The World Science Fiction Convention, Worldcon for short, is held in a different city throughout the world each year. Next year it will be in Reno, Nevada, from August 17th through 21st. Hundreds of professionals in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror field congregate along with a few thousand fans. I’ll be going, and will likely be on a few panels talking about the craft of writing and related topics.

This is also the convention where the Hugo Awards are voted on by the members. When I was a teenager first getting into fantasy and science fiction, I soon learned that “Hugo Award Winner!” emblazoned on the cover of a paperback meant it was going to be a good book. If you’ve ever wanted to vote for a Hugo, all you have to do is preregister early enough to get a voting ballot (sometime next spring, though to nominate you need to be a member by January). The convention in 2011 votes for books that came out in 2010, as well as for awards such as best editor, best dramatic presentation, and best fan artist.

Anyway, the cost for registration goes up this Friday and will go up again in March. So if you’re interested in going, now is the time to register. I hope to see a lot of fans there.

In other news, I’ve posted a couple more annotations for WARBREAKER. First I talk about the God King’s arrival at the Court of Gods. Then I discuss the life-sense aspect of the magic system.

We’ve got two new things up for you on the Writing Excuses podcast site. First is the newest episode on creating suspense. Next Dan, Howard, and I recorded an acceptance speech for our Parsec Award. Once again we missed the awards ceremony, though Dan and I were both there at Dragon*Con… (And don’t worry about the way I sound; my voice has since recovered.)

There’s been some Wheel of Time news I haven’t mentioned here. First, two early reviews of TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT have gone up, from Leigh Butler on Tor.com and Jason on Dragonmount. And today I received proof covers from Tor. The book comes out in a mere 34 days. Are you ready? My tour schedule is on my site, along with a few conventions I’ll be attending later. Oh, and the paperback and ebook versions of THE GATHERING STORM came out today.

Finally, InkWing Arts, the store started by Mistborn and Stormlight Archive artist Isaac Stewart for merchandise based on those series, is having a drawing for a free T-shirt. If you saw me on the THE WAY OF KINGS tour you may have seen me in one of the T-shirts or received an Epic Bookmark. Anyway, it’s all pretty cool stuff and Isaac’s designs are great. Check it out.