On Monday, March 15th, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) announced the finalists for the 56th Annual Nebula Awards during a livestream presentation.
As in 2020, this year's Nebula Conference will be held online. The virtual event runs June 4th to 6th, 2021, and the Nebula winners will be announced during a ceremony on June 5th, 2021, hosted by writer and performer Aydrea Walden.
See the 2020 Nebula Award Finalists below!
Best Novel Nominees
Piranesi
The second novel from the acclaimed author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Piranesi is enigmatic and engrossing.
Set in the titular Piranesi's house, the story follows the relationship between Piranesi and a man called The Other, and Piranesi's revelations about a reality hidden by his labyrinthine home.
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The City We Became
The City We Became is a New York novel released at a time when New Yorkers most needed a reminder of the city's unique strengths.
In Jemisin's thrilling vision of New York, the city's boroughs are personified by human avatars, all of whom must unite to protect the city that never sleeps from an age-old evil.
This marks Jemisin's eighth Nebula nomination. She previously won the Best Novel Nebula Award in 2018 for The Stone Sky.
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Mexican Gothic
In this suspense-filled supernatural fantasy, glamorous socialite Noemí travels to an isolated home to save her cousin from an unnamed terror.
Moreno-Garcia was also a Nebula finalist in 2019, for her novel Gods of Jade and Shadow.
Black Sun
The first novel in Roanhorse's latest series, Black Sun is an original epic fueled by age-old prophecies and omens from the cosmos.
Set in the city of Tova as it prepares for a simultaneous solstice and solar eclipse, author Ken Liu praised Black Sun for depicting "the full panoply of human grace and depravity. Rebecca Roanhorse is the epic voice of our continent and time."
Roanhorse previously won a Nebula for her short story, "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience."
Network Effect
The fifth entry (but the first full-length novel!) in the Murderbot Diaries series, Network Effect follows Murderbot as he attempts to rescue his human associates.
This is Wells' fourth Nebula nomination. She took home the Best Novella Nebula in 2018 for All Systems Red.
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See the full list of nominees below!
Novella
- “Tower of Mud and Straw,” Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)
- Finna, Nino Cipri (Tordotcom Publishing)
- Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom Publishing)
- “Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon,” Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)
- The Four Profound Weaves, R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)
- Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom Publishing)
Novelette
- “Stepsister,” Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)
- “The Pill,” Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)
- “Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super,” A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)
- “Two Truths and a Lie,” Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)
- “Where You Linger,” Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)
- “Shadow Prisons,” Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as “The Shadow Prison Experiment,” “Shadow Prisons of the Mind,” and “The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma,” Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)
Short Story
- “Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse,” Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)
- “Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math,” Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)
- “A Guide for Working Breeds,” Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)
- “The Eight-Thousanders,” Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20)
- “My Country Is a Ghost,” Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)
- “Open House on Haunted Hill,” John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)
The Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
- Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)
- Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
- A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll)
- A Game of Fox & Squirrels, Jenn Reese (Holt)
- Star Daughter, Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)
Game Writing
- Blaseball, Stephen Bell, Joel Clark, Sam Rosenthal (The Game Band)
- Hades, Greg Kasavin (Supergiant)
- Kentucky Route Zero, Jake Elliott (Cardboard Computer)
- The Luminous Underground, Phoebe Barton (Choice of Games)
- Scents & Semiosis, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Cat Manning, Caleb Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee (Self)
- Spiritfarer, Nicolas Guérin, Maxime Monast, Alex Tommi-Morin (Thunder Lotus Games)
The Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Drama Presentation
- Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Christina Hodson (Warner Bros. Pictures/DC Entertainment)
- The Expanse: “Gaugamela,” Dan Nowak (Amazon)
- The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready,” Michael Schur (NBC)
- Lovecraft Country Season 1, Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Kevin Lau, Wes Taylor, Ihuoma Ofordire, Jonathan I. Kidd, Sonya Winton-Odamtten (HBO Max)
- The Mandalorian: “The Tragedy,” Jon Favreau (Disney+)
- The Old Guard, Greg Rucka (Netflix)
