Single Pattern Contest and Masquerade Membership Prize Reminder

Show off your mad costume skills at Norwescon this year! Enter our single pattern contest and have fun with our unisex sweatshirt and pants pattern. Or go for broke and enter our masquerade. All skill levels welcome! Masquerade entrants have a chance to win a membership to Norwescon 48. We look forward to seeing you shine!

Norwescon’s Bibliophiles Update

Norwescon’s official year-round book club, Norwescon’s Bibliophiles, is reading some of the recently announced Philip K. Dick nominees for our March and April books. These include the following:

• March 17 – online – Triangulum by Subodhana Wijeyeratne
• April TBD – in person at Norwescon – City of Dancing Gargoyles by Tara Campbell

All are welcome at Norwescon Bibliophile events. This is an opportunity to discuss science fiction and fantasy books with other enthusiasts, not only during our annual convention in April but all year round. If you were planning to read the P.K. Dick nominees anyway, consider attending one of our upcoming meetings and joining the discussion.

Games, Games, and More Games!

This year the games at Norwescon 47 are being hosted by the Puget Sound Tabletop Gaming Alliance. This group involves volunteers from Dragonflight GameCon, Alexandria RPG Library, Emerald City Lodge, and Grit City RPG League. Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society games at Norwescon are brought to you by the Emerald City Lodge on behalf of Paizo Organized Play. Emerald City Lodge supports local conventions and play regularly in various locations around the greater Seattle metropolitan area. All are welcome, with no experience necessary! You can reach them on their Discord server. Dungeons & Dragons organized play during Norwescon is brought to you by Grit City RPG League.

• If you are interested in volunteering with the games group, we need administrative and library help. Please email us for more information.
• Games will be available all weekend at Norwescon 47! GM registration and game submissions are available now. The submission deadline is March 20, 2025. Please submit games through the game submission form.
• Player sign-ups are available now! Check out the available games and sign up on our Warhorn page. The deadline to sign up via Warhorn is April 13, 2025. Walk-in players will be accepted on the day of the game at the convention.

Attention: TTRPG and D&D Adventurers League Game Masters

If you need modules to run for the convention, we can help! R. Talsorian Games has offered to send out PDFs of their adventures for Cyberpunk as well as the new Edgerunner PDF. We may be able to help out with costs of D&D Adventurers League modules. We can also assist with modules for other systems that you would like to bring to the convention! For more information, email us.

Special Gaming Events!

Dragonflight is hosting a very special Magic: The Gathering Mystery Booster 2 for Draft, a limited-run pack of Magic with some retro cards and very rare pulls. Limited to 16 tickets for 50 dollars each. It will be hosted in Maxis’ on Friday.

Norwescon is hosting a CATAN championship qualifying event for the upcoming 2025 United States Championship. Save the date 4/20/2025.

Help the Norwescon ‘Zine Become a Success!

The Norwescon ‘Zine (the official daily news sheet for Norwescon 47) will be full of information for you each day of the convention – and some of that comes from you!

1. Did you have a memorable or funny meeting with one of our honorable guests or another con attendee? Send in a short paragraph!
2. Did you overhear something wonderfully odd and geeky (things you’re only going to hear at a sci-fi and fantasy convention that have you chuckling with fannish delight)? Send that line or short dialogue to us!
3. Did you attend a gathering or event you want to crow about? Be a “roving reporter” and send in a blurb!
4. See something cool – costumes, groups having fun, a visiting extraterrestrial wondering what all the fuss is about? A photo is always welcome, so send it in!

We welcome your submissions! Send your content, ideas, and photos to the ‘Zine. The ‘Zine will be available each morning of Norwescon 47 at 10 a.m. – both online and at the information desk.

Read for the Endeavor Award

Become a Preliminary Reader for the Endeavor Award! Preliminary Readers read works from the field of science fiction and fantasy that have been submitted and rate them. The top five works will then be rated by judges for the Endeavor Award.

The Endeavor Award represents a collaboration between writers and fans of science fiction and fantasy to encourage the growth of literature in the field and recognize works of excellence. The award is sponsored by the Oregon Science Fiction Conventions and given each year at Orycon. The deadline for book submissions this year is March 17, 2025.

