94-470: Michael Diamond Resnick ( / ˈ r ɛ z n ɪ k / ; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award , and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7 . He was the executive editor of the defunct magazine Jim Baen's Universe , and the creator and editor of Galaxy's Edge magazine. Resnick was born in Chicago on March 5, 1942. He
188-574: A slate , even though there was no rule against slates. Based on complaints about the 2023 Hugo award process and official statements made about those complaints, Worldcon Intellectual Property (WIP), the non-profit organization that holds the service marks for the World Science Fiction Society, censured the director of WIP and two individuals who presided over the Hugo Administration Committee of
282-575: A 679-page second edition, which was published in 2012. This is a list of his series. Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society . The Hugo
376-506: A Farm " (2002), "Robots Don't Cry" (2004), "A Princess of Earth" (2005), "Down Memory Lane" (2006), "All the Things You Are" (2007), " Distant Replay " (2008), "Alastair Baffle's Emporium of Wonders" and "Article of Faith" (2009), "The Bride of Frankenstein" (2010), and "The Homecoming" (2012). In 1995 he was the first person to be nominated for four Hugos in a single year. His 37 Hugo nominations through 2015 were an all-time record for
470-567: A Hugo Award, more so than for other awards such as the Nebula Award. Literary agent Richard Curtis said in his 1996 Mastering the Business of Writing that having the term Hugo Award on the cover, even as a nominee, was a "powerful inducement" to science fiction fans to buy a novel, while Jo Walton claimed in 2011 that the Hugo is the only science fiction award "that actually affects sales of
564-467: A Second Chance?” by Chris Kulp. In 2023, the winner was “For the Great and Immortal” by Daniel Burnbridge. In 2024, the winner was "When I was Your Age" by Sam Brown. Resnick wrote more than 70 novels and published over 25 collections. He edited more than 40 anthologies. Fiona Kelleghan compiled Mike Resnick: An Annotated Bibliography and Guide to His Work (Farthest Star, 2000). Adrienne Gormley completed
658-415: A Worldcon in the categories that are currently in use, and are optional; some Worldcons have chosen not to award them despite a year being eligible. Even for years in which Retro-Hugos are given, not all categories receive enough nominations to receive a ballot. In 2017, the eligible years were specified to be 1939–1952 and 1954, which expanded the possible years to include those post-1939 in which no Worldcon
752-461: A bloc Battlefield Earth , written by the organization's founder L. Ron Hubbard , for the Best Novel award; it did not make the final ballot. Another campaign followed in 1987 to nominate Hubbard's Black Genesis ; it made the final ballot but finished behind "No Award". 1989 saw a work — The Guardsman by Todd Hamilton and P. J. Beese — withdrawn by its authors from the final ballot after
846-476: A book". There have been several anthologies of Hugo-winning short fiction. The series The Hugo Winners , edited by Isaac Asimov , was started in 1962 as a collection of short story winners up to the previous year, and concluded with the 1982 Hugos in Volume 5. The New Hugo Winners , edited originally by Asimov, later by Connie Willis and finally by Gregory Benford , has four volumes collecting stories from
940-508: A category for Best Novella was added the following year; these new categories had the effect of providing a definition for what word count qualified a work for what category, which was previously left up to voters. Novelettes had also been awarded prior to the codification of the rules. The fan awards were initially conceived as separate from the Hugo Awards, with the award for Best Fanzine losing its status, but were instead absorbed into
1034-462: A collaboration with Lezli Robyn. The Mike Resnick Memorial Award was established in 2021 in Resnick’s honor, sponsored by Dragon Con and publisher Arc Manor. Contenders must be new, previously unpublished authors. Winners receive a trophy and a cash prize of $ 250. The first winner, in 2021, was Z.T. Bright for his story "The Measure of a Mother's Love". In 2022, the winner was “What Would You Pay for
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#17327904721621128-678: A decade he wrote a weekly column about horse racing and a monthly column about purebred collies , which he and his wife bred and showed. His wife was an uncredited collaborator on much of his science fiction and a co-author on two movie scripts they sold, based on his novels Santiago and The Widowmaker . His daughter Laura Resnick is a science fiction and fantasy author . Resnick lived in Cincinnati from 1976 until his death from cancer on January 9, 2020. Two notable motifs are evident in much of Resnick's science fiction work—his love of fable and legend . The other main subject of his work
1222-503: A fan bought numerous memberships under false names, all sent in on the same day, in order to get the work onto the ballot. In 1990, the Best Original Art Work award was given as a special Hugo Award, and was listed again in 1991, though not actually awarded, and established afterward as an official Hugo Award. It was then removed from this status in 1996, and has not been awarded since. The Retro Hugos were created in
