1954 Retro-Hugo Awards

1954 Retro Hugo Award Trophy

Presented at: Noreascon 4, Boston, Massachusetts, September 2-6, 2004

Hosts: Bob Eggleton, Peter Weston

Base design: Patrick J. O’Connor

Awards Administration: Deb Geisler, Rick Katze & Mark Olson

 
The 1954 Retrospective Hugo Award winners were announced at the “Time Travel” event on the evening of Friday, September 3, 2004 at Noreascon 4 in Boston, Massachusetts. Bob Eggleton presented the Retro Hugo Awards on the “Past” half of the stage, while Hugo rocket maker and Fan Guest of Honor Peter Weston conducted interviews of the other Guests of Honor — Terry Pratchett, William Tenn (Phil Klass), and Jack Speer — on the “Present” side of the stage. Music was provided by the theremin orchestra “The Lothars”.

Nominators were provided with a helpful retrospective Introduction and Guide to the Works of 1953 created by Andrew I. Porter, Joe Siclari, and Edie Stern.

The finalists were chosen by popular vote by 131 members of Noreascon 4 and Torcon 3 who submitted valid nomination forms for work done in 1953. A total of 131 nomination forms (35 paper and 96 on-line forms) were received. 843 final voting ballots were received, of which 2 were invalid.

Full Nominating and Final Ballot Voting Details (PDF)

Per WSFS rules, categories in which there were insufficient nominations to justify the category were dropped.

The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is not a Hugo Award and therefore there are no Retrospective versions of these awards.

Best Novel

  • Fahrenheit 451 (alt: The Fireman) by Ray Bradbury [Ballantine, 1953]
  • Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke [Ballantine, 1953]
  • Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement [Astounding Apr,May,Jun,Jul 1953]
  • The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov [Galaxy Oct,Nov,Dec 1953]
  • More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon [Farrar, Straus & Grioux, 1953; Ballantine, 1953]

Best Novella

  • “A Case of Conscience” by James Blish [If Sep 1953]
  • “Three Hearts and Three Lions” by Poul Anderson [F&SF Sep,Oct 1953]
  • “…And My Fear Is Great…” by Theodore Sturgeon [Beyond Fantasy Fiction Jul 1953]
  • “Un-Man” by Poul Anderson [Astounding Jan 1953]
  • “The Rose” by Charles L. Harness [Authentic SF Monthly Mar 1953]

Best Novelette

  • “Earthman, Come Home” by James Blish [Astounding Nov 1953]
  • “Second Variety” by Philip K. Dick [Space Science Fiction May 1953]
  • “The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound” by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson [Universe Dec 1953]
  • “Sam Hall” by Poul Anderson [Astounding Aug 1953]
  • “The Wall Around the World” by Theodore R. Cogswell [Beyond Fantasy Fiction Sep 1953]

Best Short Story

  • “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Arthur C. Clarke [Star Science Fiction Stories (Ballantine), 1953]
  • “It’s a Good Life” by Jerome Bixby [Star Science Fiction Stories (Ballantine), 1953]
  • “Star Light, Star Bright” by Alfred Bester [F&SF Jul 1953]
  • “A Saucer of Loneliness” by Theodore Sturgeon [Galaxy Feb 1953]
  • “Seventh Victim” by Robert Sheckley [Galaxy Apr 1953]

Best Related Book

  • Conquest of the Moon by Wernher von Braun, Fred L. Whipple and Willy Ley [Viking Press, 1953]
  • Science-Fiction Handbook by L. Sprague de Camp [Hermitage, 1953]
  • Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and ItsFuture by Reginald Bretnor [Coward-McCann, 1953]

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Insufficient Nominations – not on the ballot

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • The War of the Worlds (1953) [Paramount] Directed by Byron Haskin; Screenplay by Barré Lyndon; based on the novel by H. G. Wells
  • “Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century” (1953) [Warner Brothers] Directed by Chuck Jones; Written by Michael Maltese
  • It Came from Outer Space (1953) [Universal] Directed by Jack Arnold; Screenplay by Harry Essex; Story by Ray Bradbury
  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) [Mutual Pictures/Warner Brothers] Directed by Eugène Lourié; Screenplay by Fred Freiberger, Eugène Lourié, Louis Morheim and Robert Smith; based on the story by Ray Bradbury
  • Invaders from Mars (1953) [National Pictures/20th Century Fox] Directed by William Cameron Menzies; Screenplay by Richard Blake; Story by John Tucker Battle

Best Professional Editor

  • John W. Campbell, Jr.
  • Frederik Pohl
  • Donald A. Wollheim
  • Anthony Boucher
  • H. L. Gold

Best Professional Artist

  • Chesley Bonestell
  • Frank Kelly Freas
  • Virgil Finlay
  • Ed Emshwiller
  • Richard Powers

Best Semi-Prozine

  • Insufficient Nominations – not on the ballot

Best Fanzine

  • Slant ed. by Walter Willis and art editor James White
  • Science Fiction Newsletter ed. by Bob Tucker (aka: Wilson Tucker)
  • Quandry ed. by Lee Hoffman
  • Hyphen ed. by Chuck Harris and Walt Willis
  • Sky Hook ed. by Redd Boggs

Best Fan Writer

  • Bob Tucker (aka: Wilson Tucker)
  • Walter A. Willis
  • James White
  • Lee Hoffman
  • Redd Boggs

Best Fan Artist

  • Insufficient Nominations – not on the ballot

The World Science Fiction Society Constitution allows, but does not require, a Worldcon held an even multiple of 25 years after a year after 1939 at which no Hugo Awards were presented, to present Retrospective Hugo Awards for works that would have been eligible for that year’s Hugo Awards if they had been held. (Once Retro Hugos have been presented for a given year, no future Worldcon may present Retro Hugos for that year.) The first Hugo Awards (the “Science Fiction Achievement Awards”) were presented in 1953 at the Philcon II Worldcon, but they were not presented the following year at SFCon, the 1954 Worldcon. In 2004, Noreascon 4 elected to present Retro Hugo Awards for works first published in 1953 which would have been eligible for the 1954 Hugo Awards, had there been Awards presented in 1954.