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The Inaugural Infinity Award Honoree: Octavia E. Butler

We are proud to announce the creation of the Infinity Award, with its inaugural presentation honoring the works and career of Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) at the 58th Annual Nebula Awards® Ceremony on May 14.
The new logo for the award, in SFWA purple and gold with an infinity loop and a magical needle going through it as though thread.

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.

Upon its creation, it was also unanimously agreed that Octavia E. Butler would be our first recipient. Beginning with her perseverance in the face of the prejudice she encountered early on in her career, including claims that African American writers–especially African American women writers–could not write science fiction, Butler ultimately went on to earn a MacArthur Grant and a PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award. Butler did more than prove such naysayers wrong. Her works offered prescient critiques of societal issues and visions of what might be possible in different and future worlds. They are now being taught in over 200 colleges and universities nationwide.

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy remarked, “Establishing this new award is very important to me. Over the years, so many creators have been passed over for the Grand Master nod, for one reason or another. Some died tragically early. Others were not recognized for their work during their lifetimes because of cultural prejudices and blind spots. Others were simply ahead of their time. When we look back at the nearly sixty years of SFWA celebrating SFF creators, there are some who stand out as ones we deeply wish had been given our highest awards. Being able to recognize Octavia E. Butler as our first recipient of the Infinity Award is an inspiring and gratifying first step toward correcting past omissions.”

Courtesy of the Octavia E. Butler Estate

Butler wrote sixteen novels and novellas, multiple collections and chapbooks, and many published essays. Her award-winning work during her lifetime includes “Bloodchild,” “The Evening and the Morning and the Night,” and Parable of the Talents. After her death, the #1 New York Times best-selling graphic novel adaptation of her book Kindred, created by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, received the Eisner Award for Best Adaptation. 

In media, her novel Dawn is being developed for television by Ava DuVernay, an opera by Toshi Reagon based on Parable of the Sower was part of The Public Theatre “Under the Radar” festival and toured worldwide in 2018, and Amazon Studios and JuVee Productions are developing a drama series from Butler’s Patternist series, beginning with Wild Seed.

Jules Jackson, directing manager of the Octavia E. Butler Estate, shared the following remarks: “For those who have chosen to pay attention, there is one thing that has become clear and apparent…. Octavia Estelle Butler, the mother of Afrofuturism, has literally written herself into history. And now the Estate is tasked with the honor of archiving, diagramming, and extending the reach of Octavia Estelle Butler’s cherished body of work. Octavia taught her readers to imagine relentlessly, our collective figures…Octavia painted the ‘least respected of us’ into the center of every narrative, re-framing a genre…I am beyond excited to accept this inaugural Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association award, for and on behalf of Octavia Butler, The Octavia E. Butler Estate, and all of the incredible storytellers who are, and continue to be inspired and those who follow in Octavia Estelle Butler’s prescient wake.”

Jackson will receive the award on Butler’s behalf at the Nebula Awards Ceremony. The award will be presented by Chinaka Hodge, writer and showrunner of the upcoming Wild Seeds television series. 

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. For this first award, and in future years when a specific charity is not requested, that donation will go to the Octavia E. Butler Scholarship to the Clarion West workshop, which is administered by the Carl Brandon Society.  

Countdown to the SFWA Nebula Conference

The annual SFWA Nebula Conference and 58th Nebula Awards will be held May 12–14, 2023. The conference will take place in Anaheim, California and aboard the virtual Airship Nebula. Registration Price: $449.00 for in-person attendance, $150.00 for Virtual attendance.

Register here.

Nebula Scholarships and Sponsorships

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is once again offering more than 100 scholarships for members of underserved communities for online registrations for the hybrid 2023 Nebula Conference.

To support efforts such as funding conference scholarships and other programs that promote and advance SFF creators and the genres, SFWA is also offering several conference sponsorship tiers for interested parties.

The 2023 Nebula Conference is rapidly approaching, taking place May 12–14, 2023. The conference is geared toward aspiring and professional storytellers in the speculative fiction genres and offers a professional development weekend full of panels, networking opportunities, and chances to learn from and interact with experts in related fields.