1316-410: A large membership composed of the members of the current Worldcon. Its main activities are running the selection (voting) process for the annual convention and various awards. The conventions themselves are run by non-profit, volunteer fan organizations, who bid to host the event. The WSFS constitution itself is discussed and amended by the annual general meeting, known as the "business meeting", held at
1410-430: A result. The Guardian estimated that the 377 memberships purchased for the attempt would have cost at least £16,965 (US$ 22,000). Worldcon committees may also give out special awards during the Hugo ceremony, which are not voted on. Unlike the additional Hugo categories which Worldcons may present, these awards are not officially Hugo Awards and do not use the same trophy, though they once did. Two additional awards,
1504-524: A series of mystery novels as well, featuring detective Eli Paxton. He had also sold screenplays based on his novels to Miramax , Capella, and Jupiter 9, and often had multiple properties under option to Hollywood studios. His work has been translated into: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Dutch, Latin, Swedish, Romanian, Finnish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Chinese, Catalan, Danish, Croatian, and Greek. Resnick's papers are in
1598-465: A small per diem from the convention, but no speaking fees. In order to announce guests immediately after site selection , Worldcon bid committees select one or more guests before the site selection vote. Fans consider it inappropriate for bids to compete on the basis of their chosen guests (so as to avoid having someone chosen by a losing bid feeling that fandom had voted against them personally), so bids do not reveal who their guests are until after
1692-443: A smaller scale, with limited success. The leaders of the campaigns characterized them as a reaction to "niche, academic, overtly [leftist]" nominees and the Hugo becoming "an affirmative action award" that preferred female and non-white authors and characters. In response, five nominees declined their nomination before and, for the first time, two after the ballot was published. Multiple-Hugo-winner Connie Willis declined to present
1786-734: A total of five (from 20 nominations), placing him in second place tied with poet Bruce Boston , behind artist Bob Eggleton . He won a total of six S.F. Chronicle Poll Awards, one Locus Award (from 30 nominations, winning in 1996 with "When the Old Gods Die"), a Golden Pagoda Award, two American Dog Writers Awards and an Alexander Award. In 1995, he was awarded the Skylark (or the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction) for Lifetime Achievement in Science Fiction. In 2017 he
1880-569: A writer at the time. He was nominated for Best Editor in 1994, 1995, and 2015; for his Chicon 7 Guest of Honor speech in 2007; and for the nonfiction Putting It Together: Turning Sow's Ear Drafts Into Silk Purse Stories (2001), I Have This Nifty Idea...Now What Do I Do With It? (2002), and The Business of Science Fiction (with Barry N. Malzberg ) in 2011. Resnick won one Nebula Award from eleven nominations, and numerous other awards from places as diverse as France, Japan, Spain, Croatia, and Poland. His novella "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" won
1974-668: Is Africa, especially Kenya's Kikuyu people , their history, traditions and culture and colonialism and its aftermath. He visited Kenya often and drew on his experiences there. Some of his science fiction stories are allegories of Kenyan history and politics; other stories are actually set in Africa or have African characters. Resnick's style is known for its humor. He enjoyed collaborating with other writers, especially on short stories. Through to 2014 he had collaborated with 52 different writers on short fiction, three on screenplays, and three on novels. Late in life, he began writing and selling
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#17327904721622068-792: Is for all attendees at the same convention (occasionally excepting Guests of Honor) to wear badges of the same design, but each Worldcon's badge design is unique to that convention. In order for convention staff and members to identify quickly the function of other staff at the convention, Worldcons use ribbons of differing colors which are attached to convention badges to signify different roles and responsibilities. Often there are ribbons to signify rank, division, and department or specialized functions; ribbons are also used to identify program participants, other noteworthy members (for example "Past Worldcon Guest of Honor", "Hugo Award Nominee", etc.), or classes of members ("Dealers", "Artists", "Party Hosts") who are interacting with convention staff. Some members of
2162-476: Is held. Prior to 2017, the final ballot was five works in each category. Worldcons are generally held near the start of September, and take place in a different city around the world each year. The idea of giving out awards at Worldcons was proposed by Harold Lynch for the 1953 convention. The idea was based on the Academy Awards , with the name "Hugo" being given by Robert A. Madle. The award trophy
