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Hugo Award for Best Related Work

Annual awards for science fiction or fantasy non-fiction


Annual awards for science fiction or fantasy non-fiction

FieldValue
nameHugo Award for Best Related Work
awarded_forThe best work related to the field of science fiction, fantasy, or fandom, published in the prior calendar year and which is either non-fiction or noteworthy primarily for aspects other than the fictional text
presenterWorld Science Fiction Society
year1980
holderJordan S. Carroll (Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right)
holder_labelMost recent winner
websitethehugoawards.org

The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".

It was originally titled the Hugo Award for Best Non-Fiction Book and was first awarded in 1980. In 1998 the Award was retitled to the Hugo Award for Best Related Book, and eligibility was officially expanded to fiction works that were primarily noteworthy for reasons besides their fictional aspects. In 2010, the title of the award was again changed, to the Hugo Award for Best Related Work. 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. The Retro Best Related Work Hugo was awarded for 1954, 50 years later, but had not been awarded for any other year due to insufficient nominations, eventually reappearing in 2020 for 1945.

During the 48 nomination years, 254 individuals and 2 organizations have had works as finalists; 60 people and 1 organization have won, including co-authors and Retro Hugos. John Clute has won four times; once by himself, once with John Grant as a co-author, once with Peter Nicholls, and once with Nicholls, David Langford, and Graham Sleight. Nicholls has won a third time, and Grant has won a second time, sharing the award with his co-authors Elizabeth L. Humphrey and Pamela D. Scoville. Thomas Disch and Ursula K. Le Guin have also won twice, both without co-authors; no other author has won more than once. The Organization for Transformative Works was the organization that won, for its Archive of Our Own fanwork repository, while the Reddit r/Fantasy Bingo team was a finalist for their 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge. Cathy and Arnie Fenner have has final ballot nominations eight times for their work on writing and editing the Spectrum: The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art series, both the most nominations received by any author/editor and the most nominations without winning. Clute has been nominated seven times and Farah Mendlesohn seven times with one win; Le Guin five times with two wins; Isaac Asimov and Langford four times with one win; and Mike Resnick four times with no wins. The Writing Excuses team, consisting of Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Tayler, Mary Robinette Kowal, and Jordan Sanderson, have been nominated four times and won once. Seven other authors have been nominated three times. Many of these writers, editors, and artists have won Hugos in other categories, from Fan Writer to Best Novel.

Selection

Hugo Award nominees and winners are chosen by supporting or attending members of the annual non-profit 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. The works on the ballot are the six most-nominated by members that year, with no limit on the number of works that can be nominated. 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. 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 near the start of September, and are held in a different city around the world each year. Members are permitted to vote "no award", if they feel that none of the finalists 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. This happened in the Best Related Work category in 2015 and 2016.

Winners and finalists

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 yellow background and an asterisk (*) next to the author's name have won the award; those with a gray background are the finalists on the short-list.

