Lynne M. Thomas, head of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library, has won two Hugo Awards—science fiction’s most prestigious award. Thomas, now a seven-time Hugo Award winner, joined the University Library in July 2017.

Hugo Award winners were announced at the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in San Jose, CA, on August 19, 2018. Thomas won for Best Editor, Short Form and Best Semiprozine (a non-professional periodical publication) for Uncanny Magazine. Thomas is the co-editor-in-chief and publisher of Uncanny Magazine with her husband Michael Damian Thomas.

Thomas was in attendance at the 2018 Hugo Awards. Upon receiving email congratulations from her library colleagues back at the University of Illinois, she replied, “Thank you, everyone. I don’t even know what to say at this point. But please accept my deepest gratitude.”

Past Hugo Award wins for Thomas include Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It (Best Related Work) in 2011; SF Squeecast (Best Fancast) in 2012 and 2013; and Uncanny Magazine (Best Semiprozine) in 2016 and 2017. A comprehensive list of her awards is found in the Science Fiction Awards Database at www.sfadb.com/Lynne_M_Thomas.

The fan-nominated Hugo Awards are sponsored by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). For more information about the Hugo Award, visit thehugoawards.org.