2256-440: Is no monetary or other remuneration associated with the Hugo, other than the trophy. Retrospective Hugo Awards, or Retro-Hugos, were added as a concept to the Hugo Awards in 1996. They are awards given for years in which no Hugos were originally awarded. Prior to 2017, they could be awarded for works in a year 50, 75, or 100 years prior, after 1939, where there was a Worldcon but where no Hugos were awarded. Retro-Hugos are given by
2350-433: Is widely considered the premier award in the science fiction genre. It is named after Hugo Gernsback , the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories . Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention , and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards originally covered seven categories, but have expanded to seventeen categories of written and dramatic works over
2444-827: The 2005 Worldcon , held in Glasgow, Scotland ; the 2009 Worldcon , in Montreal , Quebec , Canada; the 2010 Worldcon , in Melbourne, Australia ; the 2014 Worldcon , in London, United Kingdom and the 2017 Worldcon , in Helsinki, Finland . Sites for future Worldcons are determined by voting of the Worldcon membership. Worldcons through 1970 were selected one year in advance, from 1971 through 1986 two years in advance, from 1987 to 2007, three years in advance, then from 2008 to
2538-606: The Astounding Award for Best New Writer and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book , are presented at the Hugo Award ceremony and voted on by the same process, but are not formally Hugo Awards. The Hugo Award is highly regarded by observers. The Los Angeles Times has termed it "among the highest honors bestowed in science fiction and fantasy writing", a claim echoed by Wired , who said that it
2632-516: The COVID-19 pandemic , organizers announced during March 2020 that it would be a "virtual" con with attendees and panelists using video technologies to participate. In 2021, The 79th Worldcon took place in Washington, D.C. In 2022, the 80th Worldcon would be held in Chicago, Illinois. This was announced at the 2020 Worldcon, chosen by the members of the 78th Worldcon. Jeddah , Saudi Arabia
2726-601: The Hugo Award for Best Novella , the S.F. Chronicle Poll Award, the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 1995 HOMer Award for Best Novella. Between 1991 and 2001, he won a further nine HOMer Awards (bringing his total to 10, from 24 nominations). This placed him at the head of HOMer Award winners, ahead of Robert J. Sawyer with nine wins from 12 nominations. His 1998 and 2005 Hugo Award-winning stories—" The 43 Antarean Dynasties " and " Travels with My Cats "—also garnered him Asimov's Reader Poll Awards, of which he won
2820-482: The Hugo Awards , the oldest and most noteworthy award for science fiction. Selection of the recipients is by vote of the Worldcon members. Categories include novels and short fiction, artwork, dramatic presentations, and various professional and fandom activities. Other awards may be presented at Worldcon at the discretion of the individual convention committee. This has often included the national SF awards of
2914-821: The "Permanent Floating Worldcon Committee" who volunteer for many Worldcons in different years; this group offers a measure of institutional continuity to otherwise disparate legal organizations. Recent Worldcons have had budgets running in excess of a million dollars. The main source of revenue is convention membership, but Worldcons also collect fees from exhibiting dealers and artists and advertisers in publications, and some conventions manage to attract sponsorships of as much as 5% of total income. The main expenses are facilities rental and related costs, then (if possible) membership reimbursements to program participants and volunteers, then publications, audiovisual equipment rental, and hospitality . Traditionally, all members (except for guests of honor) must pay for their membership; if
Mike Resnick - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-469: The 1983 to the 1994 Hugos. The most recent anthology is The Hugo Award Showcase (2010), edited by Mary Robinette Kowal . It contains most of the short stories, novelettes, and novellas that were nominated for the 2009 award. Worldcon Worldcon , officially the World Science Fiction Convention , the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society ( WSFS ), is a science fiction convention . It has been held each year since 1939 (except for
3102-401: The 1992 awards the nickname has been adopted as the official name of the award. For the first few years, Hugo Awards had no published rules, and were given for works published in the "preceding year" leading up to the convention, which was not defined but generally covered the period between conventions rather than calendar years. In 1959, though there were still no formal guidelines governing
3196-595: The Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form category, "No Award" placed above all nominees that were on either slate, and it won all five categories that only contained slate nominees. The two campaigns were repeated in 2016 with some changes, and the "Rabid Puppy" slate again dominated the ballot in several categories, with all five nominees in Best Related Work, Best Graphic Story, Best Professional Artist, and Best Fancast. In response to
3290-610: The Business Meeting) is the Mark Protection Committee (MPC), which is responsible for maintaining the society's trademarks and domain names . Historically, most Worldcons were held in the United States; however, beginning in the later part of the 20th century an increasing number of them have been hosted in other countries. In 2017, the 75th World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon 75")
