1972 in science fiction

The year 1972 was marked, in science fiction, by the following:

• The 30th annual Worldcon, L.A.Con I, is held in Los Angeles, USA
• The first Eurocon is held in Trieste, Italy

• N. K. Jemisin
• China Miéville
• Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Andy Weir

• Fredric Brown

• Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton

• The first volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year is published by Ballantine Books, edited by Terry Carr
• The first volume of The Annual World's Best SF is published by DAW Books, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha

• Kamandi #1, by Jack Kirby
• Mazinger Z begins serialization in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine

• Silent Running, dir. by Thomas Trumbull
• Slaughterhouse-Five, dir. by George Roy Hill
• Solaris, dir. by Andrei Tarkovsky
• Z.P.G., dir. by Michael Campus

• Best novel: To Your Scattered Bodies Go, by Philip José Farmer^[1]
• Best novella: The Queen of Air and Darkness, by Poul Anderson^[1]
• Best short story:"Inconstant Moon", by Larry Niven^[1]
• Best dramatic presentation: A Clockwork Orange, dir. by Stanley Kubrick; screenplay by Stanley Kubrick; based on the novel by Anthony Burgess^[1]
• Best professional magazine: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, ed. by Edward L. Ferman^[1]
• Best professional artist:Frank Kelly Freas^[1]
• Best fanzine: Locus, ed. by Charles N. Brown and Dena Brown^[1]
• Best fan writer:Harry Warner Jr.^[1]
• Best fan artist:Tim Kirk^[1]

• Best novel: The Gods Themselves, by Isaac Asimov^[2]
• Best novella: A Meeting with Medusa, by Arthur C. Clarke^[2]
• Best novelette: "Goat Song" by Poul Anderson^[2]
• Best short story: "When It Changed" by Joanna Russ^[2]

• Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film: Slaughterhouse-Five