Awards & Winners

Nebula Award for Best Novelette

Nebula Awards

The Nebula Awards are given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America 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 Novelette is given each year for science fiction or fantasy novelettes 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 novelette if it is between 7,500 and 17,500 words; awards are also given out for pieces of longer lengths in the novel and novella categories, and for shorter lengths in the short story category. The Nebula Award for Best Novelette has been awarded annually since 1966. 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.
Date Established : 1966

Check all the winners of Nebula Award for Best Novelette presented under Nebula Awards since 1965 .


News

Aliette de Bodard

Honored for : The Waiting Stars

Nominations 2013 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Christopher Barzak Paranormal Romance
Aliette de Bodard The Waiting Stars
Alaya Dawn Johnson They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass
Henry Lien Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters
Ken Liu The Litigation Master and the Monkey King
Sarah Pinsker In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind

Andy Duncan

Honored for : Close Encounters

Nominations 2012 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Andy Duncan Close Encounters
Catherynne M. Valente Fade To White
Rachel Swirsky Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia
Meghan McCarron Swift, Brutal Retaliation
Brit Mandelo The Finite Canvas
Ken Liu The Waves
Catherine Asaro The Pyre of New Day

Geoff Ryman

Honored for : What We Found

Nominations 2011 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Brad R. Torgersen Ray of Light
Geoff Ryman What We Found
Jake Kerr The Old Equations
Katherine Sparrow The Migratory Pattern of Dancers
Charlie Jane Anders Six Months, Three Days
Ferrett Steinmetz Sauerkraut Station
Rachel Swirsky Fields of Gold

Eric James Stone

Honored for : That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made

Nominations 2010 »

Nominee Nominated Work
James Patrick Kelly Plus or Minus
Aliette de Bodard The Jaguar House, in Shadow
Eric James Stone That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made
Caroline M. Yoachim Stone Wall Truth
Christopher Barzak Map of Seventeen
Shweta Narayan Pishaach
Christopher Kastensmidt The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard Van Oost and Oludara

Eugie Foster

Honored for : Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast

Nominations 2009 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Michael Bishop Vinegar Peace, or, The Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage
Richard Bowes I Needs Must Part, the Policeman Said
Ted Kosmatka Divining Light
Paolo Bacigalupi The Gambler
Eugie Foster Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast
Rachel Swirsky A Memory of Wind

John Kessel

Honored for : Pride and Prometheus

Nominations 2008 »

Nominee Nominated Work
John Kessel Pride and Prometheus
Richard Bowes If Angels Fight
James Alan Gardner The Ray-Gun: A Love Story
Lisa Goldstein Dark Rooms
Mary Rosenblum Night Wind
Johanna Sinisalo Baby Doll
K. D. Wentworth Kaleidoscope

Ted Chiang

Honored for : The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate

Nominations 2007 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Robin Wayne Bailey The Children's Crusade
Nancy Kress Safeguard
Terry Bramlett Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone
Ted Chiang The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
Delia Sherman The Fiddler of Bayou Teche
Kij Johnson The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change
Geoff Ryman Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter

Peter S. Beagle

Honored for : Two Hearts

Nominations 2006 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Peter S. Beagle Two Hearts
Delia Sherman Walpurgis Afternoon
Vonda N. McIntyre Little Faces
Christopher Barzak The Language of Moths
M. Rickert Journey into the Kingdom

Kelly Link

Honored for : The Faery Handbag

Nominations 2005 »

Nominee Nominated Work
James Patrick Kelly Men Are Trouble
Daniel Abraham Flat Diane
Kelly Link The Faery Handbag
Paolo Bacigalupi The People of Sand and Slag
Leslie What Nirvana High
Eileen Gunn Nirvana High

Ellen Klages

Honored for : Basement Magic

Nominations 2004 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Lois Tilton The Gladiator's War: A Dialogue
Andy Duncan Zora and the Zombie
Ellen Klages Basement Magic
Christopher Rowe The Voluntary State
William Sanders Dry Bones

Jeffrey Ford

Honored for : The Empire of Ice Cream

Nominations 2003 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Ray Vukcevich The Wages of Syntax
Richard Bowes The Mask of the Rex
Jeffrey Ford The Empire of Ice Cream
Adam-Troy Castro Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs
Cory Doctorow 0wnz0red

Ted Chiang

Honored for : Hell is the Absence of God

Nominations 2002 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Charles Stross Lobsters
Ted Chiang Hell is the Absence of God
Gregory Frost Madonna of the Maquiladora
Richard Bowes The Ferryman's Wife
Allen Steele The Days Between
M. Shayne Bell The Pagodas of Ciboure

