My climate fiction novelette O2 Arena just won the Nebula award, making me the first African writer to win the Nebula award with a novelette. I’ll also be the first African born, Black writer to win the Nebula award at all.
It’s my second nomination in a row and in a second category, as my post apocalyptic novella Ife-Iyoku, Tale of Imadeyunuagbon, published in the British Fantasy award winning Dominion anthology I co-edited, was a finalist last year.
O2 Arena touches on not just climate change, but addresses issues like post and neo colonialism, cancer, disability, reproductive health, cultism, toxic capitalism, homophobia, misogyny, and more. It’s also a finalist in the British Science Fiction and Hugo award for which voting us currently on and for which you can purchase a virtual membership at $80 here, to vote.
It made the Unofficial Hugo Book Club and Nerds of a Feather recommended reading lists and while originally published in issue 53 of Galaxy’s Edge was reprinted in issue 129 of Apex Magazine. It’s free to read on Galaxy’s Edge here and on Apex, here
O2 Arena is dedicated to Voke Omawunmi Stephen, Emeka Walter Dinjos, and all those struggling with cancer and other similar ailments. It was part of the inspiration for the Emeka Walter Dinjos Memorial Award For Disability In Speculative Fiction and I donated the proceeds from the sale of the reprint at Apex, to help provide radiotherapy treatment for Nigerian women dealing with cancer here.
O2 Arena is being translated into several other languages. It is little over eight thousand words, but there are extra scenes on my website which you can check out here
You can see the video of my acceptance speech and the best novelette award presentation by AT Greenblat and Connie Willis at the 57th Nebula awards, on my Instagram page here
You can see reviews of it by Adri Joy in Nerds of a Feather, Kathryn Adams of Pixelated Geek, Thomas of SFF180 and on This Is Africa.
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki 
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