The Hugo Award for Best Novel is one of the
Hugo Awards given each year for
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
or
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...
stories published in, or translated to, English during the previous calendar year. The
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
award is available for works of fiction of 40,000 words or more; awards are also given out in the
short story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
,
novelette
Novelette may also refer to:
* ''Novelette'' (ballet), a solo modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham
* Novelette (music), a short piece of lyrical music
* Novelette (literature), a work of narrative prose fiction that is longer than a ...
, and
novella categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction", and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
The Hugo Award for Best Novel has been awarded annually by the World Science Fiction Society since 1953, except in 1954 and 1957. In addition, beginning in 1996, Retrospective Hugo Awards or "Retro-Hugos" have been available for works published 50, 75, or 100 years prior. Retro-Hugos may only be awarded for years after 1939 in which no awards were originally given.
To date, Retro-Hugo awards have been given for novels for 1939, 1941, 1943–1946, 1951, and 1954.
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 final selection process is defined in the World Science Fiction Society Constitution as
instant-runoff voting
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method. It uses a majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referred to as ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the U ...
with six nominees, except in the case of a tie. The novels on the ballot are the six most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of stories that can be nominated. The 1953, 1955, and 1958 awards did not include a recognition of runner-up novels, but since 1959 all final candidates have been recorded.
Initial nominations are made by members from January through March, while voting on the ballot of six nominations is performed roughly from April through July, subject to change depending on when that year's Worldcon is held.
Prior to 2017, the final ballot was five works; it was changed that year to six, with each initial nominator limited to five nominations.
Worldcons are generally held in August or early September, and are held in a different city around the world each year.
During the 76 nomination years, 163 authors have had works nominated and 52 have won (including co-authors, ties, and Retro-Hugos). Two translators have been noted along with the author of a novel written in a language other than English:
Ken Liu, in 2015 and 2017, for his Chinese translations; and
Rita Barisse
Rita Barisse (12 May 1917 – 25 April 2001) was a British journalist, writer and translator. She was the second wife of the writer Jean Bruller, also known as Vercors, and collaborated with him on works released under that pen name.
Biography ...
, in 2019, who was retroactively noted as the translator of a 1963 French novel.
Robert A. Heinlein has won the most Hugos for Best Novel, and also received the most nominations; he has six wins (four Hugos and two Retro-Hugos) on twelve nominations.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is an acclaimed writer, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her no ...
has received four Hugos on ten nominations. Five authors have won three times:
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...
and
Fritz Leiber (with two Hugos and one Retro-Hugo each),
N. K. Jemisin,
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards tha ...
, and
Vernor Vinge. Nine other authors have won the award twice. The next-most nominations by a winning author are held by
Robert J. Sawyer and
Larry Niven, who have been nominated nine and eight times, respectively, and have each only won once. With nine nominations,
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand ...
has the greatest number of nominations without winning any. Three authors have won the award in consecutive years:
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for bo ...
(1986 and 1987), Lois McMaster Bujold (1991 and 1992), and N. K. Jemisin (2016, 2017, and 2018).
Winners and nominees
In the following table, the years correspond to the date of the ceremony, rather than when the novel was first published. Each year links to the corresponding "year in literature". Entries with a blue background have won the award; those with a white background are the nominees on the short-list.
* Winners and joint winners
Retro-Hugos
Beginning with the
1996 Worldcon, the World Science Fiction Society created the concept of "Retro-Hugos", in which the Hugo award could be retroactively awarded for 50, 75, or 100 years prior. Retro-Hugos may only be awarded for years after 1939 (the year of the first
Worldcon) in which no Hugos were originally awarded.
Retro-Hugos have been awarded eight times, for 1939, 1941, 1943–46, 1951, and 1954.
See also
*
Nebula Award for Best Novel
*
List of joint winners of the Hugo and Nebula awards
*
Locus Award for Best Novel
Notes
References
External links
Hugo Award official siteOriginal proposal for the award in Philcon II program book
{{Hugo Award Best Novel
1953 establishments in the United States
American fiction awards
Awards established in 1953
Novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...