Discontinued Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award.^[1] The award has been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".^[2][3] In addition to the regular awards that have been given in most years that the awards have been active, several discontinued Hugo Awards have been presented throughout the years, only to be removed after a few years.

When the Hugo awards were begun in 1953, each Worldcon organizing committee decided what awards they would give. Several awards were presented over the next few years which were not repeated in later conventions, unlike the primary categories which are still presented—such as Best Novel. These awards were the Best Cover Artist, Best Interior Illustrator, Excellence in Fact Articles, Best New SF Author or Artist, and #1 Fan Personality Hugos at the initial 1953 awards ceremony, the Best Feature Writer, Best Book Reviewer, and Most Promising New Author awards in 1956, the Outstanding Actifan award in 1958, and the Best New Author of 1958 award in 1959.^[4][5][6][7]

In 1961, however, formal rules were set down for which categories would be awarded, which could only be changed by the World Science Fiction Society membership through the annual Business Meeting.^[8] Despite this, the 1964 convention awarded a Hugo Award for the Best SF Book Publisher, which was not on that list.^[8] Immediately afterward the guidelines were changed to allow individual conventions to create additional categories, which 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.^[9] This was later adjusted to only allow one additional category.^[10] The Best SF Book Publisher award was repeated in 1965, and the Best All-Time Series award was given in 1966.^[11][12] No other additional categories were added by 1974, when the guidelines were changed again to 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.^[13][14]

The next discontinued Hugo award was the Other Forms award, given in 1988.^[15] It was followed in 1990 by the Best Original Art Work award, which was listed again as a special award in 1991, though not actually awarded, and instated afterward as an official Hugo Award.^[16][17] It was then removed from this status in 1996, and has not been awarded since.^[18] The Best Web Site special Hugo award was given in 2002 and 2005,^[19][20] and was followed by the Best Series special award, given in 2017 in advance of it being ratified as a standard category for the following year, the Best Art Book award, given in 2019, and the Best Video Game award, given in 2021 along with a proposal to make it a standard category, which then began in 2024.^{[21][22][23][24]} In 2025, a Best Poem special Hugo is planned to be given.^[25]

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual World Science Fiction Convention, or 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 six finalists, except in the case of a tie. These six works on the ballot are those most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of works that can be nominated. The 1953 and 1958 awards did not include any recognition of runner-up nominees, but since 1959 all finalists have been recorded.^[26] Initial nominations are made by members in January through March, while voting on the ballot of six finalists is performed roughly in April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.^[27] Worldcons are generally held near Labor Day, and in a different city around the world each year.^[1][28] Members are permitted to vote "no award", if they feel that none of the nominees is deserving of the award that year, and in the case that "no award" takes the majority the Hugo is not given in that category. The only time this has happened in the discontinued awards was in the 1959 Best New Author category.^[7]

Winners and finalists

  *   Winners and joint winners   +   No winner selected

Best Cover Artist

Best Cover Artist

Year	Artist	Ref.
1953	Hannes Bok and Ed Emshwiller*	[4]

Best Interior Illustrator

Best Interior Illustrator

Year	Artist	Ref.
1953	Virgil Finlay*	[4]

Excellence in Fact Articles

Excellence in Fact Articles

Year	Author	Ref.
1953	Willy Ley*	[4]

Best New SF Author or Artist

Best New SF Author or Artist

Year	Author/Artist	Ref.
1953	Philip José Farmer*	[4]

#1 Fan Personality

#1 Fan Personality

Year	Fan	Ref.
1953	Forrest J Ackerman*	[4]

Sometimes referred to as the "BNF Award". According to an interim report issued by the Philcon II convention committee while voting was still going on, the next most popular candidate to Ackerman at the time was Harlan Ellison. When Ackerman was handed the trophy at Philcon II (by Isaac Asimov), he actually physically declined, saying it should go to Ken Slater, to whom the trophy was later forwarded by the con committee.^[29]

Best Feature Writer

Best Feature Writer

Year	Writer	Ref.
1956	Willy Ley*	[5]
	L. Sprague de Camp	[5]
	Robert A. Madle	[5]
	Rog Phillips	[5]
	Robert S. Richardson	[5]

Best Book Reviewer

Best Book Reviewer

Year	Reviewer	Ref.
1956	Damon Knight*	[5]
	Henry Bott	[5]
	P. Schuyler Miller	[5]
	Anthony Boucher	[5]
	Groff Conklin	[5]
	Villers Gerson	[5]
	Floyd Gale	[5]
	Hans Stefan Santesson	[5]

Most Promising New Author

Most Promising New Author

Year	Author	Ref.
1956	Robert Silverberg*	[5]
	Harlan Ellison	[5]
	Frank Herbert	[5]
	Henry Still	[5]

Outstanding Actifan

Outstanding Actifan

Year	Fan	Ref.
1958	Walt Willis*	[6]

Best New Author

Best New Author

Year	Author	Ref.
1959	(no award)+	[7]
	Brian Aldiss	[7]
	Pauline Ashwell	[7]
	Rosel George Brown	[7]
	Louis Charbonneau	[7]
	Kit Reed	[7]

Best SF Book Publisher

Best SF Book Publisher

Year	Publisher	Ref.
1964	Ace Books*	[30]
	Pyramid Books	[30]
	Ballantine Books	[30]
	Doubleday	[30]
1965	Ballantine Books*	[11]
	Ace Books	[11]
	Victor Gollancz Ltd	[11]
	Pyramid Books	[11]

