You do not have to attend Chicon 7 or have an attending membership in order to vote. A supporting membership is sufficient. Members of last year or next year’s Worldcons were able to participate in the nominations process, but are not eligible to vote on the final ballot (unless they are members of Chicon 7, of course.)

We have as yet received no official word about a Hugo Voter Packet of nominated works; however, informal reports indicate that Chicon 7 is working on this and will make an announcement when such a package is available.

For more information about the 2012 Hugo Awards, see the Chicon 7 Hugo Awards page. If you have specific questions about this year’s Hugo Awards process, contact Chicon 7’s Hugo Administrators directly through Chicon 7’s website. If you send your questions to us here at TheHugoAwards.org, we will forward them to Chicon 7, but there may be a delay in getting your question to the right people.

The UStream channels will be opened shortly before the start of the announcement, giving you the opportunity to follow whichever location’s broadcast you prefer. If you’re attending one of those conventions, check your convention’s schedule for details of where the announcements will be presented. Otherwise, pick the one you want to watch:

• Norwescon 35, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction and fantasy conventions, at Seatac, WA (1 PM PDT). With Special Guest John Picacio. Ustream channel www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-nominee-announcement-live-from-norwescon.
• Leprecon 38, Arizona’s annual science fiction and fantasy convention, at Tempe, AZ (1 PM MST). With Special Guest Joe Haldeman. Ustream channel www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-nominee-announcement-live-from-leprecon.
• Minicon 47, Minnesota’s longest-running science fiction convention, at Bloomington, MN (3 PM CDT). With guest Chris Garcia. Ustream channel www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-nominee-announcement-live-from-minicon.
• Marcon 47, the Midwest’s largest annual convention, at Columbus, OH (4 PM EDT). Ustream channel www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-nominee-announcement-live-from-marcon.
• Olympus 2012, the British National Science Fiction Convention (Eastercon) (9 PM BST). With Chicon 7 Chair Dave McCarty and Special Guest George R.R. Martin. Ustream channel www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-nominee-announcement-live-from-eastercon.

The 2012 Hugo Awards will be presented at Chicon 7, the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention, August 30 to September 3, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. All members of Chicon 7 (both attending and supporting) will be eligible to vote on the 2012 Hugo Awards.

The 2012 Hugo Award nominations will be announced on Saturday, April 7 starting at 3:00 PM Central Daylight Time in an announcement ceremony planned to be held simultaneously at these five separate SF conventions:

• Norwescon 35, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction and fantasy conventions, at Seatac, WA (1 PM. PDT)
• Leprecon 38, Arizona’s annual science fiction and fantasy convention, at Tempe, AZ (1 PM MST)
• Minicon 47, Minnesota’s longest-running science fiction convention, at Bloomington, MN (3 PM CDT)
• Marcon 47, the Midwest’s largest annual convention, at Columbus, OH (4 PM EDT)
• Olympus 2012, the British National Science Fiction Convention (Eastercon) (9 PM BST)

Chicon 7 representatives will be joined for the announcement by special guests including authors George RR Martin at Eastercon and Joe Haldeman at Leprecon, and artist John Picacio at Norwescon.

Chicon 7 plans to broadcast the Hugo Award Nomination Announcements live on UStream. We will post the details of how to follow the results live online when Chicon 7 makes them available. We will, of course, post the nominations here on TheHugoAwards.org shortly after they are published.

More information is available in the full announcement at the Chicon 7 web site.

The 2012 Hugo Awards are being administered by the 2012 Worldcon, Chicon 7. See the Chicon 7 Hugo Awards web site for additional details. Contact Chicon 7 with any questions about the administration of the 2012 Hugo Awards, particularly questions requiring urgent replies and voter-eligibility inquiries. Questions directed to TheHugoAwards.org may be subject to delay as we have to forward them to Chicon 7, and we cannot be responsible for such delays.

Your ballot must arrive by the deadline on March 11. Note that Daylight Savings Time takes effect in most of the United States on March 11. We recommend not waiting until the last minute to cast your ballot.

For additional information, see the full announcement from Chicon 7 about the nominating deadline.

Chicon 7 has exercised its right under the WSFS Constitution to add a Special Category for 2012. The additional award category is Best Fancast, defined as “Any non-professional audio- or video-casting with at least four (4) episodes that had at least one (1) episode released in 2011.” (There is an amendment to the WSFS Constitution pending ratification at Chicon 7 that would make Best Fancast a permanent category.)

If you are eligible to nominate, you may cast a nominating ballot through the Chicon Hugo Nominating Website or by paper ballot by mail. No matter which method you use to vote, Chicon 7 must receive your ballot (postmarks/timestamps do not count) by Sunday, March 11, 2012, 23:59 Pacific Daylight Time. (Convert to your local time here.)

If you have questions about specific procedures for the 2012 Hugo Awards, address them to the Chicon 7 Hugo Awards Administrators. TheHugoAwards.org cannot answer specific questions about eligibility or procedures for a given election, since each Hugo Award election is administered by that year’s Worldcon.

Update, Jan 4: According to a statement posted by Jeff Orth on the File 770 web site, voter PINs (the code number required to cast your ballot online) “are being emailed to current members now. PR3 will be in the mail directly. You can also request a PIN at hugoadmin@chicon.org.”

Note: While this is a “nominating ballot,” and we say that you “nominate” people or works for a Hugo Award when you write them on the nominating ballot, only those people or works that appear on the final Hugo Award ballot later in the year are the actual “Hugo Award Nominees.” Merely writing a work in on your nominating ballot does not make that work a “Hugo Award Nominee” unless the work receives enough nominations from other Worldcon members to make the final ballot.

See the Chicon 7 web site for the official press release announcement.

BEST NOVEL

Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (Ballantine Spectra)

BEST NOVELLA

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (Subterranean)

BEST NOVELETTE

“The Emperor of Mars” by Allen M. Steele (Asimov’s, June 2010)

BEST SHORT STORY

“For Want of a Nail” by Mary Robinette Kowal (Asimov’s, September 2010)

BEST RELATED WORK

Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Tara O’Shea (Mad Norwegian)

BEST GRAPHIC STORY

Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse,
written by Phil and Kaja Foglio; art by Phil Foglio; colors by
Cheyenne Wright (Airship Entertainment)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, LONG FORM

Inception, written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Warner)

BEST DRAMATIC PRESENTATION, SHORT FORM

Doctor Who: “The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang,” written by Steven
Moffat; directed by Toby Haynes (BBC Wales)

BEST EDITOR, SHORT FORM

Sheila Williams

BEST EDITOR, LONG FORM

Lou Anders

BEST PROFESSIONAL ARTIST

Shaun Tan

BEST SEMIPROZINE

Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Cheryl Morgan, Sean Wallace;
podcast directed by Kate Baker

BEST FANZINE

The Drink Tank, edited by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon

BEST FAN WRITER

Claire Brialey

BEST FAN ARTIST

Brad W. Foster

JOHN W. CAMPBELL AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER

Award for the best new professional science fiction or fantasy writer
of 2009 or 2010, sponsored by Dell Magazines (not a Hugo Award).

Lev Grossman

The 2011 Hugo Award winners were announced on Saturday evening, August 20, at the Peppermill Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Jay Lake and Ken Scholes presided as masters of ceremony, with additional presenters including Renovation Guests of Honor Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo, and Ellen Asher, along with leading genre writers George R.R. Martin and Robert Silverberg.

The unique 2011 Hugo trophy base design was revealed at the ceremony by designer and Hugo base design contest winner Marina Gelineau.

See the Final Ballot Details for a full breakdown of votes, subsequent placements, and nomination counts.