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Hugo

Entry updated 16 September 2024. Tagged: Award.

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The annual awards given by the World SF Society, comprising members of the Worldcon. The awards were originally known as the Science Fiction Achievement Awards while affectionately termed Hugos in honour of Hugo Gernsback; the name was officially changed to the Hugo Awards when the US authorities declined to allow a service mark on the original name. Hugos were first awarded at the 1953 World SF Convention (see Worldcon); the idea was then dropped for a year (1954), but since 1955 the awards have been annual. They have always been fan-voted awards as opposed to, say, the Nebula or Philip K Dick Award, which are voted on by different categories of professional reader. The original idea, from fan Hal Lynch, was based on the National Film Academy Awards (Oscars). The award takes the form of a rocketship mounted upright on fins. The first model was designed and produced by Jack McKnight; from 1955 a similar design by Ben Jason has normally been used. The rockets have been cast since 1984 (except 1991) in Birmingham, UK, at the foundry of prominent fan Peter Weston; in 1992 they were gold-plated to celebrate the 50th Worldcon, and again in 2003 for the 50th anniversary of the first presentation. The base of the trophy is different every year, with modern Worldcons normally running a competition for the best design.

Awards are made in several categories, which have varied in definition and number from year to year. They are given primarily for fiction, but categories for editing, artwork, film and television, fan writing and illustration have also been included. The rules governing awards are made, and often remade, at Worldcon business meetings, held annually. Occasional special awards are made by Worldcon committees, but these are not generally actual Hugos. The exception is that each Worldcon committee has the right to add one additional category. This power is usually used for trials of proposed new categories.

Works with a specific publication date, such as fiction or dramatic presentations, are normally eligible for Hugos if published in the year before the presenting Worldcon. This was not always the case – in 1955, 1956 and 1958 the winners included works first published in the previous and current years – and the general rule of "previous year only" was applied in 1959. Occasional special exceptions were later made to extend eligibility for works not widely distributed in the previous year; for example, published only in the UK when the relevant Worldcon was in the US.

These days voting on the Hugos takes place prior to the convention with voting by post, and more recently online. Early voting regulations tended to change each year; the 1956 awards, for example, were based on a juried shortlist for most categories (except Best Professional Magazine, where no finalists were listed) but allowed write-in votes on the final ballot. Since the late 1960s the system has settled on a two-stage ballot. The first stage, open to members of the previous and current year's Worldcon (and also, from 2012 to 2019 inclusive, the following year's as well), is known as nominations and allows each voter five equally-ranked choices in each category. These are totalled, and the five (or, from 2017 onward, six) works or people with the most nominations in each category go forward to the final ballot. This is conducted using a preferential voting system, often known as the Australian ballot (after the system used in Australian lower-house elections), or Instant Runoff Voting in the USA. The least successful contender's votes are redistributed, using second or subsequent preferences, after each count, until one candidate has a clear majority. The final ballot is open only to members of the current year's Worldcon. It is not necessary to attend the convention to vote – a lower-cost "supporting membership" is available to people unable to afford the travel to wherever Worldcon is being held that year.

Worldcon was traditionally held over the US Labor Day Weekend in September, but more recently has sometimes slipped earlier owing to school holiday timing and competition from Dragon*Con. The Hugos are given for publication or activity in the preceding calendar year. Hence, for example, a novel which wins a 1998 Hugo will have been published in 1997 (though, if it also wins a Nebula, the latter will be known confusingly as the 1997 Nebula). "No award" votes have for many years been permitted, and have resulted occasionally in void classes.

The definitions of the various categories of short fiction have varied. There was no short-fiction award in 1953. In the years 1955-1959 there were only two classes of short fiction: novelette and short story. These were amalgamated from 1960 to 1966 as "short fiction"; few short stories were nominated during this period, and in 1962 Brian W Aldiss uniquely won the short-fiction award for a series, the Hothouse stories (February-December 1961 F&SF). In 1967 the novelette class was reintroduced, and a new class, novella, was included from 1968. In 1970-1972 the only two classes were short story and novella. Since 1973 there have again been three classes of short fiction. Since the early 1970s a novella has been defined as being 17,500 to 40,000 words, a novelette as 7500 to 17,500 words, a short story as any fiction shorter than a novelette and a novel as any fiction longer than a novella.

Since 1971, the Dramatic Presentation category has included recordings. In 2003 this Hugo was split into Long Form and Short Form categories, broadly intended to cover films and individual television episodes respectively, but kept open to allow for things such as direct-to-tv movies, and also to continue to provide eligibility for stage plays, musicals and other dramatic work.

