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Clarion West has announced it will host its first three first in-person summer camps for teens in 2025. Eligible teens are “students entering 9th grade through 12th grade,” and all camps take place over the course of a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Clarion West partner locations in Seattle WA.

The Worldbuilding Summer Camp for BIPOC Teen Writers, instructed by Tara Campbell, will be held July 7-11, ...Read More

The winners have been announced for the 2025 Prix Imaginales, honoring the best works of fantasy published in France.

French Novel

• WINNER: Kosigan, un printemps de sang, Fabien Cerutti (Mnémos)

• Roman de ronce et d’épine, Lucie Baratte (Typhon)
• Une valse pour les grotesques, Guillaume Chamanadjian (Aux Forges de Vulcain)
• La Boutique des choses inavouables, Céline Chevet (du Chat Noir)
• Le Cycle de syffe, tome 4 :

Finalists for the 2025 Colorado Book Awards have been announced. Titles and authors of genre interest include:

Best Science Fiction/Fantasy

• Nether Station, Kevin J. Anderson (Blackstone)
• The Future Lies, John Be Lane (Global Arts)
• Transference, Ian Patterson (self-published)

Best Novel

• Burn, Peter Heller (Knopf)

Best Thriller

• If You Lie, Caleb Stephens (Thrillerscape)

Best Mystery

• Play of Shadows, Barbara Nickless (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Historical

Edward Hogan’s short story “Late Velvet” has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction. Iain Rowan took second place for the story “Stranger”, and Laura Theis took third place for the story “The Experiment”.

Accepting work from both unpublished and published writers, the prize “aims to seek out the best established and up and coming voices in the form.” The theme for the

The Tadeusz Bradecki Foundation has announced The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard (Fig Tree) as the winner of the inaugural Tadeusz Bradecki Prize on account of its “combination of history and magic, novelistic depth and sharpness of fable, beauty and bestial power”.

In honor of the late theater director, actor and writer, the prize is awarded to “a book in which fiction and non-fiction writing combine in an original and ...Read More

The winners have been announced for the 2025 Kurd Laßwitz Preis. The prize is awarded to German-language SF works published in the previous year.

Best German SF Novel

• WINNER: Proxi, Aiki Mira (Fischer Tor)

• Der Riss, Andreas Brandhorst (Heyne)
• Wolfszone, Christian Endres (Heyne)
• Parts per Million, Theresa Hannig (Fischer Tor)
• Anahita, Sven Haupt (Eridanus)
• Lieferdienst, Tom Hillenbrand (Kiepenheuer & Witsch)
• Views, Marc-Uwe Kling

Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser (Catapult) is the winner of the $60,000 2025 Stella Prize.

Named for Stella Maria Sarah “Miles” Franklin, the Australian gender equity and cultural change organization Stella awards the prize to celebrate literature by Australian women and non-binary writers.

The 2025 judges were Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Debra Dank, Astrid Edwards (chair), Leah Jing McIntosh, and Rick Morton. For more information, including the complete shortlist and ...Read More

Author Peter David, 68, died May 24, 2025 after a series of health issues including kidney failure and multiple strokes. David is best known for his comics writing, including his award-winning run on The Incredible Hulk, but he also wrote many fiction series, standalone novels, and media tie-ins.

Peter Allen David was born September 23, 1956 in Fort Meade MD. He graduated from New York University with a BA in ...Read More

by Michael Capobianco

Less than a year after SFWA founder and President Damon Knight created the Nebula Award, the first Nebula Awards Ceremonies were held on March 11, 1966. Why “Nebula?” The name was first introduced without explanation in the inaugural ballot mailed out to SFWA members. According to Robert Silverberg, SFWA’s second president, “Far as I know, Damon just liked the idea of calling it a Nebula. None of us saw any reason to object.” 

The ceremonies were held in two locations: one in New York City and the other in Beverly Hills, CA. The New York ceremony was held in what Knight later characterized as a “grungy” upstairs room at the Overseas Press Club on 45th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The California Nebulas were presented at a more upscale location: McHenry’s Tail O’ the Cock, a large, English–tavern style restaurant on Beverly Hills’ Restaurant Row. 

Title: 1965 Nebula Award trophy, Tricon. Date: 1966. Collection: Jay Kay Klein photographs and papers on science fiction fandom. Owning Institution: UC Riverside, Library, Special Collections and University Archives. Source: Calisphere.

Partially because the rules hadn’t been sufficiently worked out, more works were nominated for the awards and on the final ballot than would ever be the case again: 27 for “short story” alone.

Ninety attendees were present in New York, and seventy attended the ceremony in California. On the way to the New York Nebulas, both Knight and SFWA Secretary-Treasurer Anne McCaffrey were involved in “minor” automobile accidents. In the Bulletin account, there was no indication of who was at fault, but both accidents involved trucks and both cars, Knight’s Dodge Dart and McCaffrey’s VW, were totaled. 

