Announcements

2021 Hugo Awards Nominations Open

~ Kevin

The nominating period for the 2021 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer opened on January 25 and will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT; UTC – 7) on March 19, 2021.

Instructions for accessing the online nominating form have been sent to eligible members via e-mail. Check your junk e-mail/spam/promotions folders in your e-mail client for this e-mail if you did not receive it. Despite the convention’s efforts, voter information notification messages may be flagged as spam by some e-mail systems.

The DisCon III/2021 Worldcon Hugo Awards web page has instructions for accessing the online nominating ballot for the 2021 Hugo Awards and links to PDF versions of the paper nominating ballot.

DisCon III, the 2021 World Science Fiction Convention, will present the 2021 Hugo Awards, which are generally for works first published or appearing in 2020. Any person who was a voting member of at least one of the 2020 or 2021 World Science Fiction Conventions as of 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST; UTC -8) on December 31, 2020 may cast a nominating ballot for the 2021 Awards.

The ballots will also include voting on two other awards administered by the Worldcon. These are the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, presented by the World Science Fiction Society, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, presented by Dell Magazines.

Eligible members of the 2020 and 2021 Worldcons can make up to five nominations in each category. You are not required to nominate in all categories or to fill every nomination blank on the ballot. As the DisCon III website says, “the Hugo Awards are fan-run, fan-given, and fan-supported. We recommend that you nominate whatever works and creators you have personally read or seen that were your favorites from 2020.”

Those people/works with sufficient nominations will move on the the final ballot for the 2021 Hugo Awards, which will be announced later this year after the close of nominations. While members of both the 2020 and 2021 Worldcons can nominate for the 2020 Awards, only members of the 2021 Worldcon are eligible to vote on the final ballot. If you are not yet a member of the 2021 Worldcon, see the DisCon III Membership Page for information about joining the convention.

There are no Retrospective Hugo Awards being presented this year. Retro-Hugo Awards for 1946 were presented in 1996. Retro-Hugo Awards cannot be presented for any year for which Hugo Awards or Retro-Hugo Awards have already been presented.

Please direct any questions about the administration of the 2021 Hugo Awards to the DisCon III Hugo Award Administrators, not to the Hugo Awards web site. The Hugo Awards web site team does not administer the elections for the Hugo Awards, nor do we make eligibility rulings. The Hugo Awards web site is the “journal of record” for the Hugo Awards and acts as a central source of information about the Awards, but we do not actually administer or present the Awards. The 2021 Hugo Awards are administered by the Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee of DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon, and all decisions regarding the eligibility of works and the administration of nominations are exclusively the committee’s responsibility.

Join Worldcon by December 31, 2020 to be Eligible to Nominate for 2021 Hugo Awards

~ Kevin

If you want to nominate works/people for the 2021 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer, you must be a member of either the 2020 Worldcon (CoNZealand) or the 2021 Worldcon (DisCon III) by the end of 2020. (You can of course be a member of both, but you can only nominate once.) If you were a member of CoNZealand (Worldcon 78/Wellington, New Zealand) (supporting or attending, or any other membership class that included voting rights), you are already eligible to nominate. If you were not a member of CoNZealand and are not a member of DisCon III (Worldcon 79/Washington, DC, USA), you must join DisCon III by the end of 2020 as at least a supporting member to be eligible to nominate.

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DisCon III to Include Best Video Game Category in 2021 Hugo Awards

~ Kevin ~ 2 Comments

DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction Convention, announced on November 23, 2020 that they will include a Best Video Game category in the 2021 Hugo Awards.

As stated in their announcement:

An eligible work for the 2021 special Hugo award is any game or substantial modification of a game first released to the public on a major gaming platform in the previous calendar year in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, or related subjects.

For these purposes, a game is defined as a work wherein player choice, interaction, or participation significantly impacts the narrative, play, meaning, or experience. A major gaming platform means that the game is available on personal computers such as Windows, Mac, or Linux computers (including, but not limited to, via Steam, Epic, itch.io, browser, or direct download), iOS, Android, Switch, PlayStation, and/or Xbox systems. This definition will be provided as part of the nominating and voting ballots.