Volunteer for Norwescon 47

Are you or a friend coming to Norwescon and looking for something to do during or before the convention? Consider joining our volunteer staff! We have positions open for people of varying skill types and interests.

If you are media savvy, we are looking for streaming and social media assistants. If you feel especially good at making people feel welcome, we are looking for convention lounge hosts, registration team members, and programming services team members. We have these positions, and many more, up for grabs over on the Open Volunteer Positions page.

Call for Assistance with Website Accessibility Review

Hello ConCom! In cooperation with our member services team’s work on ensuring our physical spaces are accessible for our disabled members, our publications and website teams are working on ensuring that our online publications, including our website, email newsletters, and social media posts, are properly set up for full accessibility, including compatibility with assistive technology software and hardware.

We’d like to know: If you are an assistive technology user, would you be willing to volunteer some time to go through our website and let us know if you encounter any difficulties or incompatibilities, or if you find any areas that have escaped our notice and could use improvement?

If you do not use assistive technology but know someone who does, might they be willing to assist with this effort? And of course, even if you don’t have the time, energy, or spoons to assist, if you are an assistive technology user who ever does encounter any difficulties with our website or other publications, we welcome comments at either website@norwescon.org or accessibility@norwescon.org.

https://www.norwescon.org/2025/03/03/news-from-norwescon-march-2025/

#AlexandriaRPGLibrary #DragonflightGameCon #EmeraldCityLodge #EndeavorAward #GritCityRPGLeague #MagicTheGathering #Masquerade #NorwesconsBibliophiles #PhilipKDickAward #PugetSoundTabletopGamingAlliance #SettlersOfCatan #SinglePatternContest

Guest of Honor Spotlight: Publisher Paizo Inc.

Washington-based Paizo Inc. is the publisher of the award-winning Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Tales novels, Starfinder science-fantasy roleplaying game, and numerous board games and accessories. In the 15+ years since its founding, Paizo has received more than 100 major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Jenny Jarzabski (she/her; all pronouns) is Creative Manager of Starfinder at Paizo Publishing. Jenny’s work in tabletop gaming includes dozens of published credits ranging from rule books to epic adventure campaigns. After a successful open playtest in 2024, Jenny and the Starfinder team are excited to launch Second Edition this year and have many exciting announcements coming up! Jenny is passionate about collaborative science-fantasy worldbuilding, tabletop RPGs as an industry and hobby, and big stompy robots–also known as mechs! Jenny believes playing games can help everyone to sparkle and shine their brightest.

As a developer at Paizo, Mike Kimmel is one of the creators of the upcoming Starfinder 2nd Edition Roleplaying Game. Mike has over 15 years of freelance writing experience in the tabletop games industry and seven years of experience running a community for aspiring freelancers. He spent nearly a decade as a teacher and literacy specialist before transitioning to a full-time career in game writing. Mike passionately believes in fostering diverse, welcoming communities of gamers and game creators; that’s how meaningful, lasting stories and friendships are made. Mike lives in the Pacific Northwest with his spouse, two children, two dogs named after authors, and a cat named after a Star Trek character.

2025 Philip K. Dick Award Nominees Announced

The judges of the 2025 Philip K. Dick Award and the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society, along with the Philip K. Dick Trust, are pleased to announce the six nominated works published in 2024 that comprise the final ballot for the award:

1. CITY OF DANCING GARGOYLES by Tara Campbell (Santa Fe Writers Project)
2. YOUR UTOPIA: STORIES by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur (Algonquin Books)
3. TIME’S AGENT by Brenda Peynado (Tordotcom)
4. THE PRACTICE, THE HORIZON, AND THE CHAIN by Sofia Samatar (Tordotcom)
5. ALIEN CLAY by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Orbit)
6. TRIANGULUM by Subodhana Wijeyeratne (Rosarium Publishing)

First prize and any special citations will be announced on Friday, April 18, 2025, at Norwescon 47. Plans for the ceremony will be posted on the Norwescon site.

Club Tables Going Fast!

We only have a couple more club table spots left! Applications are still open to bring your club, group, convention, or organization that promotes science, science fiction, fantasy, costuming/cosplay, or other fannish pursuits to Norwescon 47. Come meet our fabulous members, advertise your organization, and support fandom of all kinds. Apply on the Club Tables page of our website.

