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Hugo and Nebula Awards

I am a fairly avid reader of science fiction novels. But, although I have heard of the terms 'Hugo Award Winning Novelist' and 'Nebula Award Winner', I really did not know what these awards represented. I thought they were just prominent SF awards...and had no idea how people were awarded one.

Until now.

It's so simple. As the Greenhorn comic says "Hugos grow down from the ceiling and Nebulas grow up...oh, wait..." Heh - OK, maybe there are more people than I thought that do not know what these awards are.

So, to be official, I looked up both awards with the hope that I would glean some insight.

Hugo Award

"The Hugo Award is given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year in several categories...Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the annual Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention; however only about 700 of several thousand attendees actually vote) and the presentation evening constitutes its central point."

Nebula Award

"The Nebula is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years..."

So, to summarize, the Hugo is voted on at WorldCon every year, while the Nebula is voted on by the SFWA, using a slightly more arcane method of rolling eligibility. So, other than the group of electors, the awards are the same - they simply honor good Sci-Fi. And, even though I laughed at the stalactite/stalagmite joke in the cartoon, I think it is a good thing. If the award causes me to pick up a Sci-Fi book that I normally would have passed over, it has done its job.

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Posted by Fred on March 12, 2007 2:15 PM
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Near enough.

World SF Conventions ["Worldcons"] are site selected by the attendees of the Worldcon three years previous. Attendees pay to make this vote, and the winner takes all.

For example, in 2004 Worldcon was held in Boston. As an attendee, I voted for Columbus, Ohio, as the 2007 site.

We lost our bid but I became a de facto and de jure member of the winner Yokohama, Japan.

Therefore, I qualify as a supporting member of Worldcon 2007.

Members of the forthcoming Worldcon and of the previous year's Worldcon [in this case, 2006 in Anaheim] nominate in January/February for the final Hugo ballot.

Usually in June, members of the current Worldcon vote their ballots and the awards [kept secret until the ceremony] are presented to the recipients or their delegates.

This is somewhat like the People's Choice Awards except one has to put one's money where one's mouth is. Presupport, attendee membership, attendee costs [hotels, transportation, etc.], and voting fees can easily run to over a thousand dollars.

It's surprising that more of the usual 5,000 - 10,000 attendees don't vote after investing a majority of the expense in showing up, but it benefits the awards that only the most serious SF readers and viewers complete the process.

The Nebula Awards are more like the Academy Awards in that one must be a full, published member of the Science Fiction Writers of America [SFWA] to qualify to vote.

JJB

-- Posted by: JJ Brannon at March 29, 2007 1:47 PM

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