Nebula Award for Best Novelette


The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association to a science fiction or fantasy novelette. 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. To be eligible for Nebula Award consideration a novelette must be published in English in the United States. Works published in English elsewhere in the world are also eligible provided they are released on either a website or in an electronic edition. The Nebula Award for Best Novelette has been awarded annually since 1966. The Nebula Awards have 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.
Nebula Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of SFWA, though the authors of the nominees do not need to be members. Works are nominated each year by members in a period around December 15 through January 31, and the six works that receive the most nominations then form the final ballot, with additional nominees possible in the case of ties. Soon after, members are given a month to vote on the ballot, 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 60 nomination years, 240 authors have had works nominated; 52 of these have won, including co-authors and ties. Ted Chiang has won three times out of three nominations, and Poul Anderson, Kelly Link, George R. R. Martin, Sarah Pinsker, and Connie Willis have each won twice out of five, two, four, six, and five nominations, respectively. One of Anderson's nominations was under the pseudonym Michael Karageorge. Ursula K. Le Guin has the most nominations of any author with seven, including one win and not including one withdrawn nomination. James Patrick Kelly and Richard Bowes are tied for the most nominations without winning at six.
WWW nebulas.sfwa.org

Winners and nominees

SFWA currently identifies the awards by the year of publication, that is, the year prior to the year in which the award is given. Entries with a yellow background and an asterisk next to the writer's name have won the award; the other entries are the other nominees on the shortlist.
* Winners and joint winners
YearAuthorNovelettePublisher or publicationRef.
1965*""'
1965""Galaxy Science Fiction
1965""Galaxy Science Fiction
1965"Vanishing Point"If
1965"102 H-Bombs"Fantastic
1965"Half a Loaf"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1965""Galaxy Science Fiction
1965"At the Institute"Worlds of Tomorrow
1965""'
1965"Laugh Along with Franz"Galaxy Science Fiction
1965""Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1965"Four Ghosts In Hamlet"'
1965"Small One"If
1965""Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1965"Masque of the Red Shift"If
1965"Goblin Night"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1965"Planet of Forgetting"Galaxy Science Fiction
1965"Maiden Voyage"'
1965"Shall We Have a Little Talk?"Galaxy Science Fiction
1965""'
1966*"Call Him Lord"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1966"Apology to Inky"'
1966""Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1966""Galaxy Science Fiction
1966"This Moment of the Storm"'
1967*"Gonna Roll the Bones"Dangerous Visions
1967"Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes"Knight
1967"Flatlander"If
1967""New Worlds
1967"This Mortal Mountain"If
1968*"Mother to the World"'
1968"Total Environment"Galaxy Science Fiction
1968""Galaxy Science Fiction
1968""Galaxy Science Fiction
1968""If
1968"Once There Was a Giant"'
1968"Final War"'
1969*"Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones"New Worlds
1969"Deeper than the Darkness"'
1969"Nine Lives"Playboy
1969""'
1970*"Slow Sculpture"Galaxy Science Fiction
1970""'
1970"Dear Aunt Annie"Fantastic
1970""Galaxy Science Fiction
1970"Continued on Next Rock"'
1970""'
1971*""'
1971""'
1971"Mount Charity"'
1971"Poor Man, Beggar Man"'
1971""'
1972*"Goat Song"'
1972""'
1972""'
1972"Basilisk"'
1972"In the Deadlands"With a Finger In My I
1972"Patron of the Arts"'
1972""Again, Dangerous Visions
1973*"Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1973""'
1973"Case and the Dreamer"Galaxy Science Fiction
1973""'
1974*"If the Stars Are Gods"'
1974*"If the Stars Are Gods"'
1974""'
1974"Twilla"'
1975*"San Diego Lightfoot Sue"'
1975""New Worlds 6
1975"Blooded on Arachne"Epoch
1975""'
1975""'
