The award was first presented in 1984, and has been given annually since. A "semiprozine" is defined for the award as a magazine that meets at least two of five criteria given. These criteria are: that the magazine had an average press run of at least one thousand copies per issue, that it paid its contributors and/or staff in other than copies of the publication, that it provided at least half the income of any one person, that it had at least fifteen percent of its total space occupied by advertising, and that announced itself to be a semiprozine.[5] In addition to the regular Hugo awards, beginning in 1996 Retrospective Hugo Awards, or "Retro Hugos", have been available to be awarded for years 50, 75, or 100 years prior in which no awards were given.[6] To date, Retro Hugo awards have been awarded for 1946, 1951, and 1954, but the category was only available for nominations for 1951 and 1954 and failed to receive enough to form a ballot either year.[7]
Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention (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 works on the ballot are the most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of works that can be nominated. The 1953 through 1956 and 1958 awards did not include any recognition of runner-up magazines, but since 1959 all five candidates were recorded.[6] 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.[8] Worldcons are generally held near the start of September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.[1][9] At the 2008 business meeting, an amendment to the World Science Fiction Society's Constitution was passed which would remove this category. The vote to ratify this amendment was held the following year; the ratification failed and the category remained. Instead, a committee was formed to recommend improvements to the category and related categories.[10]
During the 28 nomination years, 23 magazines run by 47 editors have been nominated. Of these, only six magazines run by twelve editors have won. Locus has won 21 times and has been nominated every year; Science Fiction Chronicle and Clarkesworld Magazine are the only other magazines to win more than once with 2 awards out of 18 and 2 out of 3 nominations, respectively, while Ansible has won 1 out of 7 nominations, Interzone has won 1 out of 26, and Weird Tales has won 1 out of its 3 nominations. As editor of Locus Charles N. Brown has won 21 of 27 nominations, though he shared 5 of those awards with Kirsten Gong-Wong, 3 with Liza Groen Trombi and 2 with Jennifer A. Hall. The sole editor for Chronicle's awards was Andrew I. Porter, while David Pringle earned Interzone's, Ann VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal were the editors for Weird Tales's victory, David Langford was the editor when Ansible was awarded, and Clarkesworld Magazine's winning year was under Neil Clarke, Sean Wallace, and Cheryl Morgan. The New York Review of Science Fiction has received the most number of nominations without ever winning at 21, under the helm of David G. Hartwell, Kathryn Cramer, Kevin J. Maroney and 7 other editors. The next highest number of nominations without winning is 7 for Speculations under Kent Brewster, Denise Lee, and Susan Fry.
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the work was first published. Each date links to the "year in literature" article corresponding with when the work was eligible. Entries with a blue background won the award for that year; those with a white background are the other nominees on the short-list. Note that Thrust was renamed to Quantum and was nominated under both names; no other nominated magazine has undergone a name change during the period the award has been active.[11]
Year |
Work |
Editor(s) |
Ref |
19841 !1984 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[12] |
19842 !1984 |
Fantasy Review |
Collins, Robert A.Robert A. Collins |
[12] |
19842 !1984 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[12] |
19842 !1984 |
Science Fiction Review |
Geis, Richard E.Richard E. Geis |
[12] |
19842 !1984 |
Whispers |
Schiff, Stuart DavidStuart David Schiff |
[12] |
19851 !1985 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[13] |
19852 !1985 |
Fantasy Review |
Collins, Robert A.Robert A. Collins |
[13] |
19852 !1985 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[13] |
19852 !1985 |
Science Fiction Review |
Geis, Richard E.Richard E. Geis |
[13] |
19852 !1985 |
Whispers |
Schiff, Stuart DavidStuart David Schiff |
[13] |
19861 !1986 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[14] |
19862 !1986 |
Fantasy Review |
Collins, Robert A.Robert A. Collins |
[14] |
19862 !1986 |
Interzone |
Ounsley, SimonSimon Ounsley and David Pringle |
[14] |
19862 !1986 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[14] |
19862 !1986 |
Science Fiction Review |
Geis, Richard E.Richard E. Geis |
[14] |
19871 !1987 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[15] |
19872 !1987 |
Fantasy Review |
Collins, Robert A.Robert A. Collins |
[15] |
19872 !1987 |
Interzone |
Ounsley, SimonSimon Ounsley and David Pringle |
[15] |
19872 !1987 |
Science Fiction Review |
Geis, Richard E.Richard E. Geis |