In 1973 the professional-magazine category changed to a professional-editor category, to acknowledge the increasing importance of original Anthologies. In 2007, this Professional Editor category split into Long Form and Short Form, respectively covering editors of novels (who are often uncredited) and editors of short stories/articles in magazines and anthologies.

In 1980 the category of nonfiction book was added, the first award being given to the first edition of this encyclopedia, and subsequent awards have gone to books of criticism, scholarship, artwork, reminiscence and science fact: a category in which Graphic Novels competed with encyclopedias was perhaps too much of a grab-bag; the 1989 Worldcon committee did choose specifically to exclude A Brief History of Time (1988) by Stephen Hawking (1942-2018), causing some slight controversy. The category was then changed to Related Book, indicating that the work merely had to be of interest to fans, not actually about science fiction, and in 2010 to Related Work to indicate that the work need not be a printed book, making it even more of an eclectic catch-all.

Since 1984 the category of Semiprozine has been included, for publications midway between Fanzines and professional magazines. The specific motivation for this change seems to have been to remove Locus – from which the editor earned significant income – from the "amateur" fanzine category. For many years the Hugo rules defined a semiprozine as a publication meeting two or more of five criteria: circulation, paid staff, editor's income, percentage of advertising and self-announcement as a semiprozine. (After its 2002 fanzine win, Ansible declared itself to be a semiprozine and was subsequently shortlisted in that category.) The domination of the Semiprozine category by Locus led to a successful 2008 vote for its abolition; however, following campaigning by semiprozine editors, the decision was reversed rather than being ratified in 2009. The publicity this gave to other semiprozines resulted in Locus failing to win its customary Hugo in 2009, 2010 or 2011; it won again in 2012, but changes to the Hugo definition of semiprozine, ratified at the 2012 Worldcon business meeting, will henceforth exclude Locus since it has full-time paid staff members.

Also in 2008, a new Graphic Novel category was voted into existence and, although this addition could not be ratified (which it was) until 2009, the 2009 Worldcon added Best Graphic Novel as the one additional Hugo category which each event has the option to include.

The Fancast category, for podcasts and similar free Audiozines distributed online, was first presented in 2012, having been passed as a new category in 2011 and – as with Graphic Novel above – introduced as an additional category prior to its ratification in the following year. A still further addition is Series (of novels etc), run as a trial in 2017 and ratified in that year as a permanent addition thereafter.

The Hugos have for many years been subject to criticism on the grounds that awards made by a relatively small, self-selected group of hardcore fans do not necessarily reflect either literary merit or the preferences of the sf reading public generally; hardcore Fandom probably makes up less than one per cent of the general sf readership. Certainly Hugos have tended to be given to traditional Hard SF, and have seldom been awarded to experimental work, but they have been, on the whole, surprisingly eclectic. While many awards have gone to (good but) conservative writers like Poul Anderson, Robert A Heinlein, Clifford D Simak and Larry Niven, they have also been given to such doyens of the New Wave as Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny and James Tiptree Jr, and to a number of works of literary excellence which quite fail to conform to the standard patterns of genre expectation, such as Walter M Miller Jr's A Canticle for Leibowitz (April 1955-February 1957 F&SF; fixup dated 1960 but 1959) and Ursula K Le Guin's The Dispossessed (1974). Neither was Fritz Leiber's eccentric The Big Time (March-April 1958 Galaxy; 1961 dos), which won the award before going into book format, a traditionalist selection. The Hugos are also open to, and have been won by, works of Fantasy. This has always been the case, despite semantic arguments based on the old name "Science Fiction Achievement Award"; an outright fantasy by Robert Bloch won the short story category as early as 1959.

The rival award, the Nebula, is chosen by professional writers, but there is no evidence that they have consistently selected works of superior literary merit; indeed, some critics would argue the contrary case, that the Hugo voters have proved themselves marginally the more reliable judges. Though good books are often ignored, and in some years individual awards have seemed strange, the track record of the Hugos has been, on the whole, quite honourable. Another traditional cavil is that both Hugo and Nebula, being US-centred, are notably chauvinistic, with awards to non-US writers being rare. This may still be argued of the Nebulas, which are limited to works published in the USA. The Hugos are, at least in theory, open to works published in any country, and in any language. The arrival of the internet and the regular awarding of the Worldcon to countries other than the US have changed the nature of the awards: British finalists and winners are now frequently seen, as are some Canadians and Australians. Despite the criticisms to which all awards are readily subject, the Hugos are – or at least used to be – of real value to their recipients in increasing book sales.

