Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

Capclave will return....

October 2-4, 2026 Rockville, MD

Guests of Honor Nino Cipri and Rebecca Roanhorse

Mark your calendars

4

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

Capclave 2025 is winding down, the con suite is almost empty.

Thank you to everyone who made Capclave a success, especially Guests Joe and Gay Haldeman and Naomi Kritzer. Thank you to the participants, volunteers, and members who make everything happen.

Safe travels and get a good night's sleep

A very energetic yet tired Pedro supervising the con suite tear down. He has flyers for the WSFA meeting on October 3rd via zoom. Go to wsfa dot org for more info.

3

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

They're so adorable 🥰

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

Pedro hanging out in the con suite, have a snack or pick up one for the road. We're open until 2pm

Pedro in his finest Hawaiian shirt and green sombrero has his beak in a coke can because Sunday afternoon comes after Saturday night. Even dodos need to caffinate

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

Glad you had a great time, pupper pics please?

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 20d

You're welcome! Thank you again for coming

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

The winner of the WSFA Small Press Award is

“A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts” by Pat Murphy, Lightspeed
Magazine (December 2024) ed. John Joseph Adams

Congratulations!

2 13

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Third Place: "The Second Life of Snow" by E. J. Kildare of Silver Spring.
A young woman wakes up in a coffin, with no memory of how she got there, and a mysterious stranger helps her unlock the secret of her new life.

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Second Place: "Inhuman" by Ariana Solomon of Gaithersburg.
In the wake of humanity's self-inflicted climate apocalypse, a young octopus uncovers a forbidden truth that forces her to confront her morality.

1 1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Yoshi from BSFS announcing the winner of the BSFS amateur writer awards

The winners are:

First Place: "The Werewife" by M. Engle-Pratt of Baltimore.
A woman who lives alone in the woods is visited on the full moon every month by a wolf who becomes human only on that night.

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Capclave Sam Lubell welcoming everyone to the award ceremony

3

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

 “Collaborators” by Michael Payne, Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores (December 2024) ed.
Fran Eisenmann
 “Within the Seed Lives the Fruit” by Leah Andelsmith, Reckoning 8 (June 2024), ed. By
Knar Gavin and Waverly SM.

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Horizons (November 2024), ed. Gautam Bhatia
 “All We Ever Had” by M. A. Akins, Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores (August 2024) ed. Fran
Eisenmann
 “Bespoke” by Elly Bangs, Embodied Exegesis: Transfeminine Cyberpunk Futures ed. by
Ann LeBlanc, Neon Hemlock (2024)

1 1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

 “A Pilgrimage to the God of High Places” by Marissa Lingen, Beneath Ceaseless Skies Issue
406 (May 2024) ed. Scott H. Andrews
 “A Slightly Different Sunrise From Mercury, Nevada” by Íde Hennessy, Strange
Horizons (November 2024), ed. Gautam Bhatia

1 1 1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

WSFA Small Press Award Nominees
Presented September 20, 2025 Capclave, Rockville, MD
 “A Catalog of 21st Century Ghosts” by Pat Murphy, Lightspeed
Magazine (December 2024) ed. John Joseph Adams
 “A Hero’s Tale” by E. Florian Gludovacz, Cosmic Roots & Eldritch
Shores (July 2024) ed. Fran Eisenmann

1

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Soon we will know the winner of the WSFA Small Press Award, it's so secret even the dodos don't know who won. We will find out soon

Here's a list of the shortlist
WSFA Small Press Award Nominees
Presented September 20, 2025 Capclave, Rockville, MD

1 2 2

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

The mass signing started plenty of time to get your books signed. Here's a photo of the room and there will be cake.

Photo of the people getting books signed by the guests of honor and others sitting

Photo of the cake as part of the festivities, a vanilla cake with white frosting and fruit decorations

A chocolate cake for the festivities, has chocolate frosting with red frosting decorations and fruit decorations. Chocolate cake is also Dawn's favorite cake, she wants you to know

1

Reposted by Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con

Danielle Ackley-McPhail @dackleymcphail.bsky.social · 21d

Hanging out at @capclave.bsky.social this weekend, come visit us in the dealer's room for treats and books! @especbooks.bsky.social @neoparadoxa.bsky.social

1 5

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Dodo Esquire took a break to chat with a friend from Balticon. Best part of cons is seeing old friends and making new friends

Dodo Esquire is a small dodo wearing a suit, he's always a dapper dresser. He's in conversation with a dragon friend from Balticon. The dragon is black with purple wings and green chest. Dodo Esquire is sitting on their shoulder.

There's a jack-o'-lantern on the floor next to the dragon because September is Halloween eve.

1 2

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Reminder that the WSFA Small Press Award ceremony is in the Eisenhower room close to registration and the cash bar the hotel is currently setting up

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Be like Rosie and buy your Capclave 2026 memberships. They make great gifts and you get to meet Guests Nino Cipri and Rebecca Roanhorse Oct 2-4, 2026!

Rosie the dodo puppet wearing a purple lei around her neck with her Capclave badge with Rosie the dodo handwritten on it. She is in front of a clipboard with the Capclave 2026 preregistration information. She was gracious to pose for a photo before writing anything down.

Did we mention that Capclave memberships make great gifts? For early holiday shopping, birthdays, or to say happy Tuesday.

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 21d

Pedro had a great night's sleep, and a healthy breakfast. Now he's volunteering in the con suite, say hi to Pedro.

Thank you to all the volunteers that make Capclave happen.

Pedro the small plush dodo wearing a Hawaiian shirt and green sombrero sits next to a bottle of chocolate milk and behind a bowl of rice crispy squares.

Pedro thanks all the volunteers for their hard work.

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 22d

Superheroes versus the Law panel. Batman is a form of wish fulfillment where he always gets the bad guy even though he breaks the law. Every super criminal would be acquitted due to Fourth Amendment violations.

I'm not a lawyer so I'm probably not explaining it right

Three people sitting at a table speaking about superheroes versus the Law.

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 22d

We now return to our regularly scheduled Capclave posts already in progress

Ser Darth 🔜 short nap and Risu Con @capclave.bsky.social · 22d

Confirmed with a male volunteer that the accessible men's room across from Plaza III and by the elevators have larger stalls with bars.

The hallway to get to the restrooms by the elevators is narrow and wheelchair uses may have issues turning.