Members of the 2020 Worldcon (CoNZealand) and the 2021 Worldcon (DisCon III) as of December 31, 2020 may nominate works for the 2021 Hugo Awards, including for the special Best Video Game category. In general, including this special category, works first published in 2020 are eligible for the 2021 Hugo Awards. Nominations open in early 2021. Those works receiving sufficient nominations will go on to a final ballot, where only members of the 2021 Worldcon (DisCon III) may vote. Both attending and supporting members of Worldcon may nominate and vote on the Hugo Awards.

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) bylaws (section 3.3.19) allow Worldcons to add one special category to the Hugo Awards presented by that Worldcon. The special category is administered like all of the permanent categories, and is treated the same as all of the permanent categories, including the winner receiving the same trophy as all other categories. A special category does not create an ongoing new category. Permanent categories can only be created by the members of WSFS voting at two consecutive WSFS Business Meetings (held at each Worldcon, and open to all attending members) to add a new category.

While there is no permanent category for video games in the Hugo Awards, a committee of the WSFS Business Meeting has been studying the possibility of adding such a category for several years now. The 2006 Worldcon (L.A.con IV), offered a Best Interactive Video Game category using their special-category authority for the 2006 Hugo Awards, but dropped it from the final ballot due to lack of interest.

Each Worldcon administers the Hugo Awards presented at their convention. The Hugo Awards are not administered by the Hugo Awards web site. Direct any questions about the Best Video Game category or anything else about the 2021 Hugo Awards to the Discon III 2021 Hugo Awards Administration Subcommittee.

2020 Hugo Awards Announced

~ Kevin ~ 16 Comments

BEST NOVEL

A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)

BEST NOVELLA

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Saga Press; Jo Fletcher Books)

BEST NOVELETTE

Emergency Skin, by N.K. Jemisin (Forward Collection (Amazon))

BEST SHORT STORY

“As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)

BEST SERIES

The Expanse, by James S. A. Corey (Orbit US; Orbit UK)

BEST RELATED WORK

“2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech”, by Jeannette Ng

BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC

LaGuardia, written by Nnedi Okorafor, art by Tana Ford, colours by James Devlin (Berger Books; Dark Horse)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM

Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon (Amazon Studios/BBC Studios/Narrativia/The Blank Corporation)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM

The Good Place: “The Answer”, written by Daniel Schofield, directed by Valeria Migliassi Collins (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal Television)

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

Ellen Datlow

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM

Navah Wolfe

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

John Picacio

BEST SEMIPROZINE

Uncanny Magazine, editors-in-chief Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, nonfiction/managing editor Michi Trota, managing editor Chimedum Ohaegbu, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky

BEST FANZINE

The Book Smugglers, editors Ana Grilo and Thea James

BEST FANCAST

Our Opinions Are Correct, presented by Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders

BEST FAN WRITER

Bogi Takács

BEST FAN ARTIST

Elise Matthesen

LODESTAR AWARD FOR BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK (Not a Hugo Award, but administered alongside the Hugo Awards)

Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)

ASTOUNDING AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER, sponsored by Dell Magazines (Not a Hugo Award, but administered alongside the Hugo Awards)

R.F. Kuang (2nd year of eligibility)

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, announced the winners of the 2020 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Wrier at a ceremony conducted online on Saturday 1 Aug 2020 (New Zealand Standard Time). We will publish detailed results, finalist placements, and nominations breakdowns on the 2020 Hugo Award page when they are made available.

2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony to be Streamed Live

~ Kevin

The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony, being presented online by CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, will be streamed live (no convention membership necessary) on The Fantasy Network.

