1990 in science fiction

The year 1990 was marked, in science fiction, by the following:

Events

• The 48th annual Worldcon, ConFiction, was held in The Hague, Netherlands

Births and deaths

Births

• Rie Qudan

Deaths

• Ed Emshwiller
• Donald A. Wollheim

Literary releases

Novels

Further information: Category:1990 science fiction novels

• Jurassic Park , by Michael Crichton

Short stories

• "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson

Comics

• Battle Angel Alita begins serialization in Business Jump magazine
• Hard Boiled , by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow
• Martha Washington , by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons
• The Men in Black , by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers

Other books

• Expedition by Wayne Barlowe
• Man After Man by Dougal Dixon

Movies

Further information: Category: 1990 science fiction films

• Total Recall , dir. by Paul Verhoeven
• Tremors , dir. by Ron Underwood

Video games

• Wing Commander , by Chris Roberts

Awards

Hugos

• Best novel: Hyperion , by Dan Simmons ^[1]
• Best novella: The Mountains of Mourning , by Lois McMaster Bujold ^[1]
• Best novelette: "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another" by Robert Silverberg ^[1]
• Best short story: " Boobs" by Suzy McKee Charnas ^[1]
• Best related work: The World Beyond the Hill , by Alexei Panshin and Cory Panshin ^[1]
• Best dramatic presentation: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , dir. by Steven Spielberg; Screenplay by Jeffrey Boam; Story by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes; based on characters created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman ^[1]
• Best professional editor: Gardner Dozois ^[1]
• Best professional artist: Don Maitz ^[1]
• Best original artwork: Cover of Rimrunners, by Don Maitz ^[1]
• Best Semiprozine: Locus , ed. by Charles N. Brown ^[1]
• Best fanzine: The Mad 3 Party, ed. by Leslie Turek ^[1]
• Best fan writer: Dave Langford ^[1]
• Best fan artist: Stu Shiffman ^[1]

Nebulas

• Best novel: Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea , by Ursula K. LeGuin ^[2]
• Best novella: The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman
• Best novelette: " Tower of Babylon" by Ted Chiang ^[2]
• Best short story: "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson ^[2]

Other awards

• BSFA Award for Best Novel: Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenwood
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film: Total Recall

References

1. "1990 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
2. "1990 - The Nebula Awards". The Nebula Awards. Retrieved 19 October 2025.