SMOF News, volume 4, issue 42

WSFS Business Meeting to consider Hugo improvements, the end of NASFiC, and much more, and news in brief.

WSFS Business Meeting Agenda Released

Seattle Worldcon 2025, this year’s World Science Fiction Convention (August 13-17) has released this year’s WSFS Business Meeting Agenda (PDF), a 146-page epic of new proposals, committee reports, and business passed on from last year’s own hefty meeting in Glasgow.

Hugo process committee reports back

Of widest interest, the Hugo Administration Process Committee, formed last year to re-evaluate all aspects of Hugo Award administration in the wake of significant irregularities in the selection of 2023 Hugo finalists, has provided an extensive report that begins on page 72. After discussion of the current Hugo process, its weaknesses, and the limitations it operates under, the committee makes five recommendations for improvement:

• Creation of a code of ethics for WSFS officers and Hugo administrators

• More detailed reporting from Hugo administrators

• Better documentation of current Hugo administrators’ processes and best practices

• More assistance for Hugo administrators from past administrators and Worldcon chairs

• A survey of the Worldcon community to find out its preferences about the relationship between Worldcon and the Hugos in the future, including the possibility of spinning the Hugos off to their own legal entity.

The committee concludes with its thoughts on the specific proposals introduced last year that were referred to it.

NASFiC elimination proposed

The long-expected proposal to end the North American Science Fiction Convention appears as item F.13 on page 41. NASFiC was created in the days when Worldcon was nearly always in the United States, as an alternative for fans who couldn’t travel overseas to follow Worldcon on the rare occasions it was on other continents. With Worldcon now a true world convention, a consensus has developed that NASFiC is a historical relic that should be eliminated.

This was given new urgency, as the proposal notes, by the 2023 proposal for an Asian Science Fiction Convention to also be run by WSFS. ASFiC proponents justified it as a way of giving Asian fans equal privilege to American ones. Instead, ASFiC was voted down, and the privilege can now be equalized by ending NASFiC.

Other notable proposals

• Possible ratification of the end of the Retro Hugo Awards (E.7)

• A new attempt to limit which countries Worldcon can be held in (F.20)

• A new poetry category for the Hugos, making this year’s test category permanent (F.12)

• A resolution regarding ethical concerns around generative AI (D.8), inspired by the backlash over a Worldcon volunteer’s use of AI to research prospective panelists

This year’s WSFS Business Meeting will take place before Worldcon, in four virtual sessions, the first of which begins on July 4 at 9:00 am Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7).

In Brief

• Terry Fong has stepped down from the Montreal in 2027 Worldcon bid for personal reasons. Darren Briskman will serve as interim bid chair until site selection at this year’s Worldcon.

• Rodger Turner, a board member of the World Fantasy Convention and administrator of the World Fantasy Award for several years, died June 16. (Worldcon in Memoriam)

• Florida Supercon (Miami, Florida, July 18-20) has added SungWon Cho.

• ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, July 18-20) has added Ross Marquand.

• WasabiCon PDX (Portland, Oregon, July 19-20) has added Stephanie Young.

• Gen Con (Indianapolis, Indiana, July 31-August 3) has added Eric Lang as a Guest of Honor.

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 1-3) has added Ben Barnes.

• Terrificon (Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-10) has added Amelia Tyler, Scott Kolins, Tom Derenick, Brian Pulido, Chris Poland, David Ellefson, and Will Conrad.

• MGSCon (Ontario, California, August 23) has added Brian Cummings and James Mathis III.

• Norwescon (SeaTac, Washington, April 2-5) has added Geneva Bowers as its Artist Guest of Honor.

• Trek Long Island (Hauppauge, New York, June 12-14) has added Nana Visitor.

Event Calendar

Weekend of June 20-22

• MisCon 39: Hive of Scum and Villainy, Missoula, Montana, USA

• LibertyCon 37, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA

• Soonercon, Norman, Oklahoma, USA

• GarchingCon 13 (Perry Rhodan), Munich, Germany

• Just added: OzCon International (Oz series), Pomona, California, USA

• Airikas Traum 19 (music), Erbach, Germany

• Cosplay America, Cary, North Carolina, USA

• Argentina FurFiesta, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Arcon 41 (gaming), Oslo, Norway

• Diversão Offline (gaming), São Paulo, Brazil

• Wellycon (gaming), Wellington, New Zealand

• Origins Game Fair 2025, Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Just added: Southern-Fried Gaming Expo (video games), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Finn-Con@MDC (anime), Miami, Florida, USA

• Wie.MAI.KAI (anime), Flörsheim am Main, Germany

• OMG!con 2025 (anime), Owensboro, Kentucky, USA

• Anime Festival Orlando 2025, Orlando, Florida, USA

• SugoiPopCon 2025 (anime), Fishkill, New York, USA

• Heroes Convention (comics), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Mississippi Comic Convention, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

• Metrotham Con (media), Dalton, Georgia, USA

• Sci-Fi-London 25 (film festival), London, UK

• Spooky Empire (horror media), Orlando, Florida, USA

Weekend of June 27-29

• Archipelacon 2, the 2025 European Science Fiction Convention, Mariehamn, Finland

• Festival Fantazie, Chotěboř, Czech Republic

• PortConMaine 2025: Space, Portland, Maine, USA

• Narrativity 2025: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night (storytelling in literary sf), Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• The Town That Never Was (steampunk), Telford, UK

