1981 in science fiction

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Years in science fiction
1880s 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029
History of science fiction Timeline of 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

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

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