Up-to-date listings of the rules under which Hugo awards are made can be found in the programme booklets for each Worldcon, as Article 3 of the Constitution of the World Science Fiction Society, and on line at the official website [see under links below]. All members of the upcoming Worldcon are by definition members of the WSFS, whose constitution enshrines the current Worldcon and Hugo procedures. "Hugo Award" is a registered service mark of the WSFS in the USA, UK, and Australia. An official Hugo logo designed by Jeremy Kratz – a stylized representation of the Hugo rocket – was adopted in 2009. This is intended for use on prize-winning books, DVDs and so on [again see under links below].

Having evolved only gradually since times when Fandom and the Worldcon were much smaller, the Hugo nominations process has long been exploitable by targeted attacks and protected only by the traditional sense that such things are not done. One notorious example was the shortlisting of L Ron Hubbard's execrable Black Genesis (1986) in the 1987 Hugos, achieved by a bloc vote of many Scientologists who apparently bought Worldcon memberships for this sole purpose. The bloc-voting tactic was revived in campaigns led by generally right-wing US writers and aimed at the Hugos from 2013 onwards. The problem came to a head in 2015, when organized voting slates demonstrated that a relatively small proportion of nominators picking the same five candidates for each Hugo category could, in many categories, control the final ballot by filling all five available slots. As in 1987, the final Hugo voting for 2015 saw a backlash by the larger Worldcon membership against this perceived gaming of the system, with No Award given in all five categories that had contained only slate nominees: Novella, Short Story, Related Work, Professional Editor (Short Form) and Professional Editor (Long Form). Amendments to the nomination system, designed to reduce the potency of slate voting, were introduced in 2015 and ratified in 2016 before coming into effect for the 2017 awards, in which the effect of slates was much reduced.

Much of the Hugo-winning short fiction, from the first such presentation in 1955 to the mid-1990s, has been assembled in a number of Hugo Anthologies (which see) initially edited by Isaac Asimov and after his death by others. The anthology practice then fell into disuse, though a new selection of 2009 winners and nominees was published in 2010. Since 2008, Worldcon members have been entitled to receive a Voter Packet assembling digital copies (in some cases only excerpts) of those works on the final ballot that publishers have agreed to include. This idea had been anticipated by Brad Templeton (1960-    ) with the CD-ROM Hugo and Nebula Anthology 1993 (1993), containing amid much else all the Hugo-nominated fiction and almost all the Nebula nominees. The present form of the Packet was initiated by John Scalzi and its distribution has since become standard procedure for the Worldcon.

The John W Campbell Award for best new writer (renamed the Astounding Award between the 2019 and 2020 ceremonies) has long been presented within the framework of the Hugos, being nominated and voted for by the same World SF Society constituency on the same ballot forms, but is not technically a Hugo. An additional award of similar status for Young Adult fiction was added in 2017 for first presentation in 2018, initially with no distinctive name but from 2019 to be called the Lodestar Award.

A further problem with the Hugos emerged when voting statistics (in recent years normally released on the night of the presentation) were finally revealed 90 days after the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon and proved to contain both statistical impossibilities and several arbitrary disqualifications of well-placed nominees apparently regarded by members of the Hugo administration team as likely to offend Chinese authorities. Affected works included R F Kuang's novel Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence (2022) and the Television adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Comics sequence as The Sandman (2022); Xiran Jay Zhao was similarly barred from the Campbell/Astounding award finalists. Further analysis of the figures, along with leaked emails, suggested that many valid Chinese nominees included in Chinese magazines' recommendation lists were removed en masse as a perceived slate vote, despite the understanding of past administrators that they had no power to intervene in this way. [DRL/PN/CM]

see also: SF Magazines; Women SF Writers.

Novel

Series

Introduced as an ongoing category in the 2017 awards. There was a one-off "best all-time series" Hugo presentation to Isaac Asimov for the Foundation sequence in 1966; this newer series award requires a relevant series publication in the previous calendar year.

