LAcon V organizers have announced New York Times bestselling author Tracey Baptiste as a Special Guest for the 84th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) to be held August 27-31, 2026, in Anaheim, California.

Baptiste is an award-winning author of twenty-six books for young readers. Born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, her popular Jumbies Trilogy draws on Trinidadian folklore and mythology, a series that includes The Jumbies, Rise of the Jumbies, and The Jumbie God’s Revenge, as well as the picture book Looking for a Jumbie.

She writes picture books, middle-grade, and young adult, fiction and nonfiction, and has contributed to several anthologies. Among her most popular books are Minecraft: The Crash, which has been translated into multiple languages, as well as nonfiction and historical titles including African Icons: Ten People Who Shaped History and Because Claudette. She has also contributed to young adult anthologies, notably 2019’s Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America.

Her books have received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus and have been named in best books of the year roundups for NPR, Kirkus, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, the New York Public Library, Brightly, We Need Diverse Books, and Bank Street. They have also been on shortlists for several awards, including the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, the Massachusetts Book Award, and the Texas Topaz Reading List, with a unanimous recommendation. Her most recent novels include Moko Magic: Carnival Chaos, Supergoat Girl, and Boy 2.0 and its sequel Kid X. Her debut novel, Angel’s Grace, was named a Kansas NEA Reading Circle List Junior Title.

When invited to be a Special Guest, Baptiste stated, “I’m very excited to meet the entire community at Worldcon. I have yet to attend a con of this caliber, and it’s definitely going to be an amazing experience for me. I hope my presence will add to the delightful atmosphere.”

When she is not writing, Baptiste visits schools all over the world and teaches in the low-residency MFA program at the University of San Francisco.

For more information, visit wTracey Baptiste on the LAcon V website, and follow on Instagram at @traceybaptistewrites.

LAcon V, the 2026 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), is presented by the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI), Inc., a California 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

“World Science Fiction Society”, “WSFS”, “World Science Fiction Convention”, “Worldcon”, “NASFiC”, “Hugo Award”, “Lodestar Award”, the Hugo Award Logo, and the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are trademarks of Worldcon Intellectual Property and used by permission.

[Based on a press release.]