Kelly Link

Honored for : Louise's Ghost

Nominations 2001 »

Nominee Nominated Work
James Patrick Kelly Undone
William Shunn Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites
James K. Morrow Auspicious Eggs
Andy Duncan The Pottawatomie Giant
Kelly Link Louise's Ghost
Amy Sterling Casil To Kiss the Star

Walter Jon Williams

Honored for : Daddy's World

Nominations 2000 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Bruce Holland Rogers How the Highland People Came to Be
Greer Gilman Jack Daw's Pack
Walter Jon Williams Daddy's World
Mike Moscoe A Day's Work on the Moon
Eleanor Arnason Stellar Harvest
Stanley Schmidt Generation Gap
Gardner Dozois A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows

Mary Turzillo

Honored for : Mars Is No Place for Children

Nominations 1999 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Jack McDevitt Good Intentions
Stanley Schmidt Good Intentions
Esther Friesner How to Make Unicorn Pie
Brian A. Hopkins Five Days in April
Bruce Sterling Taklamakan
Mary Turzillo Mars Is No Place for Children
Phyllis Eisenstein The Island in the Lake

Jane Yolen

Honored for : Lost Girls

Nominations 1998 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Kristine Kathryn Rusch Echea
Walter Jon Williams Lethe
Gregory Feeley The Truest Chill
Mark J. McGarry The Mercy Gate
Jane Yolen Lost Girls
Ellen Klages Time Gypsy

Nancy Kress

Honored for : The Flowers of Aulit Prison

Nominations 1997 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Bill Johnson We Will Drink a Fish Together...
Paul Levinson The Copyright Notice Case
William Sanders The Undiscovered
James Alan Gardner Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream
Nancy Kress The Flowers of Aulit Prison
John Kessel The Miracle of Ivar Avenue
Eleanor Arnason The Dog's Story

Bruce Holland Rogers

Honored for : Lifeboat on a Burning Sea

Nominations 1996 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Harry Turtledove Must and Shall
Dave Wolverton After a Lean Winter
Robert Charles Wilson The Perseids
Paul Levinson The Chronology Protection Case
John M. Ford Erase/Record/Play
Bruce Holland Rogers Lifeboat on a Burning Sea
George Guthridge Mirror of Lop Nor

Ursula K. Le Guin

Honored for : Solitude

Nominations 1995 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Mike Resnick When the Old Gods Die
Esther Friesner Jesus at the Bat
Nina Kiriki Hoffman Home for Christmas
Ursula K. Le Guin Solitude
Dale Bailey The Resurrection Man's Legacy
Michael G. Coney Tea and Hamsters
James Patrick Kelly Think Like a Dinosaur

David Gerrold

Honored for : The Martian Child

Nominations 1994 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Nina Kiriki Hoffman The Skeleton Key
Ursula K. Le Guin The Matter of Seggri
Maureen F. McHugh Nekropolis
David Gerrold The Martian Child
Geoffrey A. Landis The Singular Habits of Wasps
Terry Bisson Necronauts

Charles Sheffield

Honored for : Georgia On My Mind

Nominations 1993 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Janet Kagan The Nutcracker Coup
Terry Bisson England Underway
Connie Willis Death on the Nile
Martha Soukup Things Not Seen
John Kessel The Franchise
Charles Sheffield Georgia On My Mind

Pamela Sargent

Honored for : Danny Goes to Mars

Nominations 1992 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Pamela Sargent Danny Goes to Mars
Susan Shwartz Suppose They Gave a Peace...
Walter Jon Williams Prayers on the Wind
Gregory Benford Matter's End
Sharon N. Farber The July Ward
Carolyn Ives Gilman The Honeycrafters

Michael Conner

Honored for : Guide Dog

Nominations 1991 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Ray Aldridge Gate of Faces
Michael Conner Guide Dog
Robert Frazier The All-Consuming
Lucius Shepard The All-Consuming
James Patrick Kelly Standing In Line with Mister Jimmy
Karen Joy Fowler Black Glass
Susan Shwartz Getting Real
Jonathan Lethem The Happy Man

Ted Chiang

Honored for : Tower of Babylon

Nominations 1990 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Ian R. MacLeod 1/72nd Scale
Mike Resnick The Manamouki
Kristine Kathryn Rusch A Time for Every Purpose
Dafydd ab Hugh The Coon Rolled Down and Ruptured His Larinks, A Squeezed Novel by Mr. Skunk
Ted Chiang Tower of Babylon
Martha Soukup Over the Long Haul
Ursula K. Le Guin The Shobies' Story
Susan Shwartz Loose Cannon

