| Nebula Award for Best Novelette | |
| Awarded For: | The best science fiction or fantasy story of between 7,500 and 17,500 words published in the prior calendar year |
| Presenter: | Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association |
| Year: | 1966 |
| Holder: | Naomi Kritzer ("The Year Without Sunshine") |
| Holder Label: | Most recent winner |
| Website: | nebulas.sfwa.org/ |
The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) 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 59 nomination years, 236 authors have had works nominated; 51 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.
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novelette 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(s) | Novelette | Publisher or publication | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | "" | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "Vanishing Point" | If | |||
| "102 H-Bombs" | Fantastic | |||
| "Half a Loaf" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "At the Institute" | Worlds of Tomorrow | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Laugh Along with Franz" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "Four Ghosts In Hamlet" | ||||
| "Small One" | If | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "Masque of the Red Shift" | If | |||
| "Goblin Night" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "Planet of Forgetting" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "Maiden Voyage" | ||||
| "Shall We Have a Little Talk?" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | ||||
| 1967 | "Call Him Lord" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| "Apology to Inky" | ||||
| "" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "This Moment of the Storm" | ||||
| 1968 | "Gonna Roll the Bones" | Dangerous Visions | ||
| "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" | Knight | |||
| "Flatlander" | If | |||
| "" | New Worlds | |||
| "This Mortal Mountain" | If | |||
| 1969 | "Mother to the World" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | ||
| "Total Environment" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | If | |||
| "Once There Was a Giant" | ||||
| "Final War" | ||||
| 1970 | "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" | New Worlds | ||
| "Deeper than the Darkness" | ||||
| "Nine Lives" | Playboy | |||
| "" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| 1971 | "Slow Sculpture" | Galaxy Science Fiction | ||
| "" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| "Dear Aunt Annie" | Fantastic | |||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "Continued on Next Rock" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| "" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| 1972 | "" | |||
| "" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "Mount Charity" | (Ace Books) | |||
| "Poor Man, Beggar Man" | (Ace Books) | |||
| "" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| 1973 | "Goat Song" | |||
| "" | ||||
| "" | (G. P. Putnam's Sons) | |||
| "Basilisk" | ||||
| "In the Deadlands" | With a Finger In My I (Ballantine Books) | |||
| "Patron of the Arts" | (Ace Books) | |||
| "" | Again, Dangerous Visions (Doubleday) | |||
| 1974 | "Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| "" | ||||
| "Case and the Dreamer" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "" | (Doubleday) | |||
| 1975 | "If the Stars Are Gods" | (Random House) | ||
| "" | ||||
| "Twilla" | ||||
| 1976 | "San Diego Lightfoot Sue" | |||
| "" | New Worlds 6 (Sphere Books) | |||
| "Blooded on Arachne" | Epoch (Berkley Books) | |||
| "" | ||||
| "" | (Harper & Row) | |||
| "Polly Charms, the Sleeping Woman" | ||||
| "" | ||||
| "" | (Hawthorn Books) | |||
| "" | ||||
| "" | Galaxy Science Fiction | |||
| "Retrograde Summer" | ||||
| 1977 | "" | Stellar 2 (Ballantine Books) | ||
| "His Hour Upon the Stage" | Amazing Stories | |||
| "Custer's Last Jump" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "In the Bowl" | ||||
| 1978 | "" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| "Particle Theory" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "" | New Voices in Science Fiction (Macmillan Publishers) | |||
| "" | (Ace Books) | |||
| 1979 | "" | Graven Images (Thomas Nelson) | ||
| "Mikal's Songbird" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "Devil You Don't Know" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1980 | "Sandkings" | Omni | ||
| "" | Destinies | |||
| "Camps" | ||||
| "" | (Harper & Row) | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Options" | (Doubleday) | |||
| 1981 | "" | (Doubleday) | ||
| "Strata" | ||||
| "" | ||||
| "" | (Pocket Books) | |||
| "Ginungagap" | TriQuarterly | |||
| "Beatnik Bayou" | New Voices 3 (Berkley Books) | |||
| 1982 | "" | (Doubleday) | ||
| "Sea Changeling" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | ||||
| "" | ||||
| "Mummer Kiss" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1983 | "Fire Watch" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "Myths of the Near Future" | ||||
| "Understanding Human Behavior" | ||||
| "Burning Chrome" | Omni | |||
| "" | Speculations (Houghton Mifflin) | |||
| "Swarm" | ||||
| 1984 | "Blood Music" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | ||
| "Blind Shemmy" | Omni | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Black Air" | ||||
| "Cicada Queen" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "Slow Birds" | ||||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1985 | "Bloodchild" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "Bad Medicine" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Saint Theresa of the Aliens" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Trojan Horse" | Omni | |||
| 1986 | "Portraits of His Children" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Paladin of the Lost Hour" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "Dogfight" | Omni | |||
| "" | ||||
| "Rockabye Baby" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| 1987 | "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "Hatrack River" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Listening to Brahms" | Omni | |||
