My WorldCon schedule and the Hugo Award fiction finalists

I am going to be very, very busy at WorldCon in Los Angeles in less than two weeks! First of all, I'll be on 7 panels, details below. Secondly, I'll be part of the photography crew -- not actually taking the photos, but getting permissions and caption information and helping to upload to our Flickr account. Thirdly, I'll be at the Edmonton in 2030 bid table every now and then. Fourthly, I want to attend some panels and events for my own entertainment and edification, such as Barbara Hambly's Birthday Tea Party!

If you search for Trish Matson in the program guide, you'll find my panels. But here they are:

Thursday, August 27, 2026
12:00 PDT/15:00 EDT: The Fan Hugo Categories (virtual)
Jason Sanford (moderator), Cora Buhlert, Randy Smith, me
Fannish Hugo Award categories are as old as the Award itself. Over the years their number and scope have changed, and currently we are voting on four fannish statuettes: Best Fanzine, Best Fancast, Best Fan Writer, and Best Fan Artist. What is the meaning and importance of those categories for both the winners and fandom as a whole? Why do we need them? Let’s discuss the importance of Hugo Awards for fans.
18:00 PDT/21:00 EDT: Poetry Deathmatch! (Huntingdon, at the Hilton)
Rebecca Demarest (moderator), Brandon O'Brien, Terese Mason Pierre, me
Can you survive the POETRY DEEEAATTTHMATTCCHHH?! *cough* Sorry, don't know where that came from. Join us as professional poets and random audience members face off in front of an audience of judgmental amateurs and pros who will vote for the winner of this game of wits!

Friday, Aug. 28
15:00 PDT/18:00 EDT: Leading Ladies: Women in Early Science Fiction and Fandom (Palos Verdes, Hilton)
Sarah Light-Waller (moderator), David Ritter, Laura Weyr, me
From superfans to popular authors to legendary editors, women have helped shape and define science fiction since its inception. Leigh Brackett, Myrtle R. Douglas (aka Morojo), Edythe Eyde (aka Tigrina), Doris Baumgardt (aka Leslie Perri), Dorothy McIlwraith, and more: our panelists will discuss the prominent female fans, authors, and editors of early science fiction and the role they played in creating the science fiction community and industry we know today.

Saturday, Aug. 29
10:30 PDT/13:30 EDT: Critiquing the Critics (260C, ACC North)
Liza Groen Trombi (moderator), Beth Tabler, Elizabeth Sandifer, Jason Schachat, me
What makes a great review? What makes a gloriously scathing critique? Our panelists dig into the art of SFF criticism from a fan perspective: zines, blogs, social media, and beyond. We’ll share tips for reviewing well, explore how fan criticism shapes fandom culture, and tackle the tricky stuff: bias, spoilers, and beloved-but-flawed works.
15:00 PDT/18:00 EDT: Inconceivable! The Game Show of Nerdery and Nonsense (259, ACC North)
Dan Moren (moderator), Auston Habershaw, Catherynne M. Valente, Jason Snell, John Coxon, Nikhil Prabala, Sandra Rosner, me
Inconceivable! is the long-running game show of nerdery and nonsense, trivia and tribulations, hosted by author and podcaster Dan Moren. Each episode, we test our panelists’ knowledge of the nerdy, the useless, and the obscure as two teams face off over five rounds to answer diabolical questions about TV shows, comics, movies, games, and more.

Sunday, Aug. 30: No panels, but I'll be super busy helping with photos for the Hugo Awards that night!

Monday, Aug. 31
12:00 PDT/15:00 EDT: Live Podcast: The Skiffy and Fanty Show - Strange New Selves! (259, ACC North)
me (moderator), Brandon O'Brien, Paul Weimer, Jennifer Brozek
The Skiffy and Fanty Show is a four-time Hugo-finalist fancast and blog focusing on SFF, including reviews, interviews, and discussions.
LACon V says "Dare to Discover, Dare to Explore, Dare to be Uncharted!" Early SF’s discovery, exploration, and charting focused on outer space. Now, many interesting explorations in speculative fiction are about what it means to be human, or sentient, plus how we're transforming ourselves. What will we become?
13:30 PDT/16:30 EDT: Sidewise Awards/But What If the Other Side Won? Alternate Histories (Huntingdon, Hilton)
Gideon Marcus (moderator), Ronald D. Moore, Kim Iverson Headlee, Robert James, Ph.D, me
It's an awards presentation and panel all in one. Join us as Ronald D. Moore presents the winners of this year's Sidewise Awards for Alternate History. Following the presentation, we delve into alternate histories. We all know history is written by the victor, but what if the other side had won? Whether it’s a war, a technological race, or even the pie contest from 50 years ago, we can’t stop theorizing and writing about that other possibility.

So, I am super-excited about the Inconceivable show, because I've been listening to them for years and playing along during livestreams since that became a possibility. I just hope I don't freeze up! I imagine this will be available eventually as an Incomparable podcast.
As for the Poetry Deathmatch, I've never done a stand-up slam, but I've written timed poetry during poetry salons on Arvan Eleron's Twitch stream, and I've written to prompts at several SF convention panels from the audience.
I'm also really excited for the Skiffy and Fanty liveshow. After some brainstorming with the others, I came up with the theme, and I'm hoping for a really good discussion. This, too, should eventually be available as a Skiffy and Fanty podcast.
The Hugo Awards are the only major recognition for fandom, so I'm happy to talk about why they're important. I've had previous conversations with Jason and Cora, and I'll be happy to meet Randy, too.
I also enjoy digging into genre history, so I think the Leading Ladies panel will be fun.
Critiquing the Critics should also provide a lot of material for discussion.
I had thought about dropping the Alternate History panel when I thought it would just be Alt-History 101 and my schedule is so full, but I've had some good exchanges with Gideon Marcus, and when else will I have a chance to be on a panel with Ron Moore? NOW, I know that it's also going to include the presentation of the Sidewise Awards for Alternate History, and since I love reading alternate histories, this is super-exciting too! Unfortunately, it's right after the Skiffy and Fanty liveshow, in a different building, so I'll really have to hustle to get there!

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Even before WorldCon loomed so closely, I have been quite busy participating in Hugo Awards reading and voting. Before the finalists were announced this year, I had already reviewed several entrants for Best Novel and Best Novella, on the Skiffy and Fanty blog. After their announcement, I also posted three times about the top-of-ballot fiction categories this summer, with a roundup of reviews of the Best Novel finalists, thoughts about the Best Short Story and Best Novelette finalists, and a roundup of the Best Novella finalists, three of which I'd already reviewed plus thoughts about the three I just read.

Recently, I spoke with MarkWho42 co-host Juan SanMiguel and my Skiffy and Fanty co-host Paul Weimer about the first four fiction categories (novel, novella, novelette, and short story) and the two Best Dramatic Presentation categories (short and long). It turned out to be quite a long discussion, over 2.5 hours, but I think it was a good one, even though we couldn't take time for deep dives into anything! Here's the podcast on its home website, or you can check it out on your favorite podcatcher, released Aug. 6:
https://markwho42.com/2026/08/06/episode-431-hugo-awards-preview-2026/