Connie Willis

Honored for : At the Rialto

Nominations 1989 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Greg Bear Sisters
Kristine Kathryn Rusch Fast Cars
Robin Hobb Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man
Connie Willis At the Rialto
Mike Resnick For I Have Touched the Sky
Robert Silverberg Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another

George Alec Effinger

Honored for : Schrödinger's Kitten

Nominations 1988 »

Nominee Nominated Work
George Alec Effinger Schrödinger's Kitten
Ian McDonald Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh
Mike Resnick Kirinyaga
Steven Gould Peaches for Mad Molly
Judith Moffett The Hob
Howard Waldrop Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?
Neal Barrett Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus

Pat Murphy

Honored for : Rachel in Love

Nominations 1987 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Bruce Sterling Flowers of Edo
Pat Murphy Rachel in Love
Connie Willis Schwarzschild Radius
Ursula K. Le Guin Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight
Bruce McAllister Dream Baby
Octavia E. Butler The Evening and the Morning and the Night

Kate Wilhelm

Honored for : The Girl Who Fell into the Sky

Nominations 1986 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Lucius Shepard Aymara
Suzy McKee Charnas Listening to Brahms
Kate Wilhelm The Girl Who Fell into the Sky
Orson Scott Card Hatrack River
Judith Moffett Surviving
Roger Zelazny Permafrost
William Gibson The Winter Market

George R. R. Martin

Honored for : Portraits of His Children

Nominations 1985 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Lucius Shepard The Jaguar Hunter
George R. R. Martin Portraits of His Children
Michael Swanwick Dogfight
William Gibson Dogfight
Michael Bishop A Gift from the Graylanders
Orson Scott Card The Fringe
Harlan Ellison Paladin of the Lost Hour
S. C. Sykes Rockabye Baby

Octavia E. Butler

Honored for : Bloodchild

Nominations 1984 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Kim Stanley Robinson The Lucky Strike
Jack Dann Bad Medicine
Michael Swanwick Trojan Horse
Octavia E. Butler Bloodchild
James Patrick Kelly Saint Theresa of the Aliens
Lucius Shepard The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule

Greg Bear

Honored for : Blood Music

Nominations 1983 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Greg Bear Blood Music
Jack Dann Blind Shemmy
Ian Watson Slow Birds
George R. R. Martin The Monkey Treatment
Kim Stanley Robinson Black Air
Connie Willis The Sidon in the Mirror
Bruce Sterling Cicada Queen

Connie Willis

Honored for : Fire Watch

Nominations 1982 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Connie Willis Fire Watch
J. G. Ballard Myths of the Near Future
Joanna Russ The Mystery of the Young Gentleman
William Gibson Burning Chrome
Thomas M. Disch Understanding Human Behavior
Bruce Sterling Swarm

Michael Bishop

Honored for : The Quickening

Nominations 1981 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Edward Bryant The Thermals of August
James Tiptree, Jr. Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo
Michael Bishop The Quickening
Mildred Downey Broxon Sea Changeling
Michael Swanwick Mummer Kiss
Parke Godwin The Fire When It Comes

Howard Waldrop

Honored for : The Ugly Chickens

Nominations 1980 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Michael Swanwick The Feast of Saint Janis
Michael Swanwick Ginungagap
Howard Waldrop The Ugly Chickens
John Varley Beatnik Bayou
Edward Bryant Strata
Stephen King The Way Station

George R. R. Martin

Honored for : Sandkings

Nominations 1979 »

Nominee Nominated Work
George R. R. Martin Sandkings
Ursula K. Le Guin The Pathways of Desire
Poul Anderson The Ways of Love
John Varley Options
Michael Shea The Angel of Death
Jack Dann Camps

Charles L. Grant

Honored for : A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye

Nominations 1978 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Charles L. Grant A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn's Eye
Dean Ing Devil You Don't Know
Orson Scott Card Mikal's Songbird

James Tiptree, Jr.