Enter Single Pattern Contest or Masquerade for the Chance to Win Norwescon 48 Membership

Show off your mad costume skills at Norwescon this year! Enter our Single Pattern Contest and have fun with our unisex sweatshirt and pants pattern. Rules and entry forms can be found on the SPC Page.

Or go for broke and enter our Masquerade. All skill levels welcome! Masquerade entrants have a chance to win a membership to Norwescon 48. We look forward to seeing you shine! Rules and entry forms can be found on the Masquerade Page.

Suite Applications Now Available

If you are interested in reserving a suite for the convention, good news! The suite application form is now active on the website. This form must be completed and submitted for review and approval.

Volunteer for Norwescon 47

Are you or a friend coming to Norwescon and looking for something to do during or before the convention? Consider joining our volunteer staff! We have positions open for people of varying skill types and interests.

If you are media savvy, we are looking for streaming and social media assistants. If you feel especially good at making people feel welcome, we are looking for convention lounge hosts, registration team members, and programming services team members. We have these positions, and many more, up for grabs over on the Open Volunteer Positions page on the Norwescon website.

Call for Assistance with Website Accessibility Review

Hello ConCom! In cooperation with our member services team’s work on ensuring our physical spaces are accessible for our disabled members, our publications and website teams are working on ensuring that our online publications, including our website, email newsletters, and social media posts, are properly set up for full accessibility, including compatibility with assistive technology software and hardware.

We’d like to know: If you are an assistive technology user, would you be willing to volunteer some time to go through our website and let us know if you encounter any difficulties or incompatibilities, or if you find any areas that have escaped our notice and could use improvement?

If you do not use assistive technology but know someone who does, might they be willing to assist with this effort? And of course, even if you don’t have the time, energy, or spoons to assist, if you are an assistive technology user who ever does encounter any difficulties with our website or other publications, we welcome comments at either website@norwescon.org or accessibility@norwescon.org.

https://www.norwescon.org/2025/02/07/news-from-norwescon-february-2025/

#JennyJarzabski #Masquerade #MikeKimmel #Paizo #PhilipKDickAward #SinglePatternContest

Holiday Membership Special 2024—EXTENDED!

Did you buy your membership to Norwescon 47 before the start of the new year? Don’t fret–the current price of $95 for a full four-day adult membership is extended until January 15, 2025! This is an amazing deal for four jam-packed days of science fiction and fantasy programming and entertainment. Now is the time to get your membership so you can start focusing on other important things like, “Which costume am I going to wear each day of the con?” or, “Is my bag of holding big enough?”

The rate will increase to $110 on January 16, 2025. Visit our Memberships Page to register. You will also find instructions on how to reset the password for your registration account and how to obtain a membership for someone else. If you have any questions, please contact registration@norwescon.org.

Hotel Rooms Are Filling Up Fast

Are you thinking about staying at the hotel so that you don’t miss out on the fun but haven’t booked your room yet? You still can! Make your hotel room reservations now before our room block fills up. Remember, our special room rate includes parking for one car. Find out more and make your reservation on the Hotel Page of our website.

Welcome to the Norwescon Writers Workshop

Welcome to the Norwescon Writers Workshop (NWW), presented by the Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction and fantasy convention. This is a Milford-style workshop: a peer-to-peer critique facilitated by professional writers, editors, and agents. Critique sessions will be held in person during the convention.

All participants must have purchased a convention membership by March 1, 2025. There are no additional fees. We accept one manuscript submission per attendee, either a short story or novel excerpt in the science fiction, fantasy, or horror genre.

There are a limited number of spaces available in the workshop and it will be curated, so submit your application as soon as possible. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2025.

Science Guest of Honor Tracy Drain

Tracy Drain is a Systems Engineer with a career steeped in deep space exploration. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kentucky in 1998 and a Master’s Degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000, both in Mechanical Engineering. As an undergrad at the University of Kentucky, she interned at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 2000, she officially joined the NASA family as a full-time employee at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA.

