81st World Science Fiction Convention

81st Worldcon (2023)

2023 Chengdu, the 81st World Science Fiction Convention

Status| finished
Genre| Science fiction
Dates| 18–22 October 2023
Location(s)| Chengdu
Country| China
Website| en.chengduworldcon.com

The 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held on 18–22 October 2023 in Chengdu, China.[1][2] The choice of location was the subject of some controversy as it seemed that many of the votes cast for Chengdu at the 79th World Science Fiction Convention had the same handwriting and used the same mailing address. A hundred authors signed an open letter to the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) asking it to revoke the bid in protest of the ongoing Uyghur genocide in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang.[3]

Three months after the convention, the Hugo Awards made at it became the subject of a further controversy. Statistics about the voting, normally released the night of the awards, were withheld for three months. Only when they were released did voters and nominated authors learn that four works, including two highly favored to win, had instead been ruled ineligible. The WSFS official responsible would not explain why, even after having to apologize for insulting remarks made to those who questioned him about the decisions on social media. He and two other officials subsequently resigned. Critics speculated that either the awards committee was covering for a serious mistake in counting the ballots, or that it had yielded to political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party.[3]

## Participants[edit]

### Guests of Honor[edit]

* Cixin Liu (writer)
* Sergey Lukianenko (writer)
* Robert J. Sawyer (writer)

## Awards[edit]

Main article: Hugo Award

The World Science Fiction Society administers and presents the Hugo Awards,[4] the oldest and most noteworthy award for science fiction. Selection of the recipients is by vote of the Worldcon members. Categories include novels and short fiction, artwork, dramatic presentations, and various professional and fandom activities.[4][5]

Other awards may be presented at Worldcon at the discretion of the individual convention committee. This has often included the national SF awards of the host country, such as the Japanese Seiun Awards as part of Nippon 2007,[6] and the Prix Aurora Awards as part of Anticipation in 2009. The Astounding Award for Best New Writer and the Sidewise Award, though not sponsored by the Worldcon, are usually presented, as well as the Chesley Awards, the Prometheus Award, and others.[6]

The winners were:

* Best Novel: Nettle & Bone, by T. Kingfisher
* Best Novella: Where the Drowned Girls Go, by Seanan McGuire
* Best Novelette: "The Space-Time Painter," by Hai Ya
* Best Short Story: "Rabbit Test," by Samantha Mills
* Best Series: Children of Time series, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
* Best Graphic Story or Comic: Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams, by Bartosz Sztybor, Filipe Andrade, Alessio Fioriniello, Roman Titov, Krzysztof Ostrowski
* Best Related Work: Terry Pratchett: A Life With Footnotes, by Rob Wilkins
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: Everything Everywhere All at Once, written by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Sheinert
* Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form: The Expanse: "Babylon’s Ashes", written by Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck, Naren Shankar, directed by Breck Eisner
* Best Editor, Short Form: Neil Clarke
* Best Editor, Long Form: Lindsey Hall
* Best Professional Artist: Enzhe Zhao
* Best Semiprozine: Uncanny Magazine
* Best Fanzine: Zero Gravity Newspaper, by RiverFlow and Ling Shizhen
* Best Fancast: Hugo, Girl!, by Haley Zapal, Amy Salley, Lori Anderson, and Kevin Anderson
* Best Fan Writer: Chris M. Barkley
* Best Fan Artist: Richard Man
* Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (presented by the WSFS): Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor
* Astounding Award for Best New Writer (presented by Dell Magazines): Travis Baldree

### Ballot controversy[edit]

The voting statistics for the Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award, and Astounding Award were published on January 20, 2024,[7] much later than usual.[3] Questions quickly arose amongst authors surrounding several works that had been marked as ineligible without justification, such as author Xiran Jay Zhao, Nebula Award-winning novel Babel by R. F. Kuang, and The Sandman episode 6, "The Sound of Her Wings", some of which had been strongly favored to win.[8][9][10] Further scrutiny has been leveled towards possible inconsistencies or anomalies in the statistics themselves.[9][11]

Commenters on the Facebook page where the statistics were released asked Dave McCarty, a veteran of the awards committee, to explain why the four works were found ineligible. He said that he could not share exactly why but pointed them to the organization's constitution and rules. When they were unable to find a rule or constitutional provision that sufficed, the exchanges grew heated, with McCarty sometimes questioning or disparaging the intellectual capacity of his interlocutors, behavior he later apologized for.[3] It later emerged that these works had been excluded due to self-censorship by the Hugo Award administrators in order to appease the Chinese government, which has a strict censorship regime; emails demonstrating this were leaked by Hugo committee member Diane Lacey, acting as a whistleblower.[12]

