Hugo Awards - Short Stories & Dramatic Presentations

The Hugo Awards are given out annually for the best writings in science fiction and fantasy. I dabble in consuming science fiction novels, and have read a scant handful of fantasy classics…but I love short stories (particularly in the sci-fi and speculative realm). I also love a good sci-fi film or program. So here’s a list of Hugo Award winners, by year, in the Short Story and Dramatic Presentation categories. You can go to Hugo’s main site - where I pulled these from - for winners in the Novel, Novella, Novelette, and Related Non-Fiction categories.

(ones in italics are ones I have read or viewed at least once)

2021

Best Short Story

“Metal Like Blood in the Dark”, T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine, September/October 2020)
√ Little Free Library, Naomi Kritzer (Tor.com)
“A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, ed. Jonathan Strahan (Solaris))
“Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots – 2020, ed. David Steffen)
“The Mermaid Astronaut”, Yoon Ha Lee (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, February 2020)
“Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2020)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

The Old Guard
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Soul
Palm Springs
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Tenet

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Good Place: Whenever You’re Ready
The Expanse: Gaugamela
The Mandalorian: Chapter 16: The Rescue
The Mandalorian: Chapter 13: The Jedi
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: Heart (parts 1 and 2)
Doctor Who: Fugitive of the Judoon

2020

Best Short Story

“As the Last I May Know”, by S.L. Huang (Tor.com, 23 October 2019)
“Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, by Alix E. Harrow (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, January 2019)
“And Now His Lordship Is Laughing”, by Shiv Ramdas (Strange Horizons, 9 September 2019)
“A Catalog of Storms”, by Fran Wilde (Uncanny Magazine, January/February 2019)
“Blood Is Another Word for Hunger”, by Rivers Solomon (Tor.com, 24 July 2019)
“Ten Excerpts from an Annotated Bibliography on the Cannibal Women of Ratnabar Island”, by Nibedita Sen (Nightmare Magazine, May 2019)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Good Omens
Captain Marvel
Russian Doll (Season One)
Avengers: Endgame
Us
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Good Place: “The Answer”
(tie) Watchmen: “A God Walks into Abar”
(tie) The Mandalorian: “Redemption”
The Expanse: “Cibola Burn”
Watchmen: “This Extraordinary Being”
Doctor Who: “Resolution”

2019

Best Short Story

“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies,” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington,” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
“The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society,” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
“STET,” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
“The Court Magician,” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
“The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat,” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Annihilation
A Quiet Place
Sorry to Bother You

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Good Place: “Janet(s)”
The Expanse: “Abaddon’s Gate”
Doctor Who: “Demons of the Punjab”
Doctor Who: “Rosa”
The Good Place: “Jeremy Bearimy”
Dirty Computer

2018

Best Short Story

√ “Welcome to your Authentic Indian Experience™,” by Rebecca Roanhorse (Apex, August 2017)
“Fandom for Robots,” by Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Uncanny, September/October 2017)
“The Martian Obelisk,” by Linda Nagata (Tor.com, July 19, 2017)
“Sun, Moon, Dust” by Ursula Vernon, (Uncanny, May/June 2017)
“Carnival Nine,” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, May 2017)
“Clearly Lettered in a Mostly Steady Hand,” by Fran Wilde (Uncanny, September 2017)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Wonder Woman
Get Out
Thor: Ragnarok
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The Shape of Water
Blade Runner 2049

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Good Place: “The Trolley Problem”
Black Mirror: “USS Callister”
The Good Place: “Michael’s Gambit”
Doctor Who: “Twice Upon a Time”
Star Trek: Discovery: “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad”
“The Deep” [song], by Clipping

2017

Best Short Story

“Seasons of Glass and Iron”, by Amal El-Mohtar (The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales, Saga Press)
“The City Born Great”, by N. K. Jemisin
“A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers” by Alyssa Wong
“Our Talons Can Crush Galaxies”, by Brooke Bolander
“Seasons of Glass and Iron”, by Amal El-Mohtar
“That Game We Played During the War”, by Carrie Vaughn
“An Unimaginable Light”, by John C. Wright

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

2014

Best Short Story

“The Water That Falls on You from Nowhere”, John Chu (Tor.com, 02-2013)
“Selkie Stories Are for Losers”, Sofia Samatar (Strange Horizons, Jan-2013)
“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love”, Rachel Swirsky (Apex Magazine, Mar-2013)
“The Ink Readers of Doi Saket”, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Tor.com, 04-2013)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Gravity, written by Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, directed by Alfonso Cuarón (Esperanto Filmoj; Heyday Films; Warner Bros.)
√Frozen,screenplay by Jennifer Lee, directed by Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee
√Pacific Rim, screenplay by Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro, directed by Guillermo del Toro
√Iron Man 3, screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black, directed by Shane Black
√The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, screenplay by Simon Beaufoy & Michael Arndt, directed by Francis Lawrence