The 2023 Nebula Conference: May 12–14, 2023. Registration prices:

  • Anaheim, CA: $449.00
  • Online only: $150.00

Both of these prices include one full year of amazing content. Register here: https://events.sfwa.org/

NEBULA SCHOLARSHIPS. Scholarship applications for the Nebula Conference must be completed on this form by April 21, 11:59pm Pacific Time.  

Here are the categories of scholarships we’re offering and the number 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: 25)
  • Scholarship for AAPI Creators: This scholarship is available to Asian creators, Asian American creators, and creators from the Pacific Islands. (quantity: 25)
  • Scholarships for Hispanic/Latinx Creators: This scholarship is available to creators with backgrounds in Spanish-speaking and/or Latin American cultures. (quantity: 25)
  • Scholarship for Writers Based Outside of the U.S.: This scholarship is available to creators who live outside the United States. (quantity: 25)
  • Scholarship for Members of the LGBTQIA+ Community: This scholarship is available to creators who identify as LGBTQIA+. (quantity: 25)

From the applicant pool, the scholarship recipients will be selected by lottery. This scholarship will be available for our online conference only, which will give access to the streamed/online conference events over the conference weekend and all future online events for a full year.

Support of underserved communities isn’t possible without help. Donations are welcome at sfwa.org/donate to help support this very worthy cause. Questions about scholarships can be sent to events@sfwa.org.

NEBULA SPONSORSHIPS. Conference sponsorships are an important way SFWA funds essential outreach, like the Nebula scholarships, to the diverse voices within the global science fiction and fantasy publishing community. The cost of funding a scholarship significantly rises for in-person conferences and SFWA needs help to make them possible for future years.

Are you looking to increase the visibility of your latest book release? Interested in getting your brand in front of hundreds of conference attendees both in-person and around the world online? SFWA has a sponsorship option for you!

Here are this year’s options:

  • Gold Sponsor: Support our Suite Refreshments
    Two of the most popular hangouts during the conference are the hospitality suite and volunteer suite. As a Gold Sponsor, your logo will adorn the doors of each suite! Your logo will also be on all Nebula Award and conference email communication to SFWA members and conference attendees and will appear in the commemorative program book!  — $5,000
  • Silver Sponsor: Support Receptions
    Forever link your logo in the minds of reception attendees with their own celebration as a Silver Sponsor! Your logo will be proudly displayed at the in-person Nebula Finalist Reception, the Past Presidents Meetup, and the Mentor Meetup. It will also be included on all Nebula Award and conference email communication to SFWA members and conference attendees and appear in the commemorative program book! — $2,500
  • Bronze Sponsor:
    As one of our Bronze Sponsors, your logo will be on all Nebula Award and conference email communication to SFWA members and conference attendees and will also appear in the commemorative program book! — $750
  • Sponsor a Private Party:
    Be the envy of everyone at the Nebulas by hosting a private party. Your logo will be a highlight of the party listing announcement and be displayed in the private room where the party will take place. — $2,000

*additional costs dependent on cocktail/menu selection.

  • Sponsor a Panel for our Virtual Attendees:
    The Nebula Airship is primed for takeoff, and as a virtual panel sponsor your logo will grace the background of the onliner panel of your choice. — $350
  • Congratulate a Nebula Finalist!
    Being a SFWA Nebula Finalist is a career milestone and the awards evening will be filled with excitement and nerves. Send your well wishes and congratulations to any finalist you wish by filling out a form, which will be available soon at store.sfwa.org! Your note will be delivered to the finalist’s chair before the ceremony begins, providing them with good vibes to last through the evening! —$50

If you’re interested in any of our sponsorship opportunities, email sponsors@sfwa.org for details. Sharing the opportunities for sponsorships and scholarships with publishers, agents, and other industry friends is highly encouraged.

Cheryl Platz to Host the 58th Nebula Awards!

