1944 Retro-Hugo Awards

1944 Retro Hugo Award TrophyPresented at: Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon, Dublin, Ireland, August 15, 2019

Hosts: Ellen Klages and Dave Rudden

Base design: Dr. Eleanor Wheeler

Awards Administration: Nicholas Whyte, Sanna Lopperi-Vihinen


The 1944 Retrospective Hugo Award winners were announced during the Opening Ceremonies of Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon, The 77th World Science Fiction Convention on the evening of Thursday, August 15, 2019 in Dublin, Ireland. The ceremony was live-streamed by Dublin 2019. We will include a link to the archived event when it is available.

Dublin 2019 received and counted 217 valid nominating ballots (214 electronic and 3 paper) from the members of Worldcon 76 and Dublin 2019. Because of a change to WSFS rules ratified in 2018 that took effect in 2019, only members of the current and previous Worldcons (not including members of the following year’s Worldcon) were eligible to nominate for the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards. Members nominated up to five works/people in each category, and the top six works/people in each category were shortlisted as finalists.

The finalists for the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards were announced at Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon on April 2, 2019.

Full Nominating and Final Ballot Voting Details (PDF)

Video of the announcement of the 2019 Hugo Award and 1944 Retrospective Hugo Award Finalists

Per WSFS rules, categories in which there were insufficient nominations to justify the category were dropped.

The Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer are not Hugo Awards, and therefore no retrospective versions of them were included on the nominating ballot.

Best Novel

  • Conjure Wife, by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Unknown Worlds, April 1943)
  • Earth’s Last Citadel, by C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner (Argosy, April 1943)
  • Gather, Darkness!, by Fritz Leiber, Jr. (Astounding Science-Fiction, May-July 1943)
  • Das Glasperlenspiel [The Glass Bead Game], by Hermann Hesse (Fretz & Wasmuth)
  • Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis (John Lane, The Bodley Head)
  • The Weapon Makers, by A.E. van Vogt (Astounding Science-Fiction, February-April 1943)

Best Novella

  • The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Reynal & Hitchcock)
  • “Attitude,” by Hal Clement (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1943)
  • “Clash by Night,” by Lawrence O’Donnell (Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)
  • “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath,” by H.P. Lovecraft, (Beyond the Wall of Sleep, Arkham House)
  • The Magic Bed-Knob; or, How to Become a Witch in Ten Easy Lessons, by Mary Norton (Hyperion Press)
  • “We Print the Truth,” by Anthony Boucher (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1943)

Best Novelette

  • “Mimsy Were the Borogoves,” by Lewis Padgett (C.L. Moore & Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1943)
  • “Citadel of Lost Ships,” by Leigh Brackett (Planet Stories, March 1943)
  • “The Halfling,” by Leigh Brackett (Astonishing Stories, February 1943)
  • “The Proud Robot,” by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner) (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943)
  • “Symbiotica,” by Eric Frank Russell (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1943)
  • “Thieves’ House,” by Fritz Leiber, Jr (Unknown Worlds, February 1943)

Best Short Story

  • “King of the Gray Spaces” (“R is for Rocket”), by Ray Bradbury (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, December 1943)
  • “Death Sentence,” by Isaac Asimov (Astounding Science Fiction, November 1943)
  • “Doorway into Time,” by C.L. Moore (Famous Fantastic Mysteries, September 1943)
  • “Exile,” by Edmond Hamilton (Super Science Stories, May 1943)
  • “Q.U.R.,” by H.H. Holmes (Anthony Boucher) (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1943)
  • “Yours Truly – Jack the Ripper,” by Robert Bloch (Weird Tales, July 1943)

Best Graphic Story

  • Wonder Woman : Battle for Womanhood, written by William Moulton Marsden, art by Harry G. Peter (DC Comics)
  • Buck Rogers: Martians Invade Jupiter, by Philip Nowlan and Dick Calkins (National Newspaper Service)
  • Flash Gordon: Fiery Desert of Mongo, by Alex Raymond (King Features Syndicate)
  • Garth, by Steve Dowling (Daily Mirror)
  • Plastic Man : The Game of Death, by Jack Cole (Vital Publications)
  • Le Secret de la Licorne [The Secret of the Unicorn], by Hergé (Le Soir)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

