Nebula Awards Eligibility

The Nebula Award is a non-juried award, and there is no submission, per se. Eligibility runs from January 1 – December 31 of a given year, with voting, and the distribution of the awards, in the following spring (in other words, the 2012 Nebula Awards will be given at the Nebula Awards banquet in May, 2013).

A writer doesn’t have to be a member of SFWA in order for her work to be considered, but a member (with no fiduciary interest–which means, not the writer, not the editor, the agent, publicist, or significant other) must nominate a work during the initial nomination period, which runs November 15 of the eligibility year through February 15 of the following year.  At that point, the six works in each category with the greatest number of nominations become the finalists for the Nebula Awards for that year. Voting takes place from March 1-30.

The best way to have a work considered is to make sure that it is available to be read by SFWA members; SFWA members can put a link to an electronic version of a work in the Fiction area on the SFWA forum.  Non-members can ask a member or the Nebula Awards Commissioner to post a link or document to the Forum.  After that, the work and its writer are in the hands of the Fates.

Nebula Awards Voting

From March 1, 2012, to March 30, 2012, 11:59pm PDT, SFWA Active members may vote on the final ballot for the 2011 Nebula Awards (presented 2012), the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book.

The 2011 Nebula Award Nominees are available here.

How to Vote

Voting is open from March 1 to March 30, 11:59pm PDT.  The final ballot is available here, and paper ballots may be requested before March 15, 2012, by contacting [email protected].  Active and Lifetime Active members will receive an email containing instructions on accessing the ballot.

The Nebula Award rules are available here.

Nebula Awards Voting

From March 1, 2013, to March 30, 2013, 11:59pm PDT, SFWA Active members may vote on the final ballot for the 2012 Nebula Awards (presented 2013), the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book.

The 2012 Nebula Award Nominees are available here.

How to Vote

Voting is open from March 1 to March 30, 11:59pm PDT.  The final ballot will be available via our member-only forums, and paper ballots may be requested before March 15, 2013, by contacting [email protected].  Active and Lifetime Active members will receive an email containing instructions on accessing the ballot.

2012 Nebula Voter Packet

In 2011, and in conjunction with the nominees and publishers, SFWA was able to offer Active and Lifetime Active members a Nebula Voter Packet containing the nominated works in electronic format. This is an initiative we hope to continue through the coming years. The voting packet is removed from the member-only forums on the evening that voting for the current year has ended. Information on accessing this will be contained with the voting information.

For assistance with the Nebula Voter Packet,  please contact [email protected]

Nebula Suggested Reading List

SFWA maintains a Nebula Suggested Reading List where all members can suggest works for consideration by other members throughout the year. The reading list is for informational purposes only and does not reflect incoming nominations or form a preliminary or final ballot.