We’re excited to announce that acclaimed performer and designer Cheryl Platz will serve as toastmaster for the 58th Annual Nebula Awards® Ceremony! The ceremony will take place in Anaheim, CA, on Sunday, May 14, 2023. This year marks the return of the ceremony to an in-person event and continues SFWA’s tradition of inviting the global science fiction and fantasy community to take part by livestreaming the festivities.
Headshot of Cheryl Platz

Photo Credit: Michael Doucett

Cheryl Platz is a world-renowned designer, author, game developer, speaker, and actress best known for her work on cutting-edge products from Alexa to Azure, from Disney Parks to The Sims, and her work on multiple Internet TV shows. Her first book, Design Beyond Devices: Creating Multimodal, Cross-Device Experiences, was published by Rosenfeld Media in 2020. For folks new to design, she describes her book as “the design manual for folks who aspire to design the starship bridge of their dreams.”

In her current role as Director of User Experience for the Player Platform at Riot Games, Platz leads a team working to build a coherent cross-device experience for millions of players. Her past game development experience includes production, game design, and game writing on a variety of titles, from The Sims Makin’ Magic, The Sims 2, and The Urbz to the Chronicles of Narnia and Disney Friends.

Platz’s acting career includes credits on Internet shows such as Shadowrun: Corporate SINs, voice-over credits for The Sims 2 (DS) and BATTLETECH (2018) among others, and over 15 years of professional improv comedy performances with Unexpected Productions, Seattle Experimental Theater, and NERDprov. She also owns design education firm Ideaplatz, LLC and has delivered keynotes, workshops, and consulting services on 5 continents and in over a dozen countries.

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy commented, “We are proud to welcome Cheryl Platz as our 2023 Toastmaster. Platz shares our love of game writing and exploring new worlds—from the page to the movie screen and onto our consoles. We can’t wait to see her on the stage of the Airship Nebula on the next stage of its journey.”

“Science fiction and fantasy have always been a huge part of my life,” remarked Platz, “from growing up with Star Trek to surviving college with Discworld and dreaming of alternative futures with today’s Lady Astronaut books. It is a tremendous honor to combine my own experience in writing, games, hosting, and improv to help bring this year’s triumphant re-launch of the live Nebulas experience to life not just for in-person audiences, but for live audiences around the world. I look forward to guiding you all on our away mission as the Airship Nebula docks for the first time in years this May for a memorable planetary visit.”

Nebula Finalists Live Announcement on March 7

Join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association on Tuesday, March 7, at 5:00pm Pacific Time, as we name the finalists for the 58th Annual Nebula Awards®! View our livestream on YouTube or Facebook for the reveal and for readings of the finalist works by SAG-AFTRA narrators. The awards will be presented at the Nebula Awards ceremony in May 2023.

Mishell Baker to Receive 2023 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award

We are pleased to announce that the 2023 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award will be presented to Mishell Baker at the 58th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards® for her outstanding work on behalf of the organization.

The Service to SFWA Award recognizes a volunteer of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to their fellow members. In 2012, the award was renamed in honor of author Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. who dedicated 20+ years of volunteer service to the organization.
Mishell Baker's headshot

Mishell Baker

Mishell Baker has served as the primary contact for SFWA’s Estate Program since 2016. She has liaised with publishers interested in reprinting works by science fiction and fantasy authors who are no longer with us, and acted as an intermediary for individual heirs who wish to keep their contact information confidential. Baker has a well-earned reputation for handling these communications with consistency and sensitivity, providing help in sometimes difficult and confusing situations.

Michael Capobianco, co-chair of the SFWA Estates-Legacy Committee and former SFWA president, remarked, “Mishell has been the steadfast, behind-the-scenes heart and soul of the Estates Project for going on seven years and I can’t think of anyone who deserves this volunteer service award more.”

SFWA’s Estate Program was created in 2007 by Bud Webster, the 2011 recipient of this same award. The program promotes and preserves the work of writers who helped build the science fiction and fantasy genres. Today, the SFWA Estates-Legacy Committee, among other duties, oversees the Estates database to facilitate legitimate paid publication of reprinted works, enabling editors, publishers, and agents to seek reprint permissions, make payments to estates and heirs, and double-check publication rights.

