Information for Publishers
Here are some common questions we get from publishers.
How Do The Awards Work?
The Hugos are fan-voted awards. All members of the World Science Fiction Society are eligible to vote. There are two stages. The initial nomination stage, usually taking place between January 1st and Easter, produces short lists. A second round of voting determines the final winners. The awards are presented at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). See here for a detailed explanation of the process.
What Books Are Eligible?
Basically anything published in the correct year that the voters think is either science fiction or fantasy. Where you publish doesn’t matter. The Hugos are international awards, and online works are eligible.
Note that there are no categories for anthologies or collections, but the stories in those works, if not previously published, will be eligible.
Don’t forget that your editors are also eligible for awards.
A full list of award categories, with further details on eligibility, can be found here.
How Do We Submit Our Books?
You don’t need to. The Hugos are fan-voted awards, so there is no jury to send works to. We do not charge for entry into the awards.
Can We Promote Our Books In Some Way?
During the nominations stage voters are keen to know what works are eligible. A post on your company blog listing all of your publications for the year would be helpful. Listing the name of the editor and the cover artist as well as the author would be very helpful. Your authors may like to make posts on their own blogs listing their eligible works.
Once the nominees have been announced voters will be keen to get hold of the nominated works. It has been a tradition for many years that nominated short fiction is posted free on line. More recently we have circulated a Voter Package containing digital copies, or samples from, of as many nominated works as we can negotiate rights to. While this is not a requirement for nominees it does probably influence the voters.
Tell Me More About This Voter Package
The Voter Package is made available for download by all registered voters. There is no requirement for formats, but as the package will be going to several thousand people it is advisable to use something widely used. Content needs to be DRM-free.
Each year’s Hugo Awards are administered by that year’s Worldcon. If a work of yours is nominated, they will be in touch with you to ask about inclusion in the Voter Package.
Are There Sponsorship or Advertising Opportunities?
The Hugo Awards do not sell naming rights. However, individual Worldcons generally have a range of sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Here are some examples.
Traditionally two major parties take place at Worldcon on the evening of the Hugo Award ceremony: one before the ceremony and one afterwards. These may be open to sponsorship.
Some Worldcons also have sponsorship and advertising opportunities at the ceremony itself – for example movie trailer style advertising to keep the audience amused as the hall is filling up.
Each Worldcon produces a glossy souvenir book given to all members. It has become traditional for publishers to take out advertising in this, congratulating nominated writers.
Some Worldcons also produce a small souvenir program to give to members who attend the award ceremony. This may also carry advertising.
Can We Use The Hugos To Promote Our Books?
Of course you can. We very much hope that being nominated for, and winning, Hugo Awards will help sell lots of books.
If you want to do blog posts congratulating your authors, or decorate feature web pages for successful books, we have a logo that you can download.
For books that have won a Hugo we have a special version of the logo denoting that work as a winner that can be used on book covers. Please contact us if you are interested in using this.