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 ...Read More

The relationship between Italian readers and literary science fiction has always been, let’s say, complicated. Besides the main­stream recognition of classic authors like Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard, traditional long sellers like Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury and the tem­porary TV or movie driven successes – George R.R. Martin to mention the most recent one – it still remains a niche genre for a niche audience, published mostly under ...Read More

The story I told quite a lot on my recent visit to China was how, nearly 20 years ago and with much longer hair, I arrived in Beijing. I got off the night bus from the Mongolian border, armed with nothing much more than a curiosity about Chinese science fiction, and a single email address for a Professor Wu Yan.

I was warmly welcomed, introduced to many of the writers ...Read More

The Fifth Chengdu International Science Fiction Conference, organized by China’s oldest sci­ence fiction magazine Science Fiction World, opened with fanfare at the Eastern Memory Suburb of Sichuan province’s capital, free and open to the public. Panelists came from across the world, with different roles in science fiction: classic writers such as American authors Pat Murphy and Eileen Gunn and Belgian author Frank Roger; newer writers such as Niger’s Rich Larson, ...Read More

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.

Programming featured 164 panelists at 134 sessions, discussing science, writing, publishing, literature, and more, including “Behind the Scenes of Grant Applications”, ...Read More

Rituals are important for every community. For Israeli fandom there is an annual ritual after each ICon in which people rant on Facebook about how the venue is too small and we should find another place to hold ICon. They do have a point, but it’s a good thing — ICon is getting bigger each year. This time over the three days of the festival some 450 events were held, ...Read More

The 45th World Fantasy Convention was held October 31 – November 3, 2019 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott in a still-smoky California. Guests of honor were Margo Lanagan, Beth Meacham, Reiko Murakami, Sheree Renée Thomas, and Tad Williams, with toastmaster Robert Silverberg. Life Achievement Awards winners were Hayao Miyazaki and Jack Zipes.

Attendance was down from the prior year, with 660 warm bodies out of 762 total memberships purchased, ...Read More

Dublin 2019, the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, took place August 15-19, 2019 at the Convention Centre Dublin in Ireland. Guests of honour were Diane Duane, Ginjer Buchanan, and Ian McDonald; other guests of honour were astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, fans Bill & Mary Burns, and game creator Steve Jackson. There were 6,024 attending memberships purchased, with 5,814 warm bodies, compared to San Jose’s 5,440 attending members and Helsinki’s 5,949. ...Read More

Laffcon 4, the world’s only conference dedicated to the work of R.A. Lafferty, was held at the Lawrence Library in Lawrenceville NJ on June 8, 2019. The event, co-sponsored by the Lawrence Library and the Northeast Lafferty League (NELL), included lectures, readings, panels, an art gallery, and a lunch reception. More information can be found at <ralafferty.com> and <laffcon.org>.

This report and more like it in the August 2019 issue ...Read More