Nebula Award for Best Novella
The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America for science fiction or fantasy novellas. 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. To be eligible for Nebula Award consideration, a novella 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 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. 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.
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 55 nomination years, 181 authors have had works nominated; 52 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
| Year | Author | Novella | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
| 1966 | * | ' | ||
| 1966 | * | "He Who Shapes" | Amazing Stories | |
| 1966 | "Rogue Dragon" | ' | ||
| 1966 | Ace Books | |||
| 1966 | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| 1966 | "Under Two Moons" | If | ||
| 1966 | "Research Alpha" | If | ||
| 1966 | "Research Alpha" | If | ||
| 1966 | "On the Storm Planet" | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| 1967 | * | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| 1967 | Ace Books | |||
| 1967 | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1968 | * | "Behold the Man" | New Worlds | |
| 1968 | "Riders of the Purple Wage" | Dangerous Visions | ||
| 1968 | "Weyr Search" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1968 | "Hawksbill Station" | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| 1968 | "If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister?" | Dangerous Visions | ||
| 1969 | * | "Dragonrider" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |
| 1969 | "Lines of Power" | ' | ||
| 1969 | ' | |||
| 1969 | "Hawk Among the Sparrows" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1969 | "Nightwings" | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| 1970 | * | ' | ||
| 1970 | "Probable Cause" | ' | ||
| 1970 | "Ship of Shadows" | ' | ||
| 1970 | "Dramatic Mission" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1970 | "To Jorslem" | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| 1971 | * | "Ill Met in Lankhmar" | ' | |
| 1971 | ' | |||
| 1971 | Anywhen | |||
| 1971 | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| 1971 | If | |||
| 1971 | "April Fool's Day Forever" | ' | ||
| 1972 | * | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1972 | Harcourt Brace Jovanovich | |||
| 1972 | New Worlds Quarterly #1 | |||
| 1972 | ' | |||
| 1972 | Abyss | |||
| 1973 | * | Playboy | ||
| 1973 | "Son of the Morning" | ' | ||
| 1973 | Again, Dangerous Visions | |||
| 1973 | "With the Bentfin Boomer Boys on Little Old New Alabama" | Again, Dangerous Visions | ||
| 1973 | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1973 | Orbit 10 | |||
| 1974 | * | ' | ||
| 1974 | "Death and Designation Among the Asadi" | If | ||
| 1974 | ' | |||
| 1974 | "Junction" | Fantastic | ||
| 1974 | "Chains of the Sea" | Chains of the Sea | ||
| 1975 | * | "Born with the Dead" | ' | |
| 1975 | "On the Street of the Serpents" | Science Fiction Emphasis 1 | ||
| 1975 | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1976 | * | "Home Is the Hangman" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |
| 1976 | "Sunrise West" | Vertex | ||
| 1976 | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1976 | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1976 | The New Atlantis | |||
| 1977 | * | "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" | Aurora: Beyond Equality | |
| 1977 | ' | |||
| 1977 | "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" | ' | ||
| 1977 | Future Power | |||
| 1978 | * | "Stardance" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |
| 1978 | * | "Stardance" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |
| 1978 | "Aztecs" | 2076: The American Tricentennial | ||
| 1979 | * | ' | ||
| 1979 | "Seven American Nights" | Orbit 20 | ||
| 1980 | * | "Enemy Mine" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1980 | Asimov's SF Adventure Magazine | |||
| 1980 | "Mars Masked" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1980 | ' | |||
| 1980 | "Fireship" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1980 | Destinies | |||
| 1981 | * | "Unicorn Tapestry" | New Dimensions 11 | |
| 1981 | "There Beneath the Silky-Trees and Whelmed in Deeper Gulphs Than Me" | Other Worlds 2 | ||
| 1981 | "Lost Dorsai" | Destinies | ||
| 1981 | ' | |||
| 1981 | "Dangerous Games" | ' | ||
| 1981 | ' | |||
| 1982 | * | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1982 | "Swarmer, Skimmer" | SF Digest | ||
| 1982 | "Amnesia" | The Berkley Showcase, Vol 3 | ||
| 1982 | "In the Western Tradition" | ' | ||
| 1982 | "True Names" | Binary Star 5 | ||
| 1982 | Redbook | |||
| 1983 | * | "Another Orphan" | ' | |
| 1983 | "Horrible Imaginings" | Death | ||
| 1983 | "Moon of Ice" | Amazing Stories | ||
| 1983 | "Unsound Variations" | Amazing Stories | ||
| 1983 | "Souls" | ' | ||
| 1984 | * | "Hardfought" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1984 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1984 | "Her Habiline Husband" | Universe 13 | ||
| 1984 | "Eszterhazy and the Autogóndola-Invention" | Amazing Stories | ||
| 1984 | "Transit" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1984 | "Homefaring" | Amazing Stories | ||
| 1985 | * | "Press Enter ■" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1985 | "Young Doctor Eszterhazy" | Amazing Stories | ||
| 1985 | "Trinity" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1985 | ' | |||
| 1985 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1985 | "Marrow Death" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1986 | * | "Sailing to Byzantium" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1986 | "Green Mars" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1986 | "Green Days in Brunei" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1986 | ' | |||
