Art Deco podium slowly rose from a recess in the center front stage floor. When the applause died down, toastmaster Bob Tucker began his opening remarks, some of them humorous. He then introduced the members of MidAmeriCon's Hugo Awards Committee to more applause and thereafter made various announcements. The Hugo Awards were then presented, interspaced with five special awards which had their own presenters. Bob Tucker was assisted on stage throughout the ceremony by MAC committee member Pat Cadigan and Hugo Awards committee member India Boone. Cadigan brought each nominee envelope onstage to Tucker and Boone brought out each Hugo Award after he read each category's nominees and announced a recipient. Each came up on stage from a special reserved nominee's seating area at the center front of the Music Hall. Following a brief intermission after the Hugo Awards presentation, Guest of Honor Robert A. Heinlein was given a lengthy introduction by Tucker. After coming onstage to a huge round of applause, he gave his guest of honor address to the assembled audience. This was followed by Tucker's concluding remarks and the close of the ceremony. 1976 Hugo Awards Best Novel: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman Best Novella: "Home Is the Hangman" by Roger Zelazny Best Novelette: "The Borderland of Sol" by Larry Niven Best Short Story: "Catch That Zeppelin!" by Fritz Leiber Best Dramatic Presentation: A Boy and His Dog Best Professional Editor: Ben Bova Best Professional Artist: Frank Kelly Freas Best Fanzine: Locus, edited by Charles N. Brown and Dena Brown Best Fan Writer: Richard E. Geis Best Fan Artist: Tim Kirk First "themed" Hugo base MidAmeriCon also presented another Worldcon first, a "themed" base used for the Hugo Award: "The Dragon and the Rocket". Instead of being made out of finished wood in square or angled stacked shapes, as in the past, all bases were cast from flexible molds using a marbled effect achieved by combining contrasting tinted porcelain powder layers with resin and a hardener. When cured, a low-luster clear outer finish was then applied. Each example featured a sculpted, just-hatched dragon (representing the fantasy genre) wrapped half-way around each round 4.5" tall base. The traditional 13" tall, four-finned Hugo rocket (representing science fiction) was John Millard's newer 1973 design; a dozen examples had been machined from billet aluminum stock and then finished with an overall semi-gloss clear outer coat. The flat top of each