3384-596: The Chengdu Worldcon, and reprimanded the chair of the WIP board of directors. Both the director of WIP and chair of the WIP board of directors resigned. Glasgow 2024 Chairperson Esther MacCallum-Stewart announced in February 2024 that to ensure transparency in the awards selection, they would keep a log of all decisions, publish the reasons for any disqualification of potential finalists by April 2024, and publish
3478-548: The Dramatic Presentation category for the third and fourth time; "No Award" did not win any categories afterwards until 2015. In 1980 the category for Best Non-Fiction Book (later renamed Best Related Work ) was added, followed by a category for Best Semiprozine (semi-professional magazine) in 1984. In 1983, members of the Church of Scientology were encouraged by people such as Charles Platt to nominate as
3572-436: The Hugo Awards each year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The Hugos are widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback , who founded the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and who is considered one of the "fathers" of the science fiction genre. Works are eligible for an award if they were published in
3666-667: The NASFiC, voted on by WSFS members at the Worldcon (or NASFiC if there is one) held one year prior to the prospective NASFiC. With the 2014 Worldcon being held in the United Kingdom, members at the 2013 Worldcon in San Antonio chose Detroit to be the site of the 2014 NASFiC and Spokane, Washington, as the site of the 2015 Worldcon . In 2020, The 78th Worldcon was held in Wellington, New Zealand . However, due to
3760-751: The Sky", in addition to a Tour Eiffel Award in France for The Dark Lady . In Japan, he won the Seiun-sho Award for Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia , and the Hayakawa Award for "For I Have Touched the Sky". In Poland, " Kirinyaga " won the Nowa Fantastyka Poll Award, while "For I Have Touched the Sky" and "When the Old Gods Die" won SFinks awards. He won Catalonia 's Ictineus Award in 2012 for Best Translated Story for "Soulmates",
3854-700: The Special Collections Library of the University of South Florida in Tampa . Resnick worked as an editor for National Insider from 1966 to 1969, and also as editor-in-chief of National Features Syndicate from 1967 to 1968. He was a publisher and editor for Oligarch Press from 1969 onwards. From 1988 on Resnick edited over 40 fiction anthologies. He was an editorial consultant for BenBella Books from 2004 to 2006 and executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe from 2007 through 2010. From 2011 he
Mike Resnick - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-432: The World Science Fiction Society board. These categories were for Best Novel , Short Fiction (short stories, broadly defined), Dramatic Presentation, Professional Magazine , Professional Artist , and Best Fanzine . 1963 was also the second year in which "No Award" won a category, again for Dramatic Presentation. In 1964 the guidelines were changed to allow individual conventions to create additional categories, which
4042-618: The Worldcon, usually as three morning sessions on successive days. All attending members of the Worldcon may attend, participate, and vote at the Business Meeting, although in practice only a small number of the members actually do so. The WSFS constitution includes rules for site selection, for the Hugo Awards, and for amending itself. The business meeting also empanels a number of ad hoc committees to deal with review of amendments and with certain administrative functions. The only permanent ("standing") committee of WSFS (as opposed to
4136-535: The authors were excluded due to self-censorship by the Hugo Award administrators in order to appease the Chinese government, known to have a strict censorship regime . Additionally, an unknown number of ballots from Chinese voters were rejected because an award administrator considered them to be similar to a recommendations list published by the Chinese SF magazine Science Fiction World , and thus equivalent to
4230-475: The award. "No Award" won that year in two categories: Dramatic Presentation and Best New Author . The eligibility change additionally sparked a separate rule, prohibiting the nomination of works which had been nominated for the 1958 awards, as the two time periods overlapped. In 1961, after the formation of the WSFS to oversee each Worldcon committee, formal rules were set down in the WSFS constitution mandating
4324-413: The awards, several rules were instated which thereafter became traditional. These included having a ballot for nominating works earlier in the year and separate from the voting ballot; defining eligibility to include works published in the previous calendar year, rather than the ambiguous "preceding year"; and allowing voters to select "No Award" as an option if no nominated works were felt to be deserving of
4418-459: The awards. The slates were characterized by The Guardian as a "right wing", "orchestrated backlash" and by The A.V. Club as a "group of white guys", and were linked with the Gamergate campaign. Multiple Hugo winner Samuel R. Delany characterized the campaigns as a response to "socio-economic" changes such as minority authors gaining prominence and thus "economic heft". In all but
