Retro Hugos
Retrospective Hugo Awards may be voted on and presented along with the Hugo Awards by a World SF Convention held a multiple of 25 years after a Worldcon when Hugos were not given. The works and people eligible are those that would have qualified had they been given in the historic year. The first actual Hugos were awarded at the 1953 Worldcon for works and people eligible in 1952, but the next set was not given until the Worldcon two years later, so the Retro Hugos fill in the missing years.
The purpose of the Retros is for today's fans to judge the work of the past, not for them to try to replicate what voters "back then" would have chosen.
The Retros were the brainchild of Bruce Pelz. Retro Hugos were awarded the first time in 1996 at L.A.Con III as the 1946 Retro Hugos. The 1945 Retro Hugos, awarded during CoNZealand in 2020, were the most recent.
Whether or not to award Retros is left to the eligible Worldcon. The Worldcons in 1997–2000, ConJosé in 2002, Sasquan in 2015, Worldcon 75 in 2017, Chicon 8 in 2022, Chengdu Worldcon in 2023, and Glasgow 2024 were eligible but decided not to administer Retro Hugos.
| Awards | Historic Worldcon | Eligibility Year | Presented At | In | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | Nycon | 1938 | Loncon 3 | 2014 | |
| 1940 | Chicon | 1939 | TBD | 2040 (earliest) | |
| 1941 | Denvention | 1940 | MidAmeriCon 2 | 2016 | |
| 1942 | None (World War II) |
1941 | TBD | 2042 (earliest) | |
| 1943 | 1942 | Worldcon 76 in San Jose | 2018 | ||
| 1944 | 1943 | Dublin 2019 | 2019 | ||
| 1945 | 1944 | CoNZealand | 2020 | ||
| 1946 | Pacificon | 1945 | L.A.Con III | 1996 | |
| 1947 | Philcon | 1946 | TBD | 2047 (earliest) | |
| 1948 | Torcon | 1947 | TBD | 2048 (earliest) | |
| 1949 | Cinvention | 1948 | TBD | 2049 (earliest) | |
| 1950 | NorWesCon | 1949 | TBD | 2025 (earliest) | |
| 1951 | Nolacon | 1950 | Millennium Philcon | 2001 | |
| 1952 | Chicon II | 1951 | TBD | 2027 (earliest) | |
| 1953 | Philcon II | 1952 | First actual Hugos awarded | ||
| 1954 | SFCon | 1953 | Noreascon 4 | 2004 | |
| Award | Website | 1996— |
| This is an award page. If you know something about it, such as who awarded it, who the winners were, what the criteria were, and when it was awarded, please add it! See Standards for Awards. |
