H is for Hugo

Cause Nothin' Says "Penis" "Syfy" "SciFi" Like a Rocket

There is no higher honor in the world of science fiction authorshipitude than winning a Hugo Award.  The Hugo Award is named after Hugo Gernsback, a pioneer in science fiction publishing.  Given every year, the awards are presented as a rocket affixed to a base.  Follow me and we will learn a little bit about the man and the award.  Com'on, kiddos.

 

First, let us learn about the man.  Hugo Gernsback was born Luxembourg in 1884 to a vintner ("wine seller," I had to look it up).  Rather than follow in the family business, he went on to university and studied science.  In 1904, he immigrated to the United States where he soon after founded his first company (Electric Importing Company) and first magazine (Modern Electrics).  He accomplished many other novelty science acts, quoting from NNDB:

"In 1925 he created radio station WRNY, and just three years later he began sending out his own television broadcasts. The screen image, roughly the size of a postage stamp, was received by crude scanners owned by 2,000 amateurs enthusiasts in the New York area. Among Gernsback's other inventions (he held 80 patents by the time he died) were the Hypnobioscope, for "sleep-learning," and the Osophone, an early bone conductor hearing aid."

Despite all those accomplishments, what he is best known for is the creation of Amazing Stories in 1926.  Featuring reprints of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and others, the magazine helped further the interest in science fiction (or as Gernsback called it "scienctifiction") in the public.  Gernsback died in 1967 and donated his body to science.

The awards themselves were started in 1953 and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards, ranging in categories such as short fiction, movies, etc., are given out every year at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), voted upon by members of the World Science Fiction Society.  To join the society, go to the Hugo Awards website.

Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Awards
Hugo Award Winners