Awards race: Costume Designers toast Black Panther and Westworld; Nebulas reveal nominees

We’re at the point in awards season when the Oscars are so nearly upon us, but a few groups are still squeezing out a few kudos of their own. With the Costume Designers Guild announcing their winners and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America releasing their list of Nebula Award finalists, genre is cleaning up — before the Oscars come to rain on sci-fi, fantasy, and horror’s parade.

First, according to Variety, Hollywood’s premier costume designers held the final industry awards show on Tuesday ahead of the Oscars — and their big winners were familiar to genre fans paying attention to the awards this year. Ruth E. Carter’s work on Black Panther took home the top award for Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film (the guild separates its categories by genre), while Sharen Davis’ Westworld costumes won in Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television.

However, Carter also won the Career Achievement Award — appreciating the three decades that have been brightened by her design work — while Ryan Murphy won a special Distinguished Collaborator Award for his prolific and inventive TV projects.

The Nebula finalists were just as interestingly categorized and recognizable. While fans can find the literary awards listed below, film, TV, and games brought plenty of sci-fi to the table this year.

Charlie Brooker’s inventive, choose-your-own-adventure episode of Black Mirror, “Bandersnatch,” was a finalist in the Game Writing category, alongside God of War, while the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation counted The Good Place episode “Jeremy Bearimy” and the Janelle Monáe album Dirty Computer among a list of finalists that were mostly cinematic. Black Panther, A Quiet Place, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Sorry to Bother You comprised the film finalists.

The winners will be announced during the SFWA Nebula Conference, running from May 16-19. Here are the full finalists for the Nebulas:

Novel

The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowa

The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang

Blackfish City, Sam J. Miller

Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik

Witchmark, C.L. Polk

Trail of Lightning, Rebecca Roanhorse

Novella

Fire Ant, Jonathan P. Brazee

The Black God’s Drums, P. Djèlí Clark

The Tea Master and the Detective, Aliette de Bodard

Alice Payne Arrives, Kate Heartfield

Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach, Kelly Robson

Artificial Condition, Martha Wells

Novelette

"The Only Harmless Great Thing," Brooke Bolander

“The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections,” Tina Connolly

“An Agent of Utopia,” Andy Duncan

“The Substance of My Lives, the Accidents of Our Births,” José Pablo Iriarte

“The Rule of Three,” Lawrence M. Schoen

“Messenger,” Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and R.R. Virdi

Short Story

“Interview for the End of the World,” Rhett C. Bruno

“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” Phenderson Djèlí Clark

“Going Dark,” Richard Fox

“And Yet,” A.T. Greenblatt

“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” Alix E. Harrow

“The Court Magician,” Sarah Pinsker

The Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Young Adult Science Fiction or Fantasy Book

Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

Aru Shah and the End of Time, Roshani Chokshi

A Light in the Dark, A.K. DuBoff

Tess of the Road, Rachel Hartman

Dread Nation, Justina Ireland

Peasprout Chen: Future Legend of Skate and Sword, Henry Lien