"Last Unicorn" Author Peter Beagle Wins Hugo Award

By Mark Hoerrner

He said it was probably the longest walk of his life. Not because he wasn’t sitting close to the stage, but because he had to tell himself constantly not to trip or make a fool of himself as he approached the dais, stepping up to accept the prestigious award in front of an audience full of friends, admirers and colleagues.

Author Peter Beagle was recently honored as the winner of the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Novelette for his follow-up coda to his former novel, The Last Unicorn, entitled Two Hearts. Beagle, 67, is best known as the author of Unicorn, a popular young adult fairy tale that has captivated audiences since it was first written, despite having written a dozen other books. A new novel, Summerlong, is due out shortly.

After the awards ceremony, the fact that he had won the prestigious award had barely sunk in.

"I can't believe it. I still can't believe it," Beagle said in a phone call to his business manager, Connor Cochran. "I'd convinced myself it wasn't even faintly possible, that there was no way I could win. But I swear I don't think my feet are touching the floor. I keep saying 'Son of a bitch, I won' to myself. Over and over."

Two Hearts was born of Beagle’s need to revisit the world of Unicorn. Cochran had asked for a different story from his client, but Two Hearts was what came to the surface.

"I can feel that my work has evolved over time, that it has a certain meter and rhyme to it," Beagle said, "but I can still go back and be a 9-year-old girl again if I need to. I can capture that voice and follow it through the stories. I think that you can always hear that voice once you discover it. For Two Hearts, I just let myself go back and experience that fairy tale all over again."

The Hugo Award is given out in honor of Hugo Gernsback who was described as the "Father of Magazine Science Fiction" during an award Gernsback received in 1960, though the award was established in 1946. The award winners are chosen by submissions from within the membership of the World Science Fiction Society and are administered by a committee of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). The awards, also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Awards, stand as the highest acclaim a work of science fiction or fantasy can achieve.

Two Hearts is available as part of compilation of stories by Beagle entitled The Line Between. The book also contains 10 other tales from the author. It can be found through most booksellers or an autographed edition can be purchased from Conlan Press for just $25.

Beagle’s other books include Giant Bones, I See By My Outfit, The Innkeeper’s Song, The Folk of the Air, A Fine and Private Place, and The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche and Other Odd Acquaintances. His best-known work, The Last Unicorn, was also made into an animated feature film by Rankin-Bass Entertainment, and he also authored the script for the animated Lord of the Rings and the lyrics to The Midnight Angel, an opera.