4512-520: The bid has since been replaced by one for Cairo , Egypt, which will be bidding against Los Angeles . As WSFS itself is an unincorporated society, each Worldcon is organized by a separate committee (usually) legally incorporated in the local jurisdiction; in the United States, these are usually organized as 501(c)(3) non-profit corporations, while in the United Kingdom, they are usually operated by companies limited by guarantee . The local organizers may be standalone, one-time committees (organized to hold
4606-433: The campaigns, a set of new rules, called "E Pluribus Hugo", was passed in 2015 and ratified in 2016 to modify the nominations process. Intended to ensure that organized minority groups cannot dominate every finalist position in a category, the new rules define a voting system in which nominees are eliminated one by one, with each vote for an eliminated work then spread out over the uneliminated works they nominated, until only
4700-533: The chairperson and the staff. "Departments" operate a specific convention function, while "divisions" coordinate the work of several departments. Department heads (sometimes called "area heads") have one or more deputies plus a large staff, or they may have no staff at all. Most Worldcons have between five and twelve division heads who form the convention executive group. Attendees are issued a convention badge , displaying each attendee's name, membership number and (if desired) " fannish " nickname. The customary practice
4794-435: The committee may be performing a variety of current or past roles and could have a large number of ribbons attached to each other hanging from a badge. Extending this tradition, other groups and individuals create more special ribbons for use at the convention; these may be serious or silly. Convention badge ribbons are important memorabilia for some people, and become valuable years later because they evoke memories of events at
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#17327904721624888-471: The convention makes an adequate surplus after covering operating expenses, full or partial membership reimbursements are paid back to volunteers after the convention. Most Worldcons have a small surplus, which the rules of WSFS suggest be disbursed "for the benefit of WSFS as a whole;" typically at least half of any surplus is donated to future Worldcons, a tradition termed "pass-along funds". Because of their size, Worldcons have two layers of management between
4982-526: The convention. Typically there is an author (aka "Writer" or "Pro") and a fan guest of honor. Many conventions also have artist, editor, and science guests, and most have a toastmaster for major events, such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the Hugo award ceremony. A few conventions have had two or even three author guests. While other conventions may select guests on the basis of current popularity, Worldcons typically select guests of honor as an acknowledgement of significant lifetime contribution to
5076-489: The field; while these are often well-known figures, some committees choose lesser-known figures precisely because the committee feels the guest's accomplishments deserve more recognition from the community. Selection is treated by authors, fans, and others as a recognition of lifetime achievement. As such, the tradition is to award it only to those who have been making significant contributions for at least 20 years. Guests of honor generally receive travel expenses, membership, and
5170-410: The final ballot, while the 1964 awards received 274 votes. The 2019 awards saw 1,800 nominating ballots and 3,097 votes, which was described as less than in 2014–2017 but more than any year before then. Brian Aldiss , in his book Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction , claimed that the Hugo Award was a barometer of reader popularity, rather than artistic merit; he contrasted it with
5264-408: The final shortlist remains. These rules were ratified in 2016 to be used for the first time in 2017. A rule mandating that the final nominees must appear on at least five percent of ballots was also eliminated, to ensure that all categories could reach a full set of nominees even when the initial pool of works was very large. Each nominator is limited to five works in each category, but the final ballot
5358-400: The full voting statistics immediately after the awards ceremony on August 11. In July 2024, the Hugo administration announced that roughly 10% of all votes cast for that year were determined to be fraudulently cast to help one unidentified finalist win. There was no evidence that the finalist had known about the attempt; the votes were invalidated and the finalist did not win the category as
5452-439: The guest of honor at some 42 science fiction conventions and toastmaster at a dozen others. Resnick's wife created costumes in which she and Resnick appeared at five Worldcon masquerades in the 1970s, winning four out of five contests. In 2012 he was the guest of honor at Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago. Resnick was nominated for 37 Hugo Awards and won five times. In addition to his wins he
