Hugo Gernsback
The Hugo Awards or "Hugos" are the annual achievement awards presented at the World Science Fiction Convention, selected in a process that ends with vote by current Convention members. They originated and acquired the "Hugo" nickname during the 1950s and were formally defined as a convention responsibility under the name "Science Fiction Achievement Awards" early in the 1960s. The nickname soon became almost universal and its use legally protected; "Hugo Award(s)" replaced the longer name in all official uses after the 1991 cycle.
70th World Science Fiction Convention
The results were based on the 1,922 ballots submitted by members of the World Science Fiction Society. This was the second-highest total number of ballots ever cast for the Hugo. The unique base design for this year's Hugo Award trophies was designed by Deb Kosiba, designer of the trophy bases for both the 2005 and 2006 Hugo Awards. This was the first year for the new Best Fancast category, separating podcasts from more traditional fanzines.The Hugo Awards ceremony was intended to be webcast live via Ustream, but automatic routines on the site mistook brief film clips from the dramatic presentation categories as copyright infringement, even though they had been provided by NBC and the BBC. The stream was terminated in the middle of Neil Gaiman's acceptance speech and Worldcon temporarily banned as a user on the site.