1975"Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman"'
1975""'
1975""'
1975""'
1975""Galaxy Science Fiction
1975"Retrograde Summer"'
1976*""Stellar 2
1976"His Hour Upon the Stage"Amazing Stories
1976"Custer's Last Jump"'
1976"Custer's Last Jump"'
1976"In the Bowl"'
1977*""Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1977"Particle Theory"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1977""'
1977""New Voices in Science Fiction
1977""'
1978*""Graven Images
1978"Mikal's Songbird"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1978"Devil You Don't Know"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1979*"Sandkings"Omni
1979""Destinies
1979"Camps"'
1979""'
1979""'
1979"Options"'
1980*""'
1980"Strata"'
1980""'
1980""'
1980"Ginungagap"TriQuarterly
1980"Beatnik Bayou"New Voices 3
1981*""'
1981"Sea Changeling"Asimov's Science Fiction
1981""'
1981""'
1981"Mummer Kiss"'
1981"Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo"Asimov's Science Fiction
1982*"Fire Watch"Asimov's Science Fiction
1982"Myths of the Near Future"'
1982"Understanding Human Behavior"'
1982"Burning Chrome"Omni
1982""Speculations
1982"Swarm"'
1983*"Blood Music"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1983"Blind Shemmy"Omni
1983""'
1983"Black Air"'
1983"Cicada Queen"'
1983"Slow Birds"'
1983""Asimov's Science Fiction
1984*"Bloodchild"Asimov's Science Fiction
1984"Bad Medicine"Asimov's Science Fiction
1984"Saint Theresa of the Aliens"Asimov's Science Fiction
1984""'
1984""'
1984"Trojan Horse"Omni
1985*"Portraits of His Children"Asimov's Science Fiction
1985""Asimov's Science Fiction
1985""'
1985"Paladin of the Lost Hour"'
1985"Dogfight"Omni
1985"Dogfight"Omni
1985""'
1985"Rockabye Baby"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1986*""Asimov's Science Fiction
1986"Hatrack River"Asimov's Science Fiction
1986"Listening to Brahms"Omni
1986""Stardate
1986"Surviving"'
1986"Aymara"Asimov's Science Fiction
1986"Permafrost"Omni
1987*"Rachel in Love"Asimov's Science Fiction
1987""Omni
1987"Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1987"Dream Baby"Asimov's Science Fiction
1987"Flowers of Edo"Asimov's Science Fiction
1987"Schwarzschild Radius"'
1988*"Schrödinger's Kitten"Omni
1988"Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus"Asimov's Science Fiction
1988"Peaches for Mad Molly"Analog Science Fact & Fiction
1988"Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh"Empire Dreams
1988""Asimov's Science Fiction
1988"Kirinyaga"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1988"Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?"Asimov's Science Fiction
1989*"At the Rialto"Omni
1989"Sisters"Tangents
1989"Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man"Asimov's Science Fiction
1989"For I Have Touched the Sky"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1989"Fast Cars"Asimov's Science Fiction
1989"Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another"Asimov's Science Fiction
1990*"Tower of Babylon"Omni
1990""Asimov's Science Fiction
1990""
1990"1/72nd Scale"Weird Tales
1990""Asimov's Science Fiction
1990""Amazing Stories
1990"Loose Cannon"What Might Have Been? Vol. 2: Alternate Heroes
1990"Over the Long Haul"Amazing Stories
1991*"Guide Dog"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1991"Gate of Faces"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1991"Black Glass"
1991""Playboy
1991""Playboy
1991"Standing In Line with Mister Jimmy"Asimov's Science Fiction
1991""Asimov's Science Fiction
1991"Getting Real"Newer York
1992*"Danny Goes to Mars"Asimov's Science Fiction
1992"Matter's End"
1992""Asimov's Science Fiction
1992""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1992"Suppose They Gave a Peace..."Alternate Presidents
1992"Prayers on the Wind"When the Music's Over
1993*"Georgia on My Mind"Analog Science Fiction and Fact
1993"England Underway"Omni
1993""Asimov's Science Fiction
1993""Asimov's Science Fiction
1993"Things Not Seen"Analog Science Fiction and Fact
1993"Death on the Nile"Asimov's Science Fiction
1994*""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1994"Necronauts"Playboy
1994""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1994""Analog Science Fiction and Fact
1994""Crank!