For her years of dedication and excellence in undertaking this essential volunteer work for the organization and the SFF community, SFWA is proud to offer the 2023 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award to Mishell Baker. She will join many distinguished recipients of the award, including Connie Willis, Victoria Strauss, Julia Rios, Bud Sparhawk, Lee Martindale, Vonda McIntyre, and Jim Fiscus.
Promo graphic for the 2023 Nebula Conference. This year's star deity has hands outstretched in a spell, casting petals that appear to become meteorites.

The award will be presented at the 58th Nebula Awards® Ceremony, taking place on May 14, 2023 in Anaheim, CA, and online. The ceremony is part of the 2023 Nebula Conference. Registrations for the conference and tickets for the ceremony banquet are available here.

Please join us in congratulating Mishell for receiving this award!

Make Your 2023 Nebula Conference Programming Suggestions

A key reason why our annual Nebula Conferences are full of valuable professional development for aspiring and established SFF and related genre creators is that they offer programming on craft and business topics that you want to learn more about.

Now is the time to suggest the topics you’d like to see in this year’s conference!

Contribute specific panel and programming ideas by completing this form by Monday, February 13: https://airtable.com/shrXE8V14VhKjbrBH. Please feel free to submit program items that you simply want to attend and/or ones that you’d like to participate in. You’ll need to complete a new form for each proposed topic.

Here are some ideas based on current issues SFF creators are facing:

  • What’s the future of table-top RPG writing?
  • You’ve done it! You’ve become a brand! Now how do you find time to write?
  • How to read a contract for media tie-in work.
  • The social media landscape is shifting: What new strategies can creators adopt for engagement?

Examples from past years:

  • Writing Through the Pain: Learn from Authors Living with Chronic Pain
  • Comics and the Craft of Storytelling: How Sequential Art Can Elevate Yours
  • Collaborative Writing: How to Share Your Brain Space
  • Short Story Collections: When to Release Them and How

Even if you’re unable to attend the conference in Anaheim or online over the May 12–14 weekend, you may still get the chance to see your topic tackled! If selected, panels, presentations, and workshops will appear in our 2023 conference archive. All conference registrations include a year’s worth of access to that archive.

If you’d like to volunteer as a speaker for the conference, you can also indicate that by updating your SFWA profile here. Select “edit” and then be sure that “Speaker – at the Nebula Conference” is checked in your volunteering preferences in the Other Information section. Not a member? Not a problem! Anyone can volunteer as a speaker at any time by submitting contact information and volunteer preferences here: https://membership.sfwa.org/Volunteer.

Once again, the survey for submitting your programming ideas is here: https://airtable.com/shrXE8V14VhKjbrBH. Don’t forget to also register for the conference if you haven’t yet! Online registrations are $150, and there are very few in-person registrations left at the current registration price of $449. Once they’re gone, the price will rise.

We look forward to seeing how your suggestions can help create another fantastic year of Nebula Conference programming!

The SFWA Events Team

2023 Nebula Conference Registration and Volunteer & Programming Opportunities

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2023 Nebula Conference, which will be taking place both online and in-person at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort, in Anaheim, CA, the weekend of May 12–14, 2023.

Conference Hotel exterior with fireworks in the night sky behind it.

Registrations may be purchased at this link. Registration for the online portion of the conference is $150.00 and includes access to broadcasts of the weekend’s panels and the subsequent archive, the Nebula Awards ceremony, a conference Discord, and entry to our ongoing Nebula conference events beginning May 1, 2023.

In-person conference registration begins at $449.00. Due to limited space and seating, we anticipate the conference and banquet to sell out, so we are encouraging people to buy their tickets early. Participants may attend panels and the awards ceremony in-person, take part in mentorships and receptions, and visit the SFWA hospitality suite. It also includes access to the online conference.

For Anaheim attendees, tickets for the Nebula Awards banquet can be purchased for an additional $125.00. This three-course celebration dinner held before the Nebula Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023 is a fantastic opportunity to mingle with old friends and meet new peers. Conference attendees who wish to attend the ceremony without purchasing a ticket to the banquet may do so on a space-available basis.