  • 2017: Lois McMaster Bujold, Miles Vorkosigan
  • 2018: Lois McMaster Bujold, World of the Five Gods
  • 2019: Becky Chambers, Wayfarers
  • 2020: Daniel Abraham and Tyler Corey Franck writing together as James S A Corey, The Expanse
  • 2021: Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries
  • 2022: Seanan McGuire, Wayward Children
  • 2023: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Time
  • 2024: Ann Leckie, Imperial Radch

Short fiction to 1972

  • 1955:
  • 1956:
  • 1957: no award
  • 1958: Short story: Avram Davidson, "Or All the Seas with Oysters" (May 1958 Galaxy)
  • 1959:
    • Novelette: Clifford D Simak, "The Big Front Yard" (October 1958 Astounding)
    • Short story: Robert Bloch, "That Hell-Bound Train" (September 1958 F&SF)
  • 1960: Short fiction: Daniel Keyes, "Flowers for Algernon" (April 1959 F&SF)
  • 1961: Short story: Poul Anderson, "The Longest Voyage" (December 1960 Analog)
  • 1962: Short fiction: Brian W Aldiss, the Hothouse series (February-December 1961 F&SF)
  • 1963: Short fiction: Jack Vance, "The Dragon Masters" (August 1962 Galaxy)
  • 1964: Short story: Poul Anderson, "No Truce with Kings" (June 1963 F&SF)
  • 1965: Short fiction: Gordon R Dickson, "Soldier, Ask Not" (October 1964 Galaxy)
  • 1966: Short fiction: Harlan Ellison, "'Repent, Harlequin!' said the Ticktockman" (December 1965 Galaxy)
  • 1967:
    • Novelette: Jack Vance, "The Last Castle" (April 1966 Galaxy)
    • Short story: Larry Niven, "Neutron Star" (October 1966 If)
  • 1968:
  • 1969:
    • Novella: Robert Silverberg, "Nightwings" (September 1968 Galaxy)
    • Novelette: Poul Anderson, "The Sharing of Flesh" (December 1968 Galaxy)
    • Short story: Harlan Ellison, "The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World" (June 1968 Galaxy)
  • 1970:
    • Novella: Fritz Leiber, "Ship of Shadows" (July 1969 F&SF)
    • Short story: Samuel R Delany, "Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones" (December 1968 New Worlds)
  • 1971:
  • 1972:
    • Novella: Poul Anderson, "The Queen of Air and Darkness" (April 1971 F&SF)
    • Short story: Larry Niven, "Inconstant Moon" (in All the Myriad Ways, coll 1971)

