Can*Con 2019 Report

GoHs: Charlie Jane Anders, DongWon Song, Lee Harris, Kelly Robson (by Arley Sorg)

Can*Con 2019 was held October 18-20 at the Sheraton Hotel in Ottawa, Canada. There were 452 registered memberships; 436 members were in attendance. There were seven guests of honour: Charlie Jane Anders, Lee Harris, DongWon Song, Kelly Robson, and Science Literacy guests Brock Dickinson, Stephen Leahy, and Deborah Raji.

Can*Con Organizers: Marie Bilodeau, Derek Künsken, Brandon Crilly, Evan May, Marie-Pier Bouchard (by Arley Sorg)

Programming featured 164 panelists at 134 sessions, discussing science, writing, publishing, literature, and more, including “Behind the Scenes of Grant Applications”, “Traumas and Triggers: Navigating the Dark Stuff”, “Worldbuilding: Government and Politics”, and “The Novella is Now”; plus kaffeklatsches, writing workshops, pitch sessions with editors and agents, and karaoke. Additional options included readings, a hospitality suite, and six official parties. Can*Con 2019 also hosted the Aurora Awards, attended by over 200 people, with free snacks and a cash bar.

The dealers’ room had 30 vendors including ECW Press and Bundoran Press, with goods like books, jewelry, and accessories.

Aurora Awards Winners and Accepters: Dominik Parisien, Eric Choi (for Fonda Lee), Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Sarah Tolmie, S.M. Beiko, Edward Willett, Kate Heartfield, Derek Künsken, Marie Bilodeau, Kelly Robson, Kari Maaren (by Arley Sorg)

Can*Con 2020 is scheduled for October 16-18, 2020. Guests of honour include agent Sara Megibow of KT Literary, author Fonda Lee, and editor Tricia Narwani of Penguin Random House.

–Arley Sorg


This report and more like it in the December 2019 issue of Locus.

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