Honored for : The Screwfly Solution

Nominations 1977 »

Nominee Nominated Work
George R. R. Martin The Stone City
Carter Scholz The Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven and Other Lost Songs
Fritz Leiber A Rite of Spring
Edward Bryant Particle Theory
James Tiptree, Jr. The Screwfly Solution

Isaac Asimov

Honored for : The Bicentennial Man

Nominations 1976 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Howard Waldrop Custer's Last Jump
Steven Utley Custer's Last Jump
Isaac Asimov The Bicentennial Man
John Varley In the Bowl
Grant Carrington His Hour Upon the Stage

Tom Reamy

Honored for : San Diego Lightfoot Sue and Other Stories

Nominations 1975 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Avram Davidson Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman
John Varley Retrograde Summer
Eleanor Arnason The Warlord of Saturn's Moons
Barry N. Malzberg A Galaxy Called Rome
Ursula K. Le Guin The New Atlantis
Randall Garrett The Final Fighting of Fion Mac Cumhail
Craig Strete The Bleeding Man
Jack Dann The Dybbuk Dolls
John Middleton Murry, Jr. The Custodians
Tom Reamy San Diego Lightfoot Sue and Other Stories
Michael Bishop Blooded on Arachne

Gregory Benford, Gordon Eklund

Honored for : If the Stars Are Gods

Nominations 1974 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Charles L. Grant The Rest Is Silence
Gregory Benford If the Stars Are Gods
Gordon Eklund If the Stars Are Gods
Tom Reamy Twilla

Vonda N. McIntyre

Honored for : Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand

Nominations 1973 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Harlan Ellison The Deathbird
Theodore Sturgeon Case and the Dreamer
James Tiptree, Jr. The Girl Who Was Plugged In
Vonda N. McIntyre Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand

Poul Anderson

Honored for : Goat Song

Nominations 1972 »

Nominee Nominated Work
William Rotsler Patron of the Arts
Alfred Bester The Animal Fair
David Gerrold In the Deadlands
Harlan Ellison Basilisk
Poul Anderson Goat Song
Gardner Dozois A Kingdom by the Sea
Kate Wilhelm The Funeral

Poul Anderson

Honored for : The Queen of Air and Darkness

Nominations 1971 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Poul Anderson The Queen of Air and Darkness
Gardner Dozois A Special Kind of Morning
Kate Wilhelm The Encounter
Edgar Pangborn Mount Charity
Joanna Russ Poor Man, Beggar Man

Theodore Sturgeon

Honored for : Slow Sculpture

Nominations 1970 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Theodore Sturgeon Slow Sculpture
Gordon Eklund Dear Aunt Annie
Gerald Jonas The Shaker Revival
Thomas M. Disch The Asian Shore
Joanna Russ The Second Inquisition
R. A. Lafferty Continued on Next Rock

Samuel R. Delany

Honored for : Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones

Nominations 1969 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Norman Spinrad The Big Flash
Ursula K. Le Guin Nine Lives
Gregory Benford Deeper than the Darkness
Samuel R. Delany Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones

Richard Wilson

Honored for : Mother to the World

Nominations 1968 »

Nominee Nominated Work
H. H. Hollis The Guerrilla Trees
Brian Aldiss Total Environment
Poul Anderson The Sharing of Flesh
Barry N. Malzberg Final War
Richard Wilson Mother to the World
Keith Laumer Once There Was a Giant
James Gunn The Listeners

Fritz Leiber

Honored for : Gonna Roll the Bones

Nominations 1967 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Harlan Ellison Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes
Roger Zelazny This Mortal Mountain
Roger Zelazny The Keys to December
Fritz Leiber Gonna Roll the Bones
Larry Niven Flatlander

Gordon R. Dickson

Honored for : Call Him Lord

Nominations 1966 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Gordon R. Dickson Call Him Lord
Roger Zelazny This Moment of the Storm
Charles L. Harness An Ornament to His Profession
Robert M. Green Apology to Inky
Hayden Howard The Eskimo Invasion

Roger Zelazny

Honored for : The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth

Nominations 1965 »

Nominee Nominated Work
Joseph L. Green The Decision Makers
Norman Kagan At the Institute
Fritz Leiber Four Ghosts In Hamlet
Thomas M. Disch 102 H-Bombs
James Blish The Shipwrecked Hotel
Norman L. Knight The Shipwrecked Hotel
Fred Saberhagen Masque of the Red Shift
R. C. Fitzpatrick Half a Loaf
Norman Kagan Laugh Along with Franz
J. W. Schutz Maiden Voyage
Norman Kagan The Earth Merchants
E. Clayton McCarty Small One
Robert Sheckley Shall We Have a Little Talk?
Jonathan Brand Vanishing Point
James H. Schmitz Goblin Night
James H. Schmitz Planet of Forgetting
Poul Anderson The Life of Your Time
Mack Reynolds The Adventure of the Extraterrestrial
Roger Zelazny The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth
William Tenn The Masculinist Revolt