83rd World Science Fiction Convention

The 83rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Seattle Worldcon 2025, was held in August 13–17, 2025 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The science fiction convention was chaired by Kathy Bond.

Participants

Guests of honor

Martha Wells Donato Giancola Bridget Landry Alexander James Adams

Awards

The awards were announced at the convention.

Best Novel: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett Best Novella: "The Tusks of Extinction" by Ray Nayler Best Novellette: "The Four Sisters Overlooking the Sea" by Naomi Kritzer Best Short Story: "Stitched to Skin Like Family Is" by Nghi Voi Best Series: Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse Best Graphic Story or Comic: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio Best Related Work: Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Caroll Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The New Next Generation", created and written by Mike McMahan, directed by Megan Lloyd Best Game or Interactive Work: Caves of Qud, produced by Freehold Games Best Editor Short Form: Neil Clarke Best Editor Long Form: Diana M. Pho Best Professional Artist: Alyssa Winans Best Semiprozine: Uncanny Magazine Best Fanzine: Black Nerd Problems Best Fancast: Eight Days of Diana Wynne Jones Best Fan Writer: Abigail Nussbaum Best Fan Artist: Sara Felix Best Poem: "A War of Words", by Marie Brennan Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book: Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger Astounding Award for Best New Writer: Moniquill Blackgoose

Site selection

The site of the convention was chosen by members of the 81st World Science Fiction Convention. The bid for Seattle was the only bid on the site selection ballot. Seattle received 163 of the 168 valid ballots received.

Controversies

AI controversy On April 30, 2025, Worldcon Chair Kathy Bond posted a statement in response to questions regarding the con's use of AI, specifically ChatGPT, in their vetting process for program participants. This use of ChatGPT drew criticism from both the Sci-Fi and wider book communities, including authors. The most commonly expressed concern was that ChatGPT and similar large language models (LLMs) have been trained on copyrighted works without the authors' knowledge or consent. ChatGPT and other LLMs have also been shown to contain inherent biases and create fabrications it presents as facts.Wach, Krzysztof, et al. “The Dark Side of Generative Artificial Intelligence: A Critical Analysis of Controversies and Risks of ChatGPT.” Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review, vol. 11, no. 2, 2023, pp. 7–30, https://doi.org/10.15678/EBER.2023.110201.

In a subsequent statement on May 6, 2025, Chair Kathy Bond elaborated on Worldcon's AI use, apologized, and shared that they are "redoing the part of our program process that used ChatGPT".

83rd World Science Fiction Convention

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