First awarded 1966 Currently held by Naomi Novik (Uprooted) | Instituted 1966 Category of Nebula Awards | |
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Awarded for The best science fiction or fantasy story of 40,000 words or more published in the prior calendar year Official website sfwa.org/nebula-awards/ Presented by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America People also search for Hugo Award for Best Novel Winners & Nominees Ninefox GambitYoon Ha Lee, Ninefox Gambit, Nominee, Everfair: A NovelNisi Shawl, Everfair: A Novel, Nominee, BorderlineMishell Baker, Borderline, Nominee, The Obelisk GateN K Jemisin, The Obelisk Gate, Nominee, All the Birds in the SkyCharlie Jane Anders, All the Birds in the Sky, Nominee, UprootedNaomi Novik, Uprooted, Winner, The Grace of KingsKen Liu, The Grace of Kings, Nominee, Raising CaineCharles E Gannon, Raising Caine, Nominee, The Fifth SeasonN K Jemisin, The Fifth Season, Nominee, Ancillary MercyAnn Leckie, Ancillary Mercy, Nominee, Barsk: The Elephants' GraveyardLawrence M Schoen, Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard, Nominee, Updraft: A Novel, Updraft: A Novel, Nominee, AnnihilationJeff van der Meer, Annihilation, Winner, The Three-Body ProblemLiu Cixin, The Three-Body Problem, Nominee, Trial by FireCharles E Gannon, Trial by Fire, Nominee, Ancillary SwordAnn Leckie, Ancillary Sword, Nominee, The Goblin EmperorSarah Monette, The Goblin Emperor, Nominee, Coming HomeJack McDevitt, Coming Home, Nominee, Ancillary JusticeAnn Leckie, Ancillary Justice, Winner, HildNicola Griffith, Hild, Nominee, Fire with FireCharles E Gannon, Fire with Fire, Nominee, We Are All Completely Beside OurselvesKaren Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Nominee, The Golem and the JinniHelene Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni, Nominee, The Red: First LightLinda Nagata, The Red: First Light, Nominee, The Ocean at the End of the LaneNeil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Nominee, A Stranger in OlondriaSofia Samatar, A Stranger in Olondria, Nominee, 2312Kim Stanley Robinson, 2312, Winner, IronskinTina Connolly, Ironskin, Nominee, The Drowning GirlCaitlín R Kiernan, The Drowning Girl, Nominee, Throne of the Crescent MoonSaladin Ahmed, Throne of the Crescent Moon, Nominee, The Killing MoonN K Jemisin, The Killing Moon, Nominee, Glamour in GlassMary Robinette Kowal, Glamour in Glass, Nominee | ||
The Nebula Awards are given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for the best science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year. The award has been described as one of "the most important of the American science fiction awards" and "the science-fiction and fantasy equivalent" of the Emmy Awards. The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year for science fiction or fantasy novels published in English or translated into English and released in the United States or on the internet during the previous calendar year. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novel if it is 40,000 words or longer; awards are also given out for pieces of shorter lengths in the short story, novelette, and novella categories. The Nebula Award for Best Novel has been awarded annually since 1966. Novels which were expanded forms of previously published short stories are eligible, as are novellas published by themselves if the author requests them to be considered as a novel.
Nebula Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the SFWA, though the authors of the nominees do not need to be members. Works are nominated each year between November 15 and February 15 by published authors who are members of the organization, and the six works that receive the most nominations then form the final ballot, with additional nominees possible in the case of ties. Members may then vote on the ballot throughout March, and the final results are presented at the Nebula Awards ceremony in May. Authors are not permitted to nominate their own works, and ties in the final vote are broken, if possible, by the number of nominations the works received. Beginning with the 2009 awards, the rules were changed to the current format. Prior to then, the eligibility period for nominations was defined as one year after the publication date of the work, which allowed the possibility for works to be nominated in the calendar year after their publication and then be awarded in the calendar year after that. Works were added to a preliminary list for the year if they had ten or more nominations, which were then voted on to create a final ballot, to which the SFWA organizing panel was also allowed to add an additional work.
During the 52 nomination years, 177 authors have had works nominated; 38 of these have won, including co-authors and ties. Ursula K. Le Guin has received the most Nebula Awards for Best Novel with four wins out of six nominations. Joe Haldeman has received three awards out of four nominations, while nine other authors have won twice. Jack McDevitt has the most nominations at twelve, with one win, while Poul Anderson, Philip K. Dick, and N. K. Jemisin are tied at five for the most nominations without winning an award.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novel was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Entries with a blue background and an asterisk (*) next to the writer's name have won the award; those with a white background are the other nominees on the shortlist.
* Winners and joint winners