The Hugo Awards® are the leading award for excellence in the field of science fiction and fantasy. First presented in 1953, they have been awarded every year since 1955 by the members of the World Science Fiction Society (Worldcon members) at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon).
This year’s Hugo Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, August 30, 2026 at 8:00pm Pacific on the stage at the Anaheim Convention Center’s Arena, and streamed online.
The 2026 Hugo Awards Ceremony
The Hugo Awards are the culminating event of the World Science Fiction Convention. Normally held on Sunday evening of the convention, it is where and when the members of the World Science Fiction Society recognize the best works in the science fiction & fantasy field from the previous year. (There’s a full day of programming, exhibits, etc. on Monday, but the Hugo Ceremony is truly our Big Deal event.)
Categories include awards for short stories and novels, comics, games & interactive works, and movies & television as well as work done by fans for fans such as Best Fanzine and Best Fancast. Also part of the ceremony is the presentation of the Lodestar Award for Best Children’s Book and the Astounding Award for Best New Author. In addition to the usual categories, LAcon V will issue a Hugo Award for Best Poem, as announced here.
The complete list of past Hugo Award winners can be found at the official Hugo Awards website, while the full list of finalists for the upcoming 2026 Hugo Award is available here.
This year’s Hugo Awards ceremony will be hosted by LAcon V’s toastmaster, Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher), herself the previous recipient of six Hugo Awards (and ten nominations) in a variety of categories over her career. The event will be in-person, but will be streamed online to both our Virtual Members and the general public, free of charge on our YouTube channel (more details to follow).
The Hugo Awards are also the one traditionally “dressy” event of the convention. You’ll see some of your favorite authors and artists decked out in fancy dresses and tuxedos. (Or at least coats & ties and nice outfits.) A lot of the audience dresses up, too. But don’t worry; like the rest of the convention, tee-shirts and jeans are just fine, too. Just come and enjoy the show.
Voting for the Hugo Awards
Voting for the recipients of the Hugo Awards, as well as the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer is now open. The current rules for the Hugo Awards are contained in Article 3 of the WSFS Constitution.
Eligibility
Anyone who is an Attending, Online (Virtual), or World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) member of LAcon V prior to the close of voting is eligible to vote in the 2026 Hugo Awards. If you are not a member and would like to be, you can register here.
Membership gives you the right to vote in the Hugo Awards, download the Hugo Awards Voter Packet, vote in Site Selection for the 2028 Worldcon (provided you pay the voting fee), submit business to the Business Meeting, and nominate works for the 2027 Hugo Awards.
How To Vote
Votes can be submitted through our online balloting system, NomNom, or by mailing in a printable ballot downloadable here.
In order to use NomNom you will first need to create an LAcon V virtual convention account. If you are an eligible voter you should have received an email with instructions on how to set up your account. Please note that if you made nominations using your Seattle Worldcon 2025 membership, you will not be able to use that account to vote and will need to set up and use your LAcon account instead. If you encounter any issues, please contact hugo-help@lacon.org for assistance.
If you use NomNom, you can edit your ballot as often as you like until the close of the voting period. If you have already set up your virtual convention account you can access the ballot directly by logging in to NomNom.
Deadline
Voting opened on May 6, 2026 at 10 am Pacific Daylight Time and will close on August 8, 2026 at noon PDT.
Hugo Awards Voter Packet
We are grateful to the rights holders who generously donate works for the Hugo Awards Voter Packet. This resource is provided to allow Hugo Award voters to to make informed decisions and is available now through NomNom. Access to the Packet ends when voting closes.
Hugo Awards Subcommittee
The LAcon V Committee has completely and irrevocably delegated its authority to administer the 2026 Hugo Awards, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards to a Hugo Awards Subcommittee consisting of Administrator Tammy Coxen, Deputy Administrators Rosemary Parks, Warren Buff and Emily January, and WSFS Division Head Linda Deneroff. Per section 3.13 of the WSFS Constitution, the members of the Hugo Awards Subcommittee will therefore be ineligible for the 2026 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award, and Astounding Award, and remain ineligible regardless of continuing membership in the subcommittee. The Hugo Administrator may add to or modify the Hugo Subcommittee at her discretion without having to return to the LAcon V Committee for approval.
“World Science Fiction Society”, “WSFS”, “World Science Fiction Convention”, “Worldcon”, “NASFiC”, “Lodestar Award”, “The Hugo Award”, the Hugo Award Logo, and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of Worldcon Intellectual Property, a California non-profit corporation managed by the Mark Protection Committee of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.
