Worldcon 76 San Jose advises us that they will open nominations for the 2018 Hugo Awards and 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards within the next few days. They have been working with Worldcon 75 Helsinki and Worldcon 2018 Dublin to coordinate the combined membership information from all three Worldcons, and to do so within the limitations of the three countries’ data-protection laws. When testing of the online nomination form is complete, Worldcon 76 San Jose will release it on the Worldcon 76 web site and make an announcement. We’ll also announce the start of nominations here on The Hugo Awards web site. Paper ballots will also be distributed with Worldcon 76 Progress Report 2, which we understand is going to press in a few days and should mail to members of Worldcon 76 in February. Besides the online form, a PDF of the paper form will be available from Worldcon 76’s web site when it is ready for release.

Members of the 2017 (Helsinki), 2018 (San Jose) and 2019 (Dublin) Worldcons as of December 31, 2017 are eligible to make nominations for the 2018 Hugo Awards (for works first published or appearing in 2017) and 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards (for works first published or appearing in 1942). If you are a member of more than one of those three conventions, you can still only cast one nominating ballot. Eligible members will be able to vote online at the Worldcon 76 web site or via paper ballot. The six highest-ranking nominees in each category will form the shortlist of finalists and will appear on the final ballot to be announced later this year. Only members of Worldcon 76 San Jose who join before the final ballot deadline (which is yet to be announced) will be eligible to vote on the final ballot.

Each Worldcon committee is a legally separate entity; therefore, the sharing of information between Worldcon committees is subject to any restrictions imposed by local law, which of course supersedes any requirements of the WSFS Constitution.

This is the final year that members of the subsequent year’s Worldcon are eligible to nominate on the current Hugo Awards. A change ratified in Helsinki and first effective with the 2019 Worldcon limits nominating to members of the current and previous Worldcon as of the end of the previous calendar year.