Science fiction books take place in the future, near or distant, and are based on scientific principles.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is often considered to be the first science fiction novel. When Shelley wrote Frankenstein in 1818, she took much of her inspiration from the recent discovery of galvanism: the discovery that electricity can stimulate muscle contractions, even in dead animals.
In 1926, Hugo Gernsback launched a new magazine called Amazing Stories. In this editorial from the first issue of Amazing Stories, Gernsback explained that he wanted his new magazine to focus on “the scientific type of story” or “scientifiction defined as. “a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision,” and he cited Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Edgar Allan Poe as the great luminaries of the genre.
The Hugo Award, named after Hugo Gernsback, is the annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members.