A word on the Nebulas from Marcus Whitnell, Nebula Awards Commissioner

As a lifelong fan of science and fantasy fiction, having the opportunity to write my own books after retiring from policing was one of many dreams I never expected to fulfill—and, as seems par for the course with such things, the realisation of that dream led to the formation of others… among which lay joining a community of professionals with similar creative interests.

There was, of course, only one I automatically sought out—SFWA: home of the Nebula Awards and their sixty years of rich history celebrating the best new science and fantasy fiction releases. But something I never considered in my wildest dreams was then becoming the person who oversaw and maintained the integrity of that prestigious award process; which, as you will all know, now includes poetry and comic categories.

The above, along with other factors such as the continuing influence of AI within our membership workplaces, required additions and amendments to the rules surrounding submission, nomination and voting for eligible works. I will leave the president and directors to speak further on AI, but would encourage you all to read the updated rules.

Running in tandem with the rules changes has been the website overhaul and upgrade, which has affected the reading list and member forums many of you used to suggest works. That process has naturally caused some disruption. But aside from the work being absolutely necessary, having overseen them, I think it’s also fair to say both applications were at best clunky, and the old reading list was literally that: a very, very long list of titles that gave almost no information to potential readers / game players. So, rest assured when I say, having had an opportunity to discuss the plans for our new and far more informative reading list with those building the infrastructure, the wait will have been worth it, and future suggestions or submissions will be easier to find and access, as well as containing enough detail to attract potential readers / players and subsequent nomination.

If you have a reading list suggestion while we’re waiting for that process to go live, you can fill out this form. 

And don’t forget to support the Nebulas by nominating your favourite works in each category by the end of February 28. 

These are exciting times. The scope of the Nebulas has grown to include two further areas of science fiction and fantasy creativity, and I’m already looking forward to the final ballot, when I once again get to feel like a kid who’s managed to sneak a peek at Santa Claus delivering his presents! So if you have any other Nebula related questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at nac@sfwa.org.

Very best wishes,
Marcus