Best All-Time Series

Best All-Time Series

Year	Series	Author	Ref.
1966	Foundation*	Isaac Asimov	[12]
	Barsoom	Edgar Rice Burroughs	[12]
	Future History	Robert A. Heinlein	[12]
	Lensmen	E. E. Smith	[12]
	The Lord of the Rings	J. R. R. Tolkien	[12]

Other Forms

Other Forms

Year	Work	Creator(s)	Publisher	Ref.
1988	Watchmen*	Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons	DC Comics	[15]
	Wild Cards	George R. R. Martin	Bantam Spectra	[15]
	I, Robot: The Movie	Harlan Ellison	Asimov's Science Fiction	[15]
	The Essential Ellison: A 35-Year Retrospective	Harlan Ellison, Terry Dowling, Richard Delap, and Gil Lamont	Nemo Press	[15]
	Cvltvre Made Stvpid	Tom Weller	Houghton Mifflin	[15]

Best Original Art Work

Best Original Art Work

Year	Artwork	Artist(s)	Publisher	Ref.
1990	Cover of Rimrunners*	Don Maitz	Questar	[31]
	Cover of Hyperion	Gary Ruddell	Doubleday	[31]
	Cover of Paradise	Michael Whelan	Tor Books	[31]
	Cover of The Renegades of Pern	Michael Whelan	Del Rey Books	[31]
	Cover of Quozl	James Gurney	Ace Books	[31]
	Cover of The Stress of Her Regard	James Gurney	Ace Books	[31]
1992	Cover of The Summer Queen*	Michael Whelan	Warner Books	[32]
	Cover of Stations of the Tide	Bob Eggleton	Asimov's Science Fiction	[32]
	Cover of The White Mists of Power	Thomas Canty	Roc Books	[32]
	Cover of Heavy Time	Don Maitz	Questar	[32]
	Cover of Lunar Descent	Bob Eggleton	Ace Books	[32]
1993	Dinotopia*	James Gurney	Turner Publishing Company	[33]
	Cover of Aristoi	Jim Burns	Tor Books	[33]
	Portrait of Isaac Asimov	Michael Whelan	Asimov's Science Fiction	[33]
	Cover of Bridges	Ron Walotsky	Fantasy & Science Fiction	[33]
	Cover of Illusion	Michael Whelan	Bantam Spectra	[33]
1994	Space Fantasy Commemorative Stamp Booklet*	Stephen Hickman	United States Postal Service	[34]
	Cover of The Little Things	Thomas Canty	Fantasy & Science Fiction	[34]
	Cover of Cold Iron	Keith Parkinson	Asimov's Science Fiction	[34]
1995	Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book*	Brian Froud and Terry Jones	Pavilion Books	[35]
	Cover of Foreigner	Michael Whelan	DAW Books	[35]
	Cover of Gun, with Occasional Music	Michael Koelsch	Harcourt Brace	[35]
1996	Dinotopia: The World Beneath*	James Gurney	Turner Publishing Company	[36]
	Cover of Tide of Stars	Bob Eggleton	Analog Science Fiction and Fact	[36]
	Cover of Tea and Hamsters	Gary Lippincott	Fantasy & Science Fiction	[36]
	Cover of Dankden	Bob Eggleton	Fantasy & Science Fiction	[36]
	Cover of Renascence	George H. Krauter	Analog Science Fiction and Fact	[36]

Best Web Site

Best Web Site

Year	Website	Editor(s)	Ref.
2002	Locus Online (www.locusmag.com)*	Mark R. Kelly	[19]
	Sci Fiction (www.scifi.com)	Craig Engler	[19]
	SF Site (www.sfsite.com)	Rodger Turner	[19]
	Strange Horizons (www.strangehorizons.com)	Mary Anne Mohanraj	[19]
	Tangent Online (www.tangentonline.com)	Dave Truesdale and Tobias S. Buckell	[19]
2005	Sci Fiction (www.scifi.com/scifiction)*	Ellen Datlow	[20]
	Locus Online (www.locusmag.com)	Mark R. Kelly	[20]
	Emerald City (www.emcit.com)	Cheryl Morgan	[20]
	Strange Horizons (www.strangehorizons.com)	Susan Marie Groppi	[20]
	eFanzines (www.efanzines.com)	Bill Burns	[20]

Best Art Book

Best Art Book

Year	Book	Artist(s)	Publisher	Ref.
2019	The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition*	Charles Vess (illustrator), Ursula K. Le Guin (author)	Saga Press / Victor Gollancz Ltd	[22]
	Daydreamer's Journey: The Art of Julie Dillon	Julie Dillon	self-published	[22]
	Dungeons & Dragons Art & Arcana: A Visual History	Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson, and Sam Witwer	Ten Speed Press	[22]
	Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art	John Fleskes (editor)	Flesk Publications	[22]
	Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – The Art of the Movie	Ramin Zahed	Titan Books	[22]
	Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth	Catherine McIlwaine (editor)	Bodleian Library	[22]

Best Poem

Best Poem

Year	Poem	Author	Publisher	Ref.
2025	Calypso	Oliver K. Langmead	Titan Books	[25]
	"Ever Noir"	Mari Ness	Haven Spec Magazine	[25]
	"there are no taxis for the dead"	Angela Liu	Uncanny Magazine	[25]
	"A War of Words"	Marie Brennan	Strange Horizons	[25]
	"We Drink Lava"	Ai Jiang	Uncanny Magazine	[25]
	"Your Visiting Dragon"	Devan Barlow	Strange Horizons	[25]