Villafranca To Make 2013 Hugo Bases

Artist casting the 2013 Hugo Award base.

Artist casting the 2013 Hugo Award base.

The 2013 Hugo Award base will be designed by Texas-based artist Vincent Villafranca. Vincent is a Chesley Award-winning sculptor who produces futuristic and fantastic bronzes using the traditional lost-wax casting process. In keeping with tradition, the design will not be revealed until the convention itself.

The full press release follows the jump.

Press Release #22

TEXAS ARTIST VINCENT VILLAFRANCA ANNOUNCED AS DESIGNER OF 2013 HUGO AWARD TROPHY BASE

LoneStarCon 3, The 71st World Science Fiction Convention
San Antonio, Texas
August 29 – September 2, 2013

[email protected]
www.LoneStarCon3.org

Postal queries to: P.O. Box 27277, Austin, TX 78755

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, June 17, 2013

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), is pleased to announce that the 2013 Hugo Award trophy base will be designed by Texas-based artist Vincent Villafranca. Villafranca is a Chesley Award-winning sculptor who produces futuristic and fantastic bronzes using a traditional lost-wax casting process. Production of the 2013 bases is already well under way, although in keeping with tradition, the design will not be revealed until the convention.

The actual Hugo Award trophy takes the form of a silver rocket. The original concept by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason was inspired by the gleaming finned rocketships of Willy Ley. The exact design has become standardized in recent years and the rockets are currently produced by British fan Peter Weston. The base on which the rocket is mounted is, however, the responsibility of each Worldcon committee, and the design changes each year, usually inspired by the location of the convention.

LoneStarCon 3 is also pleased to announce that fans may now submit their final Hugo Award ballots online at www.lonestarcon3.org/hugo-awards/. The voting deadline is Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature, media, artists, and fans. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia, PA (Philcon II), and they have continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables annually for 60 years.

More information about the Hugo Awards is available at www.LoneStarCon3.org/hugo-awards/.

For additional information, please contact [email protected].

ABOUT THE WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION

Founded in 1939, the World Science Fiction Convention is one of the largest international gatherings of authors, artists, editors, publishers, and fans of science fiction and fantasy. The annual Hugo Awards, the leading award for excellence in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, are voted on by Worldcon membership and presented during the convention.

LoneStarCon 3 is sponsored by ALAMO, Inc., (Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization), a 501(c)(3) organization. For information about memberships or hotel accommodation, please visit our website at www.LoneStarCon3.org. Please send press questions, or requests to be removed from the LoneStarCon 3 press release mailing list, to [email protected], and send general queries to [email protected].

“World Science Fiction Society,” “WSFS,” “World Science Fiction Convention,” “Worldcon,” “NASFiC,” “Hugo Award,” and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.

2 thoughts on “Villafranca To Make 2013 Hugo Bases

  1. I envision some sort of bucking bronco and a cowboy tossing a rope over the rocket, mounted on a mesquite wood base shaped like the map of Texas … or maybe a marshall’s five-starred badge in bronze? The only thing more tacky would be a matching bowl for tortilla chips.

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