Archive for the ‘Nebula Awards’ Category

SFWA Announces the 60th Annual Nebula Awards® Finalists!

 

March 12, 2025 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 60th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works published in 2024. 

The awards will be presented in a ceremony on Saturday, June 7, that will be streamed live as it is held in-person in Kansas City, MO as part of the 60th Annual Nebula Awards Conference. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.

Here is the complete list of finalists:

Nebula Award for Novel

Nebula Award for Novella

Nebula Award for Novelette

Nebula Award for Short Story

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

 

  • Doctor Who: “Dot and Bubble” by Russell T. Davies (BBC)
  • Dune: Part Two by Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve (Warner Bros)
  • I Saw the TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun (A24 Films LLC)
  • KAOS by Charlie Covell, Georgia Christou (Netflix)
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 by Mike McMahan (Paramount+)
  • Wicked by Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox (Universal Pictures)

We look forward to celebrating all the finalists with aspiring and professional creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres at the 2025 Nebula Conference, June 5-8, 2025.

Questions about the awards or the upcoming conference may be directed to the SFWA Events Team at events@sfwa.org.

About the Nebula Awards®

The Nebula Awards® are voted on and presented by Full, Associate, and Senior members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. Founded as the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1965 by Damon Knight, the organization began with a charter membership of 78 writers; it now has over 2,500 members, among them many of the leading writers of science fiction and fantasy.

Since 1965, the Nebula Awards® have been given each year for the best novel, novella, novelette, and short story eligible for that year’s award. The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction was added in 2005, followed by the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation in 2009, and the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing in 2018. An anthology including the winning pieces of short fiction and several runners-up is also published every year.

The 60th Nebula Awards Finalist Announcement

Nebula Awards Conference logo, with the words "The 60th Annual Nebula Awards Finalist Announcement"

We’re on the launch pad, readying for lift-off!

Join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association on March 12, 2025 at 5 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time for this year’s 60th Nebula Awards Finalist Announcement, in which we will announce this year’s finalists for the Nebula Awards, as chosen by SFWA members.

Subscribe to our SFWA YouTube channel to get notification of the video’s launch, or simply join us at the direct link when the hour approaches. Oh, and don’t forget to share your excitement with others in the genre via our chat window on YouTube!

Finalists are listed here.

SFWA members will vote for this year’s winners in advance of our 60th Nebula Annual Nebula Awards Conference, which will be held in Kansas City, Missouri from June 5-8. Whether you’ll be there in person or joining us for more Nebula activities online, we’re thrilled to have you along for the ride.

Let’s celebrate some great science fiction and fantasy together soon!

2025 Service to SFWA Award Announcement: C.J. Lavigne

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce that the 2025 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award will be presented to C.J. Lavigne at the 60th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards® for her outstanding work on behalf of the organization.

C.J. Lavigne is a Canadian SFF writer who first volunteered as a member of the SFWA flight crew (tech support team) at the 2020 Nebulas, when the conference had suddenly gone online for the first time and everyone was still figuring out how to push the videoconferencing buttons. A month later, she offered to help run the weekly writing dates, where she has remained as part of the tech team for the last five years. In 2022, she became co-captain of the flight crew, in which capacity she has helped to run numerous online panels and parties, schedule committee meetups, organize volunteers, answer tech support queries, and maintain the events website. She has worked hard to ensure the Nebula Conference maintains a vibrant, accessible virtual and hybrid presence for any member who can’t attend “in person.”

SFWA President Kate Ristau says, “C.J. confidently and swiftly helped us navigate our transition to online in 2020, and she has continued to lead us forward in virtual spaces, using best practices, and a heck of a lot of kindness. She is focused, supportive, and very knowledgeable. We are lucky to get to work with her.”

SFWA is excited to honor C.J. this year at our conference in Kansas City, and we hope you’ll join in honoring her service to the organization either in person or online during the event.

Photo Credit: Berni Scott

2025 Nebula Conference Announcement!

SFWA is excited to announce that the 60th Annual Nebula Awards Conference will be held at the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza, in the beautifully transformed downtown core of Kansas City, Missouri.

Join us from June 5 – June 8 for our diamond-year celebration of science fiction, fantasy, and related genre creators around the globe!

If you’re not making use of our massively discounted self-parking rate of $5 per day, hop on the free-to-ride Kansas City StreetCar to visit local sites between conference events and our 60th Annual Nebula Awards Ceremony. The Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza is six miles from the Kansas City Zoo, and ZTrip is available, in addition to Uber, Lyft, and cab services, for all your other local transport needs.

