Tag Archives: Mishell Baker

Where to Livestream the 58th Nebula Awards

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The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) invites speculative fiction fans and creators to the 58th Annual Nebula Awards® Ceremony. The ceremony will stream live on Sunday, May 14, at 8:00 p.m. Pacific from Anaheim, CA.

During the ceremony, the winners of the 58th Annual Nebula Awards will be revealed (list of finalists). The previously announced honorees will also be presented with their awards: Robin McKinley (SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master), Octavia E. Butler (Infinity Award, posthumously), Mishell Baker (Kevin O’ Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award), Cerece Rennie Murphy (Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award), and Greg Bear (Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, posthumously).

Cheryl Platz. Photo Credit: Michael Doucett

Cheryl Platz will act as Toastmaster for the ceremony. Award presenters will join in-person and virtually from across the galaxy, including past Nebula Award winners, SFWA Board members, and other notable members of the science fiction and fantasy (SFF) industry: Jeffe Kennedy, Matthew Mercer, Gay Haldeman, Chinaka Hodge, Christine Taylor-Butler, Mur Lafferty, Michael Capobianco, Aydrea Walden, José Pablo Iriarte, and Leigh Bardugo. The ceremony will conclude with a surprise presenter for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.

The 58th Nebula Awards Ceremony takes place as part of the 2023 Nebula Conference, the premier professional development conference for aspiring and established members of the SFF industries. Its schedule of 50+ programming topics can be viewed here. Content is geared toward creators working in games, comics, prose, poetry, and other mediums of storytelling. Registrations for in-person or virtual attendance are available here, and they also include a year of access to the panel archive, opportunities to network throughout the year, and a standing invitation to SFWA’s Weekly Writing Dates, Romancing SFF, Connecting Flights, and Narrative Worlds programming.

[Based on a press release.]

Octavia E. Butler
Mishell Baker
Cerece Rennie Murphy. Photo by Imagine Photography
Greg Bear. Photo by Bill Wadman.

Mishell Baker to Receive Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award

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Mishell Baker

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) will present the 2023 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award to Mishell Baker at the 58th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards® for her outstanding work on behalf of the organization.

The Service to SFWA Award recognizes a volunteer of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to their fellow members. In 2012, the award was renamed in honor of author Kevin O’Donnell, Jr., who dedicated 20+ years of volunteer service to the organization.

Mishell Baker has served as the primary contact for SFWA’s Estate Program since 2016. She has liaised with publishers interested in reprinting works by science fiction and fantasy authors who are no longer with us, and acted as an intermediary for individual heirs who wish to keep their contact information confidential. Baker has a well-earned reputation for handling these communications with consistency and sensitivity, providing help in sometimes difficult and confusing situations.  

Michael Capobianco, co-chair of the SFWA Estates-Legacy Committee and former SFWA president, remarked, “Mishell has been the steadfast, behind-the-scenes heart and soul of the Estates Project for going on seven years and I can’t think of anyone who deserves this volunteer service award more.”

SFWA’s Estate Program was created in 2007 by Bud Webster, the 2011 recipient of this same award. The program promotes and preserves the work of writers who helped build the science fiction and fantasy genres. Today, the SFWA Estates-Legacy Committee, among other duties, oversees the Estates database to facilitate legitimate paid publication of reprinted works, enabling editors, publishers, and agents to seek reprint permissions, make payments to estates and heirs, and double-check publication rights.

For her years of dedication and excellence in undertaking this essential volunteer work for the organization and the SFF community, SFWA is proud to present the 2023 Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award to Mishell Baker. She will join many distinguished recipients of the award, including Connie Willis, Victoria Strauss, Julia Rios, Bud Sparhawk, Lee Martindale, Vonda McIntyre, and Jim Fiscus. 

The award will be presented at the 58th Nebula Awards® Ceremony, taking place on May 13, 2023 in Anaheim, CA, and online. The ceremony is part of the 2023 Nebula Conference, an annual professional development conference organized by SFWA for aspiring and established members of the speculative fiction industry. Registrations for the conference and tickets for the ceremony banquet are available here.

[Based on a press release.]