5546-415: The guidelines were changed again to remove the mandated awards and instead allow up to ten categories which would be chosen by each convention, though they were expected to be similar to those presented in the year before. Despite this change no new awards were added or previous awards removed before the guidelines were changed back to listing specific categories in 1977. 1971 and 1977 both saw "No Award" win
5640-755: The host country, such as the Japanese Seiun Awards as part of Nippon 2007 , and the Prix Aurora Awards as part of Anticipation in 2009. The Astounding Award for Best New Writer and the Sidewise Award , though not sponsored by the Worldcon, are usually presented, as well as the Chesley Awards , the Prometheus Award , and others. Each Worldcon committee selects a number of guests of honor (or "GoHs") for
5734-737: The hosting to be reconsidered due to ongoing human rights violations in the Uyghur region . The choice of location was also criticized due to the effects of the Chinese government's censorship regime and the exclusion of authors publicly critical of human rights in China such as R. F. Kuang , Xiran Jay Zhao , and Neil Gaiman . The 82nd Worldcon was held in Glasgow , Scotland in 2024. The 83rd Worldcon will be held in Seattle , Washington in 2025. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia reasserted its bid for 2026, but
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#17327904721625828-590: The mid-1990s, and were first awarded in 1996. Another special Hugo Award, for Best Web Site, was given twice in 2002 and 2005, but never instated as a permanent category. In 2003, the Dramatic Presentation award was split into two categories, Long Form and Short Form. This was repeated with the Best Professional Editor category in 2007. 2009 saw the addition of the Best Graphic Story category, and in 2012 an award for Best Fancast
5922-619: The most venerable, democratic and international" science fiction awards "in existence". James Gunn , in The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1988), echoed The Guardian ' s statement of the award's democratic nature, saying that "because of its broad electorate" the Hugos were the awards most representative of "reader popularity". Camille Bacon-Smith , in Science Fiction Culture (2000), said that at
6016-412: The nominees are worthy of the award, or if they feel the category should be abolished entirely. A vote for "No Award" other than as one's first choice signifies that the voter believes the nominees ranked higher than "No Award" are worthy of a Hugo in that category, while those ranked lower are not. The six works on the ballot for each category are the most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on
6110-533: The number of stories that can be nominated. With the exception of 1956, the first years of the awards did not include any recognition of runner-up novels, but since 1959 all of the candidates have been recorded. Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, while voting on the ballot of six nominations is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon
6204-485: The one event and then disbanded afterwards), or they may be organized by an existing local group. A few groups, such as MCFI in Boston, SFSFC (San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc.) in northern California, and SCIFI (Southern California Institute for Fan Interests Inc.) in southern California are permanent corporations established to manage Worldcons (or other one-off or rotating conventions) in different years in
6298-404: The panel-selected Nebula Award , which provided "more literary judgment", though he did note that the winners of the two awards often overlapped. Along with the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award is also considered one of the premier awards in science fiction, with Laura Miller of Salon.com terming it "science fiction's most prestigious award". The official logo of the Hugo Awards is often placed on
6392-482: The present, two years in advance again. For example, during the 2011 Worldcon in Reno , San Antonio was selected to host the 2013 Worldcon. The rules changes to lengthen or shorten the period were implemented by selecting two future Worldcons at the 1969 and 1984 conventions and by having the 2005 convention not select any. To ensure that the Worldcon is relocated to different locations, the WSFS constitution requires that
6486-459: The presentation evening constitutes its central event. The selection process is defined in the WSFS constitution as instant-runoff voting with six nominees per category, except in the case of a tie. The awards are split over more than a dozen categories, and include both written and dramatic works. For each category of Hugo, the voter may rank "No Award" as one of their choices. Voters are instructed that they should do so if they feel that none of
6580-438: The presenting of the awards as one of the responsibilities of each Worldcon organizing committee. The rules restricted voting to members of the convention at which the awards would be given, while still allowing anyone to nominate works; nominations were restricted to members of the convention or the previous year's convention in 1963. The guidelines also specified the categories that would be awarded, which could only be changed by
6674-422: The prior calendar year, or translated into English in the prior calendar year. There are no written rules as to which works qualify as science fiction or fantasy, and the decision of eligibility in that regard is left up to the voters, rather than to the organizing committee. Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention , or Worldcon, and