In her 20+ years at the JPL, Tracy has been involved in the development, testing, and/or operation of five missions: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (a science and relay orbiter at Mars), Kepler (a space-based Exoplanet hunter), Juno (Jupiter orbiter), Psyche (currently on its way to study an asteroid), and now Europa Clipper (a mission to one of the icy moons of Jupiter, launched in October 2024).

Her roles on these missions have included the following: Transition Phase Lead and Lead Systems Engineer in operations for MRO, the Mission Readiness Lead for Kepler, Deputy Chief Engineer in operations for Juno, Deputy Project Systems Engineer for Psyche, and until recently the Lead Flight Systems Engineer for Europa Clipper. She has now taken on the role of “Launch to Mars” Mission Manager for Clipper. In that capacity, she will lead the operations team in preparing for and executing the first four months of checkouts and the Mars flyby gravity assist (a key milestone in the spacecraft’s 5.5-year journey to the Jovian system).

Drain has received NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals for her work on Kepler and MRO. She has also been honored with the JPL Bruce Murray Award for exceptional support for the education of minority and female STEM students through community programs, distance learning, and public events.

A life-long learner, Tracy loves encouraging people to nurture their curiosity and explore the wonders that surround us. She serves on the planning committee for the National Academy of Science’s Science and Entertainment Exchange and on the advisory board of Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative. In her spare time, she enjoys mentoring, reading (sci-fi, psychology, sociology, and history), watching shows/movies (sci-fi, documentaries, and K-dramas), and studying languages (Spanish and Korean).

Norwescon 2024 Announces This Year’s Charity

Each year we ask Norwescon members to donate items for sale during the convention to support a nonprofit of choice or to offer prizes to our hard-working volunteers. This year our nonprofit of choice is Page Ahead. Page Ahead provides new books and develops reading activities that empower at-risk children. Founded in 1990, Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program has given more than four million new books to more than one million children through collaborations with schools, social service agencies, preschools, and early childhood programs across Washington.

We will also be accepting donations of items that are fannish in nature such as art, jewelry, books, and games at the convention. Items will be available for sale throughout the convention in the art show or used as volunteer prizes. Please be sure to stop by the art show and see what we have to offer. It’s all for a good cause! If you would like to make a donation, please drop items off at the art show with a staff member. You can also email us about making a donation.

Norwescon is proud to be working with Page Ahead to help eliminate book deserts and get books into the hands of under-resourced children in the greater Seattle area, as well as other areas in the state of Washington. You can also donate a book directly to Page Ahead, or you can donate money directly at GiveDirect Fundraising Platform: Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program.

2025 Lazer Tag / Nerf

This year the Lazer Tag / Nerf arena will be in an open format. This means that the members in the arena will vote on what will be played for each 20-minute timeframe. PLEASE NOTE this year you must bring your own Nerf gear and eye protection. EYE PROTECTION IS REQUIRED FOR NERF PLAY!

Club Table Applications Are Now Open

Club table applications are open, and we can’t wait to see what clubs, groups, conventions, and organizations that promote science, science fiction, fantasy, costuming/cosplay, and other fannish pursuits want to join us for four days of fun! Come meet our fabulous members, advertise your organization, and support fandom of all kinds. Apply on the Club Tables page of our website.

Meetups Open Still!

Have a club or interest you would like to talk about with other like-minded fans? Here is your chance! Sign up to run a meetup in our beautiful pro suite. You can relax on soft furniture and chat about whatever your meetup is about. Meetups are 50 minutes long and have a few requirements but are well worth getting to hang out with new friends.

Single Pattern Contest and Masquerade Updates

Show off your mad costume skills at Norwescon this year! Enter our Single Pattern Contest and have fun with our unisex sweatshirt and pants pattern. Rules and entry forms can be found on the SPC Page.

Or go for broke and enter our Masquerade. All skill levels welcome! Masquerade entrants have a chance to win a membership to Norwescon 48. We look forward to seeing you shine! Rules and entry forms can be found on the Masquerade Page.

The Shire Update

Hear Ye! The Shire is back for its second year. We are looking for prize donations (e.g., water bottles, messenger bags, stickers, full-sized candy bars). This year, the second-year Shirelings will be learning basic hand sewing such as patches, hems, and buttons. We are also hosting an Elder who will be teaching all ages “Magic The Gathering.” We hope to see new faces and meet old friends in the Teen Lounge. For questions, suggestions, or to arrange prize donations, please contact The Shire.