At our fingertips this year are:

  • The Kansas City Power & Light Entertainment District
  • The Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts
  • The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
  • The National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial
  • The Negro League Baseball Museum
  • The American Jazz Museum
  • River Market and the Crossroads Arts District (via StreetCar)

Or stay in for the whole show! With rooms at $179/night plus tax, and free in-room Wi-Fi when you join Marriott Bonvoy (at no extra cost), there’s plenty to do in this fully modernized and renovated downtown conference hub.

The Main Street Grill at Kansas City Marriott is open all day, and the M.I. Greatroom offers cocktail and lounge space starting at 3 p.m.—or visit the nearby Country Club Plaza, a historic open-air shopping and dining destination at the heart of the city, for your meet-ups with new and old friends in the genre. All guests have free access to a well-equipped fitness center.

All together now!

Celebrate SFWA’s 60th Anniversary with us, at the 2025 Nebula Awards Conference.

When and where is it going down?

Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza (4445 Main Street)

Kansas City, Missouri

June 5 – June 8

Where can I learn more about the hotel?

At the Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza website, of course!

Room Rate: $179/night plus tax

Register for the conference and hotel?  Here!

 

 

Jennell Jaquays Named the 2024 SFWA Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award Recipient

 

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association is pleased to announce that the 2024 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award will be presented posthumously to Jennell Jaquays at the 59th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards® ceremony on June 8, 2024.

The Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award is given by SFWA for significant contributions to the science fiction, fantasy, and related genres community. The award was created in 2008, with Wilhelm named as one of the three original recipients, and was renamed in her honor in 2016. Ms. Jaquays joins the ranks of the latest Solstice Award winners, including Cerece Rennie Murphy, Greg Bear, Petra Mayer, Arley Sorg, Troy L. Wiggins, Ben Bova, and Rachel Caine.

Jennell Jaquays

A multi-award winning and honored artist, game designer, editor, and activist, Jennell Jaquays left an indelible mark on the gaming industry and SFF community for nearly fifty years. Ms. Jaquays’ career began in college, when she and her friends created “The Dungeoneer,” one of the first licensed Dungeons and Dragons fanzines.

Now, from magazines to books, Ms. Jaquays’ art can be seen on multiple covers and throughout the pages of the many different forms and iterations of Dungeons and Dragons’ media. Having designed two modules of her own, “Dark Tower” and “The Caverns of Thracia,”  her writing was celebrated by players for eschewing traditional and linear game mechanics and are not only playable today–but continue to inspire game designers and GMs.

Also known for her game industry work at companies such as Coleco, TSR, and id Software, Ms. Jaquays designed and contributed to multiple projects such as Coleco Vision, certain levels on the Quake II and III video games, arcade conversions of Pac-Man and Donkey-Kong, Halo Wars, and created an expansion pack in Age of Empires III.

Ms. Jaquays was nominated for multiple H.G. Wells Awards for her work and creation of the “Dark Tower” D&D module and for her design and illustrations on“Griffin Mountain.” Her work with Coleco’s WarGames won her the 1984 Summer C.E.S. original software award. Additionally, Castle Greyhawk won an Origins Gamer’s Choice Award for “Best Role-Playing Adventure,” and in 2017, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design inducted Ms. Jaquays into their hall of fame.

Inspired by her own journey, Ms. Jaquays also became a recognized transgender activist, spending time working as the creative director of the Transgender Human Rights Institute.

“A beacon of hope and inspiration, Jennell Jaquays worked tirelessly in the spirit of community while gifting us with her art, her games, and her stories for almost fifty years,” said SFWA Director-at-Large, Monica Valentinelli. “The Board is honored to commemorate Jennell Jaquays and her indelible legacy as an artist, writer, and game designer in the video game and tabletop roleplaying industries.”

Accepting on behalf of Ms. Jaquays at the 59th Annual Nebula Awards is her wife, Rebecca Heineman.

March 14: Nebula Finalist Announcement, Early Bird Rate Ending, & Scholarship Application Deadline

 

Finalist Announcement

Please help us celebrate the announcement of our 2023 Nebula Award finalists (to be presented this year in Pasadena) with a presentation beginning on our SFWA Youtube channel, tomorrow, March 14, starting at 5PM PT.

Once again, we’ll be calling upon a talented group of SAG-AFTRA narrators to take us through an evening filled with a variety of outstanding speculative fiction works.

It’s sure to be a night to remember! We hope you’ll join us!

Early Bird Rate Expiring 

Tickets are selling fast to the SFWA Nebula Conference, which is why we’re encouraging those of you who are on the fence about attending to register now. The early bird registration deadline is tomorrow.

Register Here

Join us to engage in professional development and foster community among SFF aspiring and industry professionals. And of course, we’ll celebrate our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend, but most especially at the Nebula Award ceremony. That includes recognizing the inspiring work of our newest Grand Master, Susan Cooper.

In-person registration includes all online access. With every conference ticket, you can watch and listen to all recorded panels and presentations that took place over the weekend. If you or someone you know needs a scholarship to participate in the conference, please keep reading!

