Nebula Awards 2008 - novellas: Winner & nominees

See opening remarks in Nebula Awards 2008 - short stories post for sources & conventions.

Two of the four stories are from 2008; other two are from 2007.

Update 30 February 2009: Final ballot is announced. One entry added to the preliminary list.
Update 26 April 2009: Winners announced.

List of stories.

1. [winner, final, prelim] Catherine Asaro's "The Spacetime Pool" (B); download from Analog site, or as an 8-part serial from author's blog (01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, & 08); Analog, March 2008: A young woman's adventures in a violent medieval society.
2. [final, prelim] Charles Coleman Finlay's "The Political Prisoner" (B); download page 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, & 07; F&SF, August 2008: Description of a very violent political purge in a Jewish society.
3. [final, prelim] Kelley Eskridge's "Dangerous Space" (B); download; Dangerous Space, Aqueduct Press, June 2007: A gay love story, in the back drop of the rise of a music band. Mostly a non-genre story; speculative elements are minimal.
4. [final, prelim] Gregory Benford's "Dark Heaven"; Alien Crimes, SFBC, January 2007: Not read.
5. [final] Vera Nazarian's "The Duke in His Castle"; some book of Norilana Books, January 2008: Not read.
   

Related.

1. Nebula Awards 2008 (current year): short stories, novelettes.
2. Other awards choosing "best of 2008" fiction: Hugo Awards 2009 (short stories, novelettes, novellas, novels); BSFA Awards 2008 (UK); Aurealis Awards 2008 (Australia); Prix Aurora 2009 (Canada).
3. Novellas (last year): Nebula Awards 2007, Hugo Awards 2008.
4. My "best of the year 2008" list (links to some other lists too).
5. "Best of" lists.