> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.andrewliptak.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Here are the finalists for the 2026 Nebula Awards - URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/2026-nebula-award-finalists-sfwa-science-fiction-fantasy-awards/ - Published: 2026-03-16T14:59:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-03-19T00:41:50.000Z - Description: Some of the best from 2025 - Author: Andrew Liptak - Tags: News, Awards, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Books, Film, Comics, Television The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association has announced the finalists for this year's Nebula Awards, the annual prize for excellence in the science fiction and fantasy genres published in the last year. The Nebula is one of the biggest awards in the science fiction and fantasy world. It's been handed out annually since 1966, honoring the works in the bigger categories like novels and short stories, and it's been expanded in recent years. This year marks two new categories: Best Poem and Best Comic. Here are the winners from [2025](https://www.andrewliptak.com/nebula-awards-2025-sfwa-science-fiction-fantasy-books/), [2024](https://www.andrewliptak.com/nebula-award-sfwa-science-fiction-fantasy/), [2023](https://www.andrewliptak.com/2023-nebula-award-winners-babel-rf-kuang/), and [2022](https://www.andrewliptak.com/nebula-awards-2021/). ## Sign up for Transfer Orbit A newsletter about science fiction, reading, and the future Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. If you're a SFWA member, voting is now underway and will run through 11:59pm PDT on April 15th. The winners will be announced at this year's [Nebula Conference](https://store.sfwa.org/nebula-conference/?ref=andrewliptak.com) in Chicago on Saturday, June 6th. Here are the finalists (I've added links for the stories that are available online): ### Best Novel - *When We Were Real* by Daryl Gregory - *The Buffalo Hunter Hunter* by Stephen Graham Jones - *Katabasis* by R.F. Kuang - *Death of the Author* by Nnedi Okorafor - *The Incandescent* by Emily Tesh - *Sour Cherry* by Natalia Theodoridou - *Wearing the Lion* by John Wiswell ### Best Novella - *Disgraced Return of the Kap's Needle* by Renan Bernardo - *The River Has Roots* by Amal El-Mohtar - *The Death of Mountains* by Jordan Kurella - *Automatic Noodle* by Annalee Newitz - *But Not Too Bold* by Hache Pueyo - “[Descent](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/talabi%5F05%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Wole Talabi (*Clarkesworld Magazine* 5/25) ### Best Novelette - “[Our Echoes Drifting Through the Marsh](https://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/our-echoes-drifting-through-the-marsh/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Marie Croke (*Beneath Ceaseless Skies* 1/9/25) - “[Uncertain Sons](https://undertowpublications.com/uncertain-sons?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Thomas Ha (*Uncertain Sons*) - “[We Begin Where Infinity Ends](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ihezue%5F02%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Somto Ihezue (*Clarkesworld Magazine* 2/25) - [*The Name Ziya*](https://reactormag.com/the-name-ziya-wen-yi-lee/?ref=andrewliptak.com)by Wen-Yi Lee (Tor) - “[Never Eaten Vegetables](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/pak%5F01%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by H.H. Pak (*Clarkesworld Magazine* 1/25) - “[The Life and Times of Alavira the Great as Written by Titos Pavlou and Reviewed by Two Lifelong Friends](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-life-and-times-of-alavira-the-great-as-written-by-titos-pavlou-and-reviewed-by-two-lifelong-friends/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Eugenia Triantafyllou (*Uncanny Magazine* 3-4/25) ### Best Short Story - “[Through the Machine](https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/through-the-machine/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by P.A. Cornell (*Lightspeed Magazine,* 5/25) - “[Six People to Revise You](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/six-people-to-revise-you/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by