Comments: 1988 was a quirky year for the Hugo Awards, driven by the introduction of the one-shot category for "Other Forms". There appears to be almost no coherent set of qualifications that can be discerned for this category. The nominees were a graphic novel, a humor book parodying literature textbooks, a screenplay for an unproduced movie, a retrospective collection, and a shared world series about superheroes. Although I have no idea how one would compare these disparate nominees, I cannot argue with the selection of Alan Moore's brilliant graphic novel Watchmen as the winner. This category was retired after 1988 and has never returned to the Hugo Award ballots.
In the standard written fiction categories, David Brin broke Orson Scott Card's two year hold on the Best Novel prize with The Uplift War, but Card still took home a rocket statue with his novella Eye for Eye. Ursula K. Le Guin earned another Hugo for her novelette Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight, and my second favorite author-who-I-have-met Lawrence Watt-Evans won for his short story Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers.
In the Best Dramatic Presentation category, the sweet humor of The Princess Bride beat out a strong field that included the bitterly satirical Robocop and the first nominated episode of Star Trek - The Next Generation.
Best Novel
The Uplift War by David Brin
Other Nominees:
The Forge of God by Greg Bear
Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card
The Urth of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger
Best Novella
Eye for Eye by Orson Scott Card
Other Nominees:
The Blind Geometer by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Forest of Time by Michael F. Flynn
Mother Goddess of the World by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Secret Sharer by Robert Silverberg
Best Novelette
Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight by Ursula K. Le Guin
Other Nominees:
Dinosaurs by Walter Jon Williams
Dream Baby by Bruce McAllister
Flowers of Edo by Bruce Sterling
Rachel in Love by Pat Murphy
Best Short Story
Why I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Other Nominees:
Angel by Pat Cadigan
Cassandra's Photographs by Lisa Goldstein
The Faithful Companion at Forty by Karen Joy Fowler
Forever Yours, Anna by Kate Wilhelm
Night of the Cooters by Howard Waldrop
Best Nonfiction, Related, or Reference Work
Michael Whelan's Works of Wonder by Michael Whelan
Other Nominees:
Anatomy of Wonder, 3rd Edition edited by Neil Barron
The Battle of Brazil by Jack Matthews
Imagination: The Art & Technique of David A. Cherry by David A. Cherry
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1986 by Charles N. Brown and William G. Contento
Other Forms
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Other Nominees:
Cvltvre Made Stvpid by Tom Weller
The Essential Ellison by Harlan Ellison
I, Robot: The Movie by Harlan Ellison
Wild Cards (series) created by George R.R. Martin
Best Dramatic Presentation
The Princess Bride
Other Nominees:
Predator
Robocop
Star Trek - The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint
The Witches of Eastwick
Best Professional Editor
Gardner Dozois
Other Nominees:
Edward L. Ferman
David G. Hartwell
Stanley Schmidt
Brian Thomsen
Best Professional Artist
Michael Whelan
Other Nominees:
David A. Cherry
Bob Eggleton
Tom Kidd
Don Maitz
J.K. Potter
Best Semi-Prozine
Locus edited by Charles N. Brown
Other Nominees:
Aboriginal SF edited by Charles C. Ryan
Interzone edited by Simon Ounsley and David Pringle
Science Fiction Chronicle edited by Andrew Porter
Thrust edited by D. Douglas Fratz
Best Fanzine
Texas SF Inquirer edited by Pat Mueller
Other Nominees:
File 770 edited by Mike Glyer
FOSFAX edited by Timothy Lane
Lan's Lantern edited by George "Lan" Laskowski
The Mad 3 Party edited by Leslie Turek
Best Fan Writer
Mike Glyer
Other Nominees:
Arthur Hlavaty
Dave Langford
Guy H. Lillian, III
Leslie Turek
Best Fan Artist
Brad W. Foster
Other Nominees:
Steve Fox
Teddy Harvia
Merle Insinga
Taral Wayne
Diana Gallagher Wu
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
Judith Moffett
Other Nominees:
C.S. Friedman
Loren MacGregor
Rebecca Ore
Martha Soukup
What Are the Hugo Awards?
Go to previous year's nominees: 1987
Go to subsequent year's nominees: 1989
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