Hugo Awards

The Hugo Award® is the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. The Hugos are awarded each year by the World Science Fiction Society, at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).

Voting for the Hugo Awards takes place in two stages. The first stage, nomination, is open to anyone who has a Supporting or Attending membership in the previous, current, or following year's Worldcon as of January 31. For Chicon 7, this means members of Renovation (the 2011 Worldcon), Chicon 7 itself, and LoneStarCon 3 (the 2013 Worldcon). During this stage, which closed on Sunday, March 11, 2012, members can nominate any eligible work or person.

The second stage of voting is the final ballot. This stage, which is now under way (see below) is open only to Chicon 7 members. In the final ballot, members choose between the five finalists in each category. The final ballot will be announced April 7, 2012, at several conventions being held over the Easter weekend (see below).

The Hugo Awards themselves are presented at a formal ceremony which is always one of the highlights of the Worldcon, and we expect Chicon 7's ceremony to be no different. The Chicon 7 ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 2, 2012.

The official web site of the Hugo Awards is at www.thehugoawards.org. This site includes a full history of the Hugo Awards, nominees and winners, information on the voting process, a photo gallery of past trophy designs, and much more.

Hugo Voter Packet

Chicon 7 is pleased to present the 2012 Hugo Voter Packet, an electronic package of nominated works graciously made available to voters by nominees and their publishers.

This year's packet will be launched on Wednesday May 16, 2012, and will remain available until the close of the Final Ballot on July 31, 2012.

The Final Ballot

The final ballot process is now under way and will continue until Tuesday, July 31, 2012, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at 2:59 a.m. EDT).

Chicon 7 members will be able to submit their ballots in two ways:

• Online via this website.
• By postal mail. The ballot form can be downloaded here in PDF format for printing. The ballot form will also be will be included in Progress Report 4 (due to mail at the end of April).

If you plan to nominate online, you will need your membership ID and a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN). All eligible voters will receive PINs by e-mail (where e-mail addresses are available). Chicon 7 members receiving printed publications will also find their PIN on the mailing label for PR4 which will be published during April 2012.

If you plan to nominate by post, please note that your ballot must be received by the close of the nomination period. Please mail your ballot in good time to ensure that it is counted. Full instructions for completing a paper ballot are on the first page of the ballot form.

If you have any questions about the Hugo process, please contact us by e-mail at

.

If you need to obtain or be reminded of your Hugo voting PIN, please contact us by e-mail at

.

Hugo Nominees 2012

The finalists for this year's Hugo Awards and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer were announced on Saturday, April 7.

The shortlist announcement was made simultaneously at five conventions in the United States and Europe. The presentations were broadcast live via Ustream from each location. The broadcasts have been saved and you can watch them again here.

Our thanks go to Norwescon 35, Leprecon 38, Minicon 47, Marcon 47, and Olympus 2012, the British National Science Fiction Convention (Eastercon)for their support in making this unique event possible.

1101 valid nominating ballots were received and counted.

Best Novel (932 ballots)
Among Others by Jo Walton (Tor)
A Dance With Dragons by George R. R. Martin (Bantam Spectra)
Deadline by Mira Grant (Orbit)
Embassytown by China Miéville (Macmillan / Del Rey)
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (Orbit)

Best Novella (473 ballots)
Countdown by Mira Grant (Orbit)
“The Ice Owl” by Carolyn Ives Gilman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, November/December 2011)
“Kiss Me Twice” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov's, June 2011)
“The Man Who Bridged the Mist” by Kij Johnson (Asimov's, September/October 2011)
“The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary” by Ken Liu (Panverse 3)
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (Clarkesworld / WSFA)

Best Novelette (499 ballots)
“The Copenhagen Interpretation” by Paul Cornell (Asimov's, July 2011)
“Fields of Gold” by Rachel Swirsky (Eclipse Four)
“Ray of Light” by Brad R. Torgersen (Analog, December 2011)
“Six Months, Three Days” by Charlie Jane Anders (Tor.com)
“What We Found” by Geoff Ryman (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September/October 2011)

Best Short Story (593 ballots)
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld, April 2011)
“The Homecoming” by Mike Resnick (Asimov's, April/May 2011)
“Movement” by Nancy Fulda (Asimov's, March 2011)
“The Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, March/April 2011)
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue” by John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Best Related Work (461 ballots)
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition edited by John Clute, David Langford, Peter Nicholls, and Graham Sleight (Gollancz)
Jar Jar Binks Must Die... and Other Observations about Science Fiction Movies by Daniel M. Kimmel (Fantastic Books)
The Steampunk Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the World of Imaginary Airships, Corsets and Goggles, Mad Scientists, and Strange Literature by Jeff VanderMeer and S. J. Chambers (Abrams Image)
Wicked Girls by Seanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story (339 ballots)
Digger by Ursula Vernon (Sofawolf Press)
Fables Vol 15: Rose Red by Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham (Vertigo)
Locke & Key Volume 4, Keys to the Kingdom written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
Schlock Mercenary: Force Multiplication written and illustrated by Howard Tayler, colors by Travis Walton (The Tayler Corporation)
The Unwritten (Volume 4): Leviathan created by Mike Carey and Peter Gross. Written by Mike Carey, illustrated by Peter Gross (Vertigo)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) (592 ballots)
Captain America: The First Avenger, screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephan McFeely, directed by Joe Johnston (Marvel)
Game of Thrones (Season 1), created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss; written by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman, Jane Espenson, and George R. R. Martin; directed by Brian Kirk, Daniel Minahan, Tim van Patten, and Alan Taylor (HBO)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, screenplay by Steve Kloves; directed by David Yates (Warner Bros.)
Hugo, screenplay by John Logan; directed by Martin Scorsese (Paramount)
Source Code, screenplay by Ben Ripley; directed by Duncan Jones (Vendome Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) (512 ballots)
“The Doctor's Wife” (Doctor Who), written by Neil Gaiman; directed by Richard Clark (BBC Wales)
“The Drink Tank's Hugo Acceptance Speech,” Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon (Renovation)
“The Girl Who Waited” (Doctor Who), written by Tom MacRae; directed by Nick Hurran (BBC Wales)
“A Good Man Goes to War” (Doctor Who), written by Steven Moffat; directed by Peter Hoar (BBC Wales)
“Remedial Chaos Theory” (Community), written by Dan Harmon and Chris McKenna; directed by Jeff Melman (NBC)