Scholarship Deadline

SFWA will once again be offering scholarships for members of under-served communities to attend the Nebula conference! The 2024 Nebula Conference will take place June 6-9 in Pasadena, CA and online. If you or someone you know may benefit from these scholarships, please apply here or share this link:

https://airtable.com/appqxO86fh6JpPBNR/shrjMcYbZyuTxhwVH

Scholarship applications must be completed on this form by March 14th, 2024. The scholarship recipients will be selected from the applicant pool by lottery. Applicants may be considered for more than one scholarship if they identify with more than one of the following groups.

Here are the categories of scholarships we’re offering and the number of online conference scholarships available for each:

  • Scholarship for Black and/or Indigenous Creators: This scholarship is open to Black and/or Indigenous creators in the United States and abroad. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for AAPI Creators: This scholarship is available to Asian creators, Asian American creators, and creators from the Pacific Islands. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarships for Hispanic/Latinx Creators: This scholarship is available to creators with backgrounds in Spanish-speaking and/or Latin American cultures. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for Writers Based Outside of the U.S.: This scholarship is available to creators who live outside the United States. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for members of the LGBTQIA+ Community: This scholarship is available to creators who identify as LGBTQIA+. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for creators with disabilities: This scholarship is available to creators who identify as having a disability. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for creators who face financial barriers: This scholarship is available to creators whose financial situations may otherwise prevent them from participating. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for in-person registration are available in limited quantities for creators who identify with one of our online scholarship groups. This scholarship does not include funds for travel, lodging or other related expenses to attend the conference, only for registration.

Our support of underserved communities isn’t possible without your help. If you are able, please consider making a donation at sfwa.org/donate to help us fund additional scholarships in the future.

We hope to see you at the Nebulas!

The SFWA Events Team

Tanith Lee Announced as 2024 SFWA Infinity Award Recipient

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is proud to announce the recipient of the 2024 SFWA Infinity Award. In the second presentation of this honor, the organization would like to recognize the works and career of Tanith Lee (1947–2015) at the 59th Annual Nebula Awards® Ceremony on June 8.

 

The SFWA Board voted to create the Infinity Award to posthumously honor acclaimed creators who passed away before they could be considered for a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. This new award aims to recognize that even though those celebrated worldbuilders, storytellers, and weavers of words are no longer with us, their legacies will continue to inspire.

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy remarked, “Tanith Lee was writing combinations of science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, queerness, and sex long before the current trends. She was a true trailblazer in multiple cross-genres and influenced so many of today’s authors. It’s a sorrow to me that she passed before we could celebrate her as she should have been, but a bittersweet joy to at least be able to give her this honor today.”

Photo: © Daughter of the Night

An aspiring writer from the age of nine, Lee’s first professional sale was “Eustace,” a ninety word vignette which appeared in The Ninth Pan Book Of Horror Stories (1968), edited by Herbert van Thal.

While working as an assistant librarian, Lee wrote a children’s story which was accepted for publication. A number of additional stories were also purchased, but none of them were ever published, due to a slump in the publishing firm’s sales. In 1971, Macmillan published The Dragon Hoard, a children’s novel, followed by Animal Castle, a children’s picture book, and Princess Hynchatti & Some Other Surprises, a short story collection (both 1972).

DAW published The Birthgrave in 1975, beginning a relationship that lasted until 1989 and saw the publication of 28 books altogether. Following the publication of her second and third books from DAW, Don’t Bite The Sun and The Storm Lord (both 1976), Lee quit her day job to become a full-time freelance writer.

Tanith Lee has won or been nominated for a variety of awards, including the World Fantasy Award, the August Derleth Award and the Nebula. She has appeared as Guest of Honour at a number of science fiction conventions, including Boskone XVIII in Boston in 1981, and the 1984 World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa.

Rather than a physical award, SFWA will make a donation to a cause that an Infinity Award honoree supported or that their loved ones request. This year, it has been requested by the family that the donation be split between two charitable causes, Pasadena Humane and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. 

SFWA Announces the Winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards®. These awards are given to the writers of the most outstanding speculative fiction works released in 2022, as voted on by Full, Associate, and Senior SFWA members.

The awards were presented at the live broadcast of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards Ceremony, hosted by Toastmaster Cheryl Platz.