The new award trophies, seen at the ceremonies for the first time, were designed by Judith Ann Lawrence (Mrs. James Blish) and Kate Wilhelm (Mrs. Damon Knight) and manufactured by Daniel Levy of the Richley Company. The unique design was based on a block of clear Lucite with “embedments” and featured a spiral galaxy made of glitter, hand-made by Lawrence, and a rock crystal “landscape.” No one pointed out that the spiral was a galaxy, not a nebula; at the time, some writers still thought of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) as a nebula. 

In both locations, the awards presentation was preceded by a banquet and included a film screening. In New York, Ed Emshwiller’s experimental movie Relativity was shown, while in Beverly Hills, Gene Roddenberry showed the two pilot episodes for the soon-to-premier Star Trek. (Subsequently, SFWA Vice President Harlan Ellison invited members to stay with him at his Coy Drive residence to pitch to Roddenberry, but by the November issue of the Bulletin, he had withdrawn the offer and lambasted SFWA members for costing the producers $12,000 and wasting their time with the attitude of “Let’s grab a few bucks from those schmucks, they don’t know what’s happening.”)

The winner for best novel was Dune by Frank Herbert. “The Saliva Tree” by Brian W. Aldiss and “He Who Shapes” by Roger Zelazny were tied for the novella after two tie ballots. “The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth” (also by Roger Zelazny) won for novelette, and Harlan Ellison won for short story with “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman.” A complete list of Nebula Nominees for 1965 is available at our Nebulas website.

The awards were presented by Knight in New York and Robert Bloch in California. All the winners accepted their awards in person: Aldiss and Zelazny in New York and Herbert and Ellison in Beverly Hills. Aldiss had been brought to New York from Oxford, England, thanks to his publishers: Ace Books, Harcourt, Brace, and World, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

In SFWA Bulletin #5 (April 1966), the Nebula winners were announced, and, for the first time, members who hadn’t attended either ceremony saw what the award trophies looked like. SFWA Bulletin #6 (June 1966) contained the new Nebula Rules. As the result of a vote solicited by ballot from SFWA members, several changes were made to the 1966 awards, the most significant of which was to include fantasy in the types of works allowed.

Nebula Awards Stories 1965, edited by Damon Knight, was published by Doubleday & Co. the following year and in paperback by Pocket Books in 1967. According to Silverberg, Knight himself agented the first couple of Nebula Anthologies. In addition to the winning short works (including both winning novellas) and an introduction by Knight, it contained the nominated short stories “Balanced Ecology” by James H. Schmitz, “Computers Don’t Argue” by Gordon Dickson, and “Becalmed in Hell” by Larry Niven, as well as the Knight-selected New Wave short story “The Drowned Giant” by J. G. Ballard. This set the format for future volumes, containing the winners plus several nominated stories to fill out the page count and, occasionally, an “editor’s choice.” The book was dedicated “in gratitude and affection” to the memories of C. M. Kornbluth, Henry Kuttner, Richard McKenna, H. Beam Piper, and E.E. Smith. Nebula Awards Stories 1965 had many editions, including from Gollancz in the UK and the Science Fiction Book Club, and fulfilled its primary goal, keeping SFWA afloat.

The first Nebula Awards anthology led to an unbroken (although sometimes much delayed) series of annual Nebula Award compilations, up to number 59 at present. From 2000 on, they have been called Nebula Showcases. No other annual science fiction and fantasy anthology comes close to this record for continuity. Nebula Awards Showcase 60 is planned to appear at this year’s SFWA Nebula Conference as part of SFWA 60th Anniversary Celebration.

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Michael Capobianco has published two solo science fiction novels, Burster and Purlieu, as well as short fiction. He is co-author, with William Barton, of the critically acclaimed hard SF novels Iris, Alpha Centauri, and White Light and the retroactively alternate history novel Fellow Traveler.  

Capobianco served as President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) from 1996–1998 and again from 2007–2008. He received the Service to SFWA Award in 2004 and is currently SFWA’s Authors Coalition Commissioner and a member of its History Committee. In August 2024, he was appointed as SFWA’s Past President Advisor.

The post A Brief History of SFWA: The First Nebula Awards appeared first on SFWA.

The 41st annual L. Ron Hubbard’s Writ­ers and Illustrators of the Future Awards ceremony was held April 10, 2025, at the Taglyan Complex in sunny Los Angeles, Calfor­nia, during a weeklong intensive of workshops, lectures, and classes for the winners. This year’s Golden Brush Award went to Jordan Smjastrla for her illustration of “Kill Switch’’, and the Gold­en Pen Award went to Randyn C.J. Bartholomew for his story “Ascii’’ about ...Read More

The finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for the best short science fiction story have been announced by the Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction.

