LAcon V, the 2026 Worldcon, announced on December 1, 2025 that they would use their authority under Section 3.3.20 of the WSFS Constitution to present a Hugo Award for Best Poem as part of the 2026 Hugo Awards.

The 2025 Worldcon in Seattle also presented a Best Poem category. There is a proposal to add Best Poem as a permanent category that will be up for ratification at the 2026 WSFS Business Meeting. As stated in LAcon V’s announcement:

“There was a lot of enthusiasm for the Best Poem category in Seattle,” Hugo Awards administrator Tammy Coxen said. “We felt that running the category for an additional year would help provide data about its long-term viability before the business meeting chooses whether or not to ratify the amendment and add Best Poem to The Hugo Awards as a permanent category.”

Best Poem will be on the nominating ballot for the 2026 Hugo Awards along with the permanent categories, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer. All WSFS members of the 2025 and 2026 Worldcon as of the end of January 2026 will be eligible to nominate works for the 2026 Awards.

For more information, see the full announcement at the LAcon V website.