  • Winners and joint winners
  • No winner selected
YearAuthor(s)WorkPublisher or publicationRef.1980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
*Doubleday
In Memory Yet GreenDoubleday
Barlowe's Guide to ExtraterrestrialsWorkman Publishing Company
Wonderworks
Putnam Publishing Group
*CosmosRandom House
In Joy Still FeltDoubleday
Dream MakersBerkley Books
Di Fate's Catalog of Science Fiction HardwareWorkman Publishing Company
Warhoon 28 (The Writings of Walter A. Willis)Richard Bergeron
*Danse MacabreEverest Publishing
Ballantine Books
Workman Publishing Company
After Man: A Zoology of the FutureMacmillan Publishers
Anatomy of Wonder, 2nd EditionR.R. Bowker
*Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science FictionOxford University Press
Alfred A. Knopf
Avon Publications
Doubleday
Fear Itself: The Horror Fiction of Stephen KingUnderwood-Miller
*Advent
Bantam Books
Dream Makers, Volume IIBerkley Books
Staying Alive: A Writer's Guide
Pocket Books
*Wonder's Child: My Life in Science FictionBluejay Books
Analog Science Fact & Fiction
Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean BedBorgo Press
In the Heart or in the Head: An Essay in Time TravelAnalog Science Fact & Fiction
Berkley Putnam
*Science Made StupidHoughton Mifflin Harcourt
AC Projects
Benchmarks: Galaxy BookshelfSouthern Illinois University Press
Serconia Press
Faces of Fear: Encounters with the Creators of Modern HorrorBerkley Books
*Trillion Year SpreeVictor Gollancz Ltd
*
Batman: The Dark Knight ReturnsDC Comics
Industrial Light and MagicDel Rey Books
Science Fiction In Print: 1985Locus Press
Only Apparently Real: The World of Philip K. DickArbor House
*Michael Whelan's Works of WonderDel Rey Books
Imagination: The Art & Technique of David A. CherryStarblaze Graphics
Crown Publishing Group
Anatomy of Wonder, 3rd EditionR.R. Bowker
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1986Locus Press
*Arbor House
First MaitzUrsus Publishing
Viking Press
Greenwood Publishing Group
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1987Locus Press
*J. P. Tarcher
*
Grumbles from the GraveDel Rey Books
Dancing at the Edge of the WorldGrove Press
Astounding DaysVictor Gollancz Ltd
Harlan Ellison's WatchingUnderwood-Miller
Noreascon 3 Souvenir BookMassachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc
*How to Write Science Fiction and FantasyWriter's Digest
Science Fiction in the Real WorldSouthern Illinois University Press
Science Fiction Writers of America HandbookWriter's Notebook Press
Bury My Heart at W.H. Smith'sHodder & Stoughton
Hollywood GothicW. W. Norton & Company
*Alfred A. Knopf
Science-Fiction: The Early YearsKent State University Press
Mirage Press
(SF)3
Clive Barker's Shadows in EdenUnderwood-Miller
*SCIFI Press
Let's Hear It for the Deaf ManNESFA Press
Virgil Finlay's Women of the AgesUnderwood-Miller
Lark Books
Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular MythUniversity of Pennsylvania Press
Monad Number TwoPulphouse Publishing
*Orbit Books
*
Bantam Spectra
Once Around the Bloch: An Unauthorized AutobiographyTor Books
Understanding Comics: The Invisible ArtTundra Books
PITFCS: Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century StudiesAdvent
*I. Asimov: A MemoirDoubleday
Fantagraphics Books
Silent Interviews: On Language, Race, Sex, Science Fiction, and Some ComicsUniversity Press of New England
Making BookNESFA Press
Underwood Books
*Science Fiction: The Illustrated EncyclopediaDorling Kindersley
Yours, Isaac AsimovDoubleday
Alien Horizons: The Fantastic Art of Bob EggletonPaper Tiger Books
Underwood Books
To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science FictionIndiana University Press
*Time & Chance: An AutobiographyDonald M. Grant
Vista Books
Look at the EvidenceSerconia Press
NESFA Press
Tor Books
*Orbit Books
*
Infinite Worlds: The Fantastic Visions of Science Fiction ArtPenguin Studio
Space TravelWriter's Digest Books
Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science-Fiction, Science and Other MattersUnderwood Books
Underwood Books
*Free Press
NESFA Press
Science-Fiction: The Gernsback YearsKent State University Press
Advent
Underwood Books
*Science Fiction of the 20th CenturyCollector's Press
Vertigo
Ebury Publishing
Underwood Books
Minicon 34 Restaurant GuideRune Press
*Greetings from Earth: The Art of Bob EggletonPaper Tiger Books
*
Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's CompanionNitrosyncretic Press
Concordance to Cordwainer Smith, Third EditionNESFA Press
Terry Pratchett: Guilty of LiteratureScience Fiction Foundation
Putting It Together: Turning Sow's Ear Drafts Into Silk Purse StoriesWildside Press
*Paper Tiger Books
*
*
Being Gardner DozoisOld Earth Books
J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the CenturyHarperCollins
Meditations on Middle-earthSt. Martin's Press
Paper Tiger Books
I Have This Nifty Idea...Now What Do I Do With It?Wildside Press
*Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith MerrilBetween the Lines
*
Ray Bradbury: An Illustrated LifeWilliam Morrow and Company
DragonhengePaper Tiger Books
Underwood Books
Wesleyan University Press
*Artist's and Photographer's Press
*
*
(editor)Night Shade Books
(editor)
Underwood Books
Dreamer of Dune: The Biography of Frank HerbertTor Books
Scores: Reviews 1993–2003Beccon Publications
Master Storyteller: An Illustrated Tour of the Fiction of L. Ron HubbardGalaxy Press
*Cambridge University Press
*
With Stars in My Eyes: My Adventures in British FandomNESFA Press
Futures: 50 Years in Space: The Challenge of the StarsArtists' and Photographers' Press
Dancing Naked: The Unexpurgated William Tenn, Volume 3NESFA Press
Tachyon Publications
*Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More from 27 Years of the Clarion Writers' WorkshopSmall Beer Press
