FOGcon 10 Report
The 2020 Friends of Genre convention (FOGcon 10) was held March 6-8 at the Walnut Creek Marriot in Walnut Creek CA. 234 memberships were sold, with approximately 185 warm bodies, presumably due to COVID-19 cancellations. The theme was “Turning Points”, with honored guests Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nisi Shawl (via video), and Terry Pratchett (posthumously).
Despite necessary last-minute changes, like Zooming GOH Shawl in for panels, programming included 35 items, with panels on science, writing, publishing, literature, politics, and more, such as “Small Scale SFF”, “Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?”, “Archives and Genre”, and “Eating the Rich: Horror and Class”; and small-group writing workshops. Additional options included the affordable Unaward Lunch Banquet with 120 seats sold and approximately 100 attendees, readings, a hospitality suite, and an inaugural People of Color meetup.
The dealers’ room included businesses such as Borderlands Books and Cargo Cult, with goods like books, jewelry, and accessories. Sales reported by one vendor were “higher than usual.”
FOGcon 11 is scheduled for March 12-14, 2021. The theme is “Education in Science Fiction” and honored guests are TBA.
–Report and photos by Arley Sorg
This report and more like it in the April 2020 issue of Locus.
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