2008 Nebula Awards®
Presented at Covell Commons, Grand Horizon Ballroom, UCLA in Los Angeles, California on April 25, 2009
Originally scheduled to be run by LASFS, this year’s Nebula was instead put together by Christina Valada, who suffered a catastrophic house fire about one month before the event. The hotel, located in the Sepulvada Pass on Hollywood Blvd, was not within walking distance of everything and no mass autographing was scheduled, although several authors autographed as part of the L.A. Times Book Festival. There was little programming, although there was a reception on Friday evening and on Saturday there was a brunch mixer with the Writers Guild of America. Vans carried the attendees to the UCLA campus where the banquet was held with Janis Ian as the emcee who sang a science fictional version of her song “At Seventeen.” The keynote speaker was producer Chuck Lorre of The Big Bang Theory. The Bradbury Award was presented to Joss Whedon, who sent a video acceptance. There was also a script award presented by Wil Wheaton. Next year, the Bradbury Award will replace the Nebula Script Award.
Best Novel
- Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, published by Tor
- Winner: Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Harcourt
- Cauldron by Jack McDevitt, published by Ace
- Brasyl by Ian McDonald, published by Pyr
- Making Money by Terry Pratchett, published by Harper
- Superpowers by David J. Schwartz
Best Novella
- Winner: “The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro, published by Analog
- “Dark Heaven” by Gregory Benford, published by Science Fiction Book Club
- “Dangerous Space” by Kelley Eskridge, published by Aqueduct Press
- “The Political Prisoner” by Charles Coleman Finlay, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “The Duke in His Castle” by Vera Nazarian, published by Norilana Books
Best Novelette
- “If Angels Fight” by Richard Bowes, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “The Ray Gun: A Love Story” by James Alan Gardner, published by Asimov’s Magazine
- “Dark Rooms” by Lisa Goldstein, published by Asimov’s Magazine
- Winner: “Pride and Prometheus” by John Kessel, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- “Night Wind” by Mary Rosenblum
- “Baby Doll” by Johanna Sinisalo
- “Kaleidoscope” by K.D. Wentworth, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Best Short Story
- “The Button Bin” by Mike Allen, published by Helix
- “The Dreaming Wind” by Jeffrey Ford
- “The Tomb Wife” by Gwyneth Jones, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
- Winner: “Trophy Wives” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, published by DAW
- “26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss” by Kij Johnson, published by Asimov’s Magazine
- “Don’t Stop” by James Patrick Kelly, published by Asimov’s Magazine
- “Mars: A Traveler’s Guide” by Ruth Nestvold, published by The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
- Winner: Joss Whedon written by Joss Whedon
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
- Monster Blood Tattoo: Lamplighter by D. M. Cornish, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons
- Savvy by Ingrid Law, published by Walden Media
- Graceling by Kristin Cashore, published by Harcourt
- The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, published by Henry Holt
- Winner: Flora’s Dare: How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa from a Shaky Doom (Despite Being Confined to Her Room) by Ysabeau S. Wilce, published by Harcourt
Best Script
- The Dark Knight by Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan, and David S. Goyer, published by Warner Brothers
- Winner: WALL-E by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, and Jim Reardon, published by Pixar Animation Studios
- Stargate Atlantis: “The Shrine” by Brad Wright, published by MGM Television