Monday, August 27, 1990

1990 Hugo Award Nominees

Location: ConFiction in The Hague, Netherlands.

Comments: 1990 seems to have been the year for retrospective musings from established giants of the science fiction field, as both Arthur C. Clarke and Robert A. Heinlein released memoirs (or in Heinlein's case, posthumously released a collection of letters and essays he had written before his death) and Harlan Ellison released a collection compiling a quarter century of film reviews and essays. These books all lost to Alexei and Corey Panshin's in-depth examination of the history of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence.

The other categories were fairly boring this year, with no real surprises and a collection of solid but unspectacular winners. The Best Dramatic Presentation category was somewhat interesting, not because the winner, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, was undeserving, but rather because the eclectic variety of the nominees. The only thing that probably could be said of the Dramatic Presentation nominees as a group is that they were all so very unlike one another.

Best Novel

Winner:
Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Other Finalists:
The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
A Fire in the Sun by George Alec Effinger
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card

Best Novella

Winner:
The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold

Other Finalists:
The Father of Stones by Lucius Shepard
Time-Out by Connie Willis
Tiny Tango by Judith Moffett
A Touch of Lavender by Megan Lindholm

Best Novelette

Winner:
Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another by Robert Silverberg

Other Finalists:
At the Rialto by Connie Willis
Dogwalker by Orson Scott Card
Everything but Honor by George Alec Effinger
For I Have Touched the Sky by Mike Resnick
The Price of Oranges by Nancy Kress

Best Short Story

Winner:
Boobs by Suzy McKee Charnas

Other Finalists:
Computer Friendly by Eileen Gunn
Dori Bangs by Bruce Sterling
The Edge of the World by Michael Swanwick
Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card
The Return of William Proxmire by Larry Niven

Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work

Winner:
The World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence by Alexei Panshin and Cory Panshin

Other Finalists:
Astounding Days by Arthur C. Clarke
Dancing at the Edge of the World by Ursula K. Le Guin
Grumbles from the Grave by Robert A. Heinlein
Harlan Ellison's Watching by Harlan Ellison
Noreascon Three Souvenir Book by Greg Thokar

Best Dramatic Presentation

Winner:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Other Finalists:
The Abyss
The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen
Batman
Field of Dreams

Best Professional Editor

Winner:
Gardner Dozois

Other Finalists:
Ellen Datlow
Edward L. Ferman
David G. Hartwell
Beth Meacham
Charles C. Ryan
Stanley Schmidt

Best Professional Artist

Winner:
Don Maitz

Other Finalists:
Jim Burns
Thomas Canty
David A. Cherry
James Gurney
Tom Kidd
Michael Whelan

Best Semi-Prozine

Winner:
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown

Other Finalists:
Interzone edited by David Pringle
The New York Review of Science Fiction edited by Kathryn Cramer, David G. Hartwell, and Gordon van Gelder
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew Porter
Thrust edited by D. Douglas Fratz

Best Fanzine

Winner:
The Mad 3 Party edited by Leslie Turek

Other Finalists:
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
FOSFAX edited by Timothy Lane
Lan's Lantern edited by George "Lan" Laskowski
Pirate Jenny edited by Pat Mueller

Best Fan Writer

Winner:
Dave Langford

Other Finalists:
Mike Glyer
Arthur D. Hlavaty
Evelyn C. Leeper
Leslie Turek

Best Fan Artist

Winner:
Stu Shiffman

Other Finalists:
Steve Fox
Teddy Harvia
Merle Insinga
Joe Mayhew
Taral Wayne

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

Winner:
Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Other Finalists:
Nancy A. Collins
John Cramer
Katherine Neville
Allen M. Steele

What Are the Hugo Awards?

Go to previous year's nominees: 1989
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1991

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