Jump to content

Hugo Award: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Hu12 (talk | contribs)
91,877 edits
rmvd multi article linkspam by Special:Contributions/68.164.233.240 see WP:SPAM, WP:EL and WP:COI
Line 46: Line 46:
* [[List of joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards]]
* [[List of joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards]]
* [[Nebula Award]]
* [[Nebula Award]]
* [[Locus Awards|Locus Award]]
* [[Locus Award]]
* [[Rhysling Award]] for fantastic poetry
* [[Rhysling Award]] for fantastic poetry
* [[James Tiptree, Jr. Award]] for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore our understanding of gender
* [[James Tiptree, Jr. Award]] for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore our understanding of gender

Revision as of 07:28, 5 May 2011

File:HugoAward.png
Hugo Award

The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year.[1] The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Hugo Awards have been given every year since 1955, having been first presented in 1953 with no awards given in 1954.

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by members (supporting or attending) of the annual Worldcon (although only about 700 of several thousand Worldcon members actually vote)[2] and the presentation evening constitutes its central point. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees (except in the case of a tie). Unusually, the nominees in each category include "No award," if a voter feels none of the other entries are worthy of recognition; if "No award" receives the most votes in a category, then none of the nominees receives an award.

The Hugo Award trophy was designed by Hoffman Bronze Company based on a picture by Ben Jason, whose picture in turn was based on a design by Jack McKnight and, earlier, Willy Ley.[3] The rocket design has become standardised in recent years and the rockets are currently produced by UK fan Peter Weston. The design for the base on which the rocket is mounted is the responsibility of the Worldcon committee and therefore changes each year. The base design has been selected by various means including committee selection, direct commission and open competition (currently the most common method).

The 2010 awards were presented at Aussiecon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia, on 5 September, 2010.[4] The list of nominees for the 2010 Awards is available on the official Hugo Awards website.[5]

History

The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the "fathers" of the science fiction genre.[6] While "bests" had been voted at all World Science Fiction Conventions, or Worldcons, since the inaugural event in 1939, no awards were presented until the 11th Worldcon (Philcon II) in Philadelphia in 1953. The awards were the idea of Hal Lynch, hand-machined by Jack McKnight and consisted of a finned steel rocket on a circular wooden base.

Because the awards presented in 1953 were initially conceived as “one-off” awards, the 1954 Worldcon decided not to present them again.[7] The 1955 Worldcon decided that they should present them, and thereafter it became traditional. Later, when the WSFS codified written rules to govern the basic structure of Worldcons between years, the Hugo Awards were codified into the WSFS Constitution, and became one of the required functions of a Worldcon. Initially the award was called the Annual Science Fiction Achievement Award, with "Hugo Award" being an unofficial, but better known name.[6] Since 1993, the nickname has been adopted as the official name of the award.

Retro Hugos

In mid-1990s Retrospective Hugo Awards (normally abbreviated Retro Hugos) were added: Worldcons held 50, 75, or 100 years after a Worldcon where no Hugos had been awarded (i.e. 1939–41, 1946–52 and 1954) can also retroactively select Hugos for that year, by the same process as the regular Hugos.

This was a subject of much controversy, with critics of the proposal arguing that hindsight necessarily distorts perception, and that there was no point in giving awards decades after the fact.[8] There have been only three Retro Hugos given, at the 1996, 2001 and 2004 Worldcons (always for 50 years back) while the five eligible in 1997–2000 and 2002 did not organize them; the next opportunity will be in 2014 for the year 1939, starting the 75-year cycle.[9]

Voting

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual Worldcon, and the presentation evening constitutes its central event. The selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as instant-runoff voting with five nominees, except in the case of a tie. These five novels on the ballot are the five most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of stories that can be nominated. The 1953 through 1958 awards did not include any recognition of runner-up novels, but since 1959 all five candidates have been recorded.[10] Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, while voting on the ballot of five nominations is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.[11] Worldcons are generally held near the start of September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.[6][12]

Recognition

The award has been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".[13][14] There have been several anthologies collecting Hugo-winning short fiction. The well-known series The Hugo Winners edited and introduced by Isaac Asimov was started in 1962, collecting all winners up to the previous year, and concluded with the 1982 Hugos in Volume 5. The New Hugo Winners, edited originally by Asimov, then by Connie Willis, and finally by Gregory Benford, has four volumes collecting stories from the 1983 to the 1994 Hugos. The official logo of the Hugo Awards is placed on the winning books' cover as a promotional tool.[15][16]

Hugo Award categories

Until about 1960, most Hugo award categories changed from year to year. The current standard award categories (specified in World Science Fiction Society Constitution) are:

There have additionally been several categories that no longer exist, such as the Dramatic Presentation and Professional Editor awards prior to their split into long and short forms in 2003 and 2007, respectively, and the Hugo Award for Best Professional Magazine, which ran for several decades before being removed in favor of the new Professional Editor category. There are also numerous discontinued Hugo Awards, primarily due to a rule which allows each Worldcon to create one extra official Hugo Award that is not required to be continued by the next. The most recent of these was the Best Web Site award in 2002 and 2005. The only Hugo Award to be specified in the WSFS constitution and later disbanded without being replaced by a similar award is the Best Original Art Work award, given from 1990 through 1996. Worldcons may also give out special awards during the Hugo ceremony, which are not voted on and are not considered to be Hugo Awards. An additional award, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, is presented at the same ceremony and voted by the same process, but is not formally a Hugo Award. During 1974–1980 the World Science Fiction Convention also awarded the Gandalf Award for Grand Master of Fantasy and (in 1978–79) Book-Length Fantasy.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Hugo Awards: Hugo Awards FAQ
  2. ^ George Flynn: Hugo Voting: Let’s Look at the Record (Again) – overview of the 1971–99 statistics; WSFS Hugo Voting Reports since 1998
  3. ^ Fandom page (in Polish) - scroll down to the English.
  4. ^ Hugo Awards, Aussiecon website
  5. ^ Hugo Award nominees on the official Hugo Awards website
  6. ^ a b c "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Hugo Awards". Locus. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  7. ^ The 1954 Award, thehugoawards.org, retrieved November 3, 2007
  8. ^ The Locus Index to SF Awards: About the Retro-Hugos, retrieved April 24, 2007.
  9. ^ "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Retro Hugo Awards". Locus. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  10. ^ "The Hugo Awards: FAQ". World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  11. ^ "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  12. ^ "World Science Fiction Society / Worldcon". World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  13. ^ Jordison, Sam (2008-08-07). "An International Contest We Can Win". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  14. ^ Cleaver, Emily (2010-04-20). "Hugo Awards Announced". Litro Magazine. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  15. ^ "The Hugo Awards: Hugo Awards Logo Contest Official Rules". World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  16. ^ Scalzi, John (2010-01-05). "Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded Out in Trade Paperback". scalzi.com. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hugo_Award&oldid=427539260"