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

√Game of Thrones: “The Rains of Castamere”, written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Doctor Who: “The Day of the Doctor”, written by Steven Moffat
Orphan Black: “Variations under Domestication” written by Will Pascoe
An Adventure in Space and Time, written by Mark Gatiss
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, written & directed by Peter Davison
Doctor Who: “The Name of the Doctor”, written by Steven Moffa

2012

Best Short Story

√ “The Paper Menagerie”, Ken Liu (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction)
“The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees”, E. Lily Yu (Clarkesworld)
“The Homecoming”, Mike Resnick (Asimov’s)
“Movement”, Nancy Fulda (Asimov’s)
“Shadow War of the Night Dragons: Book One: The Dead City: Prologue”, John Scalzi (Tor.com)

Best Dramatic Presentation

Game of Thrones (Season 1)
Hugo
Captain America: The First Avenger
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2,
Source Code

2004

Best Short Story

“A Study in Emerald” by Neil Gaiman [Shadows Over Baker Street, ed. by Michael Reaves & John Pelan (Del Rey), 2003]
“Paying It Forward” by Michael A. Burstein [Analog Sep 2003]
“Robots Don’t Cry” by Mike Resnick [Asimov’s Jul 2003]
“Four Short Novels” by Joe Haldeman [F&SF Oct/Nov 2003]
“The Tale of the Golden Eagle” by David D. Levine [F&SF Jun 2003]

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

√The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) [New Line Cinema] Directed by Peter Jackson
√Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) [Disney] Directed by Gore Verbinski
√X2: X-Men United (2003) [20th Century Fox/Marvel] Directed by Bryan Singer
√Finding Nemo (2003) [Pixar Animation/Disney] Directed by Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich
√28 Days Later… (2003) [DNA Films/Fox Searchlight] Directed by Danny Boyle; Written by Alex Garland

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

“Gollum’s Acceptance Speech at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards” (2003) [Wingnut Films/New Line] Written and directed by Fran Walsh & Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson
Firefly – “The Message” (2003)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Chosen” (2003
Firefly – “Heart of Gold” (2003)
Smallville – “Rosetta” (2003)

2003

Best Short Story

“Falling onto Mars” by Geoffrey A. Landis [Analog Jul/Aug 2002]
√“‘Hello,’ Said the Stick” by Michael Swanwick [Analog Mar 2002]
“The Little Cat Laughed to See Such Sport” by Michael Swanwick [Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2002]
“Creation” by Jeffrey Ford [F&SF May 2002]
√“Lambing Season” by Molly Gloss [Asimov’s Jul 2002] read first time 20231213

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

√The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) [New Line Cinema] Directed by Peter Jackson
√Minority Report (2002) [20th Century Fox/DreamWorks SKG] Directed by Steven Spielberg
√Spirited Away (2002) [Studio Ghibli/Disney] Directed by Hayao Miyazaki; Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki
√Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) [Warner Brothers] Directed by Chris Columbus
√Spider-Man (2002) [Columbia Pictures] Directed by Sam Raimi; Screenplay by David Koepp

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
– “Conversations with Dead People” (2002)
√Firefly – “Serenity” (2002)
Star Trek: Enterprise – “Carbon Creek”
Angel – “Waiting in the Wings” (2002
Star Trek: Enterprise – “A Night in Sickbay” (2002)

2002

Best Short Story

√ “The Dog Said Bow-Wow” by Michael Swanwick [Asimov’s Oct/Nov 2001]
“The Bones of the Earth” by Ursula K. Le Guin [Tales from Earthsea (Harcourt), 2001]
“Old MacDonald Had a Farm” by Mike Resnick [Asimov’s Sep 2001]
“The Ghost Pit” by Stephen Baxter [Asimov’s Jul 2001]
“Spaceships” by Michael A. Burstein [Analog Jun 2001]

Best Dramatic Presentation

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Shrek (2001)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Once More, with Feeling” (2001)

