LAcon V Announces Award Designers for the 2026 Hugo Awards and Lodestar Award

ANAHEIM, CA – The organizing committee for LAcon V, the 84th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), has officially announced the selection of the artists commissioned to design the trophies for the 2026 Hugo Awards and the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. Scott Lefton, a renowned multidisciplinary artist and engineer, has been named the designer for the 2026 Hugo Award base, while H. Emiko Ogasawara, a distinguished California-based artist and educator, will design the 2026 Lodestar Award.

The announcement marks a significant milestone in the preparation for the 2026 convention, which is scheduled to take place in Anaheim from August 27 to September 1, 2026. The unveiling of the trophy designers serves as a traditional prelude to the event, signaling the beginning of the aesthetic and thematic integration of the host city’s culture into the genre’s most prestigious accolades.

The Architectural Identity of Science Fiction’s Highest Honor

The Hugo Awards, established in 1953 and named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of Amazing Stories, are widely considered the premier awards in the science fiction and fantasy (SFF) fields. While the central element of the trophy—the iconic, sleek silver rocket—remains a standardized constant from year to year, the base upon which it rests is reimagined for every convention.

This tradition allows each hosting Worldcon to leave a unique thumbprint on the history of the award. The base typically serves as a narrative device, incorporating elements of the host city’s geography, history, or cultural contributions to the speculative fiction genre. For LAcon V, the challenge lies in distilling the sprawling, multifaceted identity of Southern California—a hub of aerospace innovation, cinematic history, and diverse artistic movements—into a singular pedestal for the Hugo rocket.

Parallel to the Hugo base is the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book. Though not a Hugo Award itself, it is presented at the same ceremony and carries immense prestige within the publishing industry. Established in 2018, the Lodestar Award requires a unique design each year that reflects the "guiding light" theme inherent in its name, while also mirroring the specific personality of the host Worldcon.

The Visionaries Behind the 2026 Trophies

The selection of Lefton and Ogasawara reflects a commitment by the LAcon V leadership to bridge the gap between technical precision and evocative storytelling.

Scott Lefton: A Fusion of Engineering and Artistry

Scott Lefton is no stranger to the high-stakes world of Worldcon honors. As a multidisciplinary artist and consulting engineer, Lefton’s portfolio is a testament to the "hard" and "soft" sciences merging into aesthetic form. His work utilizes a broad spectrum of materials, including metal, glass, wood, and electronics, often integrated with digital design and photography.

Lefton previously designed the Hugo Award bases for the 2004 Worldcon (Noreascon 4) in Boston. Perhaps most notably, his craftsmanship has literally reached the stars; Lefton created the miniature Hugo rocket that was displayed aboard the International Space Station (ISS), cementing his status as an artist with a profound connection to the "science" in science fiction.

“The Hugo trophy is the SFF community’s equivalent of the Oscar,” Lefton remarked regarding his appointment. “I’m honored to have been chosen to craft this year’s Hugo base design, and hope that it will remind people about LAcon V and about what our community values in creativity.”

H. Emiko Ogasawara: Crafting the ‘Guiding Light’

H. Emiko Ogasawara brings a deeply tactile and interactive philosophy to the 2026 Lodestar Award. A California-based artist and art instructor, Ogasawara is a veteran of the SFF community whose work spans ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, and paper engineering.

Her artistic signature often involves kinetic and functional elements, transforming static objects into interactive experiences. This approach is particularly suited for the Lodestar Award, which celebrates the vibrant and often transformative nature of Young Adult fiction. By inviting viewers to become participants, Ogasawara’s design is expected to capture the dynamic energy of the next generation of readers and creators.

Chronology of the Hugo Base Tradition

To understand the weight of this announcement, one must look at the evolution of the Hugo Award trophy. For the first few years of the awards, the design was inconsistent. It wasn’t until the mid-1950s that the rocket design, originally created by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason based on the hood ornaments of 1950s automobiles, became the standard.