| 1986 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1986 | "24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1987 | * | "R&R" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1987 | "Newton Sleep" | ' | ||
| 1987 | "Escape from Kathmandu" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1987 | "Gilgamesh in the Outback" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1987 | "Dydeetown Girl" | Far Frontiers 4 | ||
| 1988 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1988 | Bantam Spectra | |||
| 1988 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1988 | "Witness" | Wild Cards | ||
| 1989 | * | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1989 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1989 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1989 | "Journals of the Plague Years" | Full Spectrum | ||
| 1989 | "Surfacing" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1989 | Viking Kestrel | |||
| 1990 | * | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1990 | "Great Work of Time" | Novelty | ||
| 1990 | "Marîd Changes His Mind" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1990 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1990 | "Tiny Tango" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1990 | Mark V. Ziesing | |||
| 1991 | * | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1991 | "Weatherman" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1991 | "Fool to Believe" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1991 | "Mr. Boy" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1991 | "Bones" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1992 | * | "Beggars in Spain" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1992 | "Man Opening a Door" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| 1992 | Axolotl Press | |||
| 1992 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1992 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1992 | "Jack" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1993 | * | St. Martin's Press | ||
| 1993 | "Silver or Gold" | After the King: Stories in Honor of J.R.R. Tolkien | ||
| 1993 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1993 | "Contact" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1993 | "Contact" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1993 | "Protection" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1993 | "Barnacle Bill the Spacer" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1993 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1994 | * | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 1994 | Full Spectrum 4 | |||
| 1994 | "Dancing on Air" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1994 | "Into the Miranda Rift" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1994 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1994 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1995 | * | "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 1995 | Omni | |||
| 1995 | "Haunted Humans" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 1995 | "Forgiveness Day" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1995 | "Fan" | Unconquered Countries | ||
| 1995 | "Cold Iron" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1996 | * | "Last Summer at Mars Hill" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 1996 | "Soon Comes Night" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1996 | "Yaguara" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1996 | "Bibi" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1996 | "Bibi" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1996 | "Mortimer Gray's History of Death" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1997 | * | "Da Vinci Rising" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 1997 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1997 | "Blood of the Dragon" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1997 | "Time Travelers Never Die" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1997 | Starlight 1 | |||
| 1997 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1998 | * | "Abandon in Place" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 1998 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1998 | "Loose Ends" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1998 | "Chrysalis" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1998 | "Primrose and Thorn" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1998 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1999 | * | "Reading the Bones" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 1999 | "Aurora in Four Voices" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 1999 | Tachyon Publications | |||
| 1999 | Tachyon Publications | |||
| 1999 | "Izzy and the Father of Terror" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 1999 | "Jumping Off the Planet" | Science Fiction Age | ||
| 1999 | "Ecopoiesis" | Science Fiction Age | ||
| 2000 | * | "Story of Your Life" | Starlight 2 | |
| 2000 | "Reality Check" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2000 | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| 2000 | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| 2000 | "Living Trust" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2000 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2000 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2001 | * | "Goddesses" | Sci Fiction | |
| 2001 | "Fortitude" | Realms of Fantasy | ||