Novella from 1973

Novelette from 1973

  • 1973: Poul Anderson, "Goat Song" (February 1972 F&SF)
  • 1974: Harlan Ellison, "The Deathbird" (March 1973 F&SF)
  • 1975: Harlan Ellison, "Adrift Just Off the Islets of Langerhans: Latitude 38° 54' N, Longitude 77° 00' 13" W" (October 1974 F&SF)
  • 1976: Larry Niven, "The Borderland of Sol" (January 1975 Analog)
  • 1977: Isaac Asimov, "The Bicentennial Man" (in Stellar #2, anth 1976, ed Judy-Lynn del Rey)
  • 1978: Joan D Vinge, "Eyes of Amber" (June 1977 Analog)
  • 1979: Poul Anderson, "Hunter's Moon" (November 1978 Analog)
  • 1980: George R R Martin, "Sandkings" (August 1979 Omni)
  • 1981: Gordon R Dickson, "The Cloak and the Staff" (August 1980 Analog)
  • 1982: Roger Zelazny, "Unicorn Variation" (April 1981 Asimov's)
  • 1983: Connie Willis, "Fire Watch" (February 1982 Asimov's)
  • 1984: Greg Bear, "Blood Music" (June 1983 Analog)
  • 1985: Octavia Butler, "Bloodchild" (June 1984 Asimov's)
  • 1986: Harlan Ellison, "Paladin of the Lost Hour" (in Universe 15, anth 1985, ed Terry Carr)
  • 1987: Roger Zelazny, "Permafrost" (April 1986 Omni)
  • 1988: Ursula K Le Guin, "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight" (November 1987 F&SF)
  • 1989: George Alec Effinger, "Schrödinger's Kitten" (September 1988 Omni)
  • 1990: Robert Silverberg, "Enter a Soldier. Later, Enter Another" (June 1989 Asimov's)
  • 1991: Mike Resnick, "The Manamouki" (July 1990 Asimov's)
  • 1992: Isaac Asimov, "Gold" (September 1991 Analog)
  • 1993: Janet Kagan, "The Nutcracker Coup" (December 1992 Asimov's)
  • 1994: Charles Sheffield, "Georgia on my Mind" (January 1993 Analog)
  • 1995: David Gerrold, "The Martian Child" (September 1994 F&SF)
  • 1996: James Patrick Kelly, "Think Like a Dinosaur" (June 1995 Asimov's)
  • 1997: Bruce Sterling, "Bicycle Repairman" (October/November 1996 Asimov's)
  • 1998: Bill Johnson, "We Will Drink a Fish Together ..." (May 1997 Asimov's)
  • 1999: Bruce Sterling, "Taklamakan" (October/November 1998 Asimov's)
  • 2000: James Patrick Kelly, "1016 to 1" (June 1999 Asimov's)
  • 2001: Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "Millennium Babies" (January 2000 Asimov's)
  • 2002: Ted Chiang, "Hell Is the Absence of God" (in Starlight 3, anth 2001, ed Patrick Nielsen Hayden)
  • 2003: Michael Swanwick, "Slow Life" (December 2002 Analog)
  • 2004: Michael Swanwick, "Legions in Time" (April 2003 Asimov's)
  • 2005: Kelly Link, "The Faery Handbag" (in The Faery Reel, anth 2004, ed Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling)
  • 2006: Peter S Beagle, "Two Hearts" (October/November 2005 F&SF)
  • 2007: Ian McDonald, "The Djinn's Wife" (July 2006 Asimov's)
  • 2008: Ted Chiang, The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate (2007 chap)
  • 2009: Elizabeth Bear, "Shoggoths in Bloom" (March 2008 Asimov's)
  • 2010: Peter Watts, "The Island" (in The New Space Opera 2, anth 2009, ed Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan)
  • 2011: Allen M Steele, "The Emperor of Mars" (June 2010 Asimov's)
  • 2012: Charlie Jane Anders, "Six Months, Three Days" (8 June 2011 Tor.com)
  • 2013: Pat Cadigan, "The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi" (in Edge of Infinity, anth 2012, ed Jonathan Strahan)
  • 2014: Mary Robinette Kowal, "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" (in Rip-Off!, anth 2012 audiobook; February 2013 maryrobinettekowal.com; rev September 2013 Tor.com; 2014 ebook) – the first, audiobook version of this story had been deemed ineligible for the 2013 Hugos
  • 2015: Thomas Olde Heuvelt, "The Day the World Turned Upside Down" (trans Lia Belt; April 2014 Lightspeed)
  • 2016: Hao Jingfang, "Folding Beijing" trans Ken Liu (January/February 2015 Uncanny Magazine)
  • 2017: Ursula Vernon, "The Tomato Thief" (January 2016 Apex Magazine)
  • 2018: Suzanne Palmer, "The Secret Life of Bots" (September 2017 Clarkesworld)
  • 2019: Zen Cho, "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again," (29 November 2018 Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog)
  • 2020: N K Jemisin, Emergency Skin (2019 ebook)
  • 2021: Sarah Pinsker, "Two Truths and a Lie" (17 June 2020 Tor.com)
  • 2022: Suzanne Palmer, "Bots of the Lost Ark" (June 2021 Clarkesworld)
  • 2023: Hai Ya, "The Space-Time Painter" (April 2022 Galaxy's Edge)
  • 2024: Naomi Kritzer, "The Year Without Sunshine" (November/December 2023 Uncanny Magazine)

