Comments: 1984 was a banner year for Greg Bear, who took home the Nebula Award for both the Best Novella and the Best Novelette. This year was also a great year for David Brin, who won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for his Upilift novel Startide Rising.
Unfortunately, it wasn't such a banner year for women, as there were only four nominations out of twenty-five that went to works written by female authors. After making gains on the gender equity front through much of the 1970s, the push towards equality in the field of science fiction sadly seems to have stalled in the 1980s.
Best Novel
Startide Rising by David Brin
Other Nominees:
Against Infinity by Gregory Benford
The Citadel of the Autarch by Gene Wolfe
Lyonesse by Jack Vance
Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy
The Void Captain's Tale by Norman Spinrad
Best Novella
Hardfought by Greg Bear
Other Nominees:
Eszterhazy and the Autogóndola-Invention by Avram Davidson
The Gospel According to Gamaliel Crucis by Michael Bishop
Her Habiline Husband by Michael Bishop
Homefaring by Robert Silverberg
Transit by Vonda N. McIntyre
Best Novelette
Blood Music by Greg Bear
Other Nominees:
Black Air by Kim Stanley Robinson
Blind Shemmy by Jack Dann
Cicada Queen by Bruce Sterling
The Monkey Treatment by George R.R. Martin
The Sidon in the Mirror by Connie Willis
Slow Birds by Ian Watson
Best Short Story
The Peacemaker by Gardner Dozois
Other Nominees:
Cryptic by Jack McDevitt
The Geometry of Narrative by Hilbert Schenck
Ghost Town by Chad Oliver
Her Furry Face by Leigh Kennedy
Wong's Lost and Found Emporium by William F. Wu
Go to previous year's nominees: 1983
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1985
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