Announcing Norwescon Gaming Host

This year Dragonflight is generously hosting our gaming! As we get closer to Easter, look for schedules and sign-up sheets.

Help Expand Our Digital Archives

Norwescon has been around for almost half a century! Pretty exciting, isn’t it? But did you know that you can explore Norwescon’s past in our historical archives? We’ve been working on collecting, scanning, and archiving all sorts of material from our past. The collection includes badges, program books, progress reports, and more, and we’d like your help in continuing to build it out!

We’ve assembled an archives tracking spreadsheet noting what we have and what we’re missing, and we’d love to fill in as many of those blanks as possible. If you have old Norwescon paraphernalia tucked away somewhere that isn’t in our archives, we’d appreciate it if you could either scan it (at 200 dpi or better) and email it to us, or contact us if you’d be willing to part with it, and we’ll give you a physical mailing address to send it to. Please contact archives@norwescon.org if you can help, or just hop into the archives and enjoy browsing through Norwescon’s past!

Call for Assistance with Website Accessibility Review

In cooperation with our member services team’s work on ensuring our physical spaces are accessible for our disabled members, our publications and website teams are working on ensuring that our online publications, including our website, email newsletters, and social media posts, are properly set up for full accessibility, including compatibility with assistive technology software and hardware.

We’d like to know: If you are an assistive technology user, would you be willing to volunteer some time to go through our website and let us know if you encounter any difficulties or incompatibilities, or if you find any areas that have escaped our notice and could use improvement?

If you do not use assistive technology but know someone who does, might they be willing to assist with this effort? And of course, even if you don’t have the time, energy, or spoons to assist, if you are an assistive technology user who ever does encounter any difficulties with our website or other publications, we welcome comments at either website@norwescon.org or accessibility@norwescon.org.

https://www.norwescon.org/2025/01/06/news-from-norwescon-january-2025/

#accessibility #Dragonflight #Hotel #Masquerade #NorwesconWritersWorkshop #PageAhead #SinglePatternContest #TheShire #TracyDrain

Applications are Live!

Applications for art show, dealers’ room, and fan and community tables opened December 1, 2024, and will remain open until January 15, 2025. Get your application in early!

The Seattle Worldcon 2025 Art Show and Dealers’ Room are juried. Once the initial deadline for applications has passed, the jury team will review applications. We anticipate issuing acceptances in early 2025.

The fan and community table space is open to clubs, groups, conventions, and organizations that promote science, science fiction, fantasy, horror, costuming/cosplay, and other fannish pursuits, providing an opportunity to share your enthusiasm with Worldcon members who have similar interests. All three application forms will remain open after January 15, 2025. Any applications received after that date will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and, if accepted, placed on a waiting list. The application forms will be closed once the respective waiting lists are full.

• Art Show information and application.
• Dealers’ Room information and application.
• Fan and Community Table information and application.

Site Selection Bids for 2027 Worldcon Are Being Accepted Now Through February 14!

Seattle Worldcon has the honor of administering site selection for the 2027 Worldcon. The process for site selection is outlined in the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) Constitution, Article 4. Any group that meets the technical requirements in the WSFS Constitution and files the necessary documents with us using the alias site-selection@seattlein2025.org may bid for the right to host the Worldcon. For more information, visit the Site Selection page on our website.

Please Update Your Registration to Tell Us About Your Interests!

If you registered early, or your membership information was imported based on pre-supporting the convention or voting in site selection in 2023, you may not have had the opportunity to fill out your Interests card. Even if you have, it doesn’t hurt to revisit and update your preferences. To do so, follow the steps below:

Log in to your membership here.

Actions to update your info:

• The top person is you, followed by any other people you have added to your account.
• ID: Your membership number. If the membership has not yet been processed by Registration, it shows as “Pending”.
• Person: Your first and last name.
• Badge name: What you told us you want to print on your badge as your name.
• Actions: These are the buttons you use to make changes to your information.
• Edit [Name]’s Profile: Use this button to update your personal information such as your address.
• Edit [Name]’s Interests: Use this button to let the convention know that you have special needs and/or interests such as accessibility, wishing to volunteer, be on a panel, etc.

