2020 Worldcon to Present Retrospective Hugo Awards

The 2020 Worldcon, CoNZealand, will present Retrospective Hugo Awards for the year 1945, for works of science fiction and fantasy first published or appearing in 1944, according to an announcement posted on the CoNZealand web site.

Retrospective Hugo Awards (“Retro-Hugos”) are authorized by the World Science Fiction Society for Hugo Awards held an exact multiple of 25 years prior to the current Worldcon, provided that no Hugo Awards or Retrospective Hugo Awards were already presented for that year. Retro-Hugos cannot be presented for years prior to 1939. A rule change ratified at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki opened up Retro-Hugos to the the “WW II Gap” from 1942-1945, during which no Worldcons were held. Previously, only years in which a Worldcon was held were eligible for Retro-Hugos. As with the “regular” Hugo Awards, Retrospective Hugo Awards are for works published or appearing in the previous calendar year to the year of the award.

Per the WSFS Constitution, the Retrospective Hugo Award categories are the same as those for the current Hugo Awards. Any categories where there are insufficient nominations will be dropped from the final ballot. The Lodestar Award and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award) are not Hugo Awards, and therefore there will not be retrospective versions of those awards.

Members of the 2019 and 2020 Worldcons as of December 31, 2019 will be eligible to nominate for both the 2020 Hugo Awards and the 1945 Retrospective Hugo Awards.

Administration of both the Hugo Awards and Retrospective Hugo Awards rests with the individual Worldcon committees. Direct any questions about the Hugo Awards and Retrospective Hugo Awards for the relevant years to the CoNZealand committee.