| "" | Stardate | |||
| "Surviving" | ||||
| "Aymara" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Permafrost" | Omni | |||
| 1988 | "Rachel in Love" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Omni | |||
| "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Dream Baby" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Flowers of Edo" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Schwarzschild Radius" | (Bantam Spectra) | |||
| 1989 | "Schrödinger's Kitten" | Omni | ||
| "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Peaches for Mad Molly" | Analog Science Fact & Fiction | |||
| "Unfinished Portrait of the King of Pain by Van Gogh" | Empire Dreams (Bantam Spectra) | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Kirinyaga" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Do Ya, Do Ya, Wanna Dance?" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1990 | "At the Rialto" | Omni | ||
| "Sisters" | Tangents (Warner Books) | |||
| "Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "For I Have Touched the Sky" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Fast Cars" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1991 | "Tower of Babylon" | Omni | ||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "1/72nd Scale" | Weird Tales | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Amazing Stories | |||
| "Loose Cannon" | What Might Have Been? Vol. 2: Alternate Heroes (Bantam Spectra) | |||
| "Over the Long Haul" | Amazing Stories | |||
| 1992 | "Guide Dog" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Gate of Faces" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Black Glass" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "" | Playboy | |||
| "Standing In Line with Mister Jimmy" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Getting Real" | Newer York (New American Library) | |||
| 1993 | "Danny Goes to Mars" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "Matter's End" | (Doubleday) | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Suppose They Gave a Peace..." | Alternate Presidents (Tor Books) | |||
| "Prayers on the Wind" | When the Music's Over (Bantam Spectra) | |||
| 1994 | "Georgia on My Mind" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| "England Underway" | Omni | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Things Not Seen" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "Death on the Nile" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1995 | "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Necronauts" | Playboy | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "" | Crank! | |||
| "Nekropolis" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1996 | "Solitude" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Tea and Hamsters" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Jesus at the Bat" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Home for Christmas" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Think Like a Dinosaur" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "When the Old Gods Die" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1997 | "Lifeboat on a Burning Sea" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Erase/Record/Play" | Starlight 1 (Tor Books) | |||
| "Mirror of Lop Nor" | Peter S. Beagle's Immortal Unicorn (HarperPrism) | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "Must and Shall" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Realms of Fantasy | |||
| "After a Lean Winter" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 1998 | "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Three Hearings on the Existence of Snakes in the Human Bloodstream" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "We Will Drink a Fish Together..." | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 1999 | "Lost Girls" | Realms of Fantasy | ||
| "" | Science Fiction Age | |||
| "Time Gypsy" | Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction (The Overlook Press) | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Echea" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Lethe" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2000 | "Mars Is No Place for Children" | Science Fiction Age | ||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "How to Make Unicorn Pie" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Five Days in April" | Chiaroscuro | |||
| "Good Intentions" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Taklamakan" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2001 | "Daddy's World" | Not of Woman Born (New American Library) | ||
| "Stellar Harvest" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Jack Daw's Pack" | Century | |||
| "" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "How the Highland People Came to Be" | Realms of Fantasy | |||
| "Generation Gap" | Artemis | |||
| 2002 | "Louise's Ghost" | Stranger Things Happen (Small Beer Press) | ||
| "To Kiss the Star" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Sci Fiction | |||
| "Undone" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Auspicious Eggs" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites" | Vanishing Acts (Tor Books) | |||
| 2003 | "Hell Is the Absence of God" | Starlight 3 (Tor Books) | ||
| "" | The Green Man: Tales From the Mythic Forest (Viking Press) | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Madonna of the Maquiladora" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Lobsters" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2004 | "" | Sci Fiction | ||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Of a Sweet Slow Dance in the Wake of Temporary Dogs" | Imaginings: An Anthology of Long Short Fiction (Pocket Books) | |||
| "0wnz0red" | Salon | |||
| "" | Sci Fiction | |||
| 2005 | "Basement Magic" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Zora and the Zombie" | Sci Fiction | |||
| "" | Sci Fiction | |||
| "Dry Bones" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2006 | "" | (Viking Press) | ||