1992

Best Short Story

√ “A Walk in the Sun” by Geoffrey A. Landis [Asimov’s Oct 1991]
“One Perfect Morning, with Jackals” by Mike Resnick [Asimov’s Mar 1991]
“In the Late Cretaceous” by Connie Willis [Asimov’s mid-Dec 1991]
“Winter Solstice” by Mike Resnick [F&SF Oct/Nov 1991]
“Press Ann” by Terry Bisson [Asimov’s Aug 1991]
“Buffalo” by John Kessel [Fires of the Past, 1991; F&SF Jan 1991]
“Dog’s Life” by Martha Soukup [Amazing Mar 1991]

Best Dramatic Presentation

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
The Addams Family (1991)
The Rocketeer (1991)

1982

Best Short Story

“The Pusher” by John Varley [F&SF Oct 1981]
“The Woman the Unicorn Loved” by Gene Wolfe [Asimov’s Jun 1981]
“Absent Thee from Felicity Awhile…” by Somtow Sucharitkul [Analog Sep 1981]
“The Quiet” by George Florance-Guthridge [F&SF Jul 1981]

Best Dramatic Presentation

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Time Bandits (1981)
Excalibur (1981)
Dragonslayer (1981)
Outland (1981)

1972

Best Short Story

“Inconstant Moon” by Larry Niven [All the Myriad Ways, 1971]
“Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin [New Dimensions #1, 1971]
“The Autumn Land” by Clifford D. Simak [F&SF Oct 1971]
“The Bear with the Knot on His Tail” by Stephen Tall (aka: Compton Crook) [F&SF May 1971]
“Sky” by R. A. Lafferty [New Dimensions #1, 1971]
“All the Last Wars at Once” by George Alec Effinger [Universe 1, 1971]

Best Dramatic Presentation

A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
THX 1138 (1971)
Name of the Game: Los Angeles: A.D. 2017
I Think We’re All Bozos on This Bus (recording) (1971)

1964

Best Short Fiction

“No Truce with Kings” by Poul Anderson [F&SF Jun 1963]
“Code Three” by Rick Raphael [Analog Feb 1963]
“A Rose for Ecclesiastes” by Roger Zelazny [F&SF Nov 1963]
“Savage Pellucidar” by Edgar Rice Burroughs [Amazing Nov 1963]

Best Dramatic Presentation

Insufficient Nominations – Not on ballot

Insufficient Nominations – Not on ballot

1963

Best Short Fiction

“The Dragon Masters” by Jack Vance [Galaxy Aug 1962]
“Myrrha” by Gary Jennings [F&SF Sep 1962]
“The Unholy Grail” by Fritz Leiber [Fantastic Oct 1962]
“When You Care, When You Love” by Theodore Sturgeon [F&SF Sep 1962]
“Where Is the Bird of Fire?” by Thomas Burnett Swann [Science Fantasy Apr 1962]

Best Dramatic Presentation

No winner chosen this year
Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) (alt: Night of the Eagle) [Anglo-Amalgamated/Independent Artists] Directed by Sidney Hayers;
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) [British Lion/Pax] Directed by Val Guest; Written by Wolf Mankowitz & Val Guest
Last Year at Marienbad (1962) [Argos Films] Directed by Alain Resnais; based on the novel The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
The Twilight Zone (TV series) by Rod Serling [CBS]

1962

Best Short Fiction

the “Hothouse” series by Brian W. Aldiss [F&SF Feb,Apr,Jul,Sep,Dec 1961]
“Monument” by Lloyd Biggle, Jr. [Analog Jun 1961]
“Scylla’s Daughter” by Fritz Leiber [Fantastic May 1961]
“Status Quo” by Mack Reynolds [Analog Aug 1961]
“Lion Loose” by James H. Schmitz [Analog Oct 1961]

Best Dramatic Presentation

The Twilight Zone (TV series)
Village of the Damned (1960)
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1961)
The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon based on the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes
Thriller (TV Series)

1956

Best Short Fiction

“The Star” by Arthur C. Clarke

1954-Retro hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1953

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1952

not held

1951 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1946 Retro-hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1945 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1944 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1943 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1942

unavailable

1941 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon

1939 Retro-Hugo

Best Short Story

“How We Went to Mars”, Arthur C. Clarke (Amateur Science Stories, March 1938)
“Helen O’Loy”, Lester del Rey (Astounding Science-Fiction, December 1938)
“Hollerbochen’s Dilemma”, Ray Bradbury (Imagination!, January 1938)
“Hyperpilosity”, L. Sprague de Camp (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1938)
“The Faithful”, Lester del Rey (Astounding Science-Fiction, April 1938)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
R. U. R. by Karel Čapek.
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Dracula by Bram Stoker. Written by Orson Welles and John Houseman

YEAR

Best Short Story

coming soon

Best Dramatic Presentation

coming soon