Memphis Withdraws from 2023 Worldcon Race

~ Kevin Standlee

On October 17, 2021, the leaders of the Memphis in 2023 Worldcon Bid, Kate Secor and Cliff Dunn, issued an announcement to its supporters that they were folding the bid to host Worldcon 81:

It is with great sadness that we let you know that the Memphis in 2023 bid has folded. The challenges and uncertainties surrounding the pandemic have severely hampered our ability to run the campaign we had been hoping to so it has led us to fold this bid. We thank you so much for all of your support and appreciate that you believed in us. Those of you who are still due t-shirts, we will be mailing those out to you soon.

When the site selection ballot is released by DisCon III, you will see a WITHDRAWN watermark over our listing on the ballot – that is what DC III has told us they will be doing. We are going to throw a thank you party at DisCon III and invite you to come by and let us toast you and your support. We look forward to seeing so many of you that we sadly haven’t seen in so long.

Our very best,

Kate and Cliff

The remaining bids are for Chengdu, China, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The election to select the 2023 Worldcon will take place at DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon, which will be in Washington DC the weekend of December 15-19, 2021. Members of DisCon III will vote on the site of the convention. Members will be able to vote in advance by mail or in person at the convention, with the voting scheduled to open the first day of the convention and to continue through the evening of December 17. The results will be announced at the World Science Fiction Society business meeting on December 18. See the DisCon III 2023 Worldcon Site Selection page for more information.

2021 Worldcon Moves to December

~ Kevin Standlee

DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon, announced on April 7, 2021 that they would be postponing their convention to December 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new dates are Wednesday, December 15 through Sunday, December 19, 2021. The full text of their announcement, including provisions for virtual-only convention memberships, potential membership refunds, and the impact on deadlines for the Hugo Awards and 2023 Worldcon Site Selection, is on the DisCon III website.

2023 Worldcon Bid Filings Online

~ Kevin Standlee

Two bids filed the required documents by the filing deadline to host the 2023 Worldcon: Chengdu, China, and Memphis, Tennessee. The election to select the site of the 2023 Worldcon will be administered by DisCon III, the 2021 Worldcon. DisCon III has updated their 2023 Worldcon Site Selection page with links to the bids’ filing documents.

Any group that meets the technical requirements in the WSFS Constitution and files the necessary documents with the Worldcon administering the election is eligible to bid for the right to host a Worldcon. Worldcon sites are selected by the members of Worldcon as a whole, not by a board of directors, chair, president, or site-selection committee.

Members of the 2021 Worldcon, DisCon III, will vote on the site of the 2023 Worldcon. Details on how to vote on site selection will be announced later by DisCon III.

2021 Worldcon Editor Guest of Honor Announcement

~ Kevin Standlee

The 2021 Worldcon, DisCon III, announced on February 19, 2021 that they have removed Toni Weisskopf as Editor Guest of Honor and that they do not plan on adding additional guests of honor.

The World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) does not have a Board of Directors, Chair, President, or any other executive authority. Nearly all authority regarding Worldcon, including guest selection, is vested solely in individual Worldcon committees. Each Worldcon committee is selected by a vote of the members of the Worldcon two years in advance. Worldcon committees are independently organized, and under the provisions of Section 1.6 of the WSFS Constitution, all matters regarding an individual Worldcon not explicitly defined in the Constitution are reserved to the individual Worldcon committee.

If you have any questions about DisCon III, contact them directly through their web site.

Chicago to Host 2022 Worldcon

~ Kevin Standlee

Chicago, Illinois, USA was selected as the site of the 2022 Worldcon by the members of the 2020 Worldcon, CoNZealand, in Wellington, New Zealand and online around the world. The results were announced online on August 1, 2020 (New Zealand Time). Chicago’s bid received 517 (89.8%) of the 576 votes cast with a preference. The other bid on the ballot, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, received 33 votes. None of the Above received 6 votes. The remaining votes were spread among various write-in bids A full breakdown of the voting, including the write-in votes and the votes cast by paper mail and electronically, is available in this document.

Worldcon 80 will be called Chicon 8. The convention dates are September 1-5, 2022. Further information is available from the convention’s website.

