The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) has announced the 59th Annual Nebula Awards finalists for works published in 2023. I’m pleased to see some of my Hugo nominees as well as one of my Astounding and one of my Lodestar nominees.
Nebula Award for Novel
- The Saint of Bright Doors, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
- The Water Outlaws, S.L. Huang (Tordotcom; Solaris UK)
- Translation State, Ann Leckie (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
- The Terraformers, Annalee Newitz (Tor; Orbit UK)
- Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon, Wole Talabi (DAW, Gollancz)
- Witch King, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)
The Water Outlaws, Translation State, and Witch King were on my Hugo Award ballot. I’ve heard great things about the other three and would be happy to see any of them as Hugo finalists as well. Martha Wells declined a nomination for System Collapse. She has previously declined recent nominations for the Murderbot Diaries as they have already received multiple accolades.
Nebula Award for Novella
- The Crane Husband, Kelly Barnhill (Tordotcom)
- “Linghun”, Ai Jiang (Linghun)
- Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)
- Untethered Sky, Fonda Lee (Tordotcom)
- The Mimicking of Known Successes, Malka Older (Tordotcom)
- Mammoths at the Gates, Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)
From here I had The Crane Husband and The Mimicking of Known Successes on my Hugo ballot. The novellas from T. Kingfisher, Fonda Lee, and Nghi Vo are all ones I want to read. I’ll have to add Ai Jiang’s to my list as I’ve enjoyed the other stories I’ve read by her.
Nebula Award for Novelette
- “A Short Biography of a Conscious Chair”, Renan Bernardo (Samovar 2/23)
- I Am AI, Ai Jiang (Shortwave)
- “The Year Without Sunshine”, Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny 11-12/23)
- “Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down The Moon”, Angela Liu (Clarkesworld 6/23)
- “Saturday’s Song”, Wole Talabi (Lightspeed 5/23)
- “Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 9-10/23)
Ai Jiang makes her second appearance on this ballot. Another two of my Hugo nominees show up here: “The Year Without Sunshine” and “Saturday’s Song”. I nominated Angela Liu for the Astounding Award although I haven’t read this particular story yet. I also haven’t gotten to Eugenia Triantafyllou’s story although I’ve really liked other stories by her. Finally, Renan Bernardo’s story is very touching and was translated from Portuguese by the author. (The original language version can be found in that same issue of Samovar as well.)
Nebula Award for Short Story
- “Once Upon a Time at The Oakmont”, P.A. Cornell (Fantasy 10/23)
- “Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200”, R.S.A Garcia (Uncanny 7-8/23)
- “Window Boy”, Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld 8/23)
- “The Sound of Children Screaming”, Rachael K. Jones (Nightmare 10/23)
- “Better Living Through Algorithms”, Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld 5/23)
- “Bad Doors”, John Wiswell (Uncanny 1-2/23)
Naomi Kritzer gets a second nod here. Her story was a favorite although I didn’t nominate this one. On the other hand, John Wiswell’s story didn’t work for me even though I normally find his stories very charming. The remaining Clarkesworld, Fantasy, and Uncanny stories are still waiting on my ereader. Not being a big horror fan, I seldom read Nightmare, but maybe I’ll make an exception for this finalist.
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction
- To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey)
- The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, J. Dianne Dotson (Android)
- Liberty’s Daughter, Naomi Kritzer (Fairwood)
- The Ghost Job, Greg van Eekhout (Harper)
Naomi Kritzer appears here for a third time. I haven’t read this book, but I recognize the Seastead setting from a series of stories published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. I nominated To Shape a Dragon’s Breath for the Lodestar Award. I hadn’t previously seen the other two books, but I’m far from the target audience so that’s unsurprising.
Nebula Award for Game Writing
- The Bread Must Rise, Stewart C Baker, James Beamon (Choice of Games)
- Alan Wake II, Sam Lake, Clay Murphy, Tyler Burton Smith, Sinikka Annala (Remedy Entertainment, Epic Games Publishing)
- Ninefox Gambit: Machineries of Empire Roleplaying Game, Yoon Ha Lee, Marie Brennan (Android)
- Dredge, Joel Mason (Black Salt Games, Team 17)
- Chants of Sennaar, Julien Moya, Thomas Panuel (Rundisc, Focus Entertainment)
- Baldur’s Gate 3, Adam Smith, Adrienne Law, Baudelaire Welch, Chrystal Ding, Ella McConnell, Ine Van Hamme, Jan Van Dosselaer, John Corcoran, Kevin VanOrd, Lawrence Schick, Martin Docherty, Rachel Quirke, Ruairí Moore, Sarah Baylus, Stephen Rooney, Swen Vincke (Larian Studios)
Not much to say here since I’m not a gamer. I did love Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire books which the Ninefox Gambit RPG is based on, and Marie Brennan is another favorite author. I will still be interested in seeing if there is any overlap with the new Best Game or Interactive Work Hugo Award.
Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
- Nimona, Robert L. Baird, Lloyd Taylor, Pamela Ribon, Marc Haimes, Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Keith Bunin, Nate Stevenson (Annapurna Animation, Annapurna Pictures)
- The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”, Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin (HBOMax)
- Barbie, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros., Heyday Films, LuckyChap Entertainment)
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Michael Gilio, Chris McKay (Paramount Pictures, Entertainment One, Allspark Pictures)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Dave Callaham (Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Avi Arad Productions)
- The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli, Toho Company)
Barbie, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse were on my Hugo ballot. I haven’t seen the others yet.
Winners will be present at a ceremony on June 8th at 8pm Pacific Time during the Nebula Conference in Pasadena, California. What do you think of these finalists? Did you nominate any of them for a Hugo?
Laura’s Library 