Posted by Andrew Plotkin

https://blog.zarfhome.com/2025/08/worldcon-report

I went to the Seattle Worldcon and I had a good time.

(Some Worldcons take on a unique name. The last one I went to, in Montreal, was Anticipation. The 2001 Worldcon in Philadelphia was called the Millennium Philcon and I went purely because of the name. Also because it was great. But it didn't occur to me to look up the Seattle Worldcon's name until just now. Turns out it was called "Seattle Worldcon 2025". Oh well.)

I've posted my trip photos on a separate page. Mostly Seattle tourism, rather than Worldcon per se.

I was on three panels. They all went great. I don't believe any of them were recorded or streamed, so you'll have to use your imagination. (Worldcon was slightly hybrid -- they had like 25 event rooms and streamed five of them. Understandable, to be sure.)

Thanks to my co-panelists, and to Justin for moderating two of the panels and Eleri for the third. Justin did heroic work this event -- I think he was on eight panels on the (brand-new) gaming program track, and moderated five of them.

We got one question of "Where can I donate my collection of Infocom memorabilia?" and Justin jumped right on that with an IFTF business card.

(IFTF doesn't have physical storage space, but Justin has plans for one set of memorabilia. He teaches college in his mundane existence so it's probably useful for that. If we get more donations? I don't know! Contact us and ask.)

My best panel moment: in the last 90 seconds of the Q&A for the IF panel, someone asked if we'd considered using LLMs for interactive fiction. I immediately pumped my fist in the air and said "Yesss!"

Of course everyone stared at me like I'd crapped my pants. I smiled gently and said "...I just won a bet."

This wasn't literally true. But in panel planning discussion, I mentioned that the AI question was 100% likely to arise. Everybody on the panel agreed that we didn't really want to get into it. Welp, it did, and we didn't. No time!

The actual answer is "yes, many people have considered it." (See repeated threads on the IF forum.) There's more to be said, but if you think that tech-giant LLMs are a one-size-solves-all revolution for IF, I assure you that's not the case.

So what was it like returning to Worldcon after sixteen years?

Honestly, I felt a bit disconnected. I had a good time. Really! But I'm definitely not in the scene the way I used to be -- and that was never very much.

Look, I am an introvert. (You will be absolutely stunned to hear me say this.) I get anxiety about inserting myself into random social situations.

I used to have a pretty steady SF convention habit. I would, roughly in order of importance: (1) go to panels; (2) wander the dealer's room and browse books; (3) hang around the con suite and eat snacks; (4) wander into room parties and eat snacks; (5) sit in back in the filk room and sing along. When tired of one option, pick another. Sometimes I ran into people I knew and we'd chat. Sometimes I'd get into a conversation with J. Random Fan. Or not! No pressure. (The "no pressure" part is important. Also the snacks.)

(By the way, if you are J. Random Fan, please don't hesitate to come up and say hello to me. That's fine, I appreciate the effort, it doesn't freak me out. If I want to be left alone, I'll be in my hotel room.)

(Also, of course, if I'm on a panel or running an event, I'm there to talk to people about that topic. Please ask questions. I am prepared.)

Anyhow. This year's Worldcon was terrific for (1) and (2). The program schedule was first-rate; every single time slot (for five days) had multiple talks that I was interested in. I feel like the dealer's room was smaller than I remember from 2009 (or 2001, etc) -- but I don't have a solid comparison. Anyhow there's been this enormous self-publishing boom since then, so there were lots of new-to-me authors with stacks of books I've never heard of. Highly variable, but fun to look through.

Not so good on (3). There was no con suite. Usually the con hotel -- or the hotel attached to the convention center -- will have a penthouse suite set up with snacks for grazing, chats, and quiet time. (Reading in the con suite is totally a thing.)

Seattle didn't do that. Possibly because the "attached hotel" was three blocks away. The convention center had many lounge spaces, and some of them had food concessions -- pretty good stuff -- but it wasn't the same vibe at all. Plus, I had promised myself to keep the N95 mask in place wherever I possibly could. This interferes with snacking as a pastime.

Room parties, same problem. I looked in on one and realized it just wasn't going to work for me. And singing in a mask doesn't work at all, so filk was out too.

(Yes, I took off the mask when speaking on a panel, and for meals. But I tried to eat in the least populated corner I could find. I ate dinner out with small groups of people I knew. Worldcon has had some COVID post-action reports, but my nose-test remains negative as of today, so I guess my plan worked. This time.)

More generally, the Worldcon crowd has just shifted. I used to recognize most of the authors who attended. Some of them were the authors I read, some were authors I wasn't into, but I knew the names. Now, not so much. See above about self-publishing. Good in some ways, bad in others.

Not everybody who attends Worldcon is an author -- it is a fannish convention, not a professional conference. But, you know, when you go to the event every couple of years, you see a lot of the same people. Even I (partially face-impaired) wind up recognizing people. I might wave. They might wave. It's introvert-friendly.

If you skip fifteen years of the event, that falls away.

I dunno. Next year's Worldcon is Los Angeles. In 2027 it's Montreal again. I like Montreal better! I could go back. Two Worldcons in a row is a lot, anyhow. Once every couple of years feels right.

Also, I know more fans in Montreal, because I sometimes go to a smaller con there. Those folks weren't in Seattle, because the US is not attractive to tourists right now, but they'll all absolutely be at Worldcon 2027. Some as guests, even.

Hopefully I can make it. Depends on how jobs work out.

https://blog.zarfhome.com/2025/08/worldcon-report