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The annual Nebula Awards anthology has been a tradition since 1965, when Damon Knight edited the first in the line, Nebula Award Stories. The anthologies are a collection of the year's best SF&F stories, as selected by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. As the title suggests, the stories are taken from the winners and nominees of SFWA's annual Nebula Awards, the only awards given by SF professionals to their peers. 1998's anthology includes nine short stories, nine essays on the current state of SF by authors such as Lucius Shepherd, Norman Spinrad, and Elizabeth Hand, a survey of 1996 SF films, a short feature on SFWA grandmaster Jack Vance, the winners of the 1996 Rhysling Award for best SF poetry, and several appendices explaining what SFWA is and what the Nebulas are. The stories are the focus here and every one is worth the price of admission, but those interested in the SF field will find that the various essays make for some enlightening and entertaining reading as well. --Craig Engler
