Locus Awards 1973: Complete list of winners

The 1973 Locus Awards marked an important moment for science fiction’s most reader-focused honors. Established just two years earlier by Charles N. Brown, the Locus Awards were already proving their value as a counterweight to the Hugo Awards, reflecting what fans actually wanted to celebrate rather than what the traditional science fiction establishment deemed worthy. By 1973, the award had gained enough credibility and participation to become essential reading for anyone tracking the genre’s pulse.

That year’s winners showcased the diversity of imagination flourishing in science fiction during the early 1970s, a period when the genre was expanding in bold new directions. Frederik Pohl’s “The Gold at the Starbow’s End” took the Novella category, cementing Pohl’s reputation as a master of the form—a writer equally comfortable exploring economic systems, cosmic mysteries, and the human condition within the compressed space a novella demands. This win highlighted how the Locus Awards, driven by votes from science fiction readers themselves, often championed work that emphasized ideas and craft over mere spectacle.

The 1973 Locus Awards winners continue to merit attention from anyone interested in understanding what science fiction fans valued during this transitional era. These were the choices of passionate readers navigating a genre in flux, and they tell us something vital about where science fiction was heading.

Best Novella

• The Gold at the Starbow’s End by Frederik Pohl