| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories.
Retrospective Hugo Awards (normally abbreviated Retro Hugos) are also presented. These are given at Worldcons held 50, 75, or 100 years after a Worldcon was held at which no Hugos were awarded. Once Retro Hugos for a given year are awarded, no further awards for that year are permitted.
The Hugo Award itself was co-designed by longtime SF fan and booster Benedict Jablonski who based the trophy on a rocket-shaped hood ornament from an Oldsmobile 88.
The first World Science Fiction Convention was held in New York City in 1939. While "bests" had been voted upon at all conventions there were no awards until the 11th Worldcon ( Philadelphia, 1953) and this was, at the time, considered a one-time event. However for the 13th Convention ( Cleveland, 1955) it was decided to make the physical awards a permanent feature.
The 11th convention awards were the idea of Hal Lynch . The awards were hand-machined by Jack McKnight and consisted of a finned steel rocket on a circular wooden base. At the 13th Convention a new design, capable of "mass" production, was made by Ben Jason , it was largely similar to the first design but on a square base. It became the standard design for most of the following conventions.
At first the award was known as the "Annual Science Fiction Achievement Award", with "Hugo Award" being an unofficial name, but certainly the more well known. Since 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic., the nickname has been adopted as the official name of the award.
While the World Science Fiction SocietyThe World Science Fiction Society is an unincorporated literary society whose purpose is to promote interest in Science Fiction. WSFS has no standing officers, only small standing committees, and a large membership composed of the members of the current W rules state that the award is for works of science fiction and fantasy, in practice it has almost always gone to science fiction works. This precedent led to complaints when the 20012001 is a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar), and also: The International Year of the Volunteer The United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations Events January January 1 A black monolith measuring approximately nine feet tall ap Hugo for best novel was given to Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series by J. Published in 2000, the release of this book had been surrounded by more hype than any other children's book in recent times outdone only by its successor, Harry Potter, a fantasy novel aimed at young adults.