Fuzzy’s Travelogue is the newsletter of LAcon V: The 84th World Science Fiction Convention. This is Volume Eight of the series, January 2026 edition. A downloadable PDF version of the newsletter can be found here.
Issues of Fuzzy’s Travelogue will be distributed on a regular basis, to our members and on our website & social media, throughout the lead-up to our August 2026 convention. Previous issues can be found here: Volume 1 (May 2025), Volume 2 (June 2025), Volume 3 (July 2025), Volume 4 (August 2025), Volume 5 (September 2025), Volume 6 (October 2025), Volume 7 (November 2025).
You can read all about Fuzzy, LAcon V’s mascot, here.
Announcing Another New Guest
LAcon V is again proud to announce a new Special Guest for our upcoming Worldcon: Tracey Baptiste. A New York Times best selling author of children’s books, including the popular JUMBIES series. Her work ranges over a number of different age groups, ranging from picture books, middle grade and young adult novels, fiction and nonfiction as well as contributing to several anthologies, most notably 2019’s Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America. Several of her nonfiction books are now available in paperback. Find Tracey online at www.traceybaptiste.com and connect on Instagram @ traceybaptistewrites.
We are indeed happy to welcome her as a Special Guest at LAcon V. For additional information about Tracey, visit her page on our website.
Programming
Would You Like to Play a Game?
We are excited to share our joy for all things gaming related with you. To celebrate the diverse world of gaming by showcasing all the amazing creativity and passion of gamers, game designers, and game makers, we welcome you to join us. There are many plans for live gaming at the convention, from a board game library to TTRPGs, and hopefully an arcade-like space as well. We are also looking into what kinds of gaming can be done in our Virtual Worldcon space.
To best serve you, we need to know what types of games you want to see. Are there board games you want us to have in the library? Do you want to learn how to play Mahjongg? Or are you ready to spend hours playing D&D? Fill out our new gaming survey and let us know.
Are you someone who likes running games? Game Masters are the backbone of every amazing RPG adventure as without you chaos would reign. Dedicated players who want to share their favorite board and card games are how we discover our new favorite games. So, if you would like to run a game or a tournament, whether in-person or online, please fill out the Run a Game Survey.
However, we don’t just love to play games, we love to talk about them too! If you would like to be on panels discussing games, please fill out the Program Participant Interest Survey.
Academic Program: Call for Proposals
The Academic Track is a multi-disciplinary stream of academic programming as part of LAcon V. The unique nature of the event makes it a brilliant place to showcase your research and share your passions. It provides an unparalleled opportunity to engage both a diverse group of scholars from the humanities, social sciences, sciences, and adjacent disciplines as well as a large, highly educated, and well-informed community. All areas of research related to science fiction, fantasy, gaming, horror – across all mediums – are welcome. Please do not hesitate to use this opportunity to indulge in a flight of academic fancy or explore something outside the box.
All scholars are welcome, whether formally affiliated with a university or operating as an independent scholar. We also strongly encourage scholars from minority backgrounds, including those from outside the Anglosphere.
It is expected that participants in the Academic Track will give a 30 minute oral and slide presentation (inclusive of Q&A), and all participants will be invited to participate in the scheduled poster session(s). Virtual presentations will be possible and poster-only participation will be accommodated for those who cannot be present in person.
More details about Academic Programs, including application procedures, can be found here.
Last Call for Ideas
We are pulling together all of the wonderful ideas that have been submitted for panels, discussions, workshops, and presentations… but we are greedy and want MORE! If you have an idea for something you would like to attend, just fill out the Program Ideas Suggestion Form and let us know. The Suggestion Form will be closing at the end of January, so don’t delay.
If you want to be on a program item, head over to our Program Participant Main Survey so you can tell us about yourself and your ideas! Applications for Program Participants close at the end of March.
Events
A Live Episode of a LAist & NPR game show “Go Fact Yourself” is to be held at LAcon V. “Go Fact Yourself” is a game/chat show usually recorded with a live audience, available as a radio show airing every weekend on various NPR stations from Alaska to Florida, including LAist 89.3 in Los Angeles. It is also accessible as a podcast for the Maximum Fun network. You can listen to episodes at gofactyourpod.com or wherever you get podcasts.
