The Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories , and was once officially known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award. [1] The award has been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing". [2] [3] In addition to the regular awards that have been given in most years that the awards have been active, several discontinued Hugo Awards have been presented throughout the years, only to be removed after a few years.
When the Hugo awards were begun in 1953, each Worldcon organizing committee decided what awards they would give. Several awards were presented over the next few years which were not repeated in later conventions, unlike the primary categories which are still presented—such as Best Novel. These awards were the Best Cover Artist, Best Interior Illustrator, Excellence in Fact Articles, Best New SF Author or Artist, and #1 Fan Personality Hugos at the initial 1953 awards ceremony, the Best Feature Writer, Best Book Reviewer, and Most Promising New Author awards in 1956, the Outstanding Actifan award in 1958, and the Best New Author of 1958 award in 1959. [4] [5] [6] [7]
In 1961, however, formal rules were set down for which categories would be awarded, which could only be changed by the World Science Fiction Society membership through the annual Business Meeting. [8] Despite this, the 1964 convention awarded a Hugo Award for the Best SF Book Publisher, which was not on that list. [8] Immediately afterward the guidelines were changed to allow individual conventions to create additional categories, which was codified as up to two categories for that year. These additional awards were officially designated as Hugo Awards, but were not required to be repeated by future conventions. [9] This was later adjusted to only allow one additional category. [10] The Best SF Book Publisher award was repeated in 1965, and the Best All-Time Series award was given in 1966. [11] [12] No other additional categories were added by 1974, when the guidelines were changed again to allow up to ten categories which would be chosen by each convention, though they were expected to be similar to those presented in the year before. Despite this change no new awards were added or previous awards removed before the guidelines were changed back to listing specific categories. [13] [14]
The next discontinued Hugo award was the Other Forms award, given in 1988. [15] It was followed in 1990 by the Best Original Art Work award, which was listed again as a special award in 1991, though not actually awarded, and instated afterward as an official Hugo Award. [16] [17] It was then removed from this status in 1996, and has not been awarded since. [18] The Best Web Site special Hugo award was given in 2002 and 2005, [19] [20] and was followed by the Best Series special award, given in 2017 in advance of it being ratified as a standard category for the following year, the Best Art Book award, given in 2019, and the Best Video Game award, given in 2021 along with a proposal to make it a standard category, which then began in 2024. [21] [22] [23] [24]
Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees, except in the case of a tie. These five works on the ballot are those most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of works that can be nominated. The 1953 and 1958 awards did not include any recognition of runner-up nominees, but since 1959 all five candidates have been recorded. [25] Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, while voting on the ballot of five nominations is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held. [26] Worldcons are generally held near Labor Day, and in a different city around the world each year. [1] [27] Members are permitted to vote "no award", if they feel that none of the nominees is deserving of the award that year, and in the case that "no award" takes the majority the Hugo is not given in that category. The only time this has happened in the discontinued awards was in the 1959 Best New Author category. [7]
* Winners and joint winners + No winner selected
Year | Artist | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1953 | Hannes Bok and Ed Emshwiller* | [4] |
Year | Artist | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1953 | Virgil Finlay * | [4] |
Year | Author | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1953 | Willy Ley * | [4] |
Year | Author/Artist | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1953 | Philip José Farmer * | [4] |
Year | Fan | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1953 | Forrest J Ackerman * | [4] |
Sometimes referred to as the "BNF Award". According to an interim report issued by the Philcon II convention committee while voting was still going on, the next most popular candidate to Ackerman at the time was Harlan Ellison. When Ackerman was handed the trophy at Philcon II (by Isaac Asimov), he actually physically declined, saying it should go to Ken Slater, to whom the trophy was later forwarded by the con committee. [28]
Year | Writer | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1956 | Willy Ley * | [5] |
L. Sprague de Camp | [5] | |
Robert A. Madle | [5] | |
Rog Phillips | [5] | |
Robert S. Richardson | [5] |
Year | Reviewer | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1956 | Damon Knight * | [5] |
Henry Bott | [5] | |
P. Schuyler Miller | [5] | |
Anthony Boucher | [5] | |
Groff Conklin | [5] | |
Villers Gerson | [5] | |
Floyd Gale | [5] | |
Hans Stefan Santesson | [5] |
Year | Author | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1956 | Robert Silverberg * | [5] |
Harlan Ellison | [5] | |
Frank Herbert | [5] | |
Henry Still | [5] |
Year | Fan | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1958 | Walt Willis * | [6] |
Year | Author | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1959 | (no award)+ | [7] |
Brian Aldiss | [7] | |
Pauline Ashwell | [7] | |
Rosel George Brown | [7] | |
Louis Charbonneau | [7] | |
Kit Reed | [7] |
Year | Publisher | Ref. |
---|---|---|
1964 | Ace Books* | [29] |
Pyramid Books | [29] | |
Ballantine Books | [29] | |
Doubleday | [29] | |
1965 | Ballantine Books* | [11] |
Ace Books | [11] | |
Victor Gollancz Ltd | [11] | |
Pyramid Books | [11] |
Year | Series | Author | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1966 | Foundation * | Isaac Asimov | [12] |
Barsoom | Edgar Rice Burroughs | [12] | |
Future History | Robert A. Heinlein | [12] | |
Lensmen | E. E. Smith | [12] | |
The Lord of the Rings | J. R. R. Tolkien | [12] |
Year | Work | Creator(s) | Publisher | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | Watchmen * | Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons | DC Comics | [15] |
