The 2015 World Science Fiction Convention (“Sasquan”) announced today an open competition to design the base of the 2015 Hugo Award.

The Hugo Award trophy consists of a rocket design standardized since 1984 on a design by Peter Weston and recently registered as a service mark by the World Science Fiction Society. Worldcon committees design the base, and most recent Worldcons have conducted competitions to select a design.

Full details including the specifications and submission guidelines, are on the 2015 Worldcon web site. Direct any questions about the competition to the 2015 Hugo Base Competition Subcommittee, not to the Hugo Awards web site.

The design of the 2013 Hugo Award trophy was unveiled during the Opening Ceremonies of LoneStarCon 3, the 2013 World Science Fiction Convention, on the evening of August 29. In keeping with recent practice, LoneStarCon 3 elected to showcase the trophy early in the convention so that members could see it before the final night of Worldcon. The trophy has been on display in the convention’s Hugo Award history exhibit since shortly after the convention’s Opening Ceremonies.

While the Hugo Award trophy always includes the rocket originally designed by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason as refined by Peter Weston, each year’s Worldcon can design its own base. In recent years, most Worldcons have had an open design competition to design the Hugo Award base. This year’s trophy base designer Vincent Villafranca appeared in the Opening Ceremony and unveiled the trophy there.

The 2013 Hugo Awards will be presented at a ceremony in San Antonio on the evening of Sunday, September 1, 2013, starting at 8 PM CDT. The ceremony will be broadcast live on Ustream and described on the Hugo Awards web site as a CoverItLive Broadcast.

The design of the 2012 Hugo Award trophy was unveiled during the Opening Ceremonies of Chicon 7, the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention, on the evening of August 30. Although in recent years conventions have unveiled that year’s design during the Hugo Award ceremony, Chicon 7 elected to showcase the trophy earlier so that members could see it before the final night of the convention. The trophy has been on display in the convention’s Hugo Award history exhibit.

While the Hugo Award trophy always includes the rocket originally designed by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason as refined by Peter Weston, each year’s Worldcon can design its own base. In recent years, most Worldcons have had an open design competition to design the Hugo Award base. This year’s trophy base designer Deb Kosiba appeared in the Opening Ceremonies and gave a presentation on the design she produced. Deb has graciously provided TheHugoAwards.org with a copy of her presentation text, which we have incorporated into the 2012 Hugo Award Trophy page.

The 2012 Hugo Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Chicago on the evening of Sunday, September 2, 2012, starting at 8 PM CDT. The ceremony will be streamed live on the Worldcon UStream Channel and described on the Hugo Awards web site as a CoverItLive Broadcast.

Renovation, the 2011 World Science Fiction Convention, has announced an open competition for the design of the 2011 Hugo Award base. The convention is soliciting artists and designers from around the world to come up with a base that is worthy of the Hugo Award and which reflects the convention’s theme of the New Frontiers and/or the region of Reno, Nevada and the North-Western United States.

The Hugo Award trophy consists of the iconic Hugo Award rocket, the design of which remains essentially constant from year to year, and a base designed by each Worldcon. Many recent Worldcons have held open competitions to design their bases.

The winning designer will have the opportunity to introduce their base design as part of the Hugo Ceremony itself and the base will also enter the archive of Hugo base designs, including the Hugo History exhibit which travels to each Worldcon. In addition, the winner will receive a full 5-day attending membership of Renovation along with $250 towards the cost of attending the convention.

Entrants are asked to submit initial drawings/renderings of their design to Renovation by January 1, 2011. Entrants also need to be able to arrange for up to 30 bases to be manufactured if their design is successful, with a target price of no more than $150 per individual base. The winning design will be selected no later than February 28, 2011.

Full terms and conditions for the competition can be found on Renovation’s web site.

Note: This competition is being run by Renovation, the 2011 Worldcon. Questions should be directed to them, not to the Hugo Awards web site.