[15] |
19872 !1987 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[15] |
19881 !1988 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[16] |
19882 !1988 |
Aboriginal Science Fiction |
Ryan, Charles C.Charles C. Ryan |
[16] |
19882 !1988 |
Interzone |
Ounsley, SimonSimon Ounsley and David Pringle |
[16] |
19882 !1988 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[16] |
19882 !1988 |
Thrust |
Fratz, DougDoug Fratz |
[16] |
19891 !1989 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[17] |
19892 !1989 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[17] |
19892 !1989 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Hartwell, David G.David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Susan Palwick, and Kathryn Cramer |
[17] |
19892 !1989 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[17] |
19892 !1989 |
Thrust |
Fratz, DougDoug Fratz |
[17] |
19901 !1990 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[18] |
19902 !1990 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[18] |
19902 !1990 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Hartwell, David G.David G. Hartwell, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Susan Palwick, and Kathryn Cramer |
[18] |
19902 !1990 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[18] |
19902 !1990 |
Thrust |
Fratz, DougDoug Fratz |
[18] |
19911 !1991 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[19] |
19912 !1991 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[19] |
19912 !1991 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Gordon Van Gelder |
[19] |
19912 !1991 |
Thrust2 !Quantum |
Fratz, DougDoug Fratz |
[19] |
19912 !1991 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[19] |
19921 !1992 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[20] |
19922 !1992 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[20] |
19922 !1992 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Gordon Van Gelder |
[20] |
19922 !1992 |
Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine |
Rusch, Kristine KathrynKristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith |
[20] |
19922 !1992 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[20] |
19931 !1993 |
Science Fiction Chronicle* |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[21] |
19932 !1993 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[21] |
19932 !1993 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[21] |
19932 !1993 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, Ariel Haméon, and Tad Dembinski |
[21] |
19932 !1993 |
Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine |
Smith, Dean WesleyDean Wesley Smith and Jonathan E. Bond |
[21] |
19941 !1994 |
Science Fiction Chronicle* |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[22] |
19942 !1994 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[22] |
19942 !1994 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[22] |
19942 !1994 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, Ariel Haméon, and Tad Dembinski |
[22] |
19942 !1994 |
Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine |
Smith, Dean WesleyDean Wesley Smith and Jonathan E. Bond |
[22] |
19942 !1994 |
Tomorrow Speculative Fiction |
Budrys, AlgisAlgis Budrys |
[22] |
19951 !1995 |
Interzone* |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[23] |
19952 !1995 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[23] |
19952 !1995 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, Ariel Haméon, and Tad Dembinski |
[23] |
19952 !1995 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[23] |
19952 !1995 |
Tomorrow Speculative Fiction |
Budrys, AlgisAlgis Budrys |
[23] |
19961 !1996 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[24] |
19962 !1996 |
Crank! |
Cholfin, BryanBryan Cholfin |
[24] |
19962 !1996 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[24] |
19962 !1996 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, Ariel Haméon, and Tad Dembinski |
[24] |
19962 !1996 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[24] |
19971 !1997 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[25] |
19972 !1997 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[25] |
19972 !1997 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Tad Dembinski, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[25] |
19972 !1997 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[25] |
19972 !1997 |
Speculations |
Brewster, KentKent Brewster |
[25] |
19981 !1998 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[26] |
19981 !1998 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[26] |
19981 !1998 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[26] |
19981 !1998 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[26] |
19981 !1998 |
Speculations |
Brewster, KentKent Brewster |
[26] |
19991 !1999 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[27] |
19992 !1999 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[27] |
19992 !1999 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[27] |
19992 !1999 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[27] |
19992 !1999 |
Speculations |
Brewster, KentKent Brewster |
[27] |
