The Newsletter of LAcon V
Issue Nine: Monday August 31, 2026: Final Issue
The Fuzzy Pink Papers is the daily newsletter of LAcon V, the 84th World Science Fiction Convention. Edited by Sam Lubell and published throughout the convention. More issues of the Papers can be found here throughout the weekend. Please email submissions to newsletter@lacon.org or drop off written content in the box outside the Hilton, Mezzanine 12 room (third floor).
A Fuzzy Farewell
Today is the last day of LAcon V. Fuzzy and the staff of The Fuzzy Pink Papers hope you found this newsletter informative and interesting. We want to thank everyone who contributed. Issues of the Papers will remain on our website indefinitely for your reference (including PDF versions of each issue.)
A Farewell From the Chair
Adventure Awaits… and let me tell you, it’s certainly been an adventure. Not just getting here, the long road from our bid to our arrival, but also the past five days: magical and memorable, and sometimes challenging. But always an adventure nonetheless.
I want to thank our entire committee and staff, and our many, many volunteers who offered their help on site, for making LAcon V happen. Hundreds of people put their lives and jobs aside to make this Worldcon a success. All of you who gave your time to us were everything that was good and right with the convention, and I am eternally grateful.
I also want to thank our phenomenal guests. You continue to inspire all of us with your work and your talent and your generosity. You all brought your excitement and imagination with you, and with that, you elevated our convention. Thank you for being part of this journey.
And thank you to all of you, our members and attendees. Whether you were here in Anaheim with us, or joined us online for our virtual program, your support and your presence was felt by all of us. As I said before, Worldcon is a magical and memorable experience, bringing together fans from all over the globe, and every one of you was a part of that. I hope we did you proud, and I look forward to seeing all of you in the years to come.
Joyce Lloyd
Chair, LAcon V
The Hugo Awards: Entertaining & Educational
The Hugo Awards Ceremony held last night (Sunday evening) was a huge success. While there were some technical problems, far more went right than wrong, and Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher was a fascinating and entertaining toastmaster. The strangeness of her weird animal facts was matched only by her endless variety of hats. Several winners addressed the times in which we live and the importance of not giving up hope and turning to a dystopia of despair.
While many attendees were able to enjoy the experience in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, LAcon V also live-blogged the ceremony results during the experience (which we called Hugo Awards Live!) The Live experience page has now become the Hugo Awards Report, containing all of the nominees & winners, award presenters, as well as the 2026 Hugo Administrative Report and Ballot Statistics Report, available for download.
The Hugo Awards Ceremony had musical accompaniment graciously provided by South Side Symphony, conducted by Dr. Marcus Norris. The Hugo Award bases were designed by Scott Lefton, and the Lodestar Award was designed by H. Emiko Ogasawara. The Ceremony will remain on our convention portal stream via our Program Guide until the end of 2026, and our public YouTube channel will host the ceremony for the foreseeable future.
2,492 final ballots (2490 electronic, 2 paper) were received and counted from the members of LAcon V. The winners are as follows, and links to the statistics pages for this year’s ballot process are linked below the list of winners.
Best Novel
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor US; Tor UK)
Best Novella
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom; Arcadia UK)
Best Novelette
“Never Eaten Vegetables” by H.H. Pak (Clarkesworld, Issue 220)
Best Short Story
“In My Country” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, Issue 223)
Best Series
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (Tor US; Tor UK)
Best Graphic Story or Comic
A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel, written by Ursula K. Le Guin, adapted and art by Fred Fordham (Clarion Books; Walker UK)
Best Related Work
Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer (University of Chicago Press US, Head of Zeus UK)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Sinners, screenplay by Ryan Coogler, directed by Ryan Coogler (Proximity Media, Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Murderbot: “All Systems Red”, written by Paul Weitz & Chris Weitz, directed by Roseanne Liang, based on the book All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Apple TV)
Best Game or Interactive Work
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by Sandfall Interactive, published by Kepler Interactive
Best Editor Short Form
Neil Clarke
Best Editor Long Form
Diana M. Pho
Best Professional Artist
John Picacio
Best Semiprozine
Uncanny Magazine, publisher and editor-in-chief: Michael Damian Thomas; managing editor Monte Lin; poetry editor Betsy Aoki, podcast producers Erika Ensign and Steven Schapansky
Best Fanzine
nerds of a feather, flock together, editors Roseanna Pendlebury, Arturo Serrano, Paul Weimer; senior editors Joe Sherry, G. Brown, Vance Kotrla
Best Fancast
Hugo, Girl!, presented by Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, Lori Anderson, and Kevin Anderson
Best Fan Writer
Jason Sanford
Best Fan Artist
Yuumei
Best Poem
“Hex Supply Customer Support Log” by Elis Montgomery (Strange Horizons, Issue 25 August 2025)
Lodestar Award for Best YA Book
Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee (Feiwel & Friends)
Astounding Award for Best New Writer (sponsored by Must Read Books Publishing)
Antonia Hodgson (1st year of eligibility)
The following administrative documents are presented by this year’s Hugo Awards administrators:
2026 Hugo Administrators Report
2026 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards: Full Statistics
Note: minor updates and fixed typos on both documents, so each of these documents are Version 2 (v2).