| "Flat Diane" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Men Are Trouble" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Nirvana High" | Stable Strategies and Others (Tachyon Publications) | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2007 | "Two Hearts" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Realms of Fantasy | |||
| "Walpurgis Afternoon" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Journey into the Kingdom" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Little Faces" | Sci Fiction | |||
| 2008 | "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "" | Heroes in Training (DAW Books) | |||
| "Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone" | Jim Baen's Universe | |||
| "" | (Viking Press) | |||
| "Safeguard" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | (Viking Press) | |||
| "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2009 | "Pride and Prometheus" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "If Angels Fight" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Dark Rooms" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Night Wind" | Lace and Blade (Leda) | |||
| "Baby Doll" | (Tor Books) | |||
| "Kaleidoscope" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| 2010 | "Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast" | Interzone | ||
| "" | Fast Forward 2 (Pyr) | |||
| "Vinegar Peace, or the Wrong-Way Used-Adult Orphanage" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "I Needs Must Part, the Policeman Said" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Divining Light" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Tor.com | |||
| 2011 | "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| "Map of Seventeen" | (Viking Press) | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Realms of Fantasy | |||
| "Plus or Minus" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Pishaach" | (Viking Press) | |||
| "Stone Wall Truth" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2012 | "What We Found" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Fields of Gold" | Eclipse 4 (Night Shade Books) | |||
| "Ray of Light" | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| "Sauerkraut Station" | Giganotosaurus | |||
| "Six Months, Three Days" | Tor.com | |||
| "" | Giganotosaurus | |||
| "" | Lightspeed | |||
| 2013 | "Close Encounters" | (PS Publishing) | ||
| "" | (Robinson) | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Tor.com | |||
| "Swift, Brutal Retaliation" | Tor.com | |||
| "Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia" | Tor.com | |||
| "Fade to White" | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| 2014 | "" | (Candlemark & Gleam) | ||
| "Paranormal Romance" | Lightspeed | |||
| "They Shall Salt the Earth with Seeds of Glass" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Pearl Rehabilitative Colony for Ungrateful Daughters" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "" | Lightspeed | |||
| "In Joy, Knowing the Abyss Behind" | Strange Horizons | |||
| 2015 | "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||
| "Sleep Walking Now and Then" | Tor.com | |||
| "" | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| "" | Granta | |||
| "We Are the Cloud" | Lightspeed | |||
| "" | Tor.com | |||
| 2016 | "Our Lady of the Open Road" | Asimov's Science Fiction | ||
| "And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead" | Lightspeed | |||
| "" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Grandmother-nai-Laylit's Cloth of Winds" | Beneath Ceaseless Skies | |||
| "" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| "Rattlesnakes and Men" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| 2017 | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea" | Lightspeed | |||
| "Blood Grains Speak Through Memories" | Beneath Ceaseless Skies | |||
| "The Orangery" | Beneath Ceaseless Skies | |||
| Tor.com Publishing | ||||
| "You'll Surely Drown Here If You Stay" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| 2018 | Tor.com | |||
| "Dirty Old Town" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "Weaponized Math" | (LMBPN Publishing) | |||
| "Wind Will Rove" | Asimov's Science Fiction | |||
| Clarkesworld Magazine | ||||
| "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| 2019 | Tor.com Publishing | |||
| (Small Beer Press) | ||||
| Tor.com | ||||
| "Messenger" | (LMBPN Publishing) | |||
| Future Science Fiction Digest | ||||
| Lightspeed | ||||
| 2020 | Meerkat Press | |||
| Fantasy & Science Fiction | ||||
| "For He Can Creep" | Tor.com | |||
| "His Footsteps, Through Darkness and Light" | Tor.com | |||
| Uncanny Magazine | ||||
| Lightspeed | ||||
| 2021 | "Two Truths and a Lie" | Tor.com | ||
| "Stepsister" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| Big Girl (PM Press) | ||||
| "Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| "Where You Linger" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| "Shadow Prisons" | Broad Reach Publishing | |||
| 2022 | "O2 Arena" | Galaxy's Edge | ||
| "Just Enough Rain" | GigaNotoSaurus | |||
| "(emet)" | Fantasy & Science Fiction | |||
| "That Story Isn't the Story" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| "Colors of the Immortal Palette" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| 2023 | "If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You" | Uncanny Magazine | ||
| Africa Risen (Tor Books) | ||||
| "Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness" | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| Uncanny Magazine | ||||
| "Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold" | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| "We Built This City" | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| 2024 | Uncanny Magazine | |||
| Samovar | ||||
| Shortwave Publishing | ||||
| "Imagine: Purple-Haired Girl Shooting Down the Moon" | Clarkesworld Magazine | |||
| "Saturday's Song" | Lightspeed | |||
| "Six Versions of My Brother Found Under the Bridge" | Uncanny Magazine |
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