2010 Nebula Nominees

Every so often, I notice that Antick Musings has wandered away from the SFF world, and I try to drag it back -- I might have lost the best job of my life in a round of corporate musical chairs, and been cast into the outer darkness of Accounting, but I still care about the skiffy world. And so I realized that I've gotten completely out of the habit of posting nominees and winners of those SFnal awards, and that this was a bad thing.

Today the Science Fiction Writers of America announced the nominees for this year's Nebula Award -- the most prestigious speculative-fiction award nominated and voted on entirely by working professionals -- and I might as well let you know what they are. The Nebulas also have recently returned to a sensible calendar-year eligibility period after several decades wandering in the wilderness of Rolling Eligibility, which was a smart and sensible change, and should be celebrated.

Short Story
•    ''Arvies'', Adam-Troy Castro (Lightspeed Magazine 8/10)
•    ''How Interesting: A Tiny Man'', Harlan Ellison(r) (Realms of Fantasy 2/10)
•    ''Ponies'', Kij Johnson (Tor.com 1/17/10)
•    ''I'm Alive, I Love You, I'll See You in Reno'', Vylar Kaftan (Lightspeed Magazine 6/10)
•    ''The Green Book'', Amal El-Mohtar (Apex Magazine 11/1/10)
•    ''Ghosts of New York'', Jennifer Pelland (Dark Faith)
•    ''Conditional Love'', Felicity Shoulders (Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 1/10)

Novelette
•    ''Map of Seventeen'', Christopher Barzak (The Beastly Bride)
•    ''The Jaguar House, in Shadow'', Aliette de Bodard (Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 7/10)
•    ''The Fortuitous Meeting of Gerard van Oost and Oludara'', Christopher Kastensmidt (Realms of
Fantasy 4/10)
•    "Plus or Minus'', James Patrick Kelly (Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 12/10)
•    ''Pishaach'', Shweta Narayan (The Beastly Bride)
•    ''That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made'', Eric James Stone (Analog Science Fiction and Fact
9/10)
•    ''Stone Wall Truth'', Caroline M. Yoachim (Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 2/10)

Novella
•    The Alchemist, Paolo Bacigalupi (Audible; Subterranean)
•    ''Iron Shoes'', J. Kathleen Cheney (Alembical 2)
•    The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Ted Chiang (Subterranean)
•    ''The Sultan of the Clouds'', Geoffrey A. Landis (Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine 9/10)
•    ''Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance'', Paul Park (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 1-
2/10)
•    ''The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen's Window'', Rachel Swirsky
(Subterranean Magazine Summer '10)

Novel
•    The Native Star, M.K. Hobson (Spectra)
•    The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit UK; Orbit US)
•    Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal (Tor)
•    Echo, Jack McDevitt (Ace)
•    Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (DAW)
•    Blackout/All Clear, Connie Willis (Spectra)

The Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation
•    Despicable Me, Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud (directors), Ken Daurio & Cinco Paul (screenplay), Sergio Pablos (story) (Illumination Entertainment)
•    Doctor Who: ''Vincent and the Doctor'', Richard Curtis (writer), Jonny Campbell (director)
•    How to Train Your Dragon, Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders (directors), William Davies, Dean
DeBlois, & Chris Sanders (screenplay) (DreamWorks Animation)
•    Inception, Christopher Nolan (director), Christopher Nolan (screenplay) (Warner)
•    Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Edgar Wright (director), Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright (screenplay) (Universal)
•    Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich (director), Michael Arndt (screenplay), John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton,
& Lee Unkrich (story) (Pixar/Disney)

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

•    Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
•    White Cat, Holly Black (McElderry)
•    Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press; Scholastic UK)
•    Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch (Amulet)
•    The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North (Tor Teen)
•    I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz; Harper)
•    A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow)
•    Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)

I've read much fewer of those works than I would have three years or so ago, but there's some good stuff there, and I may even use this as a reading list. I recommend anyone interested in the field to do the same.