Splash page for 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony

Check Your Time Zone

The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony is scheduled to start at 11:00 New Zealand Standard Time on Saturday 1 August 2020. You can use web sites like TimeAndDate to convert local time in New Zealand to local time elsewhere. Some of the time conversions are as follows (times are in 24-hour format):

New Zealand (NZST): Saturday 1 August 11:00
North American West Coast (PDT) and Arizona (MST): Friday 31 July 16:00
North American Mountain Time (MDT): Friday 31 July 17:00
North American Central Time (CDT): Friday 31 July 18:00
North American East Coast (EDT): Friday 31 July 19:00
UK/Ireland (BST/IST): Saturday 1 August 00:00 (Midnight)
Western Europe (CEST): Saturday 1 August 01:00
Finland (EEST): Saturday 1 August 02:00
Japan (JST): Saturday 1 August 08:00
Eastern Australia (AEST): Saturday 1 August 09:00

1945 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced

~ Kevin ~ 3 Comments

BEST NOVEL

“Shadow Over Mars” (The Nemesis from Terra), by Leigh Brackett (Startling Stories, Fall 1944)

BEST NOVELLA

“Killdozer!”, by Theodore Sturgeon (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1944)

BEST NOVELETTE

“City”, by Clifford D. Simak (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1944)

BEST SHORT STORY

“I, Rocket”, by Ray Bradbury (Amazing Stories, May 1944)

BEST SERIES

The Cthulhu Mythos, by H. P. Lovecraft, August Derleth, and others

BEST RELATED WORK

“The Science-Fiction Field”, by Leigh Brackett (Writer’s Digest, July 1944)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY OR COMIC

Superman: “The Mysterious Mr. Mxyztplk”, by Jerry Siegel, Ira Yarbrough, and Joe Shuster (Detective Comics, Inc.)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM

(tie)

The Canterville Ghost, screenplay by Edwin Harvey Blum from a story by Oscar Wilde, directed by Jules Dassin (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM))

The Curse of the Cat People, written by DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Gunther V. Fritsch and Robert Wise (RKO Radio Pictures)

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

John W. Campbell, Jr.

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Margaret Brundage

BEST FANZINE

Voice of the Imagi-Nation, edited by Forrest J. Ackerman and Myrtle R. Douglas

BEST FAN WRITER

Fritz Leiber

CoNZealand, the 78th World Science Fiction Convention, announced the winners of the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards at a ceremony conducted online on Thursday 30 Jul 2020 (New Zealand Standard Time). We will publish detailed results, finalist placements, and nominations breakdowns when they are made available.

1945 Retro-Hugo and 2020 Hugo Award Trophy Designs Revealed

~ Kevin ~ 4 Comments

The trophies for the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards and 2020 Hugo Awards were unveiled as part of the CoNZealand opening ceremonies on 29 Jul 2020 (NZST)

1945 Retrospective Hugo Award Trophy designed by James Brown

2020 Hugo Award Trophy designed by John Flower

Click through the photos above to see the artists’ discussion about their designs as revealed during the CoNZealand opening ceremonies.

The 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards and the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for New Zealand speculative fiction will be presented online at CoNZealand at 11:00, Thursday 30 Jul 2020 New Zealand Standard Time. This ceremony will be available live only to those members of CoNZealand attending online.

The 2020 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best YA Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer will be presented online at CoNZealand at 11:00, Saturday 1 Aug 2020 New Zealand Standard Time. The Ceremony will be streamed live online (no CoNZealand membership necessary) on The Fantasy Network.

You can use web sites like TimeAndDate to convert local time in New Zealand to local time elsewhere.

2020/1945 Hugo Award Voting Closed

~ Kevin

Voting has closed for the 2020 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and for the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards. The Awards will be announced in an online ceremony during CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon, scheduled for Saturday 1 August, 2020, 11:00 AM New Zealand Standard Time. (Consult a web site such as www.timeanddate.com to convert this to your local time if necessary.) We will post the results of the Awards as soon as possible after they are announced by CoNZealand.

2020/1945 Hugo Award Final Ballot Open

~ Kevin

The final ballot for the 2020 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer and for the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards opened on July 9, 2020. Members of CoNZealand have or will shortly receive an e-mail with the necessary information for voting online. Members can access their ballots via https://members.conzealand.nz by logging in & clicking on “My Memberships.”

A paper copy of the ballot is also available for download from the CoNZealand website, however, due to potential delays to paper mail, we strongly encourage people to vote online if possible.

Voting is open to all supporting and attending members of CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon. Per CoNZealand’s announcement, voting will be open until Wednesday 22 July 2020 at 23:59 Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)/Thursday, 23 July 2020 at 18:59 New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12)