Short story from 1973

  • 1973: (tie) R A Lafferty, "Eurema's Dam" (in New Dimensions II, anth 1972, ed Robert Silverberg), and Frederik Pohl and C M Kornbluth, "The Meeting" (November 1972 F&SF)
  • 1974: Ursula K Le Guin, "The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas" (in New Dimensions 3, anth 1973, ed Robert Silverberg)
  • 1975: Larry Niven, "The Hole Man" (January 1974 Analog)
  • 1976: Fritz Leiber, "Catch that Zeppelin!" (March 1975 F&SF)
  • 1977: Joe Haldeman, "Tricentennial" (July 1976 Analog)
  • 1978: Harlan Ellison, "Jeffty is Five" (July 1977 F&SF)
  • 1979: C J Cherryh, "Cassandra" (October 1978 F&SF)
  • 1980: George R R Martin, "The Way of Cross and Dragon" (June 1979 Omni)
  • 1981: Clifford D Simak, "Grotto of the Dancing Deer" (April 1980 Analog)
  • 1982: John Varley, "The Pusher" (October 1981 F&SF)
  • 1983: Spider Robinson, "Melancholy Elephants" (June 1982 Analog)
  • 1984: Octavia Butler, "Speech Sounds" (mid-December 1983 Asimov's)
  • 1985: David Brin, "The Crystal Spheres" (January 1984 Analog)
  • 1986: Frederik Pohl, "Fermi and Frost" (January 1985 Asimov's)
  • 1987: Greg Bear, "Tangents" (January 1986 Omni)
  • 1988: Lawrence Watt-Evans, "Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers" (July 1987 Asimov's)
  • 1989: Mike Resnick, "Kirinyaga" (November 1988 F&SF)
  • 1990: Suzy McKee Charnas, "Boobs" (July 1989 Asimov's)
  • 1991: Terry Bisson, "Bears Discover Fire" (August 1990 Asimov's)
  • 1992: Geoffrey A Landis, "A Walk in the Sun" (October 1991 Asimov's)
  • 1993: Connie Willis, "Even the Queen" (April 1992 Asimov's)
  • 1994: Connie Willis, "Death on the Nile" (March 1993 Asimov's)
  • 1995: Joe Haldeman, "None So Blind" (November 1994 Asimov's)
  • 1996: Maureen F McHugh, "The Lincoln Train" (April 1995 F&SF)
  • 1997: Connie Willis, "The Soul Selects Her Own Society: Invasion and Repulsion: A Chronological Reinterpretation of Two of Emily Dickinson's Poems: A Wellsian Perspective" (April 1996 Asimov's)
  • 1998: Mike Resnick, "The 43 Antarean Dynasties" (December 1997 Asimov's)
  • 1999: Michael Swanwick, "The Very Pulse of the Machine" (February 1998 Asimov's)
  • 2000: Michael Swanwick, "Scherzo with Tyrannosaur" (July 1999 Asimov's)
  • 2001: David Langford, "Different Kinds of Darkness" (January 2000 F&SF)
  • 2002: Michael Swanwick, "The Dog Said Bow-Wow" (October/November 2001 Asimov's)
  • 2003: Geoffrey A Landis, "Falling onto Mars" (July/August 2002 Analog)
  • 2004: Neil Gaiman, "A Study in Emerald" (in Shadows Over Baker Street, anth 2003, ed Michael Reaves and John Pelan)
  • 2005: Mike Resnick, "Travels with My Cats" (February 2004 Asimov's)
  • 2006: David D Levine, "Tk'tk'tk" (March 2005 Asimov's)
  • 2007: Tim Pratt, "Impossible Dreams" (July 2006 Asimov's)
  • 2008: Elizabeth Bear, "Tideline" (June 2007 Asimov's)
  • 2009: Ted Chiang, "Exhalation" (in Eclipse 2, anth 2008, ed Jonathan Strahan)
  • 2010: Will McIntosh, "Bridesicle" (January 2009 Asimov's)
  • 2011: Mary Robinette Kowal, "For Want of a Nail" (September 2010 Asimov's)
  • 2012: Ken Liu, "The Paper Menagerie" (March/April 2011 F&SF)
  • 2013: Ken Liu, "Mono no Aware" (in The Future is Japanese, anth 2012, ed Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington)
  • 2014: John Chu, "The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere" (20 February 2013 Tor.com)
  • 2015: no award
  • 2016: Naomi Kritzer, "Cat Pictures Please" (January 2015 Clarkesworld)
  • 2017: Amal El-Mohtar, "Seasons of Glass and Iron" (in The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, anth 2016, ed Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe)
  • 2018: Rebecca Roanhorse, "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" (August 2017 Apex Magazine)
  • 2019: Alix E Harrow, "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies" (February 2018 Apex Magazine)
  • 2020: S L Huang, "As the Last I May Know" (23 October 2019 Tor.com)
  • 2021: T Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon), "Metal Like Blood in the Dark", (September/October 2020 Uncanny Magazine)
  • 2022: Sarah Pinsker, "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" (March/April 2021 Uncanny Magazine)
  • 2023: Samantha Mills, "Rabbit Test" (November/December 2022 Uncanny Magazine)
  • 2024: Naomi Kritzer, "Better Living Through Algorithms" (May 2023 Clarkesworld)

Nonfiction book 1980-1999

Related book/work from 2000

This broadened category replaced Nonfiction from the 2000 Hugos onward. The 1988 experimental category Other forms can be considered as a precursor of Related book and is included here. In 2008 "Related book" was amended to "Related work", opening subsequent years' awards to online works.

Graphic novel/story from 2009

The 1988 experimental category Other forms led to the first Hugo for a graphic novel, whose winner is thus repeated under this heading.

Dramatic presentation to 2002

Dramatic presentation, long form

Dramatic presentation, short form

Professional magazine to 1972

Professional editor, 1973-2006

This category replaced the 1953-1972 award for Professional magazine; from 2007 it was divided into "long form" and "short form" awards.

Professional editor, long form

Professional editor, short form

Professional artist

Early versions of this award were differently named, as indicated – usually as "illustrator" but with separate illustrator and cover artist categories in 1953.

Semiprozine

Fanzine

This category was temporarily dropped in 1958.

