Nebula Award winners announced in Washington, DC

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The winners of the Nebula Awards, sponsored by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, were presented on Saturday 21 May 2011 in Washington, DC, as a part of the Nebular Awards Weekend.

Best Novel went to Connie Willis for Blackout/All Clear (Spectra), while the Best Novella was “The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window” (Subterranean Summer ’10), by Rachel Swirsky and the award for Best Novelette went to “That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made” (Analog 9/10), by Eric James Stone.

There was a tie for Best Short Story, with awards going to Kij Johnson for “Ponies” (Tor.com 1/17/10) and to Harlan Ellison for “How Interesting: A Tiny Man” (Realms of Fantasy 2/10).

Nominations for the Nebula Awards are made by active and associate members of the SWFA in good standing, with active members of the organization voting on the final ballot.

Also awarded by the SWFA during the ceremony in Washington were the Solstice Awards and the SWFA Service Award. These awards are given at the discretion of the SWFA president, currently John Scalzi, with majority approval from the SWFA’s Board of Directors.

Solstice Awards, which go to those who have made a significant impact on science fiction, were given to Alice Sheldon, who wrote under the name James Tiptree, Jr, and to artist Michael Whelan. Sheldon/Tiptree was a pioneer science fiction writer who held a doctorate in Experimental Psychology and was a Research Psychologist and an Intelligence Analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency. Sheldon/Tiptree began publishing science fiction in 1968, but her identity as a woman was not known until 1977, ten years before her death. Whelan, who has not only illustrated many science fiction and fantasy novel and magazine covers, including a number of novel covers for works by writers such as Robert A. Heinlein and Stephen King, but has also done many album cover illustrations, was the first living artist inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, in 2009.

The SWFA Service Award was also announced, going to geologist, teacher and writer John E. Johnston, in recognition for his contributions as a member of the SWFA’s Grievance Committee.

Two non-Nebula Awards were also announced as part of the Nebula Awards banquet. The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation went to the film Inception, while the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book was given to I Shall Wear Midnight (Gollancz; Harper) by Terry Pratchett.

Tags: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, terry pratchett