Monday, December 11, 2017

The Most Influential Nebula Award-Winning Books

Science fiction and fantasy writers and critics have within their ranks quite a few award-giving bodies, which include the Hugo, the Nebula, and the World Fantasy Award. There are even separate groups giving prizes in film and other media. But easily one of the most respected and most prestigious is the Nebula.

The Nebula Awards is given to the best SF and fantasy work of a writer in the USA. It started doling awards annually in 1966 and is organized by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. In short, it’s very much like the genre’s Critics Choice Awards.

Image source: litstack.com


The awards are given in four categories, (based on the length of works) and are announced and presented during the SFWA Nebula Conference. Over the decades, the Nebula has been given to some of the most important works of science fiction that have changed the way people look at the genre and its relevance and impact in contemporary culture.

Among the most influential winners for the best novel category is the Nebula’s first awardee, "Dune." Written by Frank Herbert, this highly symbolic novel about the battle for planetary spice began a celebrated series of books that would later become a cult film and a video game. Another is Daniel Keyes’ endearing and heartbreaking book about the repercussions of gaining sudden intelligence, "Flowers for Algernon."


Image source: genius.com


The feisty Ursula Le Guin has won the Nebula a record-breaking four times in three separate decades for "The Left Hand of Darkness," "The Dispossessed," "Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea," and "Powers." Later winners include the infamous author of the Sandman graphic novels Neil Gaiman for "American Gods."

Hi, my name’s David Baer, currently finishing a degree in biology at University of Minnesota. When I’m not out and about, I also enjoy reading science fiction books. For more on my interests, check out this Twitter page.




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