The tradition of the unique base began as a way to distinguish one year’s winners from another. Over the decades, these bases have ranged from simple wooden blocks to elaborate dioramas. Notable past designs have featured:

• 1992 (MagiCon, Orlando): Bases featuring stylized depictions of Florida’s coastline and space-launch history.
• 2005 (Interaction, Glasgow): Incorporating traditional Scottish materials and motifs.
• 2023 (Chengdu Worldcon): Utilizing intricate designs that blended traditional Chinese aesthetics with futuristic technological themes.

The timeline for the 2026 awards follows a strict organizational rhythm. Following the designer announcement in late 2024, the artists will spend the next 20 months in the design and fabrication phase. The final reveal is strictly guarded until the Opening Ceremony of LAcon V, ensuring a moment of collective discovery for the international SFF community.

Supporting Data: The Scale of Worldcon and the Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards are unique among major literary and media awards because they are entirely fan-voted. There is no "academy" or "jury" in the traditional sense. Instead, the winners are chosen by the members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS).

• Participation: In recent years, Hugo Award nominations and final ballots have seen participation from thousands of fans worldwide.
• Categories: The awards cover a vast range of categories, including Best Novel, Best Novella, Best Dramatic Presentation (Long and Short Form), Best Fan Writer, and Best Professional Artist.
• The Lodestar Factor: Since its inception in 2018, the Lodestar Award has seen a surge in popularity, reflecting the massive growth of the YA market in speculative fiction.

By appointing designers with deep roots in the community, LAcon V is tapping into a legacy of "fan-pro" (fan-professional) excellence that defines the Worldcon experience.

Official Responses and Organizational Vision

The leadership of LAcon V has expressed high confidence in the selected artists’ ability to capture the spirit of the 2026 event. Joyce Lloyd, the Chair of LAcon V, emphasized the narrative power of the trophies.

“One of my favorite traditions of the Hugo Awards ceremony is that each year’s trophies tell a story about the place and people hosting Worldcon,” Lloyd stated. “Scott and Emiko are artists whose work combines technical excellence with a sense of wonder. I am incredibly excited about their designs and cannot wait to share what they’re creating with you at LAcon V in August!”

The committee noted that the choice of Ogasawara, a local California artist, and Lefton, an engineer with a history of space-related art, perfectly mirrors the "California Dream" and "Space Age" themes often associated with Southern California’s contributions to the genre.

Implications: The Intersection of Fan Culture and Physical Art

The announcement of the trophy designers carries implications beyond the immediate excitement of the 2026 convention. It reinforces the importance of physical, artisanal objects in an increasingly digital world. For authors and artists, receiving a Hugo is a career-defining moment; the physical weight and unique design of the base serve as a permanent reminder of the specific community that honored them.

Furthermore, the selection of Lefton and Ogasawara highlights the ongoing professionalization and diversification of SFF art. By commissioning an engineer and a traditional media instructor, LAcon V is acknowledging that science fiction is not just about the stories on the page, but about the physical craftsmanship and technological innovation that make those stories possible.

As the 84th Worldcon approaches, the focus will now shift to the nomination process and the eventual reveal of the designs in Anaheim. For the SFF community, the trophies designed by Lefton and Ogasawara will eventually represent the pinnacle of achievement for the year 2025 (the year of eligibility for the 2026 awards), standing as artifacts of a specific moment in the genre’s history.

For more information regarding LAcon V, membership registrations, and upcoming deadlines for the Hugo Awards, interested parties are encouraged to visit the official convention website at www.lacon.org or follow the convention’s updates via social media at @laworldcon.

About LAcon V:
LAcon V is the 84th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in Anaheim, California, from August 27 to September 1, 2026. Worldcon is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), an unincorporated literary society.

About the Hugo Awards:
The Hugo Awards are the most prestigious awards in the science fiction and fantasy genres. They are voted on by the members of the World Science Fiction Convention and have been presented annually since 1953.

Legal Notice:
"World Science Fiction Society", "WSFS", "World Science Fiction Convention", "Worldcon", "NASFiC", "Hugo Award", the Hugo Award Logo, and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Trophy Rocket are service marks of the World Science Fiction Society.