Comments: Just two years after Anne McCaffrey became the first woman to win the Hugo Award , another woman, this time Ursula K. Le Guin, took home the big prize with her novel The Left Hand of Darkness. It is an indication of how much of a boys' club the science fiction community was that these achievements by female writers are considered significant even now, and yet Samuel R. Delany's win as (I believe) the first African-American winner of a Hugo Award for his story Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones was such a non-event as to be almost forgotten now. (The milestone having been forgotten, not Delany's excellent story). Although Silverberg didn't win any Hugo awards this year, he did pull off the impressive feat of having works nominated in all three of the written fiction categories.
In 1970, the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation took an unusual, but not unexpected turn as the statue was given to "The News Coverage of Apollo XI". Apparently the Worldcon that year was understandably swept up with moon landing fever. The question that comes to my mind is who actually collected the award? Did Walter Cronkite show up at the Worldcon to get himself a Hugo?
Best Novel
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Other Nominees:
Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad
Macroscope by Piers Anthony
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Up the Line by Robert Silverberg
Best Novella
Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber (reviewed in The Hugo Winners, Volume 3, Book 1)
Other Nominees:
A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison
Dramatic Mission by Anne McCaffrey
To Jorslem by Robert Silverberg
We All Die Naked by James Blish
Best Short Story
Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones by Samuel R. Delany (reviewed in More Stories from the Hugo Winners, Volume II)
Other Nominees:
Deeper than the Darkness by Gregory Benford
Not Long Before the End by Larry Niven
Passengers by Robert Silverberg
Winter's King by Ursula K. Le Guin
Best Dramatic Presentation
News coverage of Apollo XI
Other Nominees:
The Bed-Sitting Room
The Illustrated Man
The Immortal (complete series)
Marooned
Best Professional Magazine
Fantasy & Science Fiction edited by Edward L. Ferman
Other Nominees:
Amazing Stories edited by Ted White
Galaxy edited by Frederik Pohl and Ejler Jakobsson
New Worlds edited by Michael Moorcock
Best Professional Artist
Frank Kelly Freas
Other Nominees:
Vaughn Bodé
Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon
Jack Gaughan
Eddie Jones
Jeff Jones
Best Fanzine
Science Fiction Review edited by Richard E. Geis
Other Nominees:
Beabohema edited by Frank Lunney
Locus edited by Charles Brown
Riverside Quarterly edited by Leland Sapiro
Speculation edited by Peter R. Weston
Best Fan Writer
Wilson (Bob) Tucker
Other Nominees:
Piers Anthony
Charles Brown
Richard Delap
Richard E. Geis
Best Fan Artist
Tim Kirk
Other Nominees:
Alicia Austin
George Barr
Steve Fabian
Bill Rotsler
What Are the Hugo Awards?
Go to previous year's nominees: 1969
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1971
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