1981 in science fiction

The year 1981 was marked, in science fiction, by the following:

Events

• The Kurd Laßwitz Award, for German-language science fiction, is established
• The 39th annual Worldcon, Denvention Two, was held in Denver, USA

Births and deaths

Births

Deaths

• Harry Bates

Literary releases

Novels

• Downbelow Station, by C. J. Cherryh
• God-Emperor of Dune, by Frank Herbert
• VALIS, by Philip K. Dick

Short stories

• "Johnny Mnemonic" by William Gibson

Anthologies

• The Golden Age of Science Fiction, ed. by Kingsley Amis

Children's books

Other books

• After Man, by Dougal Dixon

Comics

• First issue of Nexus, by Mike Baron and Steve Rude
• The first Rogue Trooper story, by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, is published in 2000 AD

Movies

• Escape from New York, dir. by John Carpenter
• Heavy Metal, dir. by Gerald Potterton
• Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior, dir. by George Miller
• Scanners, dir. by David Cronenberg

Television

Video games

• Defender
• Zaxxon

Awards

Hugos

• Best novel: The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge^[1]
• Best novella: Lost Dorsai, by Gordon R. Dickson^[1]
• Best novelette: "The Cloak and the Staff", by Gordon R. Dickson^[1]
• Best short story: "Grotto of the Dancing Deer", by Clifford D. Simak^[1]
• Best related work: Cosmos, by Carl Sagan^[1]
• Best dramatic presentation: The Empire Strikes Back, dir. by Irvin Kershner; screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan; story by George Lucas^[1]
• Best professional editor: Edward L. Ferman^[1]
• Best professional artist: Michael Whelan^[1]
• Best fanzine: Locus, ed. by Charles N. Brown^[1]
• Best fan writer: Susan Wood^[1]
• Best fan artist: Victoria Poyser^[1]

Nebulas

• Best novel: The Claw of the Conciliator, by Gene Wolfe^[2]
• Best novella: The Saturn Game, by Poul Anderson^[2]
• Best novelette: The Quickening, by Michael Bishop^[2]
• Best short story: The Bone Flute, by Lisa Tuttle^[2]

Other awards

• BSFA Award for Best Novel: The Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolfe
• Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: The Snow Queen, by Joan D. Vinge
• Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film: Superman II

References

1. "1981 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Award. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
2. "1981 Nebula Awards". The Nebula Awards. Archived from the original on 2 June 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.