Several Canadian writers were among the winners at the 60th annual Nebula Awards, held June 5–8 at the 2025 Nebula Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), the Nebula Awards honor outstanding writing in the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
Vanessa Ricci-Thode, a writer based in Waterloo, Ontario, received the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction for her novel The Young Necromancer’s Guide to Ghosts. The story follows Lusi, a 12-year-old wizard who can communicate with ghosts—despite no one believing in them. With her sister Marsi escaping an arranged marriage and a dangerous uncle in pursuit, the siblings team up with a ghost girl, a dragon, and a mysterious wizard to master Lusi’s powers and protect their family.
Phoebe Barton of Hamilton, Ontario, and Kate Heartfield of Kitchener, Ontario, shared the Nebula Award for Best Game Writing for their work on the interactive fiction game A Death in Hyperspace. In the game, players assume the role of a spaceship’s AI investigating the murder of its captain while navigating the aftermath alone.
Barton is a queer, trans science fiction writer whose work has appeared in Kaleidotrop, Analog, and Lightspeed. Her short story The Mathematics of Fairyland won the Aurora Award for Best Short Story in 2022.
Heartfield, a former journalist, is known for The Embroidered Book, Alice Payne Arrives—which was previously shortlisted for a Nebula Award—and The Valkyrie. Her debut novel, Armed in Her Fashion, won the 2019 Aurora Award for Best Novel.
A.D. Sui, a Ukrainian-born, London, Ontario-based author, received the Nebula Award for Best Novella for The Dragonfly Gambit, a space opera exploring themes of romance, betrayal, and disability. The novella centers on a woman who, after being injured during a military operation, devises a plan to take down the very fleet she once served.
Sui, who identifies as queer and disabled, is also the author of The Iron Garden Sutra.
In the dramatic arts category, Quebec-born filmmaker Denis Villeneuve won the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation for Dune: Part Two. The film continues Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s iconic science fiction series and follows the director’s previous work on Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival.
In addition to the writing and presentation awards, C.J. Lavigne was honored with the Kevin O’Donnell Jr. Service to SFWA Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer service to the organization.
2024 Nebula Award Winners
Best Novel: Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Best Novella: The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui
Best Novelette: Negative Scholarship on the Fifth State of Being by A.W. Prihandita
Best Short Story: Why Don’t We Just Kill the Kid in the Omelas Hole by Isabel J. Kim
Outstanding Dramatic Presentation: Dune: Part Two by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve
Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction: The Young Necromancer’s Guide to Ghosts by Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Best Game Writing: A Death in Hyperspace by Stewart C. Baker, Phoebe Barton, James Beamon, Kate Heartfield, Isabel J. Kim, and Sara S. Messenger
The Nebula Awards have been recognizing excellence in speculative fiction since 1966 and remain one of the genre’s most prestigious honors.
