Every year, the same questions come up. Here are the answers to frequently-asked questions about Worldcon program.
When is the schedule going to be available?
I volunteered to be on program, why haven't I
heard anything?
Why do program participants have to pay for
their memberships?
I was invited to be on Program and I filled out
my programming questionnaire - why aren't I listed on the
confirmed participants list?
When is the schedule going to be available?
The final shedule is available online.
I volunteered to be on Program, why haven't I heard anything?
With the exception a few people whose E-mail bounced, everyone who volunteered should received word of whether or not we can use them on Program. If you haven't heard, your E-mail may have bounced.
Even if you are not a Program participant, you are welcome to sign up for an autograph session at Worldcon.
Why do program participants have to pay for their memberships?
Every invited Program Participant with any connection to the field pre-pays. The only exeception to this rule is for the Guests of Honor. Consider your membership payment a loan to the con so the Worldcon can happen. Worldcons cannot deficit-spend; giving all program participants and con workers (who work many hundreds of hours on the con) free memberships would deny the con money when it needs money to rent convention center space, rent equipment, pay for publications, etc. Worldcons almost always make a sizeable profit at the door; most of this profit then goes for participant and volunteer reimbursements after the con.
Participating as a panelist for a Special Interest Group is not the same thing as being on Program; in fact, SIG organization is not even part of the Program division (except for their scheduling). Participation in a SIG does not make you eligible for post-con Program membership reimbursement.
I was invited to be on Program and I filled out my programming questionnaire - why aren't I listed on the confirmed participants list yet?
If you filled out a questionnaire and your name isn't on the list within a few days, that means we never got the questionnaire. The questionnaire has been up for months, and we're only finding out now that some users, partiuclarly AOL users, are having trouble.
We apologize for the inconvenience.