The Nebula Conference is the premier professional development conference for aspiring and established members of the science fiction and fantasy industries. It includes content geared toward creators working in games, comics, prose, poetry, and other mediums of storytelling, which reflects the diversifying and expanding membership in the organization.  We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our community and our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend.

Exterior of the conference hotel with lawn and palm trees.

Programming Survey

Are you interested in being part of the programming for this year’s online Nebula Conference? That could mean being a panelist or giving a workshop! Or it could simply mean suggesting the topics you’d most like to see on the schedule.

If you’d like to volunteer as a speaker, you can do that by updating your volunteer preferences when you complete your registration or at any time by updating your volunteer preferences in your profile at SFWA.org. Not a member? Not a problem! Anyone can volunteer as a speaker at any time by submitting contact information and volunteer preferences here: https://membership.sfwa.org/Volunteer.  Either way, you’ll receive an automated survey shortly after you update your preferences.

To contribute specific panel and programming ideas to our 2023 conference, submit your program proposal by Monday, Feb 13, 2023 here: https://airtable.com/shrXE8V14VhKjbrBH. Please complete one form for each program idea you’d like to suggest.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Nebula Conference could not exist without the assistance of our amazing group of volunteers. Not only that, volunteering at the conference is an easy and fast way to meet new people and make friends. Join us, whether in-person or online!

We have dozens of volunteer roles that need to be filled, but we’re looking for excited, dedicated volunteers to hit the floor running in a few key areas:

  • Banquet Manager (in-person)
  • Safety Ambassadors (in-person and online)
  • Accessibility Ambassadors (in-person and online)
  • Special Guest Liaison (in-person)
  • Nebula Award Finalists Liaison (in-person and online)
  • Local Coordinator (in-person)

If you are interested in any of those roles, whether in-person or online, please contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteers@sfwa.org. More detailed calls about other Nebula Conference volunteer roles will be sent out soon.

Once again, registrations may be purchased at this link. Hotel reservations must be made separately, and information on how to reserve a room at conference rates is available at that webpage. For questions, please contact events@sfwa.org.

We look forward to seeing you on the Airship Nebula or at the Anaheim Port of Call in May!

The SFWA Events Team

SFWA Names Robin McKinley Its 39th Grand Master!

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is proud to announce that Robin McKinley has been named the 39th 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. McKinley joins 38 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.

Robin McKinley is one of the leading writers of the modern fairy-tale retelling genre, and indeed, her debut Beauty, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, could be said to have started the fairy-tale retelling trend. She is also celebrated for her original fantasy novels. Her 1982 book The Blue Sword received the Newbery Honor, and its 1984 prequel The Hero and the Crown was awarded the Newbery Medal. School Library Journal said, “Her work has impacted not just the Newbery canon, but the fantasy genre, too.” Her 1985 anthology Imaginary Lands won the World Fantasy Award, and Water, the 2002 collection she co-wrote with Peter Dickinson, was later nominated as well.

Sunshine (2003), a dark sensual vampire fairy tale that Neil Gaiman called “A gripping, funny, page-turning, pretty much perfect work of magical literature,” won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was named to NPR’s “Top 100 Science-Fiction Fantasy Books” list and Tor.com’s list of “Best SFF Novels of the Decade.” Spindle’s End, McKinley’s Sleeping Beauty retelling, was named to Time Magazine’s “100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time” in 2020.

McKinley’s biography, in her own words, and her full bibliography can be viewed here:

“I read McKinley’s Deerskin in my late-twenties and it turned my world upside-down,” says SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy. “From there I went on to read everything McKinley has written. With every story, each book, she haunts, delights, and enlightens me. Naming an author who’s been such a profound influence on me as both a reader and a writer as SFWA’s newest Grand Master is one of the greatest privileges of my life.”

On being named a SFWA Grand Master, McKinley shares, “I am astonished, amazed, delighted & dumbfounded. Thank you very much.”

The 39th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master award will be presented to McKinley at the 58th Nebula Awards ceremony, which will take place during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference. Further details about next year’s conference will be released soon.