20001 !2000 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[28] |
20002 !2000 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[28] |
20002 !2000 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[28] |
20002 !2000 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[28] |
20002 !2000 |
Speculations |
Brewster, KentKent Brewster |
[28] |
20011 !2001 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[29] |
20012 !2001 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[29] |
20012 !2001 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Ariel Haméon, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[29] |
20012 !2001 |
Science Fiction Chronicle |
Porter, Andrew I.Andrew I. Porter |
[29] |
20012 !2001 |
Speculations |
Lee, DeniseDenise Lee and Susan Fry |
[29] |
20021 !2002 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown |
[30] |
20022 !2002 |
Absolute Magnitude |
Lapine, WarrenWarren Lapine |
[30] |
20022 !2002 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[30] |
20022 !2002 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[30] |
20022 !2002 |
Speculations |
Fry, SusanSusan Fry and Kent Brewster |
[30] |
20031 !2003 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Jennifer A. Hall, and Kirsten Gong-Wong |
[31] |
20032 !2003 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[31] |
20032 !2003 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[31] |
20032 !2003 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[31] |
20032 !2003 |
Speculations |
Brewster, KentKent Brewster |
[31] |
20041 !2004 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Jennifer A. Hall, and Kirsten Gong-Wong |
[32] |
20042 !2004 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[32] |
20042 !2004 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle |
[32] |
20042 !2004 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[32] |
20042 !2004 |
Third Alternative |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[32] |
20051 !2005 |
Ansible* |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[33] |
20052 !2005 |
Interzone |
Pringle, DavidDavid Pringle and Andy Cox |
[33] |
20052 !2005 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Jennifer A. Hall, and Kirsten Gong-Wong |
[33] |
20052 !2005 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[33] |
20052 !2005 |
Third Alternative |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[33] |
20061 !2006 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, and Liza Groen Trombi |
[34] |
20062 !2006 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[34] |
20062 !2006 |
Emerald City |
Morgan, CherylCheryl Morgan |
[34] |
20062 !2006 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[34] |
20062 !2006 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[34] |
20071 !2007 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, and Liza Groen Trombi |
[35] |
20072 !2007 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[35] |
20072 !2007 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[35] |
20072 !2007 |
Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet |
Link, KellyKelly Link and Gavin J. Grant |
[35] |
20072 !2007 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[35] |
20081 !2008 |
Locus* |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, and Liza Groen Trombi |
[36] |
20082 !2008 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[36] |
20082 !2008 |
Helix SF |
Sanders, WilliamWilliam Sanders and Lawrence Watt-Evans |
[36] |
20082 !2008 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[36] |
20082 !2008 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Kristine Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[36] |
20091 !2009 |
Weird Tales* |
VanderMeer, AnnAnn VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal |
[37] |
20092 !2009 |
Clarkesworld Magazine |
Clarke, NeilNeil Clarke, Nick Mamatas, and Sean Wallace |
[37] |
20092 !2009 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[37] |
20092 !2009 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, and Liza Groen Trombi |
[37] |
20092 !2009 |
New York Review of Science Fiction !The New York Review of Science Fiction |
Cramer, KathrynKathryn Cramer, Kristine Dikeman, David G. Hartwell, and Kevin J. Maroney |
[37] |
20102 !2010 |
Clarkesworld Magazine* |
Clarke, NeilNeil Clarke, Sean Wallace, and Cheryl Morgan |
[38] |
20102 !2010 |
Ansible |
Langford, DavidDavid Langford |
[38] |
20102 !2010 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[38] |
20102 !2010 |
Locus |
Brown, Charles N.Charles N. Brown, Kirsten Gong-Wong, and Liza Groen Trombi |
[38] |
20102 !2010 |
Weird Tales |
VanderMeer, AnnAnn VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal |
[38] |
20111 !2011 |
Clarkesworld Magazine* |
Clarke, NeilNeil Clarke, Sean Wallace, and Cheryl Morgan; podcast directed by Kate Baker |
[39] |
20112 !2011 |
Interzone |
Cox, AndyAndy Cox |
[39] |
20112 !2011 |
Lightspeed Magazine |
Adams, John JosephJohn Joseph Adams |
[39] |
20112 !2011 |
Locus |
Trombi, Liza GroenLiza Groen Trombi and Kirsten Gong-Wong |
[39] |
20112 !2011 |
Weird Tales |
VanderMeer, AnnAnn VanderMeer and Stephen H. Segal |
[39] |