Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Posts Tagged ‘Nebula’

Nebula Reminder — 10 days left to nominate

Friday, February 5th, 2010

SFWA Active and Associate members, there are only 10 days left to nominate for the Nebula Awards.  Why not spend the weekend reading some of the 260 free pieces of eligible fiction available in the members’ only Discussion Forum.

Then, hop over to the Nebula nomination ballot and nominate your five favorites in each category.
(more…)

Tags: Nebula, Nebula Award
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Nebula Awards: “International SF” and Problems of Identity

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Our sister site, NebulaAwards.com has an essay by Larry Nolan on “International SF” and Problems of Identity

We live in a world that increasingly is not defined by national borders.  Depending on where one goes, one can hear “Me encanta,” “Ich liebe es,” or “Love ko ‘to” whenever a McDonald’s jingo plays on the radio or television.  Levi’s, the quintessential American blue jeans, are not made in the United States anymore, but in factories across the globe.  Watch many of the “Adult Swim” shows on the Cartoon Network in the US and one is bound to find Japanese anime-influenced animation.  In some ways, the “global village” espoused by Hillary Clinton and others over the past two decades has come to fruition.

But what about Science Fiction?  Why is there such a buzz happening now, over two decades after many other pop cultural trends, for “international” SF?  What has taken so long for a literary/cultural mode to catch up?  These questions may be nigh impossible to address adequately in a short article, but they do bear some consideration, especially as we move toward potential conflicts within and outside the various “international” groups of SF writers and fans.

Tags: Larry Nolan, Nebula
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Nebula Nomination Period has opened

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

In January of 2009, SFWA adopted a new set of Nebula Rules. This year is their first in effect so we thought we’d review the process for those who are curious.

• From November 15^th – February 15^th, Active and Associate members may nominate up to 5 works in each category of the Nebulas, the Bradbury and the Andre Norton Award.

• Members may change their ballot at any point during the nomination period.

• Only works published between July 1, 2008 and December 31^st, 2009 are eligible.

• Works may not be nominated by their authors, editors, publishers, or agents, by spouses or domestic partners of their authors, or by any other party with a monetary interest in the work.

• The 6 items in each category that receive the most votes go on the ballot. (The Norton Jury may add up to 3 works on the Norton ballot.)

• By March 1st, the final ballot is sent to Active members only.

• The Nebula ceremony is in May

What is eligible for a Nebula?

Works published between July 1, 2008 and December 31, 2009 are eligible in the following categories.

a. Short Story: less than 7,500 words;
b. Novelette: at least 7,500 words but less than 17,500 words;
c. Novella: at least 17,500 words but less than 40,000 words
d. Novel: 40,000 words or more.
( At the author’s request, a novella-length work published individually, rather than as a part of a collection, anthology, or other collective work, shall appear in the novel category. )

This is the confusing bit. As part of the transition rules, works which received at least five (5) recommendations under the previous Nebula Awards® rules and were published after July 1, 2008, but didn’t make the 2008 Preliminary Ballot get to have those nominations added to their total for this year. Members who recommended these works last year will not have their total number of allowed nominations reduced, but they may not nominate these works a second time.

Works which received less than five (5) recommendations under the previous Nebula rules and were published after July 1, 2008, may be nominated but their nominations don’t carry over from last year.

According to the last published NAR, the following works and members are affected by this.

Novelette
6 Kosmatka, Ted: Divining Light (Asimov’s, Aug08) DWGoldman, STourtellotte, EJStone, NKress, MMcGarry, CDeLancey

Short Story
5 Burstein, Michael A.: I Remember the Future (I Remember the Future, Apex Publications, Nov08 <Single-author collection>) JPelland, CArdai, MResnick, PLevinson, RSawyer

Tags: Michael A. Burstein, Nebula, Ted Kosmatka
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Interview: Ysabeau S. Wilce

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Thanks for agreeing to do the interview. Whether it’s your short stories or novels, I find that you have a unique style and voice that no one else in the field is doing. How did you develop your particular writing style?