The winners are as follows:

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVEL

Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELLA

Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELETTE

“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You”, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR SHORT STORY

“Rabbit Test”, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)

 

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

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

 

THE RAY BRADBURY NEBULA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRESENTATION

Everything Everywhere All at Once, Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (A24, AGBO, IAC Films)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR GAME WRITING

Elden Ring, Hidetaka Miyazaki, George R.R. Martin (FromSoftware, Bandai Namco)

 

Additional awards and honors presented:

 

THE SFWA DAMON KNIGHT MEMORIAL GRAND MASTER AWARD

Robin McKinley

 

THE INFINITY AWARD

Octavia E. Butler (posthumous)

 

THE KATE WILHELM SOLSTICE AWARD

Cerece Rennie Murphy

Greg Bear (posthumous)

 

THE KEVIN J. O’DONNELL, JR. SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD

Mishell Baker

 

Award presenters joined in-person and virtually from across the galaxy, including past Nebula Award winners, SFWA Board members, and other notable members of the science fiction and fantasy (SFF) industry: Jeffe Kennedy, Matthew Mercer, Gay Haldeman, Chinaka Hodge, Christine Taylor-Butler, Mur Lafferty, Michael Capobianco, Aydrea Walden, José Pablo Iriarte, Leigh Bardugo, and Anthony Rapp.

The ceremony can be viewed at SFWA’s YouTube.

SFWA Names the 58th Nebula Award Finalists

March 7, 2023 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 58th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works published in 2022. 

The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023, that will stream live as it is held in-person in Anaheim, CA, as part of the 2023 Nebula Conference Online. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.

Here is the complete list of finalists:

 

Nebula Award for Novel

Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree (Cryptid; Tor)

Spear, Nicola Griffith (Tordotcom)

Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)

Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)

The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler (MCD; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

 

Nebula Award for Novella

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)

“Bishop’s Opening“, R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld 1/22)

I Never Liked You Anyway, Jordan Kurella (Vernacular)

Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)

High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robson (Tordotcom)

 

Nebula Award for Novelette

“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You“, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)

“Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold“, S.B. Divya (Uncanny 5–6/22)

“Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness“, S.L. Huang (Clarkesworld 12/22)

“A Dream of Electric Mothers“, Wole Talabi (Africa Risen)

“The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain“, Natalia Theodoridou (Uncanny 9/22)

“We Built This City“, Marie Vibbert (Clarkesworld 6/22)

 

Nebula Award for Short Story

“Destiny Delayed“, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Asimov’s 5–6/22)

“Give Me English“, Ai Jiang (F&SF 5–6/22)

“Rabbit Test“, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)

“Douen“, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 3/22)

“Dick Pig“, Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare 1/22)

“D.I.Y“, John Wiswell (Tor.com 8/24/22)

 

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

The Scratch Daughters, H. A. Clarke (Erewhon)

The Mirrorwood, Deva Fagan (Atheneum)

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester, Maya MacGregor (Astra Young Readers)

Every Bird a Prince, Jenn Reese (Henry Holt)

 

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Andor: “One Way Out”, Beau Willimon, Tony Gilroy (Lucasfilm, Disney+)

Everything Everywhere All at Once, Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (A24, AGBO, IAC Films)

Nope, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures)

Our Flag Means Death, David Jenkins, Eliza Jiménez Cossio, Zadry Ferrer-Geddes, William Meny, Maddie Dai, Alyssa Lane, John Mahone, Simone Nathan, Natalie Torres, Zackery Alexzander Stephens, Alex J. Sherman, Jes Tom, Adam Stein, Yvonne Zima (Dive, HBO Max)

The Sandman: Season 1, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Bello, Vanessa Benton, Mike Dringenberg, Sam Kieth, Catherine Smyth-McMullen, Heather Bellson, Jim Campolongo, Jay Franklin, Austin Guzman, Alexander Newman-Wise, Ameni Rozsa, David Goyer, Allan Heinberg (DC Entertainment, Netflix)

Severance, Dan Erickson, Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Amanda Overton, Anna Ouyang Moench, Helen Leigh, Kari Drake, and Mark Friedman. (Endeavor Content, Red Hour Films, Apple TV+)

 

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Elden Ring, Hidetaka Miyazaki, George R.R. Martin (FromSoftware, Bandai Namco)

Horizon Forbidden West, Ben McCaw, John Gonzalez, Annie Kitain, Ariadna Martinez, Nick van Someren Brand, Andrew Walsh, Adam Dolin, Anne Toole, Arjan Terpstra, Ben Schroder, Dee Warrick, Giles Armstrong (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, Ajit A. George, F. Wesley Schneider, Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Stephanie Yoon, Terry H. Romero (Wizards of the Coast: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Ed.)

Pentiment, Kate Dollarhyde, Zoe Franznick, Märten Rattasepp, Josh Sawyer (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Stray, Steven Lerner, Vivien Mermet-Guyenet, Colas Koola (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Vampire: The Masquerade – Sins of the Sires, Natalia Theodoridou (Choice of Games, Paradox Interactive)

 

We look forward to celebrating all the finalists with aspiring and professional creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres at the 2023 Nebula Conference, May 12–14, 2023.

Questions about the awards or the upcoming conference may be directed to the SFWA Events Team at events@sfwa.org.