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. 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.
Award categories[]
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