Hugo Award Finalists Announced!
On April 6, Seattle Worldcon 2025 announced the finalists for the Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and Astounding Award for Best New Writer on our YouTube channel, and posted them on our website. Congratulations to all! Voting will open on April 23, 2025 at 9 a.m. PDT for all Seattle Worldcon members with at least a WSFS membership, who will be able to vote on the final ballot. If you are not already a member, please go to the Memberships page on our website to purchase a membership allowing you to participate in the Hugo Award voting.
The 2025 Hugo Award base will be designed by Joy Alyssa Day, a professional glass sculpture artist. Joy specializes in blown glass sculptures that capture the awe and beautifulness of space. Joy, assisted by her partner BJ, has previously designed the Hugo Award base for LonCon in 2014. Joy lived for many years in the Pacific Northwest, and it holds a place dear to her. She says, “I began going to conventions with my parents at the young age of 14, and have always loved the community of fandom, from small, local cons, to the Worldcon level. To be able to use my artwork to honor those who help bring the fans together is a great gift. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest for a number of years, I have loved the beauty of the land, and the connection to the fandom there, my friends. It was natural to want to continue to be a part of that fandom’s history, and I’m so happy to be chosen.” Examples of Joy’s sculptures can be found on her website.
The Emerald City in the Atomic Age—Participate in Our Group Costume and Photo Meetup!
Saturday at Seattle Worldcon is retro future fashion day. Join the fun and dress for our costume theme, The Emerald City in the Atomic Age! Have you always wanted to be part of a costume group, but didn’t have a bunch of costumer friends? Join in, everyone is welcome! On Saturday, wear your best retro-futuristic duds to a group costume meetup at a time and place to be announced on the Worldcon schedule and attended by our crack photography team. We’ll show off our sartorial splendor together, get photos taken, and generally raise the level of fabulous at the convention.
Save the Date for WSFS Business Meeting Town Halls
Seattle Worldcon is hosting two Business Meeting Town Halls for members to learn how to participate in the business meeting process. Topics like submitting a proposal, what is the business meeting, and more will be included in the first town hall on May 4 at noon Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7). The Town Hall will take place on Zoom and will be recorded for those unable to attend. We will release details on how to attend and RSVP shortly. If you can’t make the meetingt, please submit any questions that you’d like to have answered at businessmeetinghelp@seattlein2025.org.
Our second town hall meeting, which will focus on how the online business meeting will function, will be held on May 25 at noon Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7).
Seattle Worldcon Announces Consultative Vote on Proposed Amendments to WSFS Constitution
Building on the success of last year’s consultative vote, Seattle Worldcon 2025 will hold a consultative vote of WSFS members on two of the proposed Constitutional amendments passed on from the Glasgow 2024 Business Meeting to the Seattle Worldcon: the proposed revisions of the Hugo Award categories for best professional artist and best fan artist, and the proposed amendment to abolish the Retro Hugo Awards.
As with last year, the purpose of this exercise is simply to test whether a consultative vote of Worldcon members is feasible, and to learn lessons about how it might someday be formally adopted as a part of the WSFS decision-making process. We chose these two proposals in particular because they have clearly generated wide interest among the Worldcon community.
The consultative vote results will be used solely to inform the Seattle Business Meeting of the preferences of a larger sample of the membership than might otherwise be able to attend. Glasgow 2024’s consultative vote allowed over 1,200 WSFS members to share their opinion on a proposed amendment.
The consultative vote will run from May 1 to May 31 and may be accessed at the same site and in the same manner as the Hugo Award voting—so you can do both at the same time!
Digital and Virtual Content Explained
We’ve been putting a lot of work into plans for digital and virtual content for Seattle Worldcon, and now we’re ready to start telling you about it! But to fully realize our plans, we will need volunteers. Please visit our new Virtual Experience Page to learn about:
- Live streaming and panel replays
- All-virtual panels
- Interactive opportunities
- And more!
Included are email addresses you can use to send us your ideas for international panels and presenters and other digital events. You will also find the all-important link to the volunteer interest form, where you can volunteer to help make the digital convention a reality.
Interested in Giving a Concert at Worldcon?