  • Heaven Can Wait, written by Samson Raphaelson, directed by Ernst Lubitsch (20th Century Fox)
  • Batman, written by Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker and Harry L. Fraser, directed by Lambert Hillyer (Columbia Pictures)
  • Cabin in the Sky, written by Joseph Schrank, directed by Vincente Minnelli and Busby Berkeley (uncredited) (MGM)
  • A Guy Named Joe, written by Frederick Hazlitt Brennan and Dalton Trumbo, directed by Victor Fleming (MGM)
  • Münchhausen, written by Erich Kästner and Rudolph Erich Raspe, directed by Josef von Báky (UFA)
  • Phantom of the Opera, written by Eric Taylor, Samuel Hoffenstein and Hans Jacoby, directed by Arthur Lubin (Universal Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

  • Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, written by Curt Siodmak, directed by Roy William Neill (Universal Pictures)
  • The Ape Man, written by Barney A. Sarecky, directed by William Beaudine (Banner Productions)
  • Der Fuehrer’s Face, story by Joe Grant and Dick Huemer, directed by Jack Kinney (Disney)
  • I Walked With a Zombie, written by Curt Siodmak and Ardel Wray, directed by Jacques Tourneur (RKO Radio Pictures)
  • The Seventh Victim, written by Charles O’Neal and DeWitt Bodeen, directed by Mark Robson (RKO Radio Pictures)
  • Super-Rabbit, written by Tedd Pierce, directed by Charles M. Jones (Warner Bros)

Best Editor, Short Form

  • John W. Campbell
  • Oscar J. Friend
  • Mary Gnaedinger
  • Dorothy McIlwraith
  • Raymond A. Palmer
  • Donald A. Wollheim

Best Professional Artist

  • Virgil Finlay
  • Hannes Bok
  • Margaret Brundage
  • Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
  • J. Allen St. John
  • William Timmins

Best Fanzine

  • Le Zombie, editor Wilson “Bob” Tucker
  • Fantasy News, editor William S. Sykora (striken from ballot July 21)
  • Futurian War Digest, editor J. Michael Rosenblum
  • Guteto, editor Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas) (added to ballot July 21)
  • The Phantagraph, editor Donald A. Wollheim
  • Voice of the Imagi-Nation, editors Jack Erman (Forrest J Ackerman) & Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)
  • YHOS, editor Art Widner

Note: in an announcement on July 21, 2019, the Hugo Award Administrators said:

The Hugo Administrators have discovered an error in their tally of the nominations for the 1944 Retro Hugo for Best Fanzine.

In fact, Guteto, edited by Morojo (Myrtle R. Douglas) received enough votes to qualify for the final ballot; and Fantasy News, edited by William S. Sykora, did not.

We have accordingly revised the online ballot, and the downloadable ballot form, to reflect that Guteto is a finalist in this category, and that Fantasy News has been disqualified. Write-in votes for Guteto on previously printed hard copy versions of the ballot will be accepted.

We apologise to voters, and to the estates of Myrtle R. Douglas and William S. Sykora, for the inconvenience.

Best Fan Writer

  • Forrest J. Ackerman
  • Morojo (Myrtle Douglas)
  • Jack Speer
  • Wilson “Bob” Tucker
  • Art Widner
  • Donald A. Wollheim

The World Science Fiction Society Constitution allows, but does not require, a Worldcon held an even multiple of 25 years after a year after 1939 at which no Hugo Awards were presented to present Retrospective Hugo Awards for works that would have been eligible for that year’s Hugo Awards if they had been held. (Once Retro Hugos have been presented for a given year, no future Worldcon may present Retro Hugos for that year.) Due to World War II, there was no Worldcon in 1944, and no Worldcon has previously presented Retro-Hugo Awards for that year. Dublin 2019: An Irish Worldcon elected to present Retro Hugo Awards for works first published in 1943 that would have been eligible for the 1944 Hugo Awards, had there been Awards presented in 1944.