On February 18, 2019, membership rates will rise for Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon.

• Full Adult Attending membership rates rise to €235 from €210
• Irish First Worldcon rates, for adults from the island of Ireland attending their first Worldcon, rise to €150 from €130
• Young Adult Attending membership rates rise to €150 from €130.

These rises take effect at 00.01 Dublin time on Monday, February 18.

The instalment plan will close to new members at the same time.

The rate for a Supporting membership is unchanged at €40. The rate for a child, born between 16 August 2006 and 15 August 2013, remains unchanged at €70. The rate for an Infant, born after 16 August 2013, remains unchanged at €5.

As part of the convention’s policy to encourage families and children to attend Dublin 2019, discounts of up to 10% for Adult-Child families of three or more members are available. Families should register as Supporting members and fill out a Family Membership request form on the website to have the balance calculated.

Until the time of the rate rise, an instalment plan is available to Adult, First Worldcon, Young Adult, and Family members to spread part of the membership cost over a series of bimonthly payments. To activate it, prospective members should register as Supporting members, activate their Family Membership if any, and then fill out the Instalment plan request on the website. The total charge for the membership will be frozen at the time of signing up to the plan.

“We hope as many fans as possible will take advantage of these early bird prices before they expire,” said James Bacon, chair of Dublin 2019. “We’re going to have a fantastic programme for you in August and we can’t wait to welcome everyone.”

More than 4250 people have already registered as attending members of Dublin 2019, plus close to 1000 supporting members. The Dublin 2019 organizers are working to enlarge participation through the con’s own FANtastic Dublin Fund as well as through Con or Bust.

Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon will take place in the Convention Centre Dublin from August 15 to August 19. Activities at the Dublin Worldcon will include the 2019 Hugo Awards, the world’s leading awards for excellence in science fiction and fantasy, as well as the spectacular Masquerade costume display. There are typically 650 to 800 separate programme items, including author readings and autograph sessions, films and videos, academic presentations, and panel discussions on speculative literature and other media, many involving fans and audience.

Other activities at the Dublin Worldcon will include the 2019 Hugo Awards, the world’s leading awards for excellence in science fiction and fantasy, as well as the spectacular Masquerade costume display. There are typically 650 to 800 separate programme items, including author readings and autograph sessions, the art show and auction, academic presentations, and panel discussions on speculative literature and other media, many involving fans and audience. The Irish Science Fiction Film Festival and Golden Blaster Awards will be among the film and video events at Dublin 2019.

Guests of Honour for Dublin 2019 include YA author Diane Duane, and screenwriter and Hugo winner Ian McDonald, as well as game designer Steve Jackson (Melee, Chaos Machine, Munchkin) and editor Ginjer Buchanan. Science Guest of Honour will be Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered radio pulsars in 1967 as a postgraduate student. Bill and Mary Burns will be fan Guests of Honour. Featured Artists are Jim Fitzpatrick, Maeve Clancy and Afua Richardson.

More information and membership registration for Dublin 2019 are available at https://dublin2019.com. Follow us on Twitter at @dublin2019 50 \ls

Dublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon has opened the FANtastic Dublin Fund (FDF) to help diversify attendance and programme participation by groups including people of colour, people from marginalized communities such as Irish Travellers, people with limited financial means, and people who experience other barriers to coming to Worldcon.

Dublin 2019 chair James Bacon said: “It’s incredibly important to make sure that we are as inclusive as possible and that all kinds of people have a chance to be part of our dialogues about speculative fiction and the future. We need your help in making this a Worldcon for all of us.”

To achieve its goals, the fund invites contributions, in any currency, through the FDF webpage. Fans who have bought memberships they are unable to use may gift the membership back to the FDF at any time.

The FANtastic Dublin Fund and other diversity efforts are aimed at helping several groups, in no particular order:

• Irish fans of limited financial means: Dublin 2019 will offer heavily discounted memberships to residents of Ireland and Northern Ireland who would otherwise be unable to afford to attend. Dublin 2019 will match the first 12 membership donations either purchased via FDF contributions or gifted to the FDF. People who will not be using their attending memberships are encouraged to donate them to this pool as it is most likely that local fans will be able to use them.
   
• Irish Traveller community: Dublin 2019 has set aside a number of memberships for members of the Irish Travellers, who are Ireland’s only indigenous ethnic minority. For more information on this group, visit Pavee Point: Traveller and Roma Center and the Irish Traveller Movement.
   
• People of colour: Dublin 2019 has also donated 12 memberships to Con or Bust, a non-profit organization that helps people of colour/non-white people attend SFF conventions. Additional travel-related support for fans of colour may also be available through Con or Bust.

Fans who could benefit from the FDF should consult the FDF webpage where instructions on applying for grants will be posted. Information about Con or Bust grants will be available through the Con or Bust website.