J.R. Dawson (*Uncanny Magazine,* 1-2/25) - “[In My Country](https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ha%5F04%5F25/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Thomas Ha (*Clarkesworld Magazine* 4/25) - “[The Tawlish Island Songbook of the Dead](https://podcastle.org/2025/02/18/podcastle-879-the-tawlish-island-songbook-of-the-dead/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by E.M. Linden (*PodCastle* 2/18/25) - “[Because I Held His Name Like a Key](https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fiction/because-i-held-his-name-like-a-key/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Aimee Ogden (*Strange Horizons* 6/16/25) - “[Laser Eyes Ain't Everything](https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-123b-laser-eyes-aint-everything-by-effie-seiberg/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Effie Seiberg (*Diabolical Plots* 5/25) ### Andre Norton Award for Best Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction - *The Tower* by David Anaxagoras - *Gemini Rising* by Jonathan Brazee - *Wishing Well, Wishing Well* by Jubilee Cho - *Sunrise on the Reaping* by Suzanne Collins - *Into the Wild Magic* by Michelle Knudsen - *Goblin Girl* by K.A. Mielke ### Best Game Writing - *Spire, Surge, and Sea*, Stewart C. Baker (Choice of Games) - *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33,* Guillaume Broche & Jennifer Svedberg-Yen (Kepler Interactive), Developer: Sandfall Interactive, Sandfall S.A.S. - *Hollow Knight: Silksong*, Ari Gibson & William Pelen (Team Cherry)\* - *Dispatch*, Ashley Jeffalone, Suzee Matson, Chris Rebbert, Chad Rhiness, & Pierre Shorette (AdHoc Studios) - *Hades II*, Greg Kasavin (Supergiant Games) - *Blue Prince*, Tonda Ros (Raw Fury, Developer: Dogubomb) \*Provisional nomination; awaiting acceptance and response on LLM-use. ### Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation - *KPop Demon Hunters*, Danya Jimenez, Maggie Kang, & Hannah McMechan (Netflix)\* - *Sinners*, Ryan Coogler (Warner Bros Pictures)\* - *Severance,* "Chikhai Bardo", by Dan Erickson & Mark Friedman (Apple TV+)\* - *Pluribus*: Season One, Vince Gilligan (Apple TV+)\* - *Superman*, James Gunn (Warner Bros Pictures)\* - *Murderbot*: Season One, Chris Weitz (Apple TV+)\* \*Provisional nomination; awaiting acceptance and response on LLM-use. ### Best Comic - *Second Shift* by Kit Anderson - *Carmilla Volume 3: The Eternal* by Amy Chu - *Helen of Wyndhorn* by Tom King - *Fishflies* by Jeff Lemire - *Mary Shelley's School for Monsters: The Killing Stone* by Jessica Maison - *Strange Bedfellows* by Ariel Slamet Ries - *The Flip Side* by Jason Walz - *The Stoneshore Register* by G. Willow Wilson ### Best Poem - “Though You Always Are” by Linda D. Addison & Jamal Hodge (*Everything Endless*) - “[They Said Robots Are](https://www.penumbric.com/archives/June2k25/aimerRobots.html?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Casey Aimer (*Penumbric* 6/25) - “[The World To Come](https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/poetry/the-world-to-come/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Jennifer Hudak (*Strange Horizons* 12/22/25) - “[The Mourning Robot](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/the-mourning-robot/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Angela Liu (*Uncanny Magazine* 9-10/25) - “[Care for Lightning](https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/care-for-lightning/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Mari Ness (*Uncanny Magazine* 1-2/25) - “[To Be the Change](https://strangehorizons.com/wordpress/poetry/to-be-the-change/?ref=andrewliptak.com)” by Nico Martinez Nocito (*Strange Horizons* 3/10/25) --- 2025 felt like a really strong year for books, and I was happy to see a bunch of books [that I really liked](https://www.andrewliptak.com/science-fiction-fantasy-horror-best-books-2025/) – *Automatic Noodle, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Death of the Author,* and *Katabasis –* made the final cut*.* After last night's best picture loss, I'm happy to see that *Sinners* is on there, but I also really enjoyed *KPop Demon Hunters, Murderbot, Pluribus,* and *Superman.* What are your thoughts on the ballot this year? Let me know in the comments.