Fuzzy’s Travelogue is the newsletter of LAcon V: The 84th World Science Fiction Convention. This is Volume Six of the series, October 2025 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).
You can read all about Fuzzy, LAcon V’s mascot, here.
What Does the V Mean in LAcon V
We’ve been asked many times what the V stand for in our convention name. Is it for victory? The peace sign?
Actually, this indicates it’s the fifth Worldcon with the name LAcon. But it’s not the fifth Worldcon that Los Angeles has run. In the early days of Worldcons, it wasn’t traditional to name the convention after the city or group that was running them.
So, let’s talk about the first of those, which didn’t have Los Angeles in its name.
Pacificon, the First Los Angeles Worldcon
Since 1940, members of the current Worldcon vote on the location of a future one. While Los Angeles was voted to be the Worldcon site in 1942, defeating three other bids, World War II intervened and the convention was not held then. But fans cannot be stopped for long. In 1946, the first Worldcon in Los Angeles was held. Pacificon was the fourth official Worldcon. It was conducted by LASFS, the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, still the oldest science fiction club in the United States. But the Pacificon name did not specify Los Angeles, nor did it have a number after it. Many fans thought they would only run one Worldcon (trust me, running a Worldcon is a lot of work) and many of these conventions were financed by the fans running them and usually cost them quite a bit of money. You can understand why fans didn’t expect to hold more than one. But where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Pacificon offered fans a chance to get together to discuss current science fiction and many of its amateur publications, known as fanzines and APAs (Amateur Press Associations), which contained elements such as science fiction stories, essays, art, and letters of comment, which enabled fans to express their opinions and send them out through the mail. This meant many fans had never met each other and only knew names. Pacificon enabled these fans to meet and put a name to a face. You can see why Worldcons became a meeting ground for fandom, as well as a way to enjoy each other’s company and make new friends from all over the world.
But now, let’s see what’s happening at LAcon V.
Programming
Exciting things are in the works! We are obtaining more participants for our program in all aspects, but, as they say in the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland, “There’s always room for one more”.
Program Participant Main Survey Coming Soon!
We are putting the finishing touches on our main program participant survey, to be released in November. If you have already completed the Initial Interest Survey, we will send you an email when the full survey is ready. If you have not completed the Initial Interest Survey, why not? Go now!
Call for Artists and Makers
There will be an Art track and a Maker track. The Program Participant Interest Survey form can be found here. We’re always interested in more program ideas, so if there’s a particular topic that you’d like to see as a program item, the suggestion form is here.
There will also be other Artist and Maker activities, demos, and displays – stay tuned for details!
Book Launches at LAcon V
The LAcon V Program team is busy setting up the program, which includes all sorts of items, including panels, parties, readings, and autographing sessions. If you are an author with a book coming out, or a publisher with multiple authors, we will be happy to help you schedule it! More information is coming to the website in November, but we recommend starting now by filling out the Program Participant Initial Interest Survey.
Gaming
Gaming is gearing up. We are currently making plans to bring you all sorts of gaming: virtual and in-person, electronic and tabletop, retro and brand-new, morning, noon, and late-night. For those who want to run them, we will have a GM volunteer form up soon, and we’ll also be running a survey about some of the Worldcon community’s gaming habits. Keep an eye on the website for these in November!
If you want to talk about games, or there’s a gaming topic you’d like to see discussed, fill out the program participant or program ideas forms. We are also recruiting – if you’d like to help out as gaming staff please fill out the volunteer form!
If you have any other thoughts you’d like to share about gaming, please let us know at gaming@lacon.org.
Art Show
The Art Show is also ramping up and has space for both 2D and 3D art work. We look forward to displaying as well as helping you sell your art and crafts to a new audience that can appreciate your work. The Art Show Interest form is now available for your use. Please fill it out and we will ensure you will obtain all the information you need to be part of the show.
Dealers Room
Our Dealer’s Room is opening soon for reservations. If you would like to reserve any tables, please fill out the Dealer’s Room Interest form so we can acquire your needs and respond to you directly so that you get exactly what you want to help you display your goods for the most impact. This will give our attendees the abilities to peruse your wares and make purchases to bring home. We want to give both you and them the best experience possible, so please provide the information that will enable us to do so.
World Science Fiction Society (WSFS)
WSFS is responsible for holding business meetings, both virtual and in-person, concerning items that affect Worldcons, including amendments to the basic governing document that governs this body and the convention. During these meetings, participants are called upon to review previous proposals for changes to the document or other business deemed necessary for the functioning of the committee or future Worldcons. They can also introduce new business to be discussed at the meetings and forwarded to the next Worldcon, if these are passed. All attending members of the Worldcon have WSFS memberships, which entitle them to participate in the meetings as do all individuals who have purchased a WSFS membership for the current year. There are expected to be three virtual meetings prior to LAcon V as well as at least one in-person meeting at the convention.
But WSFS is also responsible for sending out the forms that invite nominations for the Hugo Awards, as well as the final ballots for these awards once the nominees have been finalized. Included in this responsibility for the Hugo Awards is the design of the base for the award itself.
Request For Proposals For LAcon V Hugo Base
Each year the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) is tasked with administering and awarding the Hugo Awards for Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Since its inception in 1953, the award has prominently featured a rocket. The Hugo Awards have become unique among awards in that most of the bases since L.A.con II (1984) have been original designs that highlight and celebrate each individual Worldcon.
LAcon V is soliciting submissions for a base design for the Hugo Awards that celebrates science fiction’s sense of adventure and what makes LAcon V and Southern California special as both a Worldcon and location. We welcome all submissions.
To see the complete set of rules, please visit our website and find the specifications for these bases here.
If you are interested in submitting a design, please email a statement of interest, with your name and contact information to: hugobase@lacon.org.
We Welcome You to Volunteer
As mentioned above in specific areas of interest at LAcon V, we really appreciate your help in running the convention! You can volunteer for working in a specific area by contacting that area via our website and apply directly to them. But if you don’t know exactly what you would like to do, please check out the listing of jobs that are available; the openings that are listed on our website. Or you can just fill out the general volunteer form found on the website and we will be happy to contact you about those areas that are interested in having you work with them. We want to have you experience the convention from the inside out if you think you would enjoy learning how the convention works. Please remember, we appreciate any time you can give.
Join us, because … Adventure Awaits!
Fuzzy’s Travelogue: Volume Six
The Newsletter of LAcon V: The 84th World Science Fiction Convention, October 2025 Edition
Edited by Genny Dazzo, with Sandy Cohen & Shaun Lyon
Fuzzy illustrations by Teddy Harvia, used with permission
Copyright © 2025, The Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI) Inc. All rights reserved.