As well, the fund will help broaden programme participation, especially for participants from marginalized communities and participants of colour. Part of the funds donated to the FDF will be used to provide these participants with memberships and travel stipends. Eligible programme participants include artists, musicians, writers, publishing industry professionals, scientists, engineers, academics, and organizers from diverse communities, presenting in panel discussions, lectures, readings, performances, and other activities.

Prospective programme participants who could benefit from FDF grants should consult the FDF webpage where application instructions will be posted.

“Dublin 2019’s programme participants are highly visible members of the convention and have a direct impact on which fans choose to attend Worldcon,” convention chair James Bacon said. “It’s especially important because a Worldcon coming to town is often a member’s first experience with fandom. Diversity in areas such as background, experience, race, country of origin, socioeconomic status, language, and religion leads to a deeper and more enriching convention experience for all of our members.”

Schemes that have helped diversify participation in Worldcons include the TransAtlantic Fan Fund, begun in 1953 and the first of a number of global mobility funds; Con or Bust, which began in 2009; the FANtastic Detroit Fund, developed for Detcon1, the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention; and most recently, the Mexicanx Initiative led by John Picacio, which brought 50 Mexican creatives and fans to Worldcon 76 in San Jose.

Dublin 2019 members hotel booking link goes live January 9 at 2 p.m. Dublin Time (which in other time zones is 3 p.m. CET or 9 a.m. EST, for example.)

The convention’s accommodation webpage says:

We have been negotiating with Dublin hotels to get the best rates possible, and have secured blocks in many 3 and 4 star hotels near the city centre, including all those closest to our venue – The Convention Centre Dublin (CCD). All have given us heavily discounted rates, often 15-30% lower than the average lowest rate you would have found for those same hotels in August 2018.

• Average Single Rate €205
• Average Double Rate €220
• Lowest Single Occupancy Rate €177
• Higher Double Occupancy Rate €308 in a 4.5* Radisson Blu

Note: These prices all include a full Irish breakfast and are the averages of an equivalent of €167 EUR a night (excluding taxes and breakfast). However we also have some triple occupancy rooms and some of hotels offer rates for room only (no breakfast).

To achieve the substantial discount, we have had to accept some special terms that may affect the scheduling of your booking:

• Payment in Full – When you book, the full amount for all the nights of your stay will be charged as a deposit. [Payment is possible with any type of Visa or MasterCard – credit, debit or prepaid card.]
• Refunds & Cancellations – Payment will be fully refundable if the booking is cancelled by 10th May 2019 (just over 3 months out from the first night you can book at the convention rate). Beyond that date, it will be 50% refundable for another month in many hotels. After 10th June 2019, the deposit will become non-refundable in all cases.
• Block Expiration – You will not be able to book at the convention rate in these hotels after June 10, 2019, as any unsold rooms in our block will have been returned to the hotels for sale on the open market – almost certainly at rates significantly higher than before….

More guidelines and information about other accommodations at the website

The National Irish Science Fiction Film Festival and Golden Blaster awards ceremony will take place in August as part of hDublin 2019 – An Irish Worldcon.

More than 4300 people have already registered for Dublin 2019, enabling the presenters’ films to reach an unprecedented audience. The festival has taken place and the Golden Blaster awards have been given since 2009.

“This event brings greater recognition to filmmakers who create speculative fiction in the short film format,” said James Bacon, the chairman of Dublin 2019. “It’s an honor to be involved in this long-running film world gathering and to bring the works of Irish speculative filmmakers to one of the planet’s largest fan-run events.”

The NISFF provides a platform for science fiction, fantasy and horror from all over the world. The final closing date for films to be entered is June 30, 2019.

Award categories include the Golden Blasters for Best Picture and Best Screenplay and the Silver Blaster Audience Award. Recent previous award ceremonies have been held at Octocon, the Irish national science fiction convention.

Dublin 2019 will be held from August 15 to August 19 at the Convention Centre Dublin and other locations around the city (Worldcon Fringe). It will be the 77th World Science Fiction Convention and is aimed at both veteran fans and newcomers. At least 700 of those registered say they will be attending Worldcon for the first time.

Other activities at the Dublin Worldcon will include the 2019 Hugo Awards, the world’s leading awards for excellence in science fiction and fantasy, as well as the spectacular Masquerade costume display. There are typically 650 to 800 separate programme items, including author readings and autograph sessions, feature films and videos, academic presentations, and panel discussions on speculative literature and other media, many involving fans and audience.

Guests of Honour for Dublin 2019 include screenwriter and Hugo winner Ian McDonald, as well as YA author Diane Duane and game designer Steve Jackson (Melee, Chaos Machine, Munchkin) and editor Ginjer Buchanan. Science Guest of Honour will be Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered radio pulsars in 1967 as a postgraduate student. Bill and Mary Burns will be fan Guests of Honour.

[From a press release.]