| 2001 | "Ninety Percent of Everything" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2001 | "Ninety Percent of Everything" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2001 | "Ninety Percent of Everything" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2001 | "Hunting the Snark" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2001 | "Crocodile Rock" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2001 | "Argonautica" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2002 | * | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2002 | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| 2002 | "May Be Some Time" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2002 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2002 | "Radiant Green Star" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2003 | * | "Bronte's Egg" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 2003 | "Sunday Night Yams at Minnie and Earl's" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2003 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2003 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2003 | "Magic's Price" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2004 | * | HarperCollins | ||
| 2004 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2004 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2004 | "Stories for Men" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2004 | "Breathmoss" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2005 | * | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2005 | "Walk in Silence" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2005 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2005 | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| 2005 | "Just Like the Ones We Used to Know" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2006 | * | "Magic for Beginners" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |
| 2006 | "Clay's Pride" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2006 | "Identity Theft" | Down These Dark Spaceways | ||
| 2006 | "Left of the Dial" | Sci Fiction | ||
| 2006 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2007 | * | Tachyon Publications | ||
| 2007 | "Sanctuary" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2007 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2007 | "Inclination" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2008 | * | "Fountain of Age" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |
| 2008 | "Awakening" | Black Gate | ||
| 2008 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2008 | "Stars Seen Through Stone" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2008 | "Kiosk" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2008 | "Memorare" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2009 | * | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2009 | "Dark Heaven" | Alien Crimes | ||
| 2009 | "Dangerous Space" | Dangerous Space | ||
| 2009 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2009 | Norilana Books | |||
| 2010 | * | Subterranean Press | ||
| 2010 | "Arkfall" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2010 | "Act One" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2010 | Tachyon Publications | |||
| 2010 | "Sublimation Angels" | Interzone | ||
| 2010 | Subterranean Press | |||
| 2011 | * | Subterranean Magazine | ||
| 2011 | Subterranean Press | |||
| 2011 | "Iron Shoes" | Alembical 2 | ||
| 2011 | Subterranean Press | |||
| 2011 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2011 | "Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2012 | * | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2012 | "Kiss Me Twice" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2012 | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| 2012 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2012 | Panverse 3 | |||
| 2012 | "With Unclean Hands" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| 2013 | * | Tachyon Publications | ||
| 2013 | Immersion Press | |||
| 2013 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2013 | "All the Flavors" | GigaNotoSaurus | ||
| 2013 | "Katabasis" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| 2013 | "Barry's Tale" | Buffalito Buffet | ||
| 2014 | * | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| 2014 | "Wakulla Springs" | Tor.com | ||
| 2014 | "Wakulla Springs" | Tor.com | ||
| 2014 | "Annabel Lee" | New Under the Sun | ||
| 2014 | "Burning Girls" | Tor.com | ||
| 2014 | "Trial of the Century" | Lawrencemschoen.com | ||
| 2014 | Subterranean Press | |||
| 2015 | * | Tachyon Publications | ||
| 2015 | Tachyon Publications | |||
| 2015 | Upgraded | |||
| 2015 | Tor.com | |||
| 2015 | NobleFusion Press | |||
| 2015 | "Grand Jeté " | Subterranean Magazine | ||
| 2016 | * | Tor.com | ||
| 2016 | Bone Swans: Stories | |||
| 2016 | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2016 | Tor.com | |||
| 2016 | "Waters of Versailles" | Tor.com | ||
| 2016 | Harper Voyager Impulse | |||
| 2017 | * | Tor.com Publishing | ||
| 2017 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2017 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2017 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2017 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2017 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2018 | * | Tor.com | ||
| 2018 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2018 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2018 | "And Then There Were " | Uncanny Magazine | ||
| 2018 | NobleFusion Press | |||
| 2018 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2019 | * | Subterranean Press | ||
| 2019 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2019 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2019 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2019 | Semper Fi Press | |||
| 2019 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2020 | * | Saga Press | ||
| 2020 | * | Saga Press | ||
| 2020 | "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" | |||
| 2020 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2020 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| 2020 | Saga Press | |||
| 2020 | Saga Press | |||
| 2020 | Saga Press | |||
| 2020 | Saga Press | |||
| 2020 | Broken Eye Books |