6768-489: The proposed sites must all be at least 500 miles (800 km) away from the site of the convention at which the selection vote happens. When a Worldcon is held outside of North America, a North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) may also be held within North America that same year. Since 1975, whenever a Worldcon site outside North America is selected, WSFS administers a parallel site selection process for
6862-463: The regular Hugo Awards by the convention committee. While traditionally five works had been selected for nomination in each category out of the proposed nominees, in 1971 this was set down as a formal rule, barring ties. In 1973, the WSFS removed the category for Best Professional Magazine, and a Best Professional Editor award was instated as its replacement, in order to recognize "the increasing importance of original anthologies". After that year
6956-452: The same geographical area. Like most non-media science fiction conventions, all Worldcons are managed entirely by volunteers, with no paid staff. Senior committee members typically devote hundreds of hours (not to mention thousands of dollars in travel expenses in some cases) in preparation for a particular convention. While each convention is managed separately by the local committee, an informal and self-selected group of volunteers constitute
7050-412: The time fewer than 1,000 people voted on the final ballot; she held, however, that this is a representative sample of the readership at large, given the number of winning novels that remain in print for decades or become notable outside of the science fiction genre, such as The Demolished Man or The Left Hand of Darkness . The 2014 awards saw over 1,900 nomination submissions and over 3,500 voters on
7144-445: The vote, and losing bids generally never reveal who they invited. This is usually treated with the same discretion as the Hugo Awards, where only a few people might know in advance who the guests will be. The name "Worldcon" is owned by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), an unincorporated literary society whose purpose is to promote interest in science fiction. WSFS has no standing officers, only small standing committees , and
7238-566: The winning books' cover as a promotional tool. Gahan Wilson , in First World Fantasy Awards (1977), claimed that noting that a book had won the Hugo Award on the cover "demonstrably" increased sales for that novel, though Orson Scott Card said in his 1990 book How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy that the award had a larger effect on foreign sales than in the United States. Spider Robinson , in 1992, claimed that publishers were very interested in authors that won
7332-410: The years 1942 to 1945, during World War II ). The members of each Worldcon are the members of WSFS, and vote both to select the site of the Worldcon two years later, and to select the winners of the annual Hugo Awards , which are presented at each convention. Activities and events at the convention typically include (but are not limited to): The World Science Fiction Society administers and presents
7426-529: The years. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base. The design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket shape has been consistent since 1984. The 2024 awards were presented at the 82nd Worldcon , " Glasgow 2024", in Scotland on August 11, 2024. The 2025 awards will be presented at the 83rd Worldcon , " Seattle Worldcon 2025", in the United States on August 16, 2025. The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) gives out
7520-642: Was "the premier award in the science fiction genre". Justine Larbalestier , in The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction (2002), referred to the awards as "the best known and most prestigious of the science fiction awards", and Jo Walton , writing in An Informal History of the Hugos , said it was "undoubtedly science fiction's premier award". The Guardian similarly acknowledged it as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" as well as "one of
7614-610: Was a 1959 graduate of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois . He sold his first piece of writing in 1957, while still in high school. He attended the University of Chicago from 1959 to 1961 and met his future wife, Carol L. Cain, there. The couple began dating in mid-December 1960 and were engaged by the end of the month. They were married in 1961. In the 1960s and early 1970s, Resnick wrote over 200 erotic adult novels under various pseudonyms and edited three men's magazines and seven tabloid newspapers . For over
7708-409: Was added. Best Series was added as a permanent category in 2018; it was run the year prior as a special Hugo Award prior to being ratified at the business meeting. Another special Hugo Award, for Best Art Book, was run in 2019 but was not repeated or made a permanent category. The 2021 Hugo Awards featured a special Hugo award for video games . It was thereafter proposed as a permanent category; it