Yes, there will be concerts at Seattle Worldcon! We will be holding concerts throughout the day in the Signature Room on the fifth floor of our venue, the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building. Alexander James Adams, one of our guests of honor, will be performing on Thursday, August 14. Performance slots are generally 30 minutes, and performances will be grouped into “Star Clusters” of four similar acts in 2.5 hour blocks which repeat through the day with 30-minute breaks in-between. We want all members to have a fun experience, whether on stage or in the audience!
If you would like to perform, please both fill out a Panelist Application and email Lynn Gold, concerts area head, at concerts@seattlein2025.org to let us know you are interested. Best yet, let us know if there are other artists you would like to be “clustered” with!
Take Refuge in Our Safer Spaces Lounges!
Need a break during your convention day? Seattle Worldcon 2025 is hosting five Safer Spaces Lounges daily from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. at the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building, including a BIOPOC/AAPINH Lounge, LGBTQ+ Lounge, Disability Lounge, Interfaith Lounge, and Calming Lounge. There will also be an evening space called the Oasis Space available from 6 p.m.–2 a.m. at the Sheraton Grand. Whether you are processing an intense reaction or just wanting quiet and rest, we want to meet your need to recharge. For more information, visit the Safer Spaces Page on our website.
Please Fill Out Our Survey If You Have Accessibility Needs
Hello fellow fans! We want all our attendees to have the best experience possible. You may have already seen our Accessibility Policy and FAQ. If you believe you might be in need of accessibility services during the con, please fill out the survey.
Your responses will let us know what accessibility services you personally hope to access during the convention. We will combine the responses and use them to continue to work on providing the right level of services. This is not a sign-up for accessibility services—stay tuned for that!
If you are unable to respond to this online survey, you may contact accessibility@seattlein2025.org to provide your response. Every person’s input is important.
Thank you in advance. Your input is very valuable in our efforts to ensure that our fellow fans will find that their accessibility needs are well met.
Here is the link to the survey!
Thanks in advance for helping us out!
Worldcon in Seattle 2025 Short Story Contest Finalists
With short story submissions from all over the world, the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Short Story Contest was fierce. The contest theme was: “Building Yesterday’s Future—For Everyone.” We are pleased to announce the finalists:
Worldcon in Seattle 2025 is pleased to announce the finalists:
Finalists for the Adult Category:
- “Crossovers” by Dave O’Neill
- “Follow For More: Captain Garvey Fights the Space Junk!” by Sarah Darbee
- “Into the Open” by Jela Schmidt
- “Lost and Found” by Lucie Lukačovičová
- “Prerequisites for the Creation of a Possible Predicted World” by Chisom Umeh
Finalists for the Youth (age 18 and under) Category:
- “1962: The Year the World Changed” by Elizabeth V. Schaffer
- “And Justice For All” by Sharada Puranam
- “The Dream Terminal” by Michelle J. Diaz
Congratulations to all of the finalists! Worldcon in Seattle thanks all of the authors who submitted stories to the contest. Winners to be announced soon!
The Community Fund Is Helping!
The Community Fund is helping fellow fans attend Worldcon! Thanks in part to your generous donations, we have so far been able to award grants totaling $29,500 to 56 people in 11 countries, including Argentina, Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
It’s not too late to donate and help more people attend! Our next round of grants begins mid-May. Our goal is to award grants to as many people as possible, and to spend all the money we have in our fund. If you wish to donate, you can do so via the membership portal, or by this direct donation link.
Here are the percentages for each of our focus groups (totals more than 100% because many applicants qualify in more than one category):
- Attendees from the Global South – 13%
- BIPOC/AANHPI – 41%
- First time attendees from the Pacific Northwest (including Vancouver, British Columbia and Alaska)- 39%
- LGBTQIA+ – 73%
If you have applied for a grant and haven’t yet received one, please don’t give up hope! We still have one more wave of grant approvals, and everyone who has applied is still in consideration. We are also still accepting new applications.
Site Selection Bids
The Seattle site selection team would like to announce that the only bid filed for the 2027 Worldcon is Montreal 2027. Details about the bid, including all required documentation, can be found on the Site Selection Filed Bids page. Site selection voting will open later in the year.
Reminder: Virtual Business Meeting Dates and Times
As we announced last month, the main sessions of the WSFS Business Meeting will be held virtually before the convention this year, at the following dates and times (Pacific Daylight Time):
- Friday, July 4, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Sunday, July 13, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Friday, July 25, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
More information about the business meeting may be found on the website.