Science fiction & fantasy · United States
The Nebula Award for Best Novel
Science fiction and fantasy's writers' award, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. These are recent Best Novel winners.
Given since 1966 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Nebula is the genre's professional award — chosen by writers, in contrast to the fan-voted Hugo. The two often, but not always, land on the same book.
Years below are the year each award was presented; the Nebula honours work published the previous year. The list shows recent winners — the SFWA site holds the complete run back to 1966, when the first Nebula went to Frank Herbert's Dune.
Winners
- 2014 Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie Find on Amazon →
- 2015 Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2016 Uprooted Naomi Novik · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2017 All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders · more by this author Find on Amazon →
- 2018 The Stone Sky N. K. Jemisin · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2019 The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal
- 2020 A Song for a New Day Sarah Pinsker · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2021 Network Effect Martha Wells · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2022 A Master of Djinn P. Djèlí Clark
- 2023 Babel R. F. Kuang · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2024 The Saint of Bright Doors Vajra Chandrasekera · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
- 2025 Someone You Can Build a Nest In John Wiswell · more by this author In our catalogue Book club guide →
Years shown are the year the award was presented (the Nebula honours work published the previous year). The list covers the 2014–2025 ceremonies; see the SFWA site for the full history since 1966.
Winners verified against the prize's official records. For the complete history, see the official The Nebula Award for Best Novel site.
Common questions
What's the difference between the Nebula and the Hugo?
Both honour the year's best science fiction and fantasy, but the Nebula is voted on by professional writers (SFWA members) while the Hugo is voted on by fans at Worldcon. The same book often wins both, but not always.
Why are the Nebula years sometimes a year off from the Hugo?
The Nebula is officially named for the work's year of publication and presented the following spring. We show the year of the ceremony, which lines the Nebula up with the Hugo for the same book.