SFWA has released the finalists for this year's Nebula Awards and it's a great list. Not only am I pleased that a number of the works I supported made the ballot, it's exciting to see so many new authors on the list.
Last year I said the Nebula finalists indicated generational change in our genre was well underway. If anything, the 2010 picks showcase this trend even more. This year's first-time Nebula nominees include:
- Christopher Barzak*
- Aliette de Bodard
- J. Kathleen Cheney
- M.K. Hobson
- Vylar Kaftan
- Christopher Kastensmidt
- Amal El-Mohtar
- Shweta Narayan
- Nnedi Okorafor
- Jennifer Pelland*
- Felicity Shoulders
- Eric James Stone
- Caroline M. Yoachim
To my knowledge, none of these authors have previously made the final ballot of either the Hugo or Nebula Awards. Add in other Nebula finalists for this year like Paolo Bacigalupi, N.K. Jemisin, and Rachel Swirsky – who have made the ballot in previous years but are still very much new authors – and you can see why I'm calling this further evidence of generational change in our genre.
Congratulations to all the finalists. Voting for the Nebulas will begin on March 1st.
* Update: That'll teach me to trust my memory. As was kindly pointed out to me, this is Chris Barzak's third Nebula nomination and Jennifer Pelland's second. No wins, though, and they both definitely still count as new writers.