Local science-fiction (sci-fi) writer Rhonda Garcia, who writes as RSA Garcia, is over the moon, as she is the first woman from TT and the Caribbean region to win a Nebula Science Fiction Award for Short Story.

She won it for her short story Tantie Merle and the Farmhand 4200, which is written entirely in TT creole, another first.

The announcement was made at the 2024 Nebula Awards ceremony on June 8.

Garcia said the Nebula Awards are the science-fiction equivalent of the Academy Awards, as the stories are voted on by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (formerly of America), established in 1966. Based in the US, it changed its name in 2022 to reflect its worldwide membership.

Awards are given in numerous categories. The trophy is a transparent block with an embedded glitter spiral nebula and gemstones cut to resemble planets. Unlike other literary awards, the Nebula Award does not come with a cash prize, but Garcia explained: “The Nebula is regarded as the most prestigious award in sci-fi, because it’s from your peers...One of the previous winners is George RR Martin, who wrote Game of Thrones.

“I’m so happy for my win, for my nominations over the years, for the Nebula, and nominations for the Ignyte, the Sturgeon, sci-fi awards from other organisations, because it confirms what we in the West Indies already know: that we have a strong and rich tradition of literature.”

Garcia didn’t expect to win, but her competitor Rachel K Jones encouraged her to write an acceptance speech, and read it for her after the announcement.

“They had a fantastic ceremony, which I couldn’t attend in person, but they included us in the room online on camera. We were all supporting and cheering for each other, and they gave us our certificates and I felt I’d already won a prize.”

Garcia said while authors with Caribbean parentage in other countries had won the prize before, she was the first from TT.

“I’ve lived here my whole life...I don’t have any dual citizenship. Everything that went into that story came from TT, came from this schooling system, came from this place.”

Winning the Nebula was the culmination of an ambition she had since she was 14 and decided to become a sci-fi writer.

“I grew up in libraries. I started reading maybe when I was two, and my mother couldn’t afford to keep buying books, so when I was seven she took me to the Port of Spain library and put her head on a block for the librarian that I wouldn’t damage the books, like other children my age.

“From that moment, I would see this sticker on these books which said 'Nebula,' and I knew that was the best book...

“It is incredible to know that you came full circle, that the thing that inspired you, you are now part of its history, you can now inspire other people. It’s humbling, and crazy, and most days since June 8 I wake up, and I ask myself, 'Is this still happening, is this real?' And then I’ll be pinching myself and saying, 'Yeah, it’s still real.'"

While she adored Caribbean literary tradition, her heart w