  • 1955: James V Taurasi and Ray Van Houten, editors of Fantasy Times
  • 1956: Ron Smith, editor of Inside and Science Fiction Advertiser (combining the fanzines Inside and Science Fiction Advertiser)
  • 1957: James V Taurasi, Ray Van Houten and Frank Prieto, editors of Science Fiction Times (see Fantasy Times)
  • 1959: Terry Carr and Ron Ellik, editors of Fanac
  • 1960: F M and Elinor Busby, Burnett Toskey and Wally Weber, editors of Cry of the Nameless (see Cry)
  • 1961: Earl Kemp, "Who Killed Science Fiction?"
  • 1962: Richard Bergeron, editor of Warhoon
  • 1963: Richard and Pat Lupoff, editors of Xero
  • 1964: George H Scithers, editor of Amra
  • 1965: Robert and Juanita Coulson, editors of Yandro
  • 1966: Camille Cazedessus Jr, editor of ERB-dom
  • 1967: Ed Meskys and Felice Rolfe, editors of Niekas
  • 1968: George H Scithers, editor of Amra
  • 1969: Richard E Geis, editor of Science Fiction Review
  • 1970: Richard E Geis, editor of Science Fiction Review
  • 1971: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1972: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1973: Michael Glicksohn and Susan Wood Glicksohn, editors of Energumen
  • 1974: (tie) Andrew Porter, editor of Algol, and Richard E Geis, editor of The Alien Critic
  • 1975: Richard E Geis, editor of The Alien Critic
  • 1976: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1977: Richard E Geis, editor of Science Fiction Review
  • 1978: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1979: Richard E Geis, editor of Science Fiction Review
  • 1980: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1981: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1982: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1983: Charlie and Dena Brown, editors of Locus
  • 1984: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 1985: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 1986: George "Lan" Laskowski, editor of Lan's Lantern
  • 1987: David Langford, editor of Ansible
  • 1988: Pat Mueller, editor of Texas SF Enquirer
  • 1989: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 1990: Leslie Turek, editor of The Mad 3 Party
  • 1991: George "Lan" Laskowski, editor of Lan's Lantern
  • 1992: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 1993: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 1994: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 1995: Dave Langford, editor of Ansible
  • 1996: Dave Langford, editor of Ansible
  • 1997: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 1998: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 1999: Dave Langford, editor of Ansible
  • 2000: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 2001: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 2002: Dave Langford, editor of Ansible
  • 2003: Rich and Nicki Lynch, editors of Mimosa
  • 2004: Cheryl Morgan, editor of Emerald City
  • 2005: Alison Scott, Steve Davies and Mike Scott, editors of Plokta
  • 2006: Alison Scott, Steve Davies and Mike Scott, editors of Plokta
  • 2007: Lee Hoffman, Geri Sullivan, and Randy Byers, editors of Science-Fiction Five-Yearly
  • 2008: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 2009: John Klima, editor of Electric Velocipede
  • 2010: Tony C Smith, editor of StarShipSofa
  • 2011: Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon, editors of The Drink Tank
  • 2012: John DeNardo, editor of SF Signal
  • 2013: John DeNardo, J P Frantz and Patrick Hester, editors of SF Signal
  • 2014: Aidan Moher, editor of A Dribble of Ink
  • 2015: James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, Colin Harris, Alissa McKersie and Helen J Montgomery, editors of Journey Planet
  • 2016: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 2017: Clare, Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay and Susan, editors of Lady Business
  • 2018: Mike Glyer, editor of File 770
  • 2019: Ira, Jodie, KJ, Renay and Susan, editors of Lady Business
  • 2020: Ana Grilo and Thea James, editors of The Book Smugglers
  • 2021: Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, The G and Vance Kotrla, editors of nerds of a feather, flock together
  • 2022: Lee Moyer and Seanan McGuire, editors of Small Gods
  • 2023: RiverFlow and Ling Shizhen, editors of Zero Gravity Newspaper
  • 2024: Adri Joy, Joe Sherry, G Brown and Vance Kotrla, editors of nerds of a feather, flock together

