A drawing of Capricon's mascot, Capricious. A got who is holding his convention badge, with two ribbons on it - one says "Animal GoH" (which stands for Guest of Honor) and the second says He / They for Capricious' pronouns.

Have you bought your membership for Capricon 46 yet? If not, now is the time! The rate for the Adult Attending is increasing to $65 on October 16. All other membership levels will remain at their current rates. capricon.org/registration/

Photo of Capricon 46 Guest of Honor, Laser Webber. Short brown hair, multicolor glasses frames, smiling, a unicorn tattoo visible on their right arm. Wearing a black shirt with white geometric arcs, a red tie, Star Trek lapel pin, and holding a pen in their right hand.

Welcome our next Guest of Honor, Laser Webber! @lasertheboy.bsky.social is a producer, improviser, and writer. He has been a touring musician with The Doubleclicks, produced live events, films, and podcasts with Laservision Productions, and helped raise $5 million for independent art. capricon.org

We're a bit biased over here, but we highly recommend @capriconsfcon.bsky.social in Chicago. New hotel this year right by O'Hare and we would love to welcome you to the Capricon family!

Top center of the square - An image of a purple hand holding a "brick" that says "Capricon 46" with "Rise of the Humans" . There are 6 other hands holding bricks along the edge of the square. Below the Cap 46 hand is text that reads "We need your hands! In a world where dystopian threats appear daily in the darkest timeline, it's important to remember that we write our own future! It's the Rise of the Humans!"

Dark purple square, with a watermarked background image of a purple hand holding a "brick" with the words "Capricon 46". The text on the square reads: "We need you (yes, YOU!) to contribute artwork of a hand holding up a brick (purple would be nice, but not required). Everyone's artwork will be stitched together digitally to create an expansive field of hands and bricks representing Capricon 46's theme: RISE OF THE HUMANS! Instructions: 1 Create a hand holding up a brick. You can draw, paint, sculpt, photograph, collage, whatever feels right, but NO AI. Take the term "hand" as loosely as you need. Purple means a lot to us, but your brick can be any color. 2 Submit your art here: https://tinyurl.com/Handbricks 3 Submission deadline is 11/15/2025 (11:59pm Central) Not an Artist? "Bad" art welcome and encouraged! Send in your outsider art, your doodles, anything made with passion and human-only input is welcome! Why Hands & Bricks? The hand holding up a brick is a powerful symbol of human doing what's needed to demand the future they deserve. Bricks for throwing and bricks for building, both are needed when dystopia looms. What is Capricon? Capricon is a sci-fi & fantasy convention in Chicagoland. We celebrate the best of science fiction and fantasy, with a focus on literature. We are part of the world-wide fannish community, where diversity is encouraged and all are welcome.

Attention everyone! It's an open call for artwork of a hand holding up a brick. Everyone is welcome to participate - details below! Deadline for submission is 11/15/2025.

Photo of Jathan Sadowski. White-appearing male with buzzcut dark hair, a mustache and beard, wearing black glasses and a grey crew neck shirt. He is in front of a neutral brown background.

Photo of Edward Ongweso, Jr. A black man with black dreads, wearing gold round glasses. He is wearing a colorful scarf as a headband, a yellow jacket, and a t-shirt with a blue woodblock style print on it of two people working on a machine. He is standing in front of a wall of blue tiles.

Capricon 46 is delighted to begin announcing our Guests of Honor! Welcome @edwardongwesojr.com and @jathansadowski.com, co-hosts of the podcast This Machine Kills. Their podcast explores the political economy of technology; we are thrilled to have them join us! capricon.org/guests-of-ho...

The stunning cover of THE INVISIBLE PARADE by Leigh Bardugo and John Picacio. A young girl with a red scarf and a feather-caped skeletal figure are riding a horse that is flying into the night sky.

Former Capricon Guest of Honor @johnpicacio.bsky.social asked us to tell his Capricon peeps that he and Leigh Bardugo are in town to celebrate their new book, The Invisible Parade! North Central College in Naperville on August 27 at 7pm - details here: andersonsbookshop.com/event/2025-0...

A purple brick wall. Text reads Capricon 46, Official Announcement! Room Block Now Open, Read description below for important details. There is a megaphone and black/yellow tape for attention.

Capricon 46's hotel room block is officially OPEN!
Book through the link below!
Dates: Thurs 02/05/2026 – Sun 02/08/2026
Marriott Chicago O'Hare
Room block closes Jan 15, 2026 — but don’t wait, rooms fill fast!
www.marriott.com/event-reserv...

