58 Weeks until the Exposition.

“Thirteen and a Half Moons.”

In the year 2024, April 8th saw the moon eclipse the sun, and April 12th to 14th witnessed the opening of the time portals of imagination that invite immersion into an alternate 1893 World’s Fair! It will be another 20 years before the moon eclipses the sun over North America, but only another thirteen and a half months before the time gates to the Exposition open again. Even with an extra six weeks to prepare, many plans are already in place to make this next jaunt to 1893 Chicago the best one thus far!

Our main guest of honor in 2025 is author Scott Westerfeld, best known in the Steampunk circles for his Leviathan trilogy, a retro-futuristic retelling of World War I, illustrated by Keith Thompson and featuring adventure, walking machines, and living airships.

As an author of twenty-five novels, five for adults, and the other twenty for young adults, Westerfeld’s work is expansive and he is widely known for the Uglies quartet, set in a future where cosmetic surgery is compulsory at age sixteen. Additionally, he has penned the Zeroestrilogy, written with Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti, about six teens with strange powers in a small city in California; and the Midnighters trilogy, about five teenagers for whom time freezes every night. My standalone works include four novels set in contemporary New York: So Yesterday, Peeps, The Last Days, and Afterworlds.

Westerfeld’s books have won the Philip K Dick Special Citation, the Aurealis Award, the Victorian Premier’s Award, and have been named NY Times Notable Books and BBYA Top Ten Children’s Books of the Year. I have contributed nonfiction to Nerve, BookForum, the scientific journal Nature. He claims, however, “My greatest accomplishment is, of course, my three Powerpuff Girl choose-your-own-adventure books.”

Learn more about Scott Westerfeld at ScottWesterfeld.com

We shall have more featured presenters and performers to announce in the next couple of weeks 😀

Tickets & the Exclusive Pin

Badges and Tea Tickets are already on sale for the 2025 Exposition! Until the end of this year, ALL badges are $10 off the regular price AND the first 100 Weekend Badges sold will receive an EXCLUSIVE brass colored Exposition 2025 pin that matches the theme. The pin design is almost done and we should be able to reveal it in our next countdown update, but we can describe it as the Exposition Ferris wheel and of course . . . tentacles!

Click on the Box Office image below to purchase your tickets today! Please note that for 2025 we will be printing your name (in a fancy font) on the badge, so include “badge names” in the “Order Notes” section of the check out form. In addition to your name, badges will also be labeled with your order number for reference in case lost badges get turned into Registration; that said, however, please remember that lost badges that are not turned in can not be replaced and a new purchase will be required.

Afternoon Tea Parties & Banquets

New for 2025, the Exposition will offer a limited ticket banquet on Friday and Saturday evening. We are currently working on the menu and pricing, but this meal will also offer patrons the opportunity to sit with one of our guests of honor for a meal and pleasant conversation. Details coming in our next countdown update, but meanwhile tickets for our Afternoon Tea Parties are on sale now.

Program Updates

We are looking for Presenters, Performers, Games Masters, and other people to run sessions for the 2025 Chicago Steampunk Exposition program. Applications are now live; please click on the appropriate image to access the form.

Hotel Rooms

For April 2024, the Exposition hotel was actually sold out. Admittedly not all the people staying at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg that weekend were there for the Exposition, but nonetheless the hotel was sold out. To avoid getting locked out in 2025, we recommend booking your room early (you can always cancel later if needs be) which you can do starting at the end of this month (needs to be 13 months out from the event).