Fan writer

Fan artist

  • 1967: Jack Gaughan
  • 1968: George Barr
  • 1969: Vaughn Bodē
  • 1970: Tim Kirk
  • 1971: Alicia Austin
  • 1972: Tim Kirk
  • 1973: Tim Kirk
  • 1974: Tim Kirk
  • 1975: William Rotsler
  • 1976: Tim Kirk
  • 1977: Phil Foglio
  • 1978: Phil Foglio
  • 1979: William Rotsler
  • 1980: Alexis Gilliland
  • 1981: Victoria Poyser
  • 1982: Victoria Poyser
  • 1983: Alexis Gilliland
  • 1984: Alexis Gilliland
  • 1985: Alexis Gilliland
  • 1986: joan hanke-woods (1945-2013)
  • 1987: Brad W Foster
  • 1988: Brad W Foster
  • 1989: (tie) Brad W Foster and Diana Gallagher Wu
  • 1990: Stu Shiffman
  • 1991: Teddy Harvia
  • 1992: Brad Foster
  • 1993: Peggy Ranson
  • 1994: Brad W Foster
  • 1995: Teddy Harvia
  • 1996: William Rotsler
  • 1997: William Rotsler
  • 1998: Joe Mayhew
  • 1999: Ian Gunn
  • 2000: Joe Mayhew
  • 2001: Teddy Harvia
  • 2002: Teddy Harvia
  • 2003: Sue Mason
  • 2004: Frank Wu
  • 2005: Sue Mason
  • 2006: Frank Wu
  • 2007: Frank Wu
  • 2008: Brad W Foster
  • 2009: Frank Wu
  • 2010: Brad W Foster
  • 2011: Brad W Foster
  • 2012: Maurine Starkey
  • 2013: Galen Dara
  • 2014: Sarah Webb
  • 2015: Elizabeth Leggett
  • 2016: Steve Stiles
  • 2017: Elizabeth Leggett
  • 2018: Geneva Benton
  • 2019: Likhain (Mia Sereno)
  • 2020: Elise Matthesen
  • 2021: Sara Felix
  • 2022: Lee Moyer
  • 2023: Richard Man
  • 2024: Laya Rose

Fancast

Introduced in 2012.

  • 2012: Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M Thomas and Catherynne M Valente, presenters, SF Squeecast (see Audiozines)
  • 2013: Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M Thomas and Catherynne M Valente, presenters, and David McHone-Chase, technical producer, SF Squeecast (see Audiozines)
  • 2014: John DeNardo, editor of SF Signal Podcast
  • 2015: Alisa Krasnostein, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer), for Galactic Suburbia Podcast
  • 2016: no award
  • 2017: Emma Newman with Peter Newman (presenters), Tea and Jeopardy
  • 2018: Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace (presenters), Ditch Diggers
  • 2019: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, Our Opinions Are Correct
  • 2020: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, Our Opinions Are Correct
  • 2021: Jonathan Strahan and Gary K Wolfe, The Coode Street Podcast
  • 2022: Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, Our Opinions Are Correct
  • 2023: Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, Lori Anderson and Kevin Anderson, Hugo, Girl!
  • 2024: Liz Batty, John Coxon and Alison Scott, Octothorpe

Other Hugo awards:

Early experiments

  • 1953:
    • #1 Fan personality: Forrest J Ackerman
    • Excellence in fact articles: Willy Ley
    • New sf author or artist: Philip José Farmer
  • 1956:
    • Feature writer: Willy Ley
    • Best or most promising new author: Robert Silverberg
    • Book reviewer: Damon Knight
  • 1958: Most outstanding actifan (active fan): Walter A Willis
  • 1959: Best or most promising new author: no award (Brian Aldiss, as the highest-voted author finalist, received a plaque: see also Special Committee Awards below)
  • 1966: Best all-time series: Isaac Asimov, Foundation series

Publisher 1964-1965

Other forms 1988

Awarded once during the era of the Hugo for Nonfiction, this prefigured the wider category of Related book/work which replaced Nonfiction.

Original artwork 1992-1996

A 1990 presentation to Don Maitz for best original artwork, though nominated and voted for alongside the Hugos proper and often cited as a Hugo, was strictly speaking a committee award – see below.

Art book

A Hugo category added on a one-off basis by the 2019 Worldcon.

Web site 2002/2005

This category has twice been awarded on an experimental basis, as the one extra Hugo which each Worldcon is allowed to add for the present year only.

  • 2002: Mark R Kelly, editor/webmaster, Locus Online
  • 2005: Ellen Datlow, editor, and Craig Engler, general manager, Sci Fiction

Videogame

The Videogame category was added on a one-off basis by the 2021 Worldcon.

Special Committee Awards

These non-Hugo awards, usually taking the form of a plaque rather than the traditional rocket, have been given from time to time by the current Worldcon committee. They are not generally voted on by the membership at large; the experimental 1990 award for Best Original Artwork was an exception, being nominated and voted for by the convention membership as an extra "not a Hugo" category on the Hugo ballot.

links

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