7802-693: Was awarded Writers and Illustrators of the Future's Lifetime Achievement Award. "Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge" won awards in Spain (Ignotus Award), France (Prix Ozone Award) and Croatia (Futura Poll), contributing to a total of three Ignotus Awards and two Prix Ozone Awards. He was awarded the Spanish El Melocoton Mecanico Award for " Old MacDonald Had a Farm " and the Xatafi-Cyberdark Award for "For I Have Touched
7896-570: Was changed to six in each; additionally, no more than two works by a given author or group, or in the same dramatic series, can be in one category on the final ballot. In January 2024, the voting statistics for the 2023 Hugo Awards from the 81st World Science Fiction Convention, which was held in Chengdu , China, came into question due to several authors being declared ineligible without explanation, including Neil Gaiman , R. F. Kuang , Xiran Jay Zhao , and Paul Weimer. Leaked emails revealed that
7990-458: Was codified as up to two categories for that year. These additional awards were officially designated as Hugo Awards, but were not required to be repeated by future conventions. This was later adjusted to only allow one additional category; while these special Hugo Awards have been given out in several categories, only a few were ever awarded for more than one year. In 1967 categories for Novelette , Fan Writer , and Fan Artist were added, and
8084-400: Was created by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason in 1953, based on the design of hood ornaments of 1950s cars. It consisted of a finned rocket ship on a wooden base. Each subsequent trophy, with the exception of the 1958 trophy (a plaque), has been similar to the original design. The rocket trophy was formally redesigned in 1984, and since then only the base of the trophy has changed each year. There
8178-577: Was held at all. Of the fifteen years eligible, awards have been given for eight. The first Hugo Awards were presented at the 11th Worldcon in Philadelphia in 1953, which awarded Hugos in seven categories. The awards presented that year were initially conceived as a one-off event, though the organizers hoped that subsequent conventions would also present them. At the time, Worldcons were completely run by their respective committees as independent events and had no oversight between years. Thus there
8272-687: Was held in Helsinki, Finland ; the 2018 Worldcon was held in San Jose, California , and the 2019 Worldcon was held in Dublin . The 2020 Worldcon was scheduled to be in New Zealand ; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic , it was a virtual event (accessed by internet only). The first Worldcon to be held outside the US was the sixth , in 1948 in Toronto , Ontario, Canada, and the first outside North America
8366-527: Was no mandate for any future conventions to repeat the awards, and no set rules for how to do so. The 1954 Worldcon chose not to, but the awards were reinstated at the 1955 Worldcon, and thereafter became traditional. The award was called the Annual Science Fiction Achievement Award, with "Hugo Award" being an unofficial, but better known name. The nickname was accepted as an official alternative name in 1958, and since
8460-679: Was nominated for "For I Have Touched the Sky" (1990), "Winter Solstice" and "One Perfect Morning, With Jackals" (1992), "The Lotus and the Spear" (1993), "Mwalimu in the Squared Circle" (1994), "Barnaby in Exile" and "A Little Knowledge" (1995), "When the Old Gods Die" and "Bibi" (with Susan Shwartz , 1996), "The Land of Nod" (1997), "Hothouse Flowers" and "Hunting the Snark" (2000), "The Elephants on Neptune" and "Redchapel" (2001), " Old MacDonald Had
8554-512: Was not repeated as a special Hugo Award in 2022 or 2023, but was ratified as the Best Game or Interactive Work category, beginning in 2024. In 2015, two groups of science fiction writers, the "Sad Puppies" led by Brad R. Torgersen and Larry Correia , and the "Rabid Puppies" led by Vox Day , each put forward a similar slate of suggested nominations which came to dominate the ballot. The Sad Puppies campaign had run for two years prior on
8648-767: Was the 15th World Science Fiction Convention , in 1957 in Bayswater, London . The first held in a country where English was not the primary language was the Heicon '70, the 28th World Science Fiction Convention held in Heidelberg , West Germany. The 2007 Worldcon in Yokohama, Japan , was the first to be held in Asia . Other non-US Worldcons held in the 21st century have included the 2003 Worldcon in Toronto, Ontario, Canada,
8742-583: Was the other competing site. A group of writers and officers of the Worldcon have signed an open letter against Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention, citing human rights abuses and discriminatory laws. Chengdu , China hosted the 81st Worldcon in 2023. It was the second Worldcon to be held in Asia after the 65th Worldcon in Japan in 2007. Over 100 authors, including Hugo winners and Uyghur writers, signed an open letter calling for
8836-506: Was the series' editor for The Stellar Guild series published by Phoenix Pick. The series pairs lesser-known science fiction and fantasy authors with best-selling veterans of the genre. Beginning in 2013, he was the editor of the bi-monthly magazine Galaxy's Edge , published by Arc Manor , which reprints work by major names in the field along with new stories by new and lesser-known writers. Resnick and his wife were participants in science fiction fandom from 1962. As of 2012 Resnick had been
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