The more information you give us, the better we can tailor your at-con experience!

Community Fund Grant Applications are Now Open!

The Worldcon Community Fund is dedicated to helping fans from diverse backgrounds participate in Worldcon by providing financial support for travel, accommodations, and memberships. We are focusing on assisting fans who are:

• First time attendees from the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Alaska, British Columbia)
• LGBTQIA+ attendees
• BIPOC/AANHPI attendees
• Attendees from the Global South

If you belong to one of these groups and would like to apply for assistance, please submit your application here. We are approving applications in waves, with the first wave deadline set for January 17th. Though priority for the first wave will be given to people engaging in foreign travel, feel free to apply at any time if you fit into one of these focus groups.

Your Donation Helps Bring Fans to Seattle Worldcon 2025!

Your generous donations help make this inclusive vision a reality! To read more about the Community Fund and to donate, please visit our page on the website. You can also donate by clicking here.

Announcing the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Single Pattern Contest!

Gentlefolk, start your sewing machines! Seattle Worldcon 2025 is proud to announce it is hosting a Single Pattern Contest! This year there will be two options for patterns:

• A vintage-style bowling shirt
• A 60s-style slip or sheath dress

In some years, a pattern selected for a single pattern contest has gone out of print or been difficult to locate, so a garment style rather than specific pattern number will avoid that difficulty. If you prefer a pattern, however, here are some suggested patterns:

Bowling Shirt: McCalls M7206* (available as PDF), Simplicity S9279, Simplicity S9157, Vogue V1622, (unisex), McCalls M8459, McCalls M6972.

60s-Style Dresses: McCalls M8466*, Simplicity S9848, Butterick B6990, McCalls M8402 (PDF), Simplicity S1609.

What is a Single Pattern Contest, you ask? Well, check out this page on the website and all your questions will be answered!

We Have Fun Stuff!

The Seattle Worldcon 2025 website is constantly being updated, and the contents are not just informational! Check out these new pages:

• Coloring Pages – lots of fun art for you to download, print, and color!
• Cross Stitch Patterns – some seriously cool patterns for your stitching pleasure!
• Paint By Number – for when you’ve upgraded from the coloring pages!
• Fabric Patterns – to purchase Worldcon fabric and make yourself something nice!
• Gallery – where you can upload photos of your creations!
• Playlist – yes, there is even a Worldcon 2025 playlist to get you in the mood!
• Trivia Quiz – 35 questions and answers to test your knowledge of Seattle!

Come for the information and stay for the fun!

Group Costume Theme Announced – Retro Future Fashion

Do you want to be part of a big group costume, but don’t have a bunch of costumer friends to talk into joining you? We’ve got you covered! Bring your best Retro Future Fashion, and wear it to the convention on Saturday, August 16, 2025. We’ll do a scheduled meet-up for folks wearing their best retro-future looks, and have a photo shoot of all of us in our fabulous clothes.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@seattlein2025.org. We look forward to seeing you at the convention!

Building the Business Meeting’s Future–With Virtual Meetings in 2025

Seattle Worldcon announced earlier this week we have developed a new process for the WSFS business meeting: which will be held as a series of pre-convention, virtual meetings on four dates prior to the convention: July 4, July 13, July 19, and July 25. Viewing of the meeting will be open to all; however, to participate in the meeting and vote on business will require an attending membership or virtual attending membership in the convention. A meeting will be held at the Worldcon to receive the results of site selection. For additional information, please read the announcement in full on the website, and if you have any questions, please reach out to business-meeting-help@seattlein2025.org.

https://seattlein2025.org/2024/12/15/newsletter-december-2024-applications-are-live/

#ArtShow #BusinessMeeting #Coloring #CommunityFund #CrossStitch #DealersRoom #Fabric #FanTables #PaintByNumber #SinglePatternContest #SiteSelection

Newsletter December 2024: Applications are Live!: Applications are open for fan tables, dealers’ room, and art show; site selection bids are being accepted; make sure your registration is current; community fund applications and donations are open; the single pattern contest is ann… (#ArtShow #BusinessMeeting #Coloring #CommunityFund #CrossStitch #DealersRoom #Fabric #FanTables #PaintByNumber #SinglePatternContest #SiteSelection)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2024/12/15/newsletter-december-2024-applications-are-live/

Meet Special Guest of Honor Isis Asare

Isis Asare is a queer Afrofuturist and lover of all things Black culture. A citizen of the world, Isis was born to Ghanaian immigrants in Harlem and concurrently resides in Seattle, WA, and Oakland, CA.

