award history / 2013–2017
The Puppies campaigns
Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies encouraged supporters to nominate lists of recommended works. Coordinated lists could fill a shortlist under the counting rules then in use. The resulting dispute concerned both which works the Hugos recognized and how finalists were selected. A study of both campaigns documents their nomination lists and tactics.
The timeline covers the campaigns and rule changes. The chart below compares Best Novel ballots across three five-year periods; it cannot isolate the campaigns’ effects.
Timeline
- 2013
Correia asks for nominations
Larry Correia asks readers to join Worldcon and nominate Monster Hunter Legion for the Hugo for Best Novel.
Correia’s campaign post ↗Hugo Best Novel ballot · 5 finalists
- 2014
Warbound reaches the final ballot
Larry Correia’s Warbound is a Hugo Best Novel finalist. Ancillary Justice wins.
2014 results ↗Hugo Best Novel ballot · 5 finalists
- 2015
Sad Puppies publishes a slate
Brad R. Torgersen publishes the Sad Puppies 3 recommendations, including five choices for Best Novel.
Campaign’s published list ↗Hugo Best Novel ballot · 5 finalists
- 2015
No Award in five categories
Voters choose No Award in five categories: Best Novella; Best Short Story; Best Related Work; Best Editor, Short Form; and Best Editor, Long Form. The Three-Body Problem wins Best Novel.
2015 results ↗ - 2016
New nomination rules ratified
The WSFS Business Meeting ratifies E Pluribus Hugo and changes the normal number of finalists from five to six, effective in 2017.
Official explanation ↗Hugo Best Novel ballot · 5 finalists
- 2017
New rules take effect
The Helsinki Worldcon uses E Pluribus Hugo. Its administrators publish a comparison with the previous counting system.
2017 reports ↗Hugo Best Novel ballot · 6 finalists
2015 results
- No Award in five categories
- Best Novella; Best Short Story; Best Related Work; Best Editor, Short Form; and Best Editor, Long Form.
- Best Novel
- The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu.
- Final voting
- 5,950 valid ballots across the awards.
What changed in 2017
E Pluribus Hugo changed how the nominations produce a shortlist. It was ratified in 2016 and first used in 2017. The normal shortlist also grew from five to six finalists.
- Each nominating ballot contributes one point, divided among its remaining choices.
- The two works with the lowest point totals are compared. The one with fewer nominations is eliminated, subject to tie rules.
- Points are redistributed among the remaining choices. Rounds continue until the shortlist is complete.
A group of voters using the same list still contributes one point per voter, divided among the works on that list.
One ballot naming five works: one point in total
Best Novel finalists by author gender
Share of Hugo Best Novel entries with recorded gender, including winners. These are comparisons of ballots, not a measure of what the campaigns caused.