First awarded 1966 Currently held by Nnedi Okorafor (Binti) | Instituted 1966 Category of Nebula Awards | |
Awarded for The best science fiction or fantasy story of between 17,500 and 40,000 words 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 Nebula Award for Best Short Story Winners & Nominees Every Heart a DoorwaySeanan McGuire, Every Heart a Doorway, Nominee, The LiarJohn P Murphy, The Liar, Nominee, The Ballad of Black TomVictor LaValle, The Ballad of Black Tom, Nominee, RuntimeS B Divya, Runtime, Nominee, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt BoeKij Johnson, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe, Nominee, A Taste of HoneyKai Ashante Wilson, A Taste of Honey, Nominee, BintiNnedi Okorafor, Binti, Winner, Wings of Sorrow and BoneBeth Cato, Wings of Sorrow and Bone, Nominee, The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn: A TorCom OriginalUsman T Malik, The Pauper Prince and the Eucalyptus Jinn: A TorCom Original, Nominee, The Bone Swans of Amandale, The Bone Swans of Amandale, Nominee, Waters of Versailles: A TorCom OriginalKelly Robson, Waters of Versailles: A TorCom Original, Nominee, The New MotherEugene Fischer, The New Mother, Nominee, Yesterday's KinNancy Kress, Yesterday's Kin, Winner, The Mothers of VoorhisvilleM Rickert, The Mothers of Voorhisville, Nominee, The RegularKen Liu, The Regular, Nominee, The Great LeapRachel Swirsky, The Great Leap, Nominee, Calendrical RegressionLawrence M Schoen, Calendrical Regression, Nominee, We Are All Completely FineDaryl Gregory, We Are All Completely Fine, Nominee, The Weight of the SunriseVylar Kaftan, The Weight of the Sunrise, Winner, Trial of the CenturyLawrence M Schoen, Trial of the Century, Nominee, Annabel LeeNancy Kress, Annabel Lee, Nominee, Six-Gun Snow WhiteCatherynne M Valente, Six-Gun Snow White, Nominee, Wakulla SpringsAndy Duncan - Ellen Klages, Wakulla Springs, Nominee, Burning GirlsVeronica Schanoes, Burning Girls, Nominee, After the Fall - Before the Fall - During the FallNancy Kress, After the Fall - Before the Fall - During the Fall, Winner, Barry's TaleLawrence M Schoen, Barry's Tale, Nominee, The Stars Do Not LieJay Lake, The Stars Do Not Lie, Nominee, All the FlavorsKen Liu, All the Flavors, Nominee, On a Red Station - DriftingAliette de Bodard, On a Red Station - Drifting, Nominee, KatabasisRobert Reed, Katabasis, 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 Novella is given each year for science fiction or fantasy novellas 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 novella if it is between 17,500 and 40,000 words; awards are also given out for pieces of longer lengths in the novel category, and for shorter lengths in the short story and novelette categories. The Nebula Award for Best Novella has been awarded annually since 1966. Novellas published by themselves are eligible for the novel award instead if the author requests them to be considered as such.
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. The rules were changed to their current format in 2009. Previously, 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, 167 authors have had works nominated; 47 of these have won, including co-authors and ties. Nancy Kress has won the most awards: four out of eight nominations. Robert Silverberg, John Varley, and Roger Zelazny have each won twice out of eight, two, and three nominations, respectively. Silverberg's and Kress's eight nominations are the most of any authors, followed by Lucius Shepard and Michael Bishop at seven, and Kate Wilhelm and Avram Davidson with six. Bishop has the most nominations without receiving an award for novellas, though Wilhelm and Davidson have also not won an award.
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novella 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