• KantCon (gaming), Overland Park, Kansas, USA

• DexLite 2025 (gaming), Morristown, New Jersey, USA

• RAGECON 2025 (gaming), Sparks, Nevada, USA

• Too Many Games (video gaming), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• Card Party 3 (Pokémon CCG), Tampa, Florida, USA

• AkaiCon 11th Unit (anime), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA

• Anime ID: Year of the Tarot, Boise, Idaho, USA

• JAFAX (anime), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

• Black Hills Con (anime), Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

• SunnyCon Anime Expo, St. James Park, UK

• Comic Con Colombia 25, Bogotá, Colombia

• Nickel City Comic Con, Buffalo, New York, USA

• Tidewater Comicon, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

• Kelowna ComiCon, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

• TrekFest 40 (Star Trek), Riverside, Iowa, USA

Weekend of July 4-6

• Westercon 77/BayCon 2025: A Convenient Parallel Dimension, Santa Clara, California, USA

• InConJunction XLIV: Legends, Myths and Cryptids, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• XXXVIII Semana Negra, Gijón, Spain

• WetzCon III – 70 Jahre SFCD, Wetzlar, Germany

• Festival Fantazie, Chotěboř, Czech Republic

• Play On Con, Columbiana, Alabama, USA

• CONvergence 2025: That's How We Roll, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• CosDay² (costuming), Frankfurt, Germany

• Anthrocon 2025 (anthropomorphic), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Paris est Ludique! (gaming), Paris, France

• Dice Tower East (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA

• FeenCon 2025 (gaming), Bonn, Germany

• ShepparCon ‘25: It'll Be Out of This World! (gaming), Shepperton, UK

• Pokheimon Festival, Heimsbrunn, France

• Anime Midwest, Rosemont, Illinois, USA

• Anime Expo - LA, Los Angeles, California, USA

• Japan Expo (anime), Villepinte, France

• TomoFair XL (anime), Utrecht, Netherlands

• Just added: Anime Messe Babelsberg, Berlin, Germany

• Avalon Expo 14/Summer (media), St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

• Comiccon de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada

• London Film & Comic Con, London, UK

• Fan Expo Denver (media), Denver, Colorado, USA

Weekend of July 11-13

• XXXVIII Semana Negra, Gijón, Spain

• ConGregate 11: Geek Summer Vacation, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

• CharCon 20 (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA

• Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France

• EBBG Con (gaming), Oakland, California, USA

• Game on the Table Con, San Jose, California, USA

• Play Con (gaming), Hurstville, Australia

• ConsimWorld Expo (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• Just added: Fling.con (gaming), San Antonio, Texas, USA

• Twisted Lords Con 2025 (gaming), Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA

• Just added: Kitsune Kon (anime), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

• Tokyo, OK (anime), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• Anime Ohio, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

• Just added: Sydney Manga & Anime Show, Sydney, Australia

• MondoCon 2025 (anime), Budapest, Hungary

• Ai-Kon 2025 (anime), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• Just added: Shore Leave 45 (media), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

• OCon (media), Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA

• Saggeek (media), Saguenay, Québec, Canada

• Infinity Con Tallahassee (media), Tallahassee, Florida, USA

• Fanboy Expo Knoxville (media), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Just added: Corpus Christi Comic Con, Corpus Christi, Texas, USA

• TFcon Toronto (Transformers), Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

• The Uncanny Experience (X-Men), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Weekend of July 18-20

• Estcon 2025 (Estonian national sf convention), Udu, Estonia

• Celsius 232, Avilés, Spain

• Imaginarium Convention, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

• Readercon 34 (books only), Burlington, MA

• Fur-Eh!: Retro Barkade (anthropomorphic), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Furway 2025 (anthropomorphic), Brandbu, Norway

• Brazil FurFest 2025: Heróis & Vilões (anthropomorphic), São Paulo, Brazil

• Eufuria 2025: Solarpunk (anthopomorphic), Albany, New York, USA

• QuinCon 38 (gaming), Quincy, Illinois, USA

• Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France

• Gem State Gaming Convention, Boise, Idaho, USA

• ConsimWorld Expo (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• Con of the Lakes (gaming), Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, USA

• Go Play NW 2025 (gaming), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Open Gaming Convention 2025: Legend of the Temple, Westford, Massachusetts, USA

• ConsimWorld Expo 2025 (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• Venger Con IV: Post-Modern Apocalypse (RPGs), Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, USA

• Historicon 2025: 250 Years of the US Army (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

• TennoCon 2025 (Warframe), London, Ontario, Canada

• Tosho-con (anime), Cranford, New Jersey, USA

• Delta H Con (anime), Houston, Texas, USA

• Dokidokon (anime), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• Wasabicon PDX (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA

• Tekko 2025 (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Pretty Heroes (female-centered anime), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• ConnectiCon XXII (media), Hartford, Connecticut, USA

• ATL Comic Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Greater Austin Comic Convention, Cedar Park, Texas, USA

• Hershey Comic Con, Grantville, Pennsylvania, USA

• Florida Supercon (media), Miami Beach, Florida, USA

• Vampire Fan Weekend (Vampire Diaries), Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Coda

• Multiverse finance (Paradigm, hat tip: Money Stuff)

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