Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards honor the best science fiction and fantasy of the previous year. They are given by the World Science Fiction Society and presented at its annual convention, Worldcon, which moves to a different city each year. First awarded in 1953 and given every year since 1955, they are named for Hugo Gernsback, who founded Amazing Stories, the first major American science fiction magazine, in 1926.

What sets the Hugos apart is who decides them: the members of Worldcon, not a jury. Anyone can buy a membership, and attending the convention is not required. Members nominate works, the six with the most support in each category go to a final ballot, and members then rank the finalists in order of preference. The awards cover written fiction of every length as well as graphic stories, dramatic presentations, editors, artists and fan work.

A work must have been first published in the calendar year before the awards are given. Works from any country and in any language are eligible, including self-published books and e-books, and a work first published in English outside the United States can be given an extra period of eligibility. Fiction is sorted by length: a novel is 40,000 words or more, and a novella is between 17,500 and 40,000 words. Only members of that year's Worldcon vote on the final ballot.