The official draft programme schedule for the 75th World Science Fiction Convention, Worldcon 75, held this year in Helsinki from August 9th to 13th, has just gone live – showcasing a truly stellar lineup. Speculative fiction stars on the schedule include George RR Martin,  Nalo Hopkinson, Jeff and Ann Vandermeer, Ken Liu, Elizabeth Hand, Cixin Liu,  Robert Silverberg, Jonathan Strahan, Elizabeth Bear, Pat Cadigan, Gary K. Wolfe, Charlie Stross, Ellen Datlow, Karin Tidbeck, Joe Haldeman, Robin Hobb, and many many more. There is also a distinguished slate of exceptional Finnish and Scandinavian speculative fiction authors, who unfortunately will be less familiar to most Teleread readers – but as one highlight, “Guest of Honour Johanna Sinisalo will receive the Prometheus Award for her novel Core of the Sun.”

The organizers are expecting more than 5,000 members to attend, with 1700 Finns, 1200 Americans and over 600 Britons already registered, “although the number of participants may still rise, as memberships are still being sold.” There is an almost incredibly rich and detailed selection of programme items and special topics for the whole period of the con – “over 840 individual items and 800 hours of content,” according to the press release – including tips and primers of all kinds for writers, as well as features on scientific topics of interest to SF authors and audience alike. Astronaut guest Kjell Lindgren, veteran of the ISS, is another distinguished speaker. Finally, the Hugo Awards ceremony will be held on the evening of Saturday August 12th.

Even by the standards of Worldcon, this year’s event looks set to be an exceptionally interesting and exciting one, in an exceptionally beautiful setting. Get set to follow Teleread’s reports from Worldcon 75 next month.