1981 Nebula Awards®
Presented at Claremont Resort Hotel, Oakland, California on April 24, 1982
Parties and panels began on Friday afternoon, with Timescape Books sponsoring the Friday evening reception. The Business Meeting was held on Saturday morning followed by panels and some films provided by NASA. Terry Carr served as emcee and San Francisco Chronicle book reviewer Patricia Holt spoke about book reviewing and the need to review paperbacks. Gene Wolfe, who won for The Claw of the Conciliator, spoke on award losers prior to the winners being announced. Lisa Tuttle, who had removed her story “The Bone Flute” from contention over campaigning by George Florence-Guthridge.
Best Novel
- Radix by A. A. Attanasio, published by Morrow
- The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas, published by Simon & Schuster
- Little, Big by John Crowley, published by Bantam
- Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, published by Summit
- The Many-Colored Land by Julian May, published by Houghton Mifflin
- Winner: The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe, published by Timescape
Best Novella
- Winner: “The Saturn Game” by Poul Anderson, published by Analog
- “Swarmer, Skimmer” by Gregory Benford, published by SF Digest
- “Amnesia” by Jack Dann
- “In the Western Tradition” by Phyllis Eisenstein, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “True Names” by Vernor Vinge
- “The Winter Beach” by Kate Wilhelm, published by Redbook
Best Novelette
- Winner: “The Quickening” by Michael Bishop
- “Sea Changeling” by Mildred Downey Broxon, published by Asimov’s Magazine
- “The Thermals of August” by Edward Bryant, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “The Fire When It Comes” by Parke Godwin, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo” by James Tiptree Jr., published by Asimov’s Magazine
- “Mummer Kiss” by Michael Swanwick
Best Short Story
- “Going Under” by Jack Dann, published by Omni
- “Disciples” by Gardner Dozois, published by Penthouse
- “The Quiet” by George Florance-Guthridge, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “Johnny Mnemonic” by William Gibson, published by Omni
- “Venice Drowned” by Kim Stanley Robinson
- “Zeke” by Timothy R. Sullivan, published by Twilight Zone
- Winner: “The Bone Flute*” by Lisa Tuttle, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “The Pusher” by John Varley, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction