If you have any interest in nominating for the Hugo Awards, remember that the deadline for purchasing an Aussiecon4 membership is January 31, 2010.

The Hugo Awards are presented each year at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) by the World Science Fiction Society.

The Hugo nomination process for works published or otherwise released in 2009 and individual achievement awards is open to current members of the World Science Fiction Society, which means supporting or attending members of the 2009 Worldcon (Anticipation) or the upcoming 2010 Worldcon (Aussiecon 4).

Nominations must be received by 13 March 2010. In order to participate, you must have purchased an Aussiecon 4 membership by 31 January 2010 or have been a member of the 2009 Worldcon, Anticipation.

According to Vincent Docherty, Hugo Awards Administrator, the best-known Hugo Award categories are Best Novel and Best Dramatic Presentation. “However, there are many other categories of Hugo Awards, including some for short fiction, for artists, and editors, and for activities by fans,” says Docherty, “Winning an award as prestigious as the Hugo can mean the difference between an author having one or two works published and having the industry keen to get its hands on anything you create.”

A shortlist of the five most popular works or achievements in each award category will be published in early April 2010, with the voting process open to Aussiecon 4 members until 31 July 2010.

The Hugo Awards Ceremony will be one of the highlights of Aussiecon 4, and will take place on the evening of Sunday 5 September 2010.

Aussiecon 4 will be held at the new Melbourne and Convention and Exhibition Centre from 2 to 6 September 2010. The convention will be a five-day event bringing together readers and fans and a premium field of authors, illustrators, publishers, scientists, and other leading genre figures.

“Worldcon is a truly amazing and unique phenomenon”, says Perry Middlemiss, Co-Chair of Aussiecon 4. “It has all the features of an international writer’s festival but celebrates a very specific genre: science fiction, fantasy, and horror.”