Drawing of a goat with big eyes, curved horns, and tongue sticking out. Standing on two legs, with one hand raised as if to say "I volunteer!"

Capricon is a 100% volunteer run convention, and we want you to help us make it happen! We will work with you to find a role that fits your interests, availability, and skill set. Fill out our volunteer interest form (forms.gle/rXg2nkxMSBf3...) or reach out to us at volunteers @ capricon.org.

Drawing of a goat with big eyes, curled horns, and tongue sticking up. He's standing up with arms raised to throw colorful squares of confetti all around him!

Capricon 46: The Rise of the Humans! Marriott Chicago O'Hare, February 5-8, 2026. Find out more at capricon.org - and registration is now open!

Capricon is sad to learn of the passing of our friend Jill Mitchell. Jill died on Wednesday, June 4, after having been ill for several months. Jill had most recently served as our Treasurer Second, and could often be found helping out in Con Ops at Capricon. She will be missed.

We are still seeking volunteers who wish to work with the Board in a variety of positions. Take a look and let us know if you are interested! capricon.org/about/volunt... (Information on volunteering for planning the next Capricon coming soon...)

Black & white line art - our goat mascot, Capricious, in front of a series of concentric circles representing sound waves.

June is National Audiobook Appreciation Month! It celebrates the joy, accessibility, and growing impact of audiobooks. Audiobooks have educational, entertainment, and inclusive value, especially for those with print disabilities or busy lifestyles. What do you love about audiobooks?

Still image of Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back. He is looking wise and calm in his brown robes with his hands clasped on top of his walking stick.

Talk Like Yoda Day it is! Two favorites Capricious has. "To be Jedi is to face the truth and choose. Give off light, or darkness, Padawan. Be a candle, or the night." – Yoda "A way there always is." – Yoda

Line art of Capricious, our Goat mascot, surrounded by colorful hearts and stars

It's National Volunteering Week! Coincidentally, Capricon is looking for volunteers! We have Board Staff positions up on our website (capricon.org/about/volunt...) and we're starting to recruit people for Capricon 46. If you love Capricon, come have some fun and help make the magic happen with us!

Line art of four chickens, each doing one of the moves from the Chicken Dance (flap wings, wiggle butt, clap hands, beak hands)

Happy National Chicken Dance Day!

Capricious and Phandemonium want you to volunteer! We currently have roles available for people who report directly to the Board of Directors; find out more here: capricon.org/about/volunt...
We anticipate that we'll start putting up volunteer roles for Capricon 46 before the end of the month.

Image of a stormtrooper, Darth Vader, R2D2, and C-3PO. Text reads "Star Wars Day, May the 4th Be With You 2025"

May the 4th Be With You on this Star Wars Day! We're kinda stoked to hear that there will be a new Star Wars film coming in 2027. What do you all think? www.starwars.com/news/star-wa...

Black and blue background rectangles. Text reads "Free Comic Book Day 1st Saturday in May!" "May 3, 2025" and freecomicbookday.com

It's Free Comic Book Day! What comics are you currently reading? What ones do you think we should be having panels about at Capricon 46?

Level Up: Writers & Gamers Explore the new exhibit from the American Writers Museum! Level Up: Writers & Gamers opens May 24 and explores writing in games.

We are super stoked that the Level Up: Writers & Gamers exhibit at the American Writers Museum has just been extended through November 2, 2025! Plus there is a discount if you go May 4-16! americanwritersmuseum.org/level-up-wri...

Correct! They have fantastic function space.

Logo for Independent Bookstore Day, including the date of Saturday, April 26, 2025

Today is Independent Bookstore Day! There are so many amazing Indie bookshops in the Chicago area - Myopic Books, Quimby's, Women & Children First, just to name a few - go support one of them today, and enjoy your new book!

Photo of the Chicago Marriott O'Hare at sunset. Or sunrise. We aren't sure, but the sky is filled with blues and pinks and purples.

We are delighted to make the following announcement! There will be a Capricon 46, held February 5-8, 2026, and it will be held at our new hotel, the Marriott Chicago O'Hare! Head over to our website for the details - and sign up for our newsletter while you're there! capricon.org

Hey world! Capricon over here. Chicago's 4-day Science Fiction Convention held in February every year. More posts coming soon!