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The Nebula Award is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years (see rolling eligibility below). There is no cash prize associated with the award, the award itself being a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula. The 2006 Nebula Awards were announced May 12, 2007^[1], during the Nebula Awards Weekend at the 85 West Street Marriott Hotel in the Financial Center, New York City.

Contents 1 Award categories 2 Rolling eligibility 3 History 4 Lists of Nebula Award Winners 5 Other awards presented at the Nebula ceremony 6 Related awards 7 Trademark notice 8 See also 9 References and footnotes 10 External links

The fiction Nebulas are awarded in five different categories: novel, novella, novelette, short story, and script. The categories are defined by length in words, as follows:

• Novel: a work of 40,000 words or more
• Novella: a work of at least 17,500 words but under 40,000 words
• Novelette: a work of at least 7,500 words but under 17,500 words
• Short story: a work of under 7,500 words
• Script: a script for movie, tv or radio show, play

In addition, a Nebula has been awarded for best dramatic script every year since 1999, but SFWA membership is divided about the appropriateness of the award, and the category may not continue long into the future.

As opposed to the Hugo Award ballot, which is limited to works published during a specific calendar year, the Nebula Awards employ a rolling eligibility system. Each work is eligible to qualify for the ballot for one year following its date of publication. During this one-year window, SFWA members can "recommend" the work for the Nebula ballot. When a work has received ten recommendations, it immediately qualifies for the current year's preliminary Nebula ballot. Early the following year, SFWA members vote on the works on the preliminary ballot, narrowing the field down to (usually) a final ballot of five works in each category. Special Nebula juries are permitted, but not required, to add one deserving but overlooked work to the final ballot in each category. SFWA members then vote on the final ballot.

As a consequence of rolling eligibility, a work published one year can end up on the subsequent year's Nebula ballot, which is voted on in the year following that. For example, William Shunn's novelette "Dance of the Yellow-Breasted Luddites" was published in July 2000. It was eligible to be recommended for the preliminary ballot from its date of publication until the end of June, 2001. As it happened, the work did not receive the needed tenth recommendation until 2001, so despite its 2000 publication date, it ended up on the 2001 preliminary ballot (and, subsequently, the final ballot). The 2001 final ballot was then voted upon by SFWA members in 2002.

The first Nebulas were given for the year 1965. Frank Herbert's Dune won as best novel.

Subsequent notable winners have included: Joe Haldeman (five times), Greg Bear (thrice), Lois McMaster Bujold (thrice), Harlan Ellison (thrice), Ursula K. Le Guin (thrice), Roger Zelazny (thrice), Orson Scott Card (twice), Arthur C. Clarke (twice), Samuel R. Delany (twice), Neil Gaiman (twice), Vonda McIntyre (twice), Frederik Pohl (twice), Kim Stanley Robinson (twice), Isaac Asimov, William Gibson, Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, and Connie Willis.

• Nebula Award for Best Novel
• Nebula Award for Best Novella
• Nebula Award for Best Novelette
• Nebula Award for Best Short Story
• Nebula Award for Best Script

Though not officially Nebula Awards, a number of other honors and awards are presented at the Nebula ceremony, though not necessarily every year. They are the Author Emeritus for contributions to the field, the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement, the Bradbury Award for excellence in screenwriting, the Service to SFWA Award, and the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy.

There are other science fiction awards. The Hugo award is voted on by science fiction fans, and the awards are presented at the annual World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon"). The World Science Fiction Convention also awards the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (in Science Fiction). This award is sponsored by the publishers of Analog, the magazine Campbell edited. There is also the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, a jury-selected prize not associated with the Worldcon.

Nebula Awards is a registered trademark of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

• Hugo Award
• List of joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards

• 2006 Nebula Awards Ballot
• The Nebula Awards homepage
• List of past winners
• List of the most-honored Nebula Award nominees
• Excerpts and synopses of Nebula winning and nominated novels