Hugo Award for Best Novella

The Hugo Award for Best Novella is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novella award is available for works of fiction of between 17,500 and 40,000 words; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".^[1][2]

The Hugo Award for Best Novella has been awarded annually since 1968. In addition to the regular Hugo awards, beginning in 1996 Retrospective Hugo Awards, or "Retro Hugos", have been available to be awarded for years 50, 75, or 100 years prior in which no awards were given. Retro Hugos may only be awarded for years after 1939 in which no awards were originally given.^[3] To date, Retro Hugo awards have been given for novellas for 1939, 1941, 1943–1946, 1951, and 1954.^[4]

During the 65 nomination years, 189 authors have had works nominated; 47 of these have won, including coauthors and Retro Hugos. One translator has been noted along with the author of a novella written in a language other than English: Alex Woodend, in 2024, for translations of two works from Chinese. Connie Willis has received the most Hugos for Best Novella at four, and is tied for the most nominations with Robert Silverberg at eight. Willis and Charles Stross at three out of four nominations, and Robert A. Heinlein at three out of six nominations for Retro Hugos, are the only authors to have won more than twice. Nancy Kress has earned seven nominations and Heinlein, George R. R. Martin, Seanan McGuire, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Lucius Shepard six, and are the only authors besides Willis and Silverberg to get more than five. Robinson has the highest number of nominations without winning.