Best Editor - Short Form (512 ballots)
John Joseph Adams
Neil Clarke
Stanley Schmidt
Jonathan Strahan
Sheila Williams

Best Editor - Long Form (358 ballots)
Lou Anders
Liz Gorinsky
Anne Lesley Groell
Patrick Nielsen Hayden
Betsy Wollheim

Best Professional Artist (399 ballots)
Dan dos Santos
Bob Eggleton
Michael Komarck
Stephan Martiniere
John Picacio

Best Semiprozine (357 ballots)
Apex Magazine edited by Catherynne M. Valente, Lynne M. Thomas, and Jason Sizemore
Interzone edited by Andy Cox
Lightspeed edited by John Joseph Adams
Locus edited by Liza Groen Trombi, Kirsten Gong-Wong, et al.
New York Review of Science Fiction edited by David G. Hartwell, Kevin J. Maroney, Kris Dikeman, and Avram Grumer

Best Fanzine (322 ballots)
Banana Wings edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
The Drink Tank edited by James Bacon and Christopher J Garcia
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
Journey Planet edited by James Bacon, Christopher J Garcia, et al.
SF Signal edited by John DeNardo

Best Fan Writer (360 ballots)
James Bacon
Claire Brialey
Christopher J Garcia
Jim C. Hines
Steven H Silver

Best Fan Artist (216 ballots)
Brad W. Foster
Randall Munroe
Spring Schoenhuth
Maurine Starkey
Steve Stiles
Taral Wayne

Best Fancast (326 ballots)
The Coode Street Podcast, Jonathan Strahan & Gary K. Wolfe
Galactic Suburbia Podcast, Alisa Krasnostein, Alex Pierce, and Tansy Rayner Roberts (presenters) and Andrew Finch (producer)
SF Signal Podcast, John DeNardo and JP Frantz, produced by Patrick Hester
SF Squeecast, Lynne M. Thomas, Seanan McGuire, Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, and Catherynne M. Valente
StarShipSofa, Tony C. Smith

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (396 ballots)
Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer of 2010 or 2011, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).
Mur Lafferty
Stina Leicht
Karen Lord *
Brad R. Torgersen *
E. Lily Yu

*2nd year of eligibility

Hugo Award Categories

A full list of the current award categories with definitions is available here. In summary, however, the ongoing categories, for which Hugos are presented every year, are:

• Best Novel (40,000 words or more)
• Best Novella (17,500 to 40,000 words)
• Best Novelette (7,500 to 17,500 words)
• Best Short Story (up to 7,500 words)
• Best Related Work
• Best Graphic Story *
• Best Dramatic Presentation "Long Form" (more than 90 minutes)
• Best Dramatic Presentation "Short Form" (less than 90 minutes)
• Best Editor Short Form
• Best Editor Long Form
• Best Professional Artist
• Best Semiprozine
• Best Fanzine
• Best Fan Writer
• Best Fan Artist

This year, Chicon 7 has also chosen to exercise its right under section 3.3.15 of the WSFS constitution to create a single, extra, one-time Hugo Award. The additional award category is Best Fancast, defined as "Any non-professional audio- or video-casting with at least four (4) episodes that had at least one (1) episode released in 2011."

By tradition, the Hugo voting process also includes the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The Campbell Award is not a Hugo Award, and the rules governing it are determined by the award sponsor, Dell Magazines. However, the award traditionally is selected through the Hugo Awards voting process and presented at the Worldcon Hugo Awards Ceremony.

* Note: The Best Graphic Story Hugo is currently undergoing a trial period. This award was ratified at Anticipation, the 2009 Worldcon, and will be awarded until 2012. However, it must be re-ratified at the Business Meeting of the 2012 Worldcon (Chicon 7) or it will automatically be removed as a category.

Hugo Award References

• World Science Fiction Society Constitution, Article III
• The Hugo Awards official site
• The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
• Hugo Awards on Wikipedia
• Locus Magazine Index of Hugo Awards

• Hugo nomination ballot (expired)
• Hugo Base Design Competition (completed)

"World Science Fiction Society", "WSFS", "World Science Fiction Convention", "Worldcon", "NASFiC", "Hugo Award", and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.