Hugo Statistics

Issue Five

The 1997 Hugo Awards

The Details of the Ballot

Other Awards

The Origin of the Hugo Rocket

What the numbers mean: Hugo balloting uses what is called the Australian or Preferential balloting system. It's complicated. If you've ever voted in the Hugos, you'll recall that in each category you were asked to rank your preferences: 1, 2, 3, etc. When the votes in that category are counted for the first time, the nominee with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. The count then takes the second-place votes from all the ballots that placed the eliminated nominee first, and distributes them to the indicated nominees. All the surviving nominees now have a new total number of votes. Once again the nominee with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the secondary votes on that nominee's ballots are distributed to the appropriate parties. Eventually a winner emerges. There are further rules and fine points (for instance, once a nominee has been eliminated it cannot be resurrected, as later vote redistributions don't affect it), but in general that's how it works.

If you know of a URL of a site explaining the detailed workings of the ballot, let us know.

Best Novel -- 584 ballots
Blue Mars	135	136	175	223	271
Memory	115	116	129	156
Remnant Population	115	116	140	158	226
Starplex	109	109	120
Holy Fire	96	97
No Award	14

Best Novella -- 476 ballots
"Blood of the Dragon"	106	107	116	135	162	198
"Time Travelers Never Die"	77	77	86	112	143	192
"Immersion"	64	64	78	89
"Abandon in Place"	99	99	106	109	122
"Gas Fish"	52	52
"The Cost to Be Wise"	68	68	77
No Award	10

Best Novelette -- 460 ballots
"Bicycle Repairman"	132	132	152	177	220
"The Land of Nod"	99	100	111	136	176
"Mountain Ways"	82	82	99	123
"Beauty and the Opera
 or the Phantom Beast"	75	75	83
"Age of Aquarius"	56	57
No Award	16

Best Short Story -- 472 ballots
"The Soul Selects
 Her Own Society..."	142	143	156	180	213
"Un-Birthday Boy"	126	128	132	153	192
"The Dead"	76	78	87	110
"Decency"	67	67	73
"Gone"	42	42
No Award	19

Best Non-Fiction Book -- 388 ballots
"Time & Chance"	109	109	125	141	179
"The Tough Guide
 to Fantasyland"	63	63	80	105	128
"Look at the Evidence"	67	69	77	91
"The Silence of the Langford"	68	68	75
"The Faces of Fantasy"	62	63
No Award	19

Best Dramatic Presentation -- 641 ballots
Babylon 5
 "Severed Dreams"	319	326
Star Trek: First Contact	85	92
Star Trek: Deep Space 9
 "Trials and Tribble-ations"	76	83
Independence Day	55	73
Mars Attacks	51
No Award	55	56

Best Professional Editor -- 514 ballots
Gardner Dozois	146	147	166	200	258
Kristine Kathryn Rusch	109	109	118	143	183
Stanley Schmidt	103	103	119	139
Scott Edelman	61	61
Patrick Nielsen Hayden	85	85	90
No Award	10

Best Professional Artist -- 507 ballots
Bob Eggleton	144	144	164	189	258
Michael Whelan	125	126	134	158	205
David Cherry	91	91	106	138
Don Maitz	51	51
Thomas Canty	84	84	90
No Award	12

Best Semiprozine -- 483 ballots
Locus	157	157	170	203	250
Interzone	79	84	95	133	174
The New York Review
 of Science Fiction	77	77	94
Science Fiction Chronicle	82	83	97	111
Speculations	70	70
No Award	18

Best Fanzine -- 345 ballots
Mimosa	72	72	77	92	142
File 770	59	59	61	78
Ansible	51	51	58
Tangent	88	88	115	123	135
Nova Express	50	51
No Award	25

Best Fan Writer -- 321 ballots
Dave Langford	86	96	96	121	151
Mike Glyer	49	53	54
Evelyn C. Leeper	62	66	67	75	95
Sharon Farber	54	59	59	71
Andy Hooper	32
No Award	38	39

Best Fan Artist -- 346 ballots
William Rotsler	75	75	82	95	130
Peggy Ranson	58	58	71	94
Joe Mayhew	69	69	93	99	125
Ian Gunn	47	47
Sherlock	67	67	69
No Award	30

John W. Campbell Award (not a Hugo) -- 355 ballots
Michael A. Burstein	127	128	133	145	159
Sharon Shinn	89	89	99	110	125
Richard Garfinkle	34	34	34
Raphael Carter	44	44	48	58
Katya Reimann	32	32
No Award	29