DisCon III Abandons Previously Announced Hugo Policy

Bill Lawhorn, Chair of the 2021 Worldcon, DisCon III, announces that the committee has reversed the Hugo Award-related policy published yesterday that would have limited the number of creators identified with a finalist for certain purposes, such as the ballot and award name plaque.

Lawhorn’s statement says:


We apologize to the Worldcon community for the Hugo Awards policies announced yesterday. We realize we should have reached out to the wider community for your feedback before finalizing it. Many were hurt and disappointed, especially those who are members of marginalized communities, and we have listened to your feedback and concerns.

The Hugo Awards exist to celebrate and honor all of the creators chosen by the Worldcon membership. We should have considered those creators’ needs and feelings through our policies and the messaging we used. We once again apologize.

Here are the steps we are taking to address the problems that were caused:

All publications and visuals linked to the Hugo Awards will include all Hugo Finalist creators named to DisCon III with no restrictions to the number of names. This includes, and is not limited to, the Hugo Awards ballot, the visuals used during the Hugo Awards Ceremony, the plaques on the Hugo Awards trophies, the Hugo Awards Ceremony program guide, the DisCon III souvenir guide, and the DisCon III and Hugo Awards websites.

We will address concerns about the size of events such as the Hugo Pre-Reception, the number of Hugo Awards trophies, and any other cost considerations individually with the finalists.

We want to thank the fans, especially those who are members of marginalized communities, for speaking out and helping us understand the issues with yesterday’s policies and how they were communicated.

Worldcon and The Hugo Awards are stronger because our fandom continually challenges us to create a better and more inclusive future. We acknowledge the trust placed in us as caretakers of Worldcon. We still have a lot of work to do. We are committed to earning back your trust as we approach DisCon III

Once again, we offer our sincerest apologies. Please continue to reach out to us through social media @Worldcon2021, Discord, and via email at [email protected]. We will continue to keep you informed about DisCon III.


11 thoughts on “DisCon III Abandons Previously Announced Hugo Policy

  1. Thank you to Bill Lawhorn & DisCon III for acting on the feedback received. I am glad they changed their minds.

    I have said elsewhere that I wish we didn’t have to keep doing it this way, but this is a good outcome.

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  4. Why would limiting the number of people listed on an award particularly affect minority groups? Are they more prone to working in a large team?

  5. The concern expressed in the other thread on this subject is that disadvantaged people would be more likely to be the ones left off the list if only four people on a team were listed, not that they are more inclined to be part of large teams.

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