Wild Cards | George R. R. Martin | Bantam Spectra | [15] | |
I, Robot: The Movie | Harlan Ellison | Asimov's Science Fiction | [15] | |
The Essential Ellison: A 35-Year Retrospective | Harlan Ellison , Terry Dowling, Richard Delap, and Gil Lamont | Nemo Press | [15] | |
Cvltvre Made Stvpid | Tom Weller | Houghton Mifflin | [15] |
Year | Website | Editor(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Locus Online (www.locusmag.com)* | Mark R. Kelly | [19] |
Sci Fiction (www.scifi.com) | Craig Engler | [19] | |
SF Site (www.sfsite.com) | Rodger Turner | [19] | |
Strange Horizons (www.strangehorizons.com) | Mary Anne Mohanraj | [19] | |
Tangent Online (www.tangentonline.com) | Dave Truesdale and Tobias S. Buckell | [19] | |
2005 | Sci Fiction (www.scifi.com/scifiction)* | Ellen Datlow | [20] |
Locus Online (www.locusmag.com) | Mark R. Kelly | [20] | |
Emerald City (www.emcit.com) | Cheryl Morgan | [20] | |
Strange Horizons (www.strangehorizons.com) | Susan Marie Groppi | [20] | |
eFanzines (www.efanzines.com) | Bill Burns | [20] |
Year | Book | Artist(s) | Publisher | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition* | Charles Vess (illustrator), Ursula K. Le Guin (author) | Saga Press / Victor Gollancz Ltd | [22] |
Daydreamer's Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon | Julie Dillon | self-published | [22] | |
Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History | Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer | Ten Speed Press | [22] | |
Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art | John Fleskes (editor) | Flesk Publications | [22] | |
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie | Ramin Zahed | Titan Books | [22] | |
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth | Catherine McIlwaine (editor) | Bodleian Library | [22] |
The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The novel award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 words or more; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette, and novella categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction", and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both works of film and of television but since 2003, it has been split into two categories: Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) and Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form). The Dramatic Presentation Awards are part of the broader Hugo Awards, which are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The awards are named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, and was once officially known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award. The award has been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction".
The Hugo Award for Best Novella is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novella award is available for works of fiction of between 17,500 and 40,000 words; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of between 7,500 and 17,500 words; awards are also given out in the short story, novella and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction of fewer than 7,500 words; awards are also given out for pieces of longer lengths in the novelette, novella, and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar year. Awards were also once given out for professional magazines in the professional magazine category, and since 1984 have been awarded for semi-professional magazines in the semiprozine category; several magazines that were nominated for or won the fanzine category have gone on to be nominated for or win the semiprozine category since it was established. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. The award has been given annually under several names since 1955, with the exception of 1957. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The 11th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Philcon II, was held on 5–7 September 1953 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was the first Worldcon to present the Hugo Awards.
The 66th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Denvention 3, was held on 6–10 August 2008 at the Colorado Convention Center and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The 13th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Clevention, was held on 2–5 September 1955 at the Manger Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
The 16th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Solacon, was held on 29 August–1 September 1958 at the Alexandria Hotel in Los Angeles, California, United States.
The 17th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Detention, was held on 4–7 September 1959 at the Pick Fort Shelby Hotel in Detroit, Michigan, United States.
The 21st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Discon I, was held on 31 August–2 September 1963 at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., United States.
The 22nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Pacificon II, was held on 4–7 September 1964 at the Hotel Leamington in Oakland, California, United States.
The 40th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Chicon IV, was held on 2–6 September 1982 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The 50th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MagiCon, was held on 3–7 September 1992 at the Clarion Hotel, The Peabody Orlando, and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States.
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in the science fiction genre, and winners are often noted on book covers. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955.
The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story is given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories told in graphic form and published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded annually since 2009. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Fancast is one of the Hugo Awards, and is awarded to the best non-professional audio or video periodical devoted to science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book is an award given annually to a book published for young adult readers in the field of science fiction or fantasy. The name of the award was chosen because a lodestar is "a star that guides or leads, especially in navigation, where it is the sole reliable source of light—the star that leads those in uncharted waters to safety". The nomination and selection process is administered by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), and the award is presented at the Hugo Award ceremony at the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, although it is not itself a Hugo Award.