Living Canon

Nebula Awards 2024: Complete list of winners

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association announced its 2024 Nebula Award winners, and this year’s selections showcase the genre’s remarkable range and emotional depth. John Wiswell’s Someone You Can Build a Nest In claimed the top honor for Best Novel, continuing a recent trend toward science fiction that explores intimacy and belonging through speculative lenses. Beyond the novel category, the 2024 Nebulas recognized exceptional work across shorter forms, from A. W. Prihandita’s “Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being” in the novelette category to Isabel J. Kim’s provocative “Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole,” which earned the Best Short Story award. The breadth of this year’s Nebula Awards winners reflects the Academy’s commitment to honoring storytelling that pushes boundaries while remaining deeply human.

What’s particularly striking about the 2024 Nebula Award selections is their willingness to engage with difficult subjects and philosophical questions. Vanessa Ricci-Thode’s The Young Necromancer’s Guide to Ghosts brought fresh energy to the Best Young Adult category, while A. D. Sui’s The Dragonfly Gambit in the novella slot demonstrates how the genre continues to attract writers interested in exploring complex themes within tighter narrative frames. These winners represent the kind of speculative fiction that asks “what if?” not just as a thought experiment, but as a vehicle for examining character, society, and the human condition.

Here are the complete 2024 Nebula Awards winners:

Best Novel

Best Novelette

  • Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being by A. W. Prihandita

Best Novella

Best Short Story

  • Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J. Kim

Best Young Adult