The show is hosted by J. Keith von Straaten and Helen Hong. Its main format has two celebrity guests who provide a few topics that they have an expertise in, outside their field of work. We write a quiz about one of the topics for the guests to answer, then bring on an actual expert to discuss it with our guests. Join us for a light, smart, funny, and enjoyable romp.
WSFS
Hugo Nominations Requirements
This is a reminder that to nominate for the Hugo Awards you must have a WSFS membership. The deadline for purchasing a membership in order to send in nominations is January 31, 2026. Nominations will open in early February 2026. If you were a member of Seattle Worldcon and had a WSFS membership there, you are already eligible to nominate.
WSFS Virtual Meetings
LAcon V will hold the WSFS annual business meetings virtually. The following dates have been chosen for the sessions:
- Friday, July 17, 2026
- Sunday, July 26, 2026
- Saturday, August 1, 2026
- Sunday, August 9, 2026
All meetings will start at 9 AM Pacific Time. We will be using the Lumi platform.
Dealers Room
Our Dealers Room will be in the Exhibit Hall of ACC North. We are looking for diverse items of interest to our attendees, in addition to books.
Rates for spaces will be reasonable and include one membership with the first table. Additional tables and memberships may be purchased separately.
If you are interested in selling at the convention, please contact us at dealers@lacon.org to be added to our Dealer’s mailing list and/or fill out the Dealers Room Interest form. Dealer’s information and applications will be available later this month. Keep an eye out on the LAcon V website.
Sales to Members
Welcome to LAcon V Sales to Members E-Store. We have partnered with Printify to bring your merch dreams to life!
Whether you want to provide your family with matching tees, enjoy your drinks using our tumblers or mug options, slap a sticker on whatever you want, or display your geekiness loud and proud with a poster, we have something for everyone in our E-Store.
We offer a wide variety of shirts, stickers, face masks, kitchen essentials, and more. If we don’t have what you are looking for, drop an e-mail to Sales to Members with your suggestions or requests. We want to hear from you!
Take your online shopping to a new level and avoid lines at the convention itself so you can spend more time enjoying the con.
Accessibility
Are you interested in information regarding the support and assistance we are offering to our members with disabilities? Please email accessibility@lacon.org. We are here to answer your questions.
Social Media
LACon is up and running on several social media platforms. We are @laworldcon on Facebook, X, Instagram and Threads. On Bluesky, follow us @laworldcon.bsky.social and wandering.shop/@lacon on Mastodon.
We’re always looking for content, especially about Los Angeles. We want to cover its place in the world of science fiction and fantasy while also giving our guests ideas for things to do and places to eat while they are here.
If you have any suggestions, contact Taylor Deatherage, Zoe Deterding or Dave Hogg.
Virtual Memberships Available January 4th
In support of our robust online program, we opened our Virtual Memberships on January 4th.
A Virtual Membership allows you to attend the online component of LAcon V. You will get to experience the programming that is offered online, but does not permit attending in person. It also includes a WSFS Membership for the event. We permit transferring the online portion of this membership to another person; however, the WSFS Membership portion is non-transferrable.
| Full Virtual Membership ages 13+ includes WSFS Membership |
$85 |
| Upgrade from WSFS to Virtual Membership contact us to upgrade |
$35 |
| Child Membership Attending and/or Virtual age 6-12 at time of convention |
$50 |
Getting Here: Visa Information
California is one of our country’s most diverse and accepting states. That stated, the US is not the same as when we won our bid. Traveling internationally to any US state has become problematic for some of our members, and we understand the concerns. It is an ever changing environment and any answers we attempt to list here today can and will change.
Closer to the convention we will provide information and updates through our newsletter and website. If you have specific concerns please contact info@lacon.org.
We would be remiss if we did not encourage you to learn more for yourselves. Some sites for you to consider:
Human Rights Watch Amnesty International UN Human Rights Office
If you have any specific questions, we welcome your inquiry at Visas@lacon.org.
Happy New Year as we start our last months before the convention. But always remember… Adventure Awaits!
Fuzzy’s Travelogue: Volume Eight
The Newsletter of LAcon V: The 84th World Science Fiction Convention, January 2026 Edition
Edited by Genny Dazzo, with Katie Warren and members of the LAcon V Committee
Photo courtesy Tracey Baptiste
Fuzzy illustrations by Teddy Harvia, used with permission
Copyright © 2026, The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI) Inc. All rights reserved.