Reading, reading and reading. I have a theory that you can’t be a good writer if you aren’t a great reader. And you must read lots of different things too, with no regard for one particular genre, or for high or low literature. Obviously, I have more of an affinity towards the rococo and melodramatic, but I think it’s important not to be too limited in my reading choices, so I will read almost anything. Immersion in reading helped me develop an ear for rhythm, and made my style second nature. Now I just sit down and start typing, and out it all comes!

All your fiction so far seems to be set in the world of Califa. How did you come up with this cosmology? How do you keep track of all your characters and locations and interactions?

Califa evolved over a long long time. In the beginning elements of Califa could be found in a role playing game that my friends and I were obsessed with in high school. Back then, Califa was not called Califa, and it was more medieval. Later, when I got interested in American history, Califa began to turn into more of a California cognate. I decided, as a point of ideology, to have all my fantasy based in American mythology and geography. In my opinion, pastoral Tolkien-type fantasy is already well-picked over and I wanted to do something new. As far as keeping track of people and places, I do not do so formally. It’s all in my head. Thankfully my editor is very good at picking up continuity errors!

Have you ever considered writing fiction that’s not set in your Califa setting?

I’ve considered it, but rejected the consideration for the moment. Right now I’m still having fun with Califa and its environs, and my readers seem happy to be exploring that world along with me. But at some point I’ll have to stretch into something new.

(Read the entire interview at NebulaAwards.com)

Tags: interview, Nebula, Ysabeau S. Wilce
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Interview with Charles Coleman Finlay

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Our sister site, Nebulaawards.com, has an interview with Charles Coleman Finlay who was nominated for his novella “The Political Prisoner.”

Authors, based on interviews that I’ve read and conducted, seem to be driven creatures. When was it that you realized that you just had to write stories?

I started drawing comics when I was 8 or 9 and writing stories shortly after that. In college, I wrote poetry and short stories, I drew comics and political cartoons, and had some very minor work published. But all in all, I was a dilettante. I daydreamed about being good at writing or art, but I wasn’t committed to doing the hard work. It wasn’t until I was almost 30, after my first son was born, that I decided to be serious about it.

You have to understand that my own father had wanted to be a painter but life had always gotten in the way. So there he was, struggling and in his 50s, when he won several million dollars in the lottery. Suddenly he had everything he needed, but he couldn’t seem to paint. He’d lost whatever spark he had. I looked at my own son and didn’t want to end up the same way. I didn’t want to be telling him “Go pursue your dreams” when I had never chased my own.

I’m not a naturally gifted writer like so many of my friends, but I love story. Story is very important. Fiction or non-fiction, history or autobiography–story is the way we make sense out of our experience in the world. So I started working at the craft of story-telling, trying to become the best writer I could be.

Read the rest of the interview with Charles Coleman Finlay

Tags: Charles Coleman Finlay, Nebula
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Is Africa Ready for Science Fiction?

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

At our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, Nnedi Okorafor, talks about science-fiction in Africa.  It’s an interesting and thought-provoking read.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had some interesting conversations with award-winning Nollywood director Tchidi Chikere about science fiction (Nollywood is Nigeria’s oh-so-popular film industry. The term “Nollywood” is a play on “Hollywood”, much the same way as India’s “Bollywood”).

Chikere has written, produced, and directed over 50 films. He also published a collection of rather chilling short stories titled Strangers in Paradise. The collection includes a novella called “Daughter of the Cave,” which is essentially a fantasy piece. Chikere sought me out after my novel, Zahrah the Windseeker, piqued his interest. Needless to say, I was delighted and honored to hear from him.

During one of our conversations, we discussed my own work and whether it could be translated to film, particularly African film. “Is Africa ready for science fiction?” he asked me. We debated this for a while. Naturally, I believed Africa was ready…ready enough, at least. Notwithstanding my own contentions, Chikere had other ideas.

“I don’t think we’re ready in the primary sense of the word,” Chikere said. “We can hide it in other categories like magic realism, allegory, etc, but we’re not ready for pure science fiction.”

