Freebies Lounge wants your book donations!
Did you visit the Glasgow Worldcon’s popular Freebies Library? We are bringing it back, under the name Freebies Lounge. This will be a centrally-located event space where attending members are welcome to take books for free, and hang out to read or write. This is both our way to share great books with a wide audience and a place for discovering new authors.
Seattle Worldcon is actively seeking new and used book donations from traditional publishers, small publishers, self-published authors, and convention members like you. Publishers and authors are encouraged to donate new releases or backlist items. Donate as few or as many as you want! This is a great way to expose your work to new readers, or, if you are an avid reader, to clear out your shelves.
Since we are a convention featuring speculative fiction, please donate books in the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres, adjacent historical fiction, or nonfiction relevant to SFF readers. Adult, young adult, middle-grade, children’s books, and graphic novels are all welcome.
We have a climate-controlled warehouse where you can ship books. Limited pickup in the Seattle area may be available. Or, hand-carry books to the event and simply drop them off at the Freebies Lounge. Authors using print-on-demand can print and ship in the U.S. to avoid international shipping costs. U.S.-based donations can be shipped using U.S. Postal Service media mail.
For more information, and to request the shipping address, please email Freebies@seattlein2025.org.
See you there!
Facilities Update: Party Suite Applications Open; New Rooms Coming Soon at Sheraton Grand!
Apply for a Party Suite at Sheraton Grand
Seattle Worldcon has suites available for parties at the Sheraton Grand, our headquarters hotel. Any person with a room in the Sheraton may use that room for a party. However, if you or your group wishes to use a suite for a party, please submit a request for a suite by emailing hotels@seattlein2025.org. Provide your name, your group name, and the night or nights that you wish to request a suite. If you are only requesting one or two nights, please provide alternate dates in the event we cannot accommodate your first choice. Only a limited number of suites are available, but we will do our best to satisfy as many requests as we can.
Rooms Soon to be Added to Sheraton Grand Room Block
Room availability has been scarce in our room block hotels, and the block at the Mayflower Park has closed entirely. There is good news—we are in the process of executing agreements to increase our room block at the Sheraton Grand by 100 nights on Wednesday–Thursday and 125 nights on Friday–Sunday of the convention week (August 12–17). Watch for an announcement or check the link from our Hotels and Accommodations page. To add nights to an existing reservation, you must rebook for the full desired stay and then cancel your original reservation. Please cancel rooms promptly if you know you won’t be using them, so they can be returned to the block.
Con-Verse Launched with Poet Laureate Brandon O’Brien
Seattle Worldcon’s Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow blog is launching a new column, Con-Verse, with Poet Laureate Brandon O’Brien. New columns to run every Monday. Check it out to learn all about speculative poetry, get ready to nominate finalists for our special Hugo Award for best poem, and maybe be inspired to write some verse of your own!
Attending Membership Rates Increased in January; Will Go Up Again in March and May
The adult attending membership rate for Seattle Worldcon 2025 increased to $250 on January 2. Future rate increases are scheduled to occur March 1, to $280, and May 1, to $300. Please note the WSFS membership portion of this membership, worth $50, is non-transferable based on requirements of the WSFS Constitution. For more information and to see our full rate schedule please visit our registration page.
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Don’t Forget the Seattle Worldcon Writing Contest—Submissions Now Open!
Remember the submissions window for the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Writing Contest is January 5–20. Any submissions received after that date will be deleted unread. The winners in the adult and young adult categories will be published in an upcoming anthology from Grim Oak Press and paid $0.10/word.
Nominations for Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards to Open Soon!
Seattle Worldcon expects to open nominations for the 2025 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award, and the Astounding Award in the very near future. If you want to participate in nominations, you must have purchased at least a WSFS membership from Seattle Worldcon 2025 by January 31, or have had at least a WSFS membership in Glasgow 2024, a Worldcon for Our Futures.
We will accept nominations in the 18 traditional Hugo categories and this year’s special Hugo category for best poem, as well as for the Lodestar Award and the Astounding Award. For the final ballot, only members of Seattle Worldcon 2025 with WSFS voting rights will be able to vote.
Please watch for further announcements. We’ll send a direct email with further instructions to all Seattle Worldcon 2025 members and Glasgow Worldcon members when nomination voting opens.