Based on complaints about the 2023 Hugo award process and official statements made about those complaints, Worldcon Intellectual Property (WIP), the non-profit organization that holds the service marks for the World Science Fiction Society, censured McCarty and two individuals who presided over the Hugo Administration Committee of the Chengdu Worldcon. WIP also reprimanded the chair of the WIP board of directors. Both the director of WIP and chair of the WIP board of directors resigned.[13]

## Site selection[edit]

See also: Worldcon § Site selection

The following committees announced bids for hosting the convention:[14]

* Chengdu 2023[15]
* Memphis in 2023[16] (cancelled in October 2021[17])
* Nice 2023[18] (cancelled in July 2020[19])
* Winnipeg in 2023[20]

The site was selected by members of the 79th World Science Fiction Convention.[21]

Over 100 authors, including Hugo winners and Uyghur writers, signed an open letter in March 2022 calling for the hosting to be reconsidered due to ongoing human rights violations in the Uyghur region.[22] The choice of location was also criticized due to the effects of the Chinese government's censorship regime and the exclusion of authors publicly critical of human rights in China.[8]

After Chengdu was selected, the organizers of the Winnipeg bid pivoted to bid for the 2023 NASFiC, at which they were successful.

## See also[edit]

* Hugo Award
* Science fiction
* Speculative fiction
* World Science Fiction Society
* Worldcon

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Chengdu Wins the Bid to Host 81st World Science Fiction Convention (2023 Worldcon)". WFMZ.com. 2021-12-20. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
2. ^ Mike Glyer (2021-01-19). "Chengdu Worldcon Changes Dates to October 2023". File 770. Archived from the original on 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
3. ^ a b c d Morgan, Adam (January 27, 2024). "Inside the Censorship Scandal That Rocked Sci-Fi and Fantasy's Biggest Awards". Esquire. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
4. ^ a b "Article 3: Hugo Awards". WSFS Constitution. World Science Fiction Society. 2008. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
5. ^ Franklin, Jon (October 30, 1977). "Star roars: this year's champs in science fiction". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD. p. D5. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
6. ^ a b "Awards". Nippon2007: 65th World Science Fiction Convention. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2009.
7. ^ Standlee, Kevin (20 January 2024). "2023 Nominating and Final Ballot Statistics Published". The Hugo Awards. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
8. ^ a b Hawkins, Amy (2024-01-24). "Science fiction awards held in China under fire for excluding authors". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2024-01-24. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
9. ^ a b Moher, Aidan (20 January 2024). "Astrolabe 36: Panic! At The Hugos". Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
10. ^ Gennis, Sadie; Polo, Susana (24 January 2024). "Hugo Awards under fire over censorship accusations, and SFF writers want answers". Polygon. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
11. ^ Jones, Heather. "A Comparison of Hugo Nomination Distribution Statistics". Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
12. ^ Cole, Samantha (15 February 2024). "Leaked Emails Show Hugo Awards Self-Censoring to Appease China". 404 Media. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
13. ^ "McCarty, Standlee, and Others Censured or Reprimanded". Locus Online. January 31, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
14. ^ "Worldcon Bids". Worldcon [Official]. World Science Fiction Society. 2016-05-15. Archived from the original on 2018-08-23. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
15. ^ "Chengdu 2023". Archived from the original on 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2023-02-28.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
16. ^ "Memphis in 2023". Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
17. ^ Mike Glyer (2021-10-18). "Memphis In 2023 Worldcon Bid Has Folded". File 770. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
18. ^ "Nice 2023". Archived from the original on 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
19. ^ Mike Glyer (2020-07-25). "Nice in 2023 Worldcon Bid Folds". File 770. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
20. ^ "Winnipeg in 2023". Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
21. ^ "About Bidding". World Science Fiction Society. 2016-05-15. Archived from the original on 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
22. ^ Brown, Lauren (14 March 2022). "Authors come out against China as 2023 WorldCon host". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.

## External links[edit]

* Worldcon official website
* Convention official website
* List of current Worldcon bids
* Mike Glyer (2023-02-20). "Chengdu Worldcon Distributes First Progress Report". File 770. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

Preceded by

80th World Science Fiction Convention
Chicon 8 in Chicago, Illinois, United States (2022)

|  List of Worldcons
81st World Science Fiction Convention
in Chengdu, China (2023)  | Succeeded by

82nd World Science Fiction Convention
Glasgow 2024 in Glasgow, UK (2024)

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