Read the rest of this article at NebulaAwards.com

Tags: Nebula, Nnedi Okorafor, Science-fiction
Posted in Nebula Awards, News, SFWA Blog | 1 Comment »

Andre Norton Award jury seeking candidate submissions

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

LOS ANGELES – The jury for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy is actively reading works published in 2009.
The 2009 Norton Award jury members are James Bassett, Aliette de Bodard, Patrick Lundrigan, Michael Payne, Lawrence Schoen, Sherwood Smith and Lindalee Stucky. Publishers and authors may contact nebulanortonjury@sfwa.org for submission information.

The Andre Norton Award for an outstanding young adult science fiction or fantasy book was established in 2006 by Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. The award is named in honor of the late Andre Norton, a SFWA Grand Master and author of more than 100 novels, many of them for young adult readers. Norton’s work has influenced generations of young people, creating new fans of the fantasy and science fiction genres and setting the standard for excellence in fantasy writing. Any book published as a young adult science fiction/fantasy novel is eligible, including graphic novels with no limit on word length.

About SFWA
Founded in 1965 by the late Damon Knight, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America brings together the most successful and daring writers of speculative fiction throughout the world.

Since its inception, SFWA® has grown in numbers and influence until it is now widely recognized as one of the most effective non-profit writers’ organizations in existence, boasting a membership of approximately 1,500 science fiction and fantasy writers as well as artists, editors and allied professionals.

Each year the organization presents the prestigious Nebula Awards® for the year’s best literary and dramatic works of speculative fiction.

Tags: Awards, Nebula, norton award
Posted in Nebula Awards, News, SFWA Blog | 1 Comment »

Interview: Gwyneth Jones

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Our sister-site, NebulaAwards.com, interviews Gwyneth Jones about her Nebula-nominated short story “The Tomb Wife”.

First off, what’s the appeal of science fiction for you?

It’s a way of thinking: basically, I’m insatiably curious. What is sex for? What do scientific revolutions look like? Why do human societies develop the way they do? What would be the consequences of a change that seems desirable? Or undesirable? Reading and thinking about (or otherwise consuming and creating) science fiction seems to tell me more about the world around me than any other art form.

Tags: Gwyneth Jones, interview, Nebula
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Interview: James Alan Gardner

Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

From our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, comes an appealing interview with James Alan Gardner. It covers writing his Nebula nominated novelette “The Ray-Gun: A Love Story,” applied mathematics, publishing hurdles and interstellar travel

First off, what’s the appeal of science fiction for you?

Science fiction seems to be the only genre interested in large-scale events. I don’t just mean intergalactic wars and blowing up suns (although that stuff can be fun); I mean anything that leads to substantial changes in the world.

Consider, for example, how conventional literature would treat Einstein. It might talk about his home life or his relationships with other scientists; it might try to analyze what made him so brilliant; it might examine the psychological consequences of being idolized as the smartest man on Earth. What conventional literature *can’t* do is say, “This guy changed the world! This guy significantly altered how we look at ourselves and the universe.” Other genres of literature ignore everything but the personal.

Science fiction can and does do the personal—not always with nuance—but it also has bigger fish to fry. Its perennial message is, “The world of today is fleeting; it wasn’t here yesterday and won’t be here tomorrow.” Science fiction says the world can and will be changed by individuals, by societies, and by impersonal forces. That’s an enormously important message that other genres barely seem to notice, let alone address.

Tags: interview, James Alan Gardner, Nebula
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Interview: Mike Allen

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

At our sister site, NebulaAwards.com, Charles Tan talks with Nebula-nominated author, Mike Allen, about his story “The Button Bin.”

Let’s talk about your nominated story, “The Button Bin.” What was the inspiration behind the piece?

Years ago my wife and I were visiting a charming fabric shop at the center of an equally charming little mountain town. While she shopped I took a seat beside an immense bin – an RC Cola machine, I believe, lying on its back with its front and all the mechanical parts removed – filled to the top with every kind of button you could imagine. Like any decent primate attracted to shinies, I started to run my hand through it, discovered I could submerge my arm in buttons at least past the elbow.

Then, I wondered: what if I pulled my arm out and the buttons had attached themselves to my skin? What if I could then unbutton my flesh, see what my soul looks like?

It may say a lot about how dark my view of the world can be that the entire plot of “The Button Bin” exploded into existence inside my head right then and there.

Tags: Charles Tan, interview, Mike Allen, Nebula
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