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Here are the Finalists for the 59th Nebula Awards

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2024 marks the 59th year of the Nebula Awards, which recognizes the best speculative fiction writing published in the U.S. the previous year. They include awards for best novel, novella, novelette, short story, middle grade and YA novel, game writing, and dramatic presentation.

The winners will be announced June 8th at the Nebula Conference, and the ceremony will also be streamed to YouTube.

If you’d like to read the best recent sci-fi and fantasy, the Nebula award winners and finalists are a great place to start! Here are some of this year’s finalists.

Nebula Award for Novel

The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang Book Cover

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang

Translation State by Ann Leckie

The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon by Wole Talabi

Witch King by Martha Wells

Nebula Award for Novella

The Mimicking of Known Successes cover

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

Linghun” by Ai Jiang

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

To Shape a Dragon's Breath cover

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern by J. Dianne Dotson

Liberty’s Daughter by Naomi Kritzer

The Ghost Job by Greg van Eekhout


For the full list of finalists, visit the Nebula website.

Check out the winners of last year’s Nebula Awards.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.