Nice, France Worldcon Bid Announces Postponement

~ Kevin Standlee ~ 1 Comment

In an announcement posted on their website on July 25, 2020, the Worldcon bid for Nice, France announced that they are postponing their bid to host the World Science Fiction Convention. They initially were bidding to host the 2023 Worldcon. No new target date has yet been announced. Their announcement follows:

After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to postpone our bid for hosting the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention in Nice, France.

The impacts of COVID-19 are extensive and have far reaching consequences, as various industries and sectors are affected by the aftermath of the pandemic. Our daily lives, employments and businesses are severely disrupted, and we find ourselves unable to keep the 2023 target.

This has been and still is a challenging time for everyone, and we want to thank you all for your support, open discussions, understanding and encouragement.

We’re genuinely upset and disappointed, but we fully intend to host the WSFC later in time. We will be working to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming months.

Voting Open for 2022 Worldcon

~ Kevin Standlee

Voting has started for the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention. CoNZealand, the 78th Worldcon, has published information about voting to select the 2022 Worldcon Site Selection ballot on their web site.

Members of CoNZealand are eligible to vote on the site of the 2022 Worldcon upon payment of a NZ$72 Advance Supporting Membership (“Voting”) Fee in the form of a “voting token” that will be available from CoNZealand. This fee purchases a supporting (voting) membership in the 2022 Worldcon, regardless of who wins or how you vote. It is unrelated to any “pre-supporting memberships” (donations paid to any bid committees). The advance supporting membership fees are held in trust by CoNZealand and will be turned over to the winning bid.

Because CoNZealand is being held online only, members can vote only before the convention. Ballots may be sent by e-mailing a signed PDF of their ballot or by conventional paper mail by printing the ballot. Members must purchase a “voting token” from the CoNZealand membership web site using the instructions published with the ballot. No in-person voting will be conducted during the convention.

Update, June 22, 2020: Instructions for purchasing a voting token have been posted to the 2022 Site Selection page. Follow the instructions there to pay your Advance Supporting Membership (Voting) fee/purchase your Voting Token. The process will generate a Confirmation #. Use that number as your Voting Token on your site selection ballot.

CoNZealand must receive postal mail ballots no later than July 13, 2020. CoNZealand must receive scanned/e-mailed ballots no later than July 29, 2020, 12:00 (Noon) New Zealand Time. Because of significant delays to international mail due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CoNZealand strongly encourages members to vote by e-mail if possible, and to vote early if they must vote by paper mail. CoNZealand is not responsible for ballots being lost or delayed in the mail.

Bids for future Worldcons are listed on the Worldcon Bids page. Two bid s qualified for the 2022 Worldcon Site Selection by filing the required documents with CoNZealand: Chicago, Illinois, USA and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) rules allow for write-in votes and votes for “None of the Above,” and should no qualified bid receive a majority of the votes cast, the WSFS Business Meeting will select a committee to host the 2022 convention.

The results of the election will be announced at a program item on Friday, July 31, 2020 during CoNZealand, and will be formally received by the WSFS Business Meeting on August 1, 2020.

2020 Worldcon Announces Virtual Convention Plans, Revised Rates

~ Kevin Standlee

As previously announced, CoNZealand, the 2020 Worldcon in Wellington, New Zealand, will be held online only due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In a statement posted on April 15, 2020 on their web site, CoNZealand has announced a collaboration with The Fantasy Network to host the virtual convention. CoNZeland has also reduced their attending membership rate to NZ$300 for an attending membership, with other rates also changed. An attending membership is required to participate in the online convention. Information about requesting refunds is also available on the CoNZealand web site.

Please contact CoNZealand through their web site with questions about their convention arrangements. Every Worldcon is independently organize. The Worldcon, WSFS, and Hugo Awards web sites do not operate any Worldcon.

Washington DC to Host 2021 Worldcon

~ Kevin Standlee

Washington, DC, USA was selected as the site of the 2021 Worldcon by the members of the 2019 Worldcon in Dublin, Ireland. The unopposed bid from DC received 798 of the 878 votes cast. A full breakdown of the voting, including the write-in votes and the votes cast per day, is available in this document.

Worldcon 79 will be called DisCon III. The convention dates are August 25-29, 2021. Further information is available from the convention website.