Awards Summary
Career and Special Awards: 1
Major Awards: 11
Locus Awards: 6
Other Awards: 14
Total Number of Award Wins and Nominations: 73
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hugo Awards  
for SF/F works, voted by members of annual World Science Fiction Convention 
 
 (11 nominations; 4 wins)
 
“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”   (Exhalation)
novella  nomination
 
“Omphalos”   (Exhalation)
novelette  nomination
 
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”   (Subterranean Fall 2013)
novelette  nomination
 
The Lifecycle of Software Objects   (Subterranean)
novella  winner
 
“Exhalation”   (Eclipse Two)
short story  winner
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”   (F&SF Sep 2007)
novelette  winner
 
“Hell Is the Absence of God”   (Starlight 3)
novelette  winner
 
“Seventy-two Letters”   (Vanishing Acts)
novella  nomination
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
novella  nomination
 
“Understand”   (Asimov's Aug 1991)
novelette  nomination
 
“Tower of Babylon”   (Omni Nov 1990)
novelette  nomination
 
Nebula Awards  
for SF/F works, voted by SF & Fantasy Writers of America professional membership 
 
 (6 nominations; 4 wins)
 
“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”   (Exhalation)
novella  nomination
 
The Lifecycle of Software Objects   (Subterranean)
novella  nomination
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”   (F&SF Sep 2007)
novelette  winner
 
“Hell Is the Absence of God”   (Starlight 3 Patrick Nielsen Hayden, ed., Tor)
novelette  winner
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
novella  winner
 
“Tower of Babylon”   (Omni Nov 1990)
novelette  winner
 
 
 (1 nomination)
 
“Seventy-two Letters”   (Vanishing Acts)
novella  nomination
 
 
 
Bram Stoker Awards  
for Horror works, voted by Horror Writer's Association professional membership 
 
 (1 nomination)
 
Exhalation   (Knopf)
collection  nomination
 
 
 (3 nominations; 2 wins)
 
“Why A.I. Isn't Going to Make Art”   (The New Yorker 31 Aug 2024)
nonfiction (short)  winner
 
“Exhalation”   (Eclipse Two)
short fiction  winner
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”   (F&SF Sep 2007)
short fiction  nomination
 
 
 
Ignyte Awards  
for SF/F/H that celebrates vibrancy and diversity; committee and popular vote 
 
 (2 nominations)
 
“Why A.I. Isn't Going to Make Art”   (The New Yorker 31 Aug 2024)
creative nonfiction  nomination
 
“Omphalos”   (Exhalation)
novelette  nomination
 
 
 (2 nominations)
 
“Liking What You See: A Documentary”   (Stories of Your Life and Others Tor)
short list
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
short list
 
 
 
 
 (6 nominations; 1 win)
 
“Omphalos”   (Exhalation)
finalist
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”   (F&SF Sep 2007)
shortlist
 
“Liking What You See: A Documentary”   (Stories of Your Life and Others)
shortlist
 
“Hell Is the Absence of God”   (Starlight 3)
shortlist
 
“Seventy-two Letters”   (Vanishing Acts)
shortlist
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
 winner
 
 
 
 
Locus Awards  
for SF/F/H works, polled by readers of Locus Magazine 
 
 (17 nominations; 6 wins)
 
“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”   (Exhalation)
novella  4th place
 
“Omphalos”   (Exhalation)
novelette  winner
 
“It's 2059, and the Rich Kids Are Still Winning”   (New York Times 27 May 2019)
short story  2nd place
 
Exhalation   (Knopf; Picador)
collection  winner
 
“The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling”   (Subterranean Fall 2013)
novelette  2nd place
 
The Lifecycle of Software Objects   (Subterranean)
novella  winner
 
“Exhalation”   (Eclipse Two)
short story  winner
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”   (F&SF Sep 2007)
novelette  2nd place
 
“Liking What You See: A Documentary”   (Stories of Your Life and Others)
novelette  2nd place
 
Stories of Your Life and Others   (Tor)
collection  winner
 
“Hell Is the Absence of God”   (Starlight 3)
novelette  winner
 
“Seventy-two Letters”   (Vanishing Acts)
novella  4th place
 
“Catching crumbs from the table”   (Nature 1 Jun 2000)
short story  27th place (tie)
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
novella  10th place (tie)
 
“Understand”   (Asimov's Aug 1991)
novelette  13th place
 
“Division by Zero”   (Full Spectrum 3)
short story  7th place
 
“Tower of Babylon”   (Omni Nov 1990)
novelette  4th place
 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
“Understand”   (Asimov's Aug 1991)
novelette  winner
 
 
 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
“Exhalation”  
Translated Short Story or Collection  winner
 
 
 
 
 (3 nominations; 3 wins)
 
“Seventy-two Letters”  
foreign short story  winner
 
“Story of Your Life”  
foreign short story  winner
 
“Understand”  
foreign short story  winner
 
 
 
HOMer Awards  
for SF/F works, voted by members of SF/F forum on CompuServe 
 
 (1 nomination)
 
“Story of Your Life”   (Starlight 2)
novella  nomination
 
Ignotus Awards  
for SF works published in Spain, voted by members of Spanish SF Association 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
“Exhalation”  
foreign short story  winner
 
Italia Awards  
for SF/F works published in Italy, voted by members of annual Italcon 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
The Lifecycle of Software Objects  
international novel  winner
 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
  
   winner
 
 
 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
Hell Is the Absence of God  
foreign novel  winner
 
 
 
Mythopoeic Awards  
for fantasy works in the spirit of the Inklings, voted by members of the Mythopoeic Society 
 
 (1 nomination)
 
Stories of Your Life and Others   (Tor)
adult literature  nomination
 
 
 (1 nomination)
 
“Tower of Babylon”   (Omni Nov 1990)
novelette  2nd place
 
 
 
Seiun Awards  
for SF/F works published in Japan, voted by members of annual Japanese SF Con 
 
 (10 nominations; 4 wins)
 
“Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”  
translated story  nomination
 
“Omphalos”  
translated story  nomination
 
The Lifecycle of Software Objects  
translated short form  winner
 
Exhalation  
translated story  nomination
 
“The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate”  
translated short form  winner
 
“Hell Is the Absence of God”  
translated short story  winner
 
“Liking What You See: A Documentary”  
translated short story  nomination
 
“Seventy-two Letters”  
translated short story  nomination
 
“Story of Your Life”  
translated short story  winner (tie)
 
“Understand”  
foreign short story  nomination
 
 
 (1 nomination; 1 win)
 
“Seventy-two Letters”   (Vanishing Acts)
short form  winner