Transformations: The Story of the Science Fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970Liverpool University Press
Cosmos
Science Fiction QuotationsYale University Press
Soundings, Reviews 1992–1996Beccon Publications
*James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. SheldonSt. Martin's Press
Worldcon Guest of Honor SpeechesISFiC Press
Heinlein's Children: The JuvenilesAdvent
About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, and Five InterviewsWesleyan University Press
Cover Story: The Art of John PicacioMonkeyBrain Books
*Brave New Words: the Oxford Dictionary of Science FictionOxford University Press
Breakfast in the Ruins: Science Fiction in the Last MillenniumBaen Books
Kent State University Press
Emshwiller: Infinity x TwoNonstop Press
Arthur A. Levine Books
*Your Hate Mail Will be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, 1998–2008Subterranean Press
Rhetorics of FantasyWesleyan University Press
What Is It We Do When We Read Science FictionBeccon Publications
Baen Books
Underwood Books
*This is Me, Jack Vance! (Or, More Properly, This is "I")Subterranean Press
Canary Fever: ReviewsBeccon Publications
Hope-In-The-Mist: The Extraordinary Career and Mysterious Life of Hope MirrleesTemporary Culture
McFarland & Company
On Joanna RussWesleyan University Press
Aqueduct Press
*Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love ItMad Norwegian Press
*
Bearings: Reviews 1997-2001Beccon Publications
McFarland & Company
Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century, Volume 1: (1907–1948): Learning CurveTor Books
Writing Excuses, Season 4Writing Excuses
*Victor Gollancz Ltd
*
*
*
Jar Jar Binks Must Die…and other Observations about Science Fiction MoviesFantastic Books
Abrams Image
Wicked GirlsSeanan McGuire
Writing Excuses, Season 6Writing Excuses
*Writing Excuses, Season 7Writing Excuses
*
*
*
*
Cambridge University Press
Chicks Dig Comics: A Celebration of Comic Books by the Women Who Love ThemMad Norwegian Press
Chicks Unravel Time: Women Journey Through Every Season of Doctor WhoMad Norwegian Press
I Have an Idea for a Book... The Bibliography of Martin H. GreenbergBattered Silicon Dispatch Box
*
Queers Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the LGBTQ Fans Who Love ItMad Norwegian Press
Speculative Fiction 2012: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and CommentaryJurassic London
Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative FictionAbrams Image
Writing Excuses, Season 8Writing Excuses
(no award)+
Riding the Red Horse (Castalia House)
Letters from GardnerThe Merry Blacksmith Press
Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful TruthCastalia House
Baen.com
Wisdom from My InternetPatriarchy Press
(no award)+
Between Light and Shadow: An Exploration of the Fiction of Gene Wolfe, 1951 to 1986Castalia House
jeffro.wordpress.com
castaliahouse.com
SJWs Always Lie: Taking Down the Thought PoliceCastalia House
askthebigot.com
*Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books, 2000-2016Small Beer Press
**Tor Books
**Blue Rider Press
Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert SilverbergFairwood
**William Morrow
Tor.com
*No Time to Spare: Thinking About What MattersHoughton Mifflin Harcourt
Crash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online HatePublicAffairs
Iain M. Banks (Modern Masters of Science Fiction)University of Illinois Press
**NESFA Press
Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. ButlerTwelfth Planet Press
Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and FantasyAqueduct Press
Organization for Transformative Works*Archive of Our OwnSelf-published
Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science FictionDey Street Books
Self-published via YouTube
Tor Books
www.mexicanxinitiative.com: The Mexicanx Initiative at Worldcon 76Self-published
Ursula K. Le Guin: Conversations on WritingTin House Books
*"2019 John W. Campbell Award Acceptance Speech"Jeannette Ng
Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to HollywoodHarper Voyager
Joanna RussUniversity of Illinois Press
Hanover Square Press
Unbound
Worlds of Ursula K. Le GuinArwen Curry
*Beowulf: A New TranslationFarrar, Straus and Giroux
CoNZealand FringeSelf-published
C
FIYAHCONSelf-published
"George R.R. Martin Can Fuck Off into the Sun; Or, The 2020 Hugo Awards Ceremony (Rageblog Edition)"Pretty Terrible
Angel City Press
Self-published via YouTube
*Never Say You Can't SurviveTordotcom Publishing
Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman's Fight to End AbleismTiller Press
Self-published
(editor)Dangerous Visions and New Worlds: Radical Science Fiction, 1950 to 1985PM Press
(editor)
Vox
True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan LeeCrown
*Terry Pratchett: A Life with FootnotesDoubleday
Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury RoadWilliam Morrow
Buffalito World Outreach ProjectPaper Golem
Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, Volume 1Chengdu Times Press
Tor.com
Still Just a Geek: An Annotated MemoirWilliam Morrow
*Penguin Press / Particular Books
*
All These Worlds: Reviews & EssaysBriardene Books
Chinese Science Fiction: An Oral History, Volumes 2 and 38-Light Minutes Culture / Chengdu Time Press
Orbit Books
Discover XTina Wong
Luna Press Publishing
(editor)
*Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-RightUniversity of Minnesota Press
Charting the Cliff: An Investigation into the 2023 Hugo Nomination StatisticsFile770
r/Fantasy's 2024 Bingo Reading Challenger/Fantasy on Reddit
The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars HotelSelf-published via YouTube
Track ChangesBriardene Books
The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and ExclusionGenre Grapevine/File770