Isis is an alum of Stanford University, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and Columbia Business School, where they earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s in public policy, and an MBA, respectively. Isis is the CEO/founder of Sistah SciFi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on science fiction and fantasy in the United States, as validated by the American Booksellers Association. Its goal is to uplift literature written by Black and Indigenous authors.

Sistah SciFi has launched three Sistah SciFi book vending machines in Seattle at NAAM and Distant Worlds Coffee, and in Oakland at Chapter 510. We are planning for a vending machine to be brought to Norwescon 47.

Guest of Honor Selection Committee

We are taking suggestions for the guest(s) of honor for Norwescon 48. Feel free to email gohselectioncommittee@norwescon.org with your dream guests in the categories of writer, artist, science, and publisher.

Reserve Your Club Table Now

Are you part of a club, group, convention, or organization that promotes science fiction, fantasy, costuming/cosplay, gaming, or other fannish pursuits? If so, Norwescon would like to host your organization in our club tables area and help your organization reach Norwescon members who have similar interests. Fandom is multifaceted! Check out our Club Tables page for details on how to apply and reach out to Clubs Table Email with any questions.

Dealers’ Room and Writers’ Row Now Accepting Applications

The applications for the dealers’ room and writers’ row are now available. Information about table sizes and pricing is available on the Dealers’ Room page. We are making changes to our writers’ row set-up this year and now have the option to apply for a half or full table. Bardhwood Book Nook will be back this year to provide book-consignment services to our pros, panelists, and individual authors. If you would like to receive information about this service, sign up at the Book Nook mailing list.

Patterns for NWC 47’s Single Pattern Contest

Handle everything from a long journey across Middle Earth to an EVA to handle necessary repairs to your Bussard Ramjet – in comfort! Every adventurer needs comfort under their armor or space suit. Perfect for everyone from giants to halflings. So sew up a comfy outfit for your next adventure! Choose from these patterns:

McCall’s pattern M8249

Simplicity pattern S9828

https://www.norwescon.org/2024/11/07/news-from-norwescon-november-2024/

#ClubTables #DealersRoom #IsisAsare #SinglePatternContest #SistahScifi #WritersRow

News from Norwescon November 2024: Introducing Special Guest of Honor Isis Asare, soliciting suggestions for future guests of honor, applications are open for club tables, the dealers’ room, and writer’s row, and our single pattern contest patterns have been chosen! … (#IsisAsare #SistahSciFi #ClubTables #DealersRoom #WritersRow #SinglePatternContest)

Full post: https://www.norwescon.org/2024/11/07/news-from-norwescon-november-2024/

Hello Worldcon Fan!

There is a lot of news to cover in this edition, so let’s get started!

Seattle Worldcon 2025 Announces the Best Poem Special Hugo Award!

Get ready to mark your nominating lists with your favorite speculative, science fiction, and fantasy poems from 2024. The Seattle Worldcon team will award a special Hugo Award for best poem in 2025 to honor the rich, vibrant poetry culture of Seattle. From having one of the only poetry-only bookstores to having its own Civic Poet, the Seattle poetry scene teems with activity.

For this special Hugo Award, nominate your favorite poem within the speculative, science fiction, and fantasy genres, published in 2024, that is at least three lines.

We look forward to seeing what poems resonate with the WSFS membership.

Look for more poetry-related announcements to come. And don’t hesitate to send us your ideas at Panel Suggestions.