• “Rachel Is At a Protest”, Esther Alter (The Deadlands 7/24)
• “To Eat Your Own Head”, Nkone Chaka (Asimov’s 1-2/24)
• “Swarm X1048 – Ethological Field Report: Canis Lupus Familiaris, ‘6’”, F.E. Choe (Clarkesworld 3/24)
• “Judas Iscariot Didn’t Kill Himself: A Story in Fragments”,

Shortlists for the 2025 Society of Authors’ Awards have been announced. Titles and authors of genre interest include:

ALCS Tom Gallon Trust Award

• “God’s Doorbell”, Naomi Alderman (A Cage Went in Search of a Bird)
• “Raise, or How to Break Free of the Ground, or The Lakeland Dialect for Slippery is Slape and to Form it in the Mouth Requires an Act of Falling”, Katie Hale (self-published)
• “Into

by  Kristen Simon

Every comic book publisher has different preferences for receiving pitches. Some may not accept pitches at all, as they want to avoid the risk of copyright issues if a submission resembles a storyline they plan to publish. 

That said, checking a publisher’s website for guidelines is your starting point. Conduct your due diligence by researching the types of books each publisher releases. For instance, if a publisher exclusively publishes licensed properties, don’t pitch something that is creator-owned. Typically, standard information should be included in every pitch you submit, and this article outlines those details. It’s rare to be able to resubmit a pitch, so it’s crucial to get it right the first time. It’s also wise to connect with the editor in charge of the line you want to pitch; they may have specific preferences regarding how they like to receive pitches or may provide insights into what they are looking for. With all that in mind, here are the basics of what should be included in any pitch, regardless of the publisher.

First, contemplate the title of your pitch. An engaging title is the initial hook that encourages editors to open it and want to read more. 

Next, you’ll want to provide the formatting information, as many publishers have limitations on what they can or will publish. Those details include the number of issues and whether it’s an original graphic novel (96+ pages in length), a miniseries (four to six issues), a maxiseries (eight to twelve issues), or an ongoing series. Since the comics market tends to be somewhat fickle, if pitching an ongoing series, it may benefit you to indicate that the format for the first arc consists of five to six issues with a satisfactory ending but remains open to continuation. This number of issues represents a minimal financial risk for a smaller publisher, ensures readers aren’t left hanging, and collects nicely into a trade.

The genre and target audience should also be included. The genre is crucial because publishers often look to fill specific gaps in their publishing plans, such as horror or fantasy. Conversely, they may already have an excess of a particular genre, and this information helps avoid wasting their time. The target audience is also essential. Being specific about your age range is useful; some publishers have different imprints for various age ranges, and if a publisher can’t determine where your pitch belongs, it’s likely to get rejected. Similarly, it could be rejected if it goes to the wrong imprint and doesn’t fit the current lineup. Another reason why outlining the genre and target audience is essential is when pitching manga. Manga is categorized by age range, and this information is vital if a manga publisher has too many YA Isekai books while seeking more adult romantasy.

Listing comparisons, often called “comps,” is an effective way to convey the tone of your pitch. Comparisons can be as simple as “[this] meets [that],” “in the vein of [insert similar popular title already published],” or “If you like [that], you’ll love [this].” This method is also advantageous if your pitch is accepted. For original graphic novels and trade paperbacks distributed through publishers like Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, one of their requirements is to list comps. This aids their representatives in selling your book to bookstores and libraries. 

Many creators find it challenging to summarize their entire story in just one sentence. However, I encourage you to add a logline because it’s good practice when your comic hits the stands and you attend conventions to market your book. A strong one-sentence logline is invaluable if someone approaches your table and asks about your book. No one wants to stand around listening to a five-minute meandering explanation of your plot!

Including themes in your pitch is optional but recommended. If you pitch a YA book or manga, themes like self-esteem, belonging, or peer pressure can provide valuable information for the publisher to understand before diving into the rest of the pitch.

The concept is the most crucial part of the pitch. It should be half a page and represent the pitch itself. No questions should be raised (e.g., Will so-and-so ever find what they are looking for?), and the conclusion should be fully revealed. This is for the publisher, not the reader; they need to know everything. 

The synopsis is where you can break down the book or series into acts or issues. Each should contain a brief paragraph of two to three sentences. Manga features four acts, while graphic novels contain three. Breaking it down by chapters or issues is acceptable if the acts don’t effectively convey the pacing. Include sample sequential art story pages if required by the publisher. This consists of three to five pages of fully penciled, inked, colored (if applicable), and lettered art. I recommend avoiding additional pages, as the editorial staff’s time is valuable, and the likelihood of them reading beyond five pages is low. Including character designs can be beneficial but is usually unnecessary. Unless otherwise stated by the publisher, character designs should not replace sequential art pages.