1994"Nekropolis"Asimov's Science Fiction
1995*"Solitude"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995"Tea and Hamsters"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995"Jesus at the Bat"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995"Home for Christmas"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1995"Think Like a Dinosaur"Asimov's Science Fiction
1995"When the Old Gods Die"Asimov's Science Fiction
1996*"Lifeboat on a Burning Sea"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1996"Erase/Record/Play"Starlight 1
1996"Mirror of Lop Nor"Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn
1996""Analog Science Fiction and Fact
1996"Must and Shall"Asimov's Science Fiction
1996""Realms of Fantasy
1996"After a Lean Winter"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1997*""Asimov's Science Fiction
1997""Asimov's Science Fiction
1997"Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream"Asimov's Science Fiction
1997"We Will Drink a Fish Together..."Asimov's Science Fiction
1997""Asimov's Science Fiction
1997""Analog Science Fiction and Fact
1997""Asimov's Science Fiction
1998*"Lost Girls"Realms of Fantasy
1998""Science Fiction Age
1998"Time Gypsy"Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction
1998""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1998"Echea"Asimov's Science Fiction
1998"Lethe"Asimov's Science Fiction
1999*"Mars Is No Place for Children"Science Fiction Age
1999""Fantasy & Science Fiction
1999"How to Make Unicorn Pie"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1999"Five Days in April"Chiaroscuro
1999"Good Intentions"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1999"Good Intentions"Fantasy & Science Fiction
1999"Taklamakan"Asimov's Science Fiction
2000*"Daddy's World"Not of Woman Born
2000"Stellar Harvest"Asimov's Science Fiction
2000""Asimov's Science Fiction
2000"Jack Daw's Pack"Century
2000""Analog Science Fiction and Fact
2000"How the Highland People Came to Be"Realms of Fantasy
2000"Generation Gap"Artemis
2001*"Louise's Ghost"Stranger Things Happen
2001"To Kiss the Star"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2001""Sci Fiction
2001"Undone"Asimov's Science Fiction
2001"Auspicious Eggs"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2001"Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites"Vanishing Acts
2002*"Hell Is the Absence of God"Starlight 3
2002""The Green Man: Tales From the Mythic Forest
2002""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2002"Madonna of the Maquiladora"Asimov's Science Fiction
2002""Asimov's Science Fiction
2002"Lobsters"Asimov's Science Fiction
2003*""Sci Fiction
2003""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2003"Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs"Imaginings: An Anthology of Long Short Fiction
2003"0wnz0red"Salon
2003""Sci Fiction
2004*"Basement Magic"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2004"Zora and the Zombie"Sci Fiction
2004""Sci Fiction
2004"Dry Bones"Asimov's Science Fiction
2004""Asimov's Science Fiction
2005*""'
2005"Flat Diane"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2005"Men Are Trouble"Asimov's Science Fiction
2005"Nirvana High"Stable Strategies and Others
2005"Nirvana High"Stable Strategies and Others
2005""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2006*"Two Hearts"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2006""Realms of Fantasy
2006"Walpurgis Afternoon"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2006"Journey into the Kingdom"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2006"Little Faces"Sci Fiction
2007*""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2007""Heroes in Training
2007"Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone"Jim Baen's Universe
2007""'
2007"Safeguard"Asimov's Science Fiction
2007""'
2007"Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter "Fantasy & Science Fiction
2008*"Pride and Prometheus"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2008"If Angels Fight"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2008""Asimov's Science Fiction
2008"Dark Rooms"Asimov's Science Fiction
2008"Night Wind"Lace and Blade
2008"Baby Doll"'
2008"Kaleidoscope"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2009*"Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast"Interzone
