A Message from SFWA Regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
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
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.
In addition to her own writing, including the novel Everfair and the stories collected in Filter House and Something More and More, Nisi Shawl has been active in teaching science fiction and promoting a wide range of diverse voices through the Carl Brandon Society. Her editorial work included guest editing the issue People of Color Take Over Fantastic Stories of the Imagination and the anthologies Bloodchildren: Stories by the Octavia E. Butler Scholars and Stories for Chip: A Tribute to Samuel R. Delany, the latter a collaboration with Bill Campbell. Shawl was one of the founders of the Carl Brandon Society in 1999, which not only presents the Carl Brandon Parallax Award and the Kindred Award to promote authors of color and works which focus on issues of race and ethnicity, but also works to make attendance and conventions more affordable for people of color by provided scholarships.
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award recognizes “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.” Gibson joins the Grand Master ranks alongside such legends as C. J. Cherryh, Peter S. Beagle, Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Joe Haldeman. The award will be presented at the 54th Annual Nebula Conference and Awards Ceremony in Woodland Hills, CA, May 16th-19th, 2019.