Congratulations to the 2024 Hugo Award Winners

Best Novel

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (Tordotcom, Orbit UK)

Best Novella

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (Tor, Titan UK)

Best Novelette

“The Year Without Sunshine” by Naomi Kritzer (Uncanny Magazine, November-December 2023)

Best Short Story

“Better Living Through Algorithms” by Naomi Kritzer (Clarkesworld May 2023)

Best Series

Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (Orbit US, Orbit UK)

Best Graphic Story or Comic

Saga, Vol. 11 written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Fiona Staples (Image Comics)

Best Related Work

A City on Mars by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith (Penguin Press; Particular Books)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, screenplay by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Michael Gilio, directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Paramount Pictures)

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

The Last of Us: “Long, Long Time”, written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, directed by Peter Hoar (Naughty Dog / Sony Pictures)

Best Game or Interactive Work

Baldur’s Gate 3, produced by Larian Studios

Best Editor Short Form

Neil Clarke

Best Editor Long Form

Ruoxi Chen

Best Professional Artist

Rovina Cai

Best Semiprozine

Strange Horizons, by the Strange Horizons Editorial Collective

Best Fanzine

Nerds of a Feather, Flock Together, editors Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, Adri Joy, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla.

Best Fancast

Octothorpe, by John Coxon, Alison Scott, and Liz Batty

Best Fan Writer

Paul Weimer

Best Fan Artist

Laya Rose

Lodestar Award for Best YA Book

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey)

Astounding Award for Best New Writer (sponsored by Dell Magazines)

Xiran Jay Zhao (eligibility extended at request of Dell Magazines)

Announcing the Community Fund for Seattle Worldcon 2025!

We are also happy to announce that we have been generously seeded with $30,000 from DisCon III to start a Community Fund for Seattle 2025. Our fund will have four focus areas: Pacific Northwest community members attending for the first time, LGBTQIA+ community members, BIPOC/AANHPI community members, and Global South community members. Applications for funds will open shortly and will be found on our website. We are also still gratefully accepting donations to increase our capacity, which can be made through our registration portal.

Come work with us!

Volunteer positions are currently available and many more will be opening up as the convention approaches. Let us know you are interested by filling out the volunteer form early! You can find it here on the website, and keep an eye on this page as more roles become available.

Seattle’s program will feature a lot of hands-on and interactive content. Want to be a panelist? Here’s the form: Panelists and Presenters. Have panel suggestions? Tell us: Panel Suggestions.

Creative people, it’s time to get started!

Seattle Worldcon 2025 is built from a community of readers, makers, and creators of all types. As such, we’ll have a great deal of hands-on programming and events – ways for you to participate, if you wish. Here are three opportunities to join in if you are interested in making things:

Group Costume Project: Want to be part of a group costume, but don’t have the connections to other costumers to make it happen? We’ve got you covered! We’ll announce a theme for the group costume after Worldcon in Glasgow. Just bring your own costume on the theme to Seattle, and be part of our group costume meetup. We’ll get a great group photo, and you’ll have a chance to connect with other costumers. Have a great idea for the theme? We want to know! Send suggestions to groupcostume@seattlein2025.org. The theme should be broad enough for lots of interpretations, but specific enough to spark people’s creativity and create a fairly cohesive group. It should also be accessible to costumers of all skill levels. Let us know what you think!

Single Pattern Contest: Keep checking for the announcement of the Single Pattern Contest – we’ll choose a commercially available sewing pattern. You will make something cool using that pattern – let your creativity run wild! A team of judges will evaluate the entries. Winners will be announced publicly, and prizes will be given.

Props Contest: Show us your best atomic age, retro-futuristic prop! Whether it’s a ray gun, communicator, or other prop, we want to see what you can come up with to build yesterday’s future. A team of judges will evaluate the entries, and we’ll showcase them to the membership.  We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks Glasgow!

The Glasgow Worldcon, Glasgow 2024: A Worldcon for Our Futures was stellar. We made new friends, stocked up on inspiration, and brought on a ton of new volunteers. We can’t wait to replay some of the panels and events we missed while having conversations and hosting parties. Thanks for the hospitality and another great Scottish Worldcon.

https://seattlein2025.org/2024/08/14/newsletter-august-2024-announcing-special-hugo-award-for-best-poem/

#CommunityFund #DisconIII #Glasgow2024 #GroupCostumeProject #HugoAwards #PropsContest #SeattleWorldcon2025 #SinglePatternContest