any price-hikes between now and the conference to reduce the pressure on you to make a decision. 

Look for an email from SFWA by mid-April with the details of the revised Nebula Conference. Thank you for your patience while we replan.

The Board of Directors
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

March 10th, 2020

Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award To Be Presented to John Picacio and David Gaughran

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) is pleased to announce that the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award will be presented to John Picacio and David Gaughran at the 55^th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards.

The Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award is given by SFWA for distinguished contributions to the science fiction and fantasy community. Picacio and Gaughran join the ranks of previous Solstice Award winners, including Octavia E. Butler, James Tiptree, Jr., and Carl Sagan. The award will be presented at the SFWA Nebula Conference in Woodland Hills, CA, May 28^th-31^st, 2020.

John Picacio

John Picacio is an award winning artist whose work can be seen on many science fiction and fantasy novels. He has produced art for the Loteria Grande cards series, a re-imagineering of the classic Mexican game of chance, which is published by his imprint Lone Boy. In 2018, upon realizing he was the first Mexicanx creator to be honored as a WorldconGuest of Honor, Picacio founded the Mexicanx initiative to help open up Worldcon, and eventually other science fiction and fantasy events, to other Mexicanx professionals and fans. Picacio has been named a recipient of the Solstice Award for his efforts to make science fiction more accessible to underrepresented creators and fans.

SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal has noted about Picacio, “The work that John Picacio has done with the Mexicanx Initiative started as an effort for one conference and has had ripple effects through the field of science-fiction and fantasy. His on-going outreach is encouraging new voices to enter the community making SFF more vibrant than ever.”

David Gaughran

David Gaughran is the author of several historical fantasies

which he successfully self-published. He took his experience with marketing his work and began to share it with other authors, publishing a number of marketing books which are targeted at the self-published and independent authors. He has also used his skills to create giant marketing campaigns for several authors and has run workshops, written blogs, and otherwise helped other self-published authors to achieve success.

SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal has noted about Gaughran, “David Gaughran has been doing yeoman’s work for years, alerting indie writers about predatory schemes and warning them about changes in independent publishing. His work makes the science-fiction and fantasy landscape safer for writers.”

The Nebula Awards will be presented during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference, which will run from May 28^th– 31^stand feature a series of seminars and panel discussions on the craft and business of writing, SFWA’s annual business meeting, and receptions. On May 31^st, a mass autograph session will take place at Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills and is open to the public.

The Nebula Awards, presented annually, recognize the best works of science fiction and fantasy published in the United States as selected by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first Nebula Awards were presented in 1966.

The Nebula Awards include four fiction awards, a game writing award, the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. SFWA also administers the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award, and the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

Nebula Award Finalists Announced

 

February 20, 2020

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 55th Annual Nebula Awards, including the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book. The awards will be presented in Woodland Hills, CA at the Warner Center Marriott during a ceremony on the evening of May 30th.

 

2019 Nebula Award Finalists

Novel

Marque of Caine, Charles E. Gannon (Baen)

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow (Redhook; Orbit UK)

A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine (Tor)

Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)

Gideon the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tor.com Publishing)

A Song for a New Day, Sarah Pinsker (Berkley)

Novella

“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, Ted Chiang (Exhalation)

The Haunting of Tram Car 015, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)

This Is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone (Saga; Jo Fletcher)

Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water, Vylar Kaftan (Tor.com Publishing)

The Deep, Rivers Solomon, with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes (Saga)

Catfish Lullaby, A.C. Wise (Broken Eye)

Novelette

“A Strange Uncertain Light”, G.V. Anderson (F&SF 7-8/19)

“For He Can Creep”, Siobhan Carroll (Tor.com 7/10/19)

“His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light”, Mimi Mondal (Tor.com 1/23/19)

“The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 7-8/19)

Carpe Glitter, Cat Rambo (Meerkat)

“The Archronology of Love”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Lightspeed 4/19)

Short Story

“Give the Family My Love”, A.T. Greenblatt (Clarkesworld 2/19)

“The Dead, In Their Uncontrollable Power”, Karen Osborne (Uncanny 3-4/19)

“And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons 9/9/19)

“Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, Nibedita Sen (Nightmare 5/19)

“A Catalog of Storms”, Fran Wilde (Uncanny 1-2/19)

“How the Trick Is Done”, A.C. Wise (Uncanny 7-8/19)

The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe, Carlos Hernandez (Disney Hyperion)

Catfishing on CatNet, Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)

Dragon Pearl, Yoon Ha Lee (Disney Hyperion)

Peasprout Chen: Battle of Champions, Henry Lien (Holt)

Cog, Greg van Eekhout (Harper)

Riverland, Fran Wilde (Amulet)

Game Writing

Outer Wilds, Kelsey Beachum (Mobius Digital)

The Outer Worlds, Leonard Boyarsky, Kate Dollarhyde, Paul Kirsch, Chris L’Etoile, Daniel McPhee, Carrie Patel, Nitai Poddar, Marc Soskin, Megan Starks (Obsidian Entertainment)

The Magician’s Workshop, Kate Heartfield (Choice of Games)

Disco Elysium, Robert Kurvitz, Helen Hindpere, Argo Tuulik, Olga Moskvina, Märten Rattasepp, Cash DeCuir, Justin Keenan, Siim Sinamäe, Martin Luiga (ZA/UM)

Fate Accessibility Toolkit, Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Laura Bell, C.D. “Casey” Casas, Lillian Cohen-Moore, Philippe-Antoine Ménard, Zeph Wibby,  Clark Valentine, Jess Banks, Brian Engard, with Mysty Vander (Evil Hat Productions)

The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Avengers: Endgame, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Marvel Studios)

Captain Marvel, Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Marvel Studios)

Good Omens: “Hard Times”, Neil Gaiman (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios)

The Mandalorian: “The Child”, Jon Favreau (Disney+)

Russian Doll: “The Way Out”, Allison Silverman and Leslye Headland (Netflix)

Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”, Jeff Jensen & Damon Lindelof (HBO)

 

The Nebula Awards will be presented during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference, which will run from May 28th-31st, 2020 at the Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills and features programming developed and geared toward SFF professionals. The Awards Ceremony will be held on the evening of May 30th. On May 31st, a mass autograph session will take place, which is free and open to the public. 

The Nebula Awards, presented annually, recognize the best works of science fiction and fantasy published in the previous year. They are selected by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first Nebula Awards were presented in 1966.

The Nebula Awards include four fiction awards, a game writing award, the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book. SFWA also administers the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Awards, the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award, and the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.

The Nebula Finalist Assistance Fund exists to help defray the costs of travel to the Nebula Conference for Nebula Award finalists (including Norton, Bradbury, and Game Writing finalists) who would otherwise be unable to attend. Donations may be made at: www.sfwa.org/donate — choose Nebula Finalist Assistance in the drop down menu.

For more information, please email pr@sfwa.org.

http://nebulas.sfwa.org/nebula-conference/