Congratulations to Aussiecon5: The 2028 Worldcon
LAcon V, the 2026 World Science Fiction Convention, and its parent organization, the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI) Inc., would like to extend our warmest congratulations to our friends on the Brisbane in 2028 bid committee, upon their successful bid for, and selection to host, the 2028 Worldcon.
Aussiecon5, the 2028 World Science Fiction Convention, will take place 27-31 July 2028 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in Meanjin / Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Aussiecon5 has announced its guests of honor for the 2028 Worldcon, including Claire G. Coleman, David Gaider, Jonathan Strahan, Kathleen Jennings, Perry Middlemiss, and Seanan McGuire.
Aussiecon5 has also released their Progress Report Zero announcement sheet, which can be found on their website.
We look forward to joining all of you in Brisbane in two years for an amazing Worldcon. Congratulations!
LAcon V By the Numbers
As of the close of Convention Registration on Sunday, August 30, LAcon V has the following numbers to report:
- 4,541 warm bodies on site who have picked up badges
- 8,214 total memberships (including all of our virtual attendees)
There were also 1574 logged in to zoom events, 1658 in the Discord. The Hugo Awards were viewed by 246 in Zoom and 514 in YouTube according to our Virtual team. LAcon V will publish all of the final membership numbers on our website later this week.
Sunday Program Highlights
Space Command: The Premiere: Marc Scott Zicree, writer of multiple SF shows, presents the premiere of his new SF tv series starring many familiar actors. 10:30-12:30, 251C (ACC North)- Howard Waldrop Films Produced by George RR Martin: 11 AM – 1 PM, 260AN (ACC North)
- Sideways Awards: Alternate History. 1:30 PM, Huntington (Hilton)
- Closing Ceremonies: 3 PM, Pacific Ballroom D (Hilton)
Reminder: LAcon V Passports
As we reported in Issue 6, we issued a passport booklet to LAcon V presupporters, who could collect stickers at various conventions (themed after different planets such as Hoth, Arrakis and Gallifrey) for their booklets. We still have a limited number of unused passport booklets and corresponding stickers at the Information Desk in the Hilton.
Panel: From Page to Screen – Adapting Murderbot
by Trish Matson
The From Page to Screen: Adapting Murderpot panel had moderator (and author) Brenda Clough interviewing Martha Wells, Murderbot co-showrunner Chris Weitz and executive producer Andrew Miano. Weitz related how his brother Paul had picked up All Systems Red in a bookstore, loved it, passed it to him, and they started trying to figure out how to film it. Luckily, the head of Apple TV had already read the book when it was pitched for a show.
Wells said this was like a unicorn. She talked about how many books are optioned but few actually turn into shows. Weitz mentioned how adapted shows often displease the author and/or the fans, and those might be better off never having been made, but that wasn’t the case here, obviously.
“We are just very well funded fan fiction,” he added, laughing. The audience laughed too, as they often did during the panel.
Weitz said that in the adaptation process, “inevitably we’re filling in and back-filling” details. Sometimes they can contact Wells for input, and sometimes they have to make decisions on the spot.
Clough asked about the next season of the show. Weitz replied that it would blend plot elements from books 2-4 of the series, but it would be a coherent narrative, not just episodic adventures.
One person from the audience asked how the show got Alexander Skarsgård to play Murderbot, and another expressed disappointment that they hadn’t chosen a female actor, and asked how they chose to portray the agender character from the book. Clough wondered if they could have cast someone like Tilda Swinton.
Weitz said the first decision they made was to keep Murderbot agender, and they considered a world of choices for the role, but Skarsgård actually reached out to them. “He’s an interesting cat; he likes to do strange things [roles],” and he wasn’t afraid to play an agender character with no genitals. So he was their first choice.
Another audience member commented that the shows always feel a little too short. Weitz replied that the scripts ran about 30 pages, and usually they produce about a minute per page, but they kept coming out a little shorter than that. For the next season, they over-wrote a little. But an hourlong show would be more about plot than character, so they won’t be expanding that much.
At the end of the panel, Wells, Weitz and Miano expressed their appreciation for the fans.
Keep the Fun of Worldcon All Year Round
Your experience with science fiction fandom does not have to end when Worldcon does. Seek out local conventions. In addition to media cons and comic cons there are general and literary conventions in cities throughout the world. There’s a convention practically every weekend, somewhere. Do a search on the Internet to find them.
Look for local science fiction clubs. Many communities have clubs. Check the local universities for clubs (check if they are open to non-students). Look on Meetup.com. If not, start one. And national groups like the National Fantasy Fan Federation exist.
Of course you can subscribe to SF magazines, both print and virtual. And the Hugo nominated fanzines and semi-prozines are all well worth your time.
Many of the panels at LAcon V were recorded and can be viewed until the end of 2026. Just make sure you are logged in with your email and membership number then check the program schedule. The watch the replay button should appear. You can use the Availability menu to select Streamed or Recorded.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the Fuzzy Pink Papers throughout your LAcon V experience.
The Fuzzy Pink Papers: Issue Nine
Monday August 31, 2026, Final Issue
The Daily Newsletter of LAcon V: The 84th World Science Fiction Convention
Edited by Sam Lubell
Fuzzy illustrations by Teddy Harvia, used with permission
Published by Shaun Lyon
Copyright © 2026, The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI) Inc. All rights reserved.