To end the pitch, conclude with a paragraph that emphasizes what distinguishes this pitch from other works the publisher may be considering or publishing. This is crucial because every publisher seeks something unique they do not already offer or that another publisher isn’t currently releasing.

Conclude your pitch with biographies of the creative team, emphasizing the team’s or your accomplishments. If you are a beginner without substantial credits, simply include your contact information. 

These days, it is acceptable to pitch to multiple publishers simultaneously. However, remember that you seldom get an explanation if your pitch isn’t accepted. Avoid asking for feedback, even though it might help you understand what you could improve. Editors are busy, and unless they provide feedback, thank them for their time and ask if they are open to receiving more pitches from you in the future.

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Kristen Simon is a comics industry veteran with over twenty years of editorial experience. She is currently an Executive Editor at Mad Cave Studios, overseeing the manga-inspired imprint Nakama Press. Previously, Kris was a Group Editor at IDW Publishing, overseeing their original graphic novels and new initiatives. At mobile video game companies Netmarble F&C and Com2uS Corp, she was the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, respectively, where she oversaw translating their gaming IPs, such as Summoners War, into comics, webtoons, motion comics, and webnovels. She also ran her own events company, GeekChic Promotions, where she was the co-host of a popular YouTube show called Nerd Rage, which ran weekly from 2017 to 2020. Kris’s career in comics began with her getting a book called Small Gods accepted at Image Comics in 2003, which led to becoming the Editor-in-Chief of Image partner studio Shadowline Comics (Morning Glories) and Silverline Books (Dear Dracula), from 2005 to 2010. She also had a comic book character created based on her likeness, Editor Girl, who first appeared in the Bomb Queen IV: Suicide Bomber series in 2008. She is also the co-host and Chief Operating Officer of the Superfan Podcast.

The post How to Pitch to a Comic Book Publisher appeared first on SFWA.

The Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) has announced the winners of the 2025 Romantic Novel Awards. Titles and authors of genre interest include:

The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award

• WINNER: Now Comes the Mist, Julie C. Dao (Podium)

• The Love of Her Lives, C.J. Connolly (Joffe)
• Meet Me on the Bridge, Sarah J. Harris (Amazon)
• Apprentice to the Villain, Hannah Nicole Maehrer (Penguin)
• The Courting of Bristol Keats

The finalists for the 2025 Orwell Political Fiction Book Prize, given by The Orwell Foundation to novels and short story collections published in the UK which explore major political and social themes through a fictional lens, have been announced. Finalists of genre interest include:

• Dream Count, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (4th Estate)
• Precipice, Robert Harris (Penguin Random House UK)
• There Are Rivers in the Sky, Elif Shafak (Penguin

The 48th Williamson Lectureship, held April 10–12, 2025 in Portales NM, celebrated “Worlds Beyond” – including Latinx and Indigenous Futurism – in academic papers, student artist interpretations of genre books, and a student–led carnival.

Held to honor SF pioneer Jack Williamson at Eastern NM University, the 2025 Lectureship saw guest of honor Darcie Little Badger’s flight delayed more than four hours. Luckily, she arrived in time for discussions of worlds ...Read More

Kama-kon, the 63rd Japan Science Fiction Convention, has announced the finalists for the 2025 Seiun Awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugo Awards), honoring the best original and translated works published last year in Japan.

Best Translated Novel

• The Red Arrow, William Brewer, translated by Motomi Ueno (Hayakawa)
• A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark, translated by Yasuko Kaji (Tokyo Sogensha)
• Titanium Noir, Nick Harkaway, translated by

Sam Tegtmeyer has been chosen as the 2025 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellow.

The $3,000 fellowship, sponsored by the University of Oregon Libraries Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), is awarded to support “travel for the purpose of research on, and work with, the papers of feminist science fiction authors.”

SCUA houses the papers of Suzette Haden Elgin, Kate Elliot, Sally Miller Gearhart, Molly Gloss, Damon Knight, Ursula K. ...Read More

ZIN E. ROCKLYN is now represented by Arley Sorg of kt literary.

HARUKI MURAKAMI was named Cultural Personality of the Year in the 19th Sheikh Zayed Book Awards, presented by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Lan­guage Centre, recognizing “a prominent Arab or international figure (or organization) who has contributed to the advancement of the Arabic culture, embodies through his/her work tolerance and promotes peaceful coexis­tence.” Murakami will receive “a ...Read More

Finalists have been announced for the 2025 Premios Kelvin 505 Awards, presented by the Celsius 232 festival and honoring the best science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels published in Spain.

Mejor Novela Original (Best Original Novel)

• Epifanía, J.V. Gachs (Dolmen)
• La casa de los cien escalones, David Jasso (Obscura)
• La noche de Venus, Rubén Sánchez Trigos (Dolmen)
• La península de las casas vacías, David Uclés (Siruela)