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 in which no awards were originally given. The Hugo Award for Best Related Work has only been retroactively awarded twice, in 2004 and 2020; all other years it was not on the ballot or was dropped due to insufficient response.

YearYear awardedAuthor(s)WorkPublisherRef.1945202019542004
*Writer's Digest
FancyclopediaForrest J. Ackerman
42 To 44: A Contemporary Memoir Upon Human Behavior During the Crisis of the World RevolutionSecker & Warburg
Mr. Tompkins Explores the AtomCambridge University Press
Rockets: The Future of Travel Beyond the StratosphereViking Press
*Conquest of the MoonViking Press
*
*
Science-Fiction HandbookHermitage Press
Modern Science Fiction: Its Making and FutureCoward-McCann

Notes

References

References

  1. "1997 WSFS Business Meeting Minutes". World Science Fiction Society.
  2. Docherty, Vincent. (2009-12-07). "Eligibility of online works under the amended Hugo Award rules". [[File 770]].
  3. "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Hugo Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
  4. Jordison, Sam. (2008-08-07). "An International Contest We Can Win". [[The Guardian]].
  5. Cleaver, Emily. (2010-04-20). "Hugo Awards Announced". Litro Magazine.
  6. (July 19, 2007). "The Hugo Awards: FAQ". World Science Fiction Society.
  7. "The Locus index to SF Awards: About the Retro Hugo Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
  8. (July 18, 2007). "The Hugo Awards: Introduction". World Science Fiction Society.
  9. "Worldcon 75: 2017 Hugo report #2". Worldcon 75.
  10. "World Science Fiction Society / Worldcon". World Science Fiction Society.
  11. (July 26, 2007). "1980 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  12. (July 26, 2007). "1981 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  13. (July 26, 2007). "1982 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  14. (July 26, 2007). "1983 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  15. (July 26, 2007). "1984 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  16. (July 26, 2007). "1985 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  17. (July 26, 2007). "1986 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  18. "1987 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  19. (July 26, 2007). "1988 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  20. (July 26, 2007). "1989 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  21. (July 26, 2007). "1990 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  22. (July 26, 2007). "1991 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  23. (July 26, 2007). "1992 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  24. (July 26, 2007). "1993 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  25. (July 28, 2007). "1994 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  26. (July 26, 2007). "1995 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  27. (July 26, 2007). "1996 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  28. (July 26, 2007). "1997 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  29. (July 26, 2007). "1998 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  30. (July 26, 2007). "1999 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  31. (July 26, 2007). "2000 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  32. (July 26, 2007). "2001 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  33. (July 26, 2007). "2002 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  34. (July 26, 2007). "2003 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  35. (July 24, 2007). "2004 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  36. (July 24, 2007). "2005 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  37. (July 25, 2007). "2006 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  38. (August 9, 2007). "2007 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  39. (August 13, 2008). "2008 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  40. (August 18, 2009). "2009 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  41. (November 10, 2010). "2010 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  42. "2011 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  43. "2012 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  44. (December 22, 2012). "2013 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  45. (April 18, 2014). "2014 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  46. (March 31, 2015). "2015 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  47. (December 29, 2015). "2016 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  48. (December 31, 2016). "2017 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  49. (2018-03-15). "2018 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  50. (2019-09-18). "2019 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  51. (2020-04-07). "2020 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  52. (2021-12-18). "2021 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  53. (2022-09-04). "2022 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  54. (2023-07-06). "2023 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  55. (2024-03-29). "2024 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  56. (2025-08-17). "2025 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  57. (April 7, 2020). "1945 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  58. (July 26, 2007). "1954 Retro Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
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