Don’t Forget! Hugo Nominations End Friday, March 14

Please remember that in order to nominate works for the Hugo Awards, your ballot must be received by 11:59 pm. on March 14, Pacific Daylight Time. As described on the How to Nominate webpage, members can access the nomination form via the Membership Portal or vote by a paper form. Don’t wait until the last minute—and don’t forget to nominate in the special category Hugo Award for Best Poem!

How to Request a Suite at the Sheraton, or Notify us of a Party

Seattle Worldcon has reserved a limited number of one-bedroom hospitality suites at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, our headquarters hotel, which may be requested by members for their use. These suites are ideal for throwing parties, and priority will be given to members who plan to host a party or event which is open to the convention membership. The suite rate is $459/night (plus taxes and fees). The convention cannot provide or guarantee additional rooms.

A suite request form is now posted on our website. Please also use this form to notify us if you are planning an open party/event during the convention, but do not need a suite from us.

Hotel Room Blocks are Sold Out!

We are glad to have so many of you coming to Worldcon. Unfortunately our hotel room blocks, which initially seemed large and were subsequently increased, have sold out. It is possible some of these blocks may reopen from time to time on our hotel page, but in the meantime please be aware there are 14 hotels inside of a five-block, half mile radius of the Seattle Convention Center Summit Building where rooms can be secured using a common booking service, such as Google, hotels.com, bookings.com, or kayak.com.

Many of these are just as close, or closer, than our room block hotels. It may also be possible to secure rooms at our room block hotels, but outside the room block. Here is a list of hotels by proximity to the nearest Convention Center entrance, according to Google Maps:

  • WorldMark/The Camlin (<0.1 mile)
  • Grand Hyatt Seattle (0.1 mile)
  • Hyatt Regency Seattle (0.1 mile)
  • Hyatt at Olive 8 (0.1 mile)
  • The Paramount Hotel (0.1 mile)
  • Residence Inn Seattle Downtown Convention Center (0.1 mile)
  • Hilton Garden Inn (0.2 miles)
  • Hotel Theodore (0.2 miles)
  • Sonder at Pivot (0.2 miles)
  • Hotel Max (0.3 miles)
  • The Westin Seattle (0.3 miles)
  • Sheraton Grand Seattle (0.3 miles)
  • Hilton Motif Seattle (0.4 miles)
  • Mayflower Park Hotel (0.4 miles)
  • Sonder the Boyleston (0.4 miles)

All members, with a hotel room or not, will have access to nightlife activities at the Sheraton Grand Seattle.

Take Me Out to the Holosuite… or T-Mobile Park

Want to know what plans are taking shape for Worldcon Fringe? Check out our new Fringe webpage!

The entries listed now include several which need RSVPs, even at this early stage. The most time-sensitive item is the Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays game on August 10 at 1:10 p.m. The higher the head count we give them, the more discounts we get, so please RSVP by April 1 if you can!

Another fabulous Fringe activity planned is two unofficial tours of the science fiction and fantasy exhibits at The Museum of Popular Culture (MoPOP), offered by a former curator. These exhibits contain memorabilia from shows and movies, videos of SFF authors, original manuscripts, and much more. They are well worth visiting any day, but if you want to get the inside scoop from a former curator, you should know there are only 20 spots available for each tour. Purchase of admission to the museum is required.

You can also find details about:

  • A midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show during the convention
  • A hiking trip to Mount Rainier National Park
  • Three separate visit days to Seattle Center, home of the Space Needle, MoPOP, and much more, via the Seattle Monorail

There will be more to come later, so please check the webpage regularly!

Thank you to everyone who responded to the previous newsletter article with suggestions and tips. They were very helpful! If you have any more, please feel free to email [email protected].

Bringing the FUN for Kids, Tweens, and Teens at Worldcon

Are you bringing newer fans to Worldcon, and are wondering what we will have on the schedule just for them? The full schedule isn’t set yet, but here’s a preview of some of the fun activities we’re planning for the under-21 set. Our kid program room for ages 11 and under will have some static activity areas that you can drop into any time for unstructured play or crafts. Do you need a few minutes for your littles to let off some steam, without boring adults talking all the time? We will have toys and books specifically for them, with a comfy spot for a parent to sit while the kids are engaged. Additionally, on the official program expect a full schedule of craft projects, story times, music, creative classes, and other entertaining mayhem for youth of all ages, including Drag Queen Story Hour, Poetry Mad Libs, and painting rocks. Teens and Tweens can expect activities targeted to their interests, including crafts, games, panels, and teen-only meetups. Teens and Tweens will also have use of a lounge just for them—no boring adults allowed!—to decompress and hang out during the convention.

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.

https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/13/newsletter-march-2025-hugo-nominations-end-soon/

#BusinessMeeting #Fringe #Hotels #HugoAwards #PartySuites #Youth

How to Nominate

Instructions for nominating works for the 2025 Hugo Awards, the Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book, and the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.

Seattle Worldcon 2025

Newsletter March 2025: Hugo Nominations End Soon!: Hugo nominations close tomorrow, suite requests and party notifications are open, our hotel room blocks are sold out, announcing our first Fringe events, and peeking at what we have planned for our younger members! … (#BusinessMeeting #Fringe #Hotels #HugoAwards #PartySuites #Youth)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/13/newsletter-march-2025-hugo-nominations-end-soon/

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 [email protected].

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 [email protected]. 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.

How to unsubscribe from this newsletter:

Are you a member who tried to unsubscribe to the newsletter but find you are still receiving it? To unsubscribe, please log into the Seattle Registration Portal, choose edit your profile, and uncheck the box “Please send me the newsletter and convention announcements.”

If you have never used the Seattle Registration Portal, or even if you have, please check the portal and make sure we have your most recent information. Check back regularly as we occasionally provide new items for you to look at!

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.

https://seattlein2025.org/2025/01/14/newsletter-january-2024-seeking-book-donations/

#AstoundingAwards #BrandonOBrien #ConVerse #FreebiesLounge #Hotels #HugoAwards #LodestarAwards #Memberships #PartySuites #WritingContest

Hotels and Accommodations

The area around the Seattle Convention Center–Summit contains numerous hotels and is connected to transit corridors, creating a wealth of options for travelers.

Seattle Worldcon 2025

Newsletter January 2025: Seeking book donations!: The Freebies Lounge is looking for book donations, party suites may be requested, hotel room availability updates, announcing the Con-Verse blog column with Brandon O’Brien, membership rate increases, how to unsubscribe from the newsletter, w… (#AstoundingAwards #BrandonO'Brien #ConVerse #FreebiesLounge #Hotels #HugoAwards #LodestarAwards #Memberships #PartySuites #WritingContest)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2025/01/14/newsletter-january-2024-seeking-book-donations/

Newsletter January 2024: Seeking book donations!

The Freebies Lounge is looking for book donations, party suites may be requested, hotel room availability updates, announcing the Con-Verse blog column with Brandon O'Brien, membership rate increases, how to unsubscribe from the newsletter, writing contest submissions close soon, and Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding award nominations open soon!

Seattle Worldcon 2025