2009""Fast Forward 2
2009"Vinegar Peace, or the Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage"Asimov's Science Fiction
2009"I Needs Must Part, the Policeman Said"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2009"Divining Light"Asimov's Science Fiction
2009""Tor.com
2010*"That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made"Analog Science Fiction and Fact
2010"Map of Seventeen"'
2010""Asimov's Science Fiction
2010""Realms of Fantasy
2010"Plus or Minus"Asimov's Science Fiction
2010"Pishaach"'
2010"Stone Wall Truth"Asimov's Science Fiction
2011*"What We Found"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2011"Fields of Gold"Eclipse 4
2011"Ray of Light"Analog Science Fiction and Fact
2011"Sauerkraut Station"Giganotosaurus
2011"Six Months, Three Days"Tor.com
2011""Giganotosaurus
2011""Lightspeed
2012*"Close Encounters"'
2012""'
2012""Asimov's Science Fiction
2012""Tor.com
2012"Swift, Brutal Retaliation"Tor.com
2012"Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia"Tor.com
2012"Fade to White"Clarkesworld Magazine
2013*""'
2013"Paranormal Romance"Lightspeed
2013"They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass"Asimov's Science Fiction
2013"Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters"Asimov's Science Fiction
2013""Lightspeed
2013"In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind"Strange Horizons
2014*""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2014"Sleep Walking Now and Then"Tor.com
2014""Clarkesworld Magazine
2014""Granta
2014"We Are the Cloud"Lightspeed
2014""Tor.com
2015*"Our Lady of the Open Road"Asimov's Science Fiction
2015"And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead"Lightspeed
2015""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2015"Grandmother-nai-Laylit's Cloth of Winds"Beneath Ceaseless Skies
2015""Asimov's Science Fiction
2015"Rattlesnakes and Men"Asimov's Science Fiction
2016*Fantasy & Science Fiction
2016"Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea"Lightspeed
2016"Blood Grains Speak Through Memories"Beneath Ceaseless Skies
2016"The Orangery"Beneath Ceaseless Skies
2016Fran WildeTor.com Publishing
2016"You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay"Uncanny Magazine
2017*Tor.com
2017"Dirty Old Town"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2017"Weaponized Math"'
2017"Wind Will Rove"Asimov's Science Fiction
2017Clarkesworld Magazine
2017"Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time"Uncanny Magazine
2018*Tor.com Publishing
2018'
2018Tor.com
2018"Messenger"'
2018"Messenger"
2018Future Science Fiction Digest
2018Lightspeed
2019*Meerkat Press
2019Fantasy & Science Fiction
2019"For He Can Creep"Tor.com
2019"His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light"Tor.com
2019Uncanny Magazine
2019Lightspeed
2020*"Two Truths and a Lie"Tor.com
2020"Stepsister"Fantasy & Science Fiction
2020Big Girl
2020"Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super"Uncanny Magazine
2020"Where You Linger"Uncanny Magazine
2020"Shadow Prisons"Broad Reach Publishing
2021*"O2 Arena"Galaxy's Edge
2021"Just Enough Rain"GigaNotoSaurus
2021""Fantasy & Science Fiction
2021"That Story Isn't the Story"Uncanny Magazine
2021"Colors of the Immortal Palette"Uncanny Magazine
2022*"If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You"Uncanny Magazine
2022Africa Risen
2022"Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness"Clarkesworld Magazine
2022Uncanny Magazine
2022"Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold"Uncanny Magazine
2022"We Built This City"Clarkesworld Magazine
2023*Uncanny Magazine
2023Samovar
2023Shortwave Publishing
2023"Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down the Moon"Clarkesworld Magazine
2023"Saturday's Song"Lightspeed
2023"Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge"Uncanny Magazine
2024*"Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being"Clarkesworld Magazine
2024"Another Girl Under the Iron Bell"Uncanny Magazine
2024Clarkesworld Magazine
2024"Joanna's Bodies"Psychopomp
2024"Katya Vasilievna and the Second Drowning of Baba Rechka"Beneath Ceaseless Skies
2024"Loneliness Universe"Uncanny Magazine
2024"What Any Dead Thing Wants"Psychopomp