LoneStarCon 3: The Hugos

The 2013 Hugo, with a base designed by Vincent Villafranca (Courtesy of Laurie Mann)

The Hugo Awards are often called the Academy Awards of science fiction, and there were certain similarities apparent on Sunday night at LoneStarCon 3: The column dresses glittered, the cummerbunds gleamed, and the winners cried, thanked their spouses, and hefted the rocket-shaped Hugos as if they couldn't quite believe they were real.

Prolonged by montages, technical awards, and the comical envelope-dithering of beloved sf legend Robert Silverberg, the ceremony stretched into the evening but rarely dragged, thanks to the well-written jokes and goofy, laid-back mugging of con Toastmaster and emcee Paul Cornell. (Are you listening, Oscars? The Dr. Who writer with the British accent is probably a bargain, too!) All told, to see this level of pomp and pageantry lavished on humble writers and editors is amazing, and to feel the warmth of a community in which fans are honored alongside industry bigwigs in the memorial roll call is equally moving. Overall, the Hugos can be summed up in the succinct comment of Stephen H. Silver, who accepted the best dramatic presentation Hugo for Marvel's The Avengers in Joss Whedon's stead: "Shiny."

Winners were determined by the votes of the convention membership, which included 1,848 ballots. And those honored were:

Best Novel: Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi (Tor)

Best Novella: "The Emperor's Soul" by Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)

Best Novelette: "The Girl-Thing Who Went Out for Sushi" by Pat Cadigan (Edge of Infinity, Solaris)

Best Short Story: "Mono no aware" by Ken Liu (The Future Is Japanese, VIZ Media LLC)

Best Related Work: Writing Excuses, Season 7 by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Jordan Sanderson

Best Graphic Story: Saga, Volume 1 written by Brian K. Vaughn, illustrated by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form): Marvel's The Avengers, written and directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel Studios, Disney, Paramount)

Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form): Game of Thrones: "Blackwater", written by George R.R. Martin and directed by Neil Marshall; series created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (HBO)

Best Editor - Short Form: Stanley Schmidt

Best Editor - Long Form: Patrick Nielsen Hayden

Best Professional Artist: John Picacio

Best Semiprozine: Clarkesworld, edited by Neil Clarke, Jason Heller, Sean Wallace, and Kate Baker

Best Fanzine: SF Signal, edited by John DeNardo, JP Frantz, and Patrick Hester

Best Fancast: SF Squeecast, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Cornell, Seanan McGuire, Lynne M. Thomas, Catherynne M. Valente (presenters), and David McHone-Chase (technical producer)

Best Fan Writer: Tansy Rayner Roberts

Best Fan Artist: Galen Dara

Finally, though it is not an official Hugo Award. the John W. Campbell Award recognizes an outstanding new professional science fiction or fantasy writer, is similarly prestigious and is traditionally presented at the Hugos ceremony. This year's recipient was Mur Lafferty.

For more information about this year's Hugo Awards, visit www.LoneStarCon3.org/hugo-awards