Worldcon 76 was held August 16-20, 2018 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA. Guests of honor were Spider Robinson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, John Picacio, Frank Hayes, and Pierre & Sandy Pettinger. Edgar Pangborn and Bob Wilkins were memorial ghosts of honor.
According to preliminary numbers, the convention had 5,440 warm bodies on site, out of 7,864 members total (including 1,771 supporting members).
The October issue ...Read More
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The Science Fiction & Fantasy Conventions Of New Zealand Incorporated (SFFCONZ, Inc.) non-profit society has won the bid to host the 78th World Science Convention at the TSB Bank Arena and Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, New Zealand from July 29 – August 2, 2020, receiving 643 of the 726 votes cast. There were no other registered candidates. George R.R. Martin will be the master of ceremonies. For more information, ...Read More
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Several awards for services to SF fandom were presented during opening ceremonies at Worldcon 76, August 16, 2018 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA.
First Fandom Hall of Fame Award
Robert SilverbergFirst Fandom Posthumous Hall of Fame Awards
Len & June MoffattSam Moskowitz Archive Award
Hal W. HallDavid A. Kyle Big Heart Award
Mike GlyerWhile you are here, please take a ...Read More
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Readercon 29 was held July 12-15, 2018, in Quincy MA. Guests of honor were Ken Liu and Nisi Shawl; E. Nesbit was the memorial guest of honor. There were an estimated 740 attendees over the entire weekend. The focus of Readercon is “imaginative literature” – literary science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their intersections. Programming was, as always, carefully organized and curated, with topics ranging from casual book-club style discussions to ...Read More
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The Locus Awards were held June 22-24, 2018 at the Best Western Executive Inn in balmy Seattle for the thirteenth consecutive year. Connie Willis was MC, with Daryl Gregory presenting the awards. Willis and Yoon Ha Lee taught the Locus Writers workshops that book-ended the weekend. Attendance numbered 150. Events kicked off Friday with readings by Willis and Lee, followed by a Clarion West-hosted party in honor of first-week instructor ...Read More
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WisCon 42 was held May 25-28, 2018 at the Concourse Hotel in balmy Madison WI, with Saladin Ahmed and Tananarive Due as guests of honor. 924 full memberships were sold, plus 71 single day memberships. Programming offered 140 panels, solo presentations, and roundtables, focused on SF/F literature, diversity, feminism, disability, criticism, and more. Other options included 19 reading slots with 68 authors, 23 writing workshops, 12 kids’ items, 10 gaming ...Read More
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The 2018 SFWA Nebula Conference was held May 17-20 at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center in humid PA for the second of two years. There were 356 registered members (including 18 who only attended the banquet), up from last year’s 307. The hotel was comfortable, with suitable mingling spaces, friendly staff, and nearby eateries. SFWA-organized tours brought attendees to Allegheny Observatory on Thursday evening. Other sightseeing options included the Andy ...Read More
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The 2020 Worldcon bid, NZ in 2020, has changed their proposed dates to July 29 – August 2, 2020 in Wellington, New Zealand, due to a lack of facility availability for their original dates (August 12-16, 2020). The event would still be held at the TSB Bank Arena and Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington.
Chair Norman Cates said, “We appreciate that this date change would make our Worldcon early compared ...Read More
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Voting has opened for the 2020 Worldcon and 2019 NASFiC conventions. Ballots for both are available on the Worldcon 76 site. Voting is open until August 11, 2018 to members of Worldcon 76 who have paid the voting fees ($30 for NASFiC, $50 for Worldcon).
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Conventions Of New Zealand Incorporated (SFFCONZ, Inc.) non-profit society has filed a bid to host the 2020 Worldcon at the ...Read More
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The 2018 Hugo Voter Packet is available for download by members of Worldcon 76. An announcement has been sent to all members who registered their email address with the convention. The packet can be downloaded from the Worldcon 76 Hugo Awards website in the “Hugo Voter Packet” section.
The packet does not contain all the nominated works in their entirety, but there is some free material in most categories. The ...Read More
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The Outer Dark Symposium on the Greater Weird was held March 23-25, 2018 at the Plaza Suites Hotel in Santa Clara and the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose CA. Approximately 65 people attended. The event was organized by Anya Martin and Scott Nicolay, producers of The Outer Dark podcast, hosted by This Is Horror.
Members received a bag with stickers, a program chapbook with biographies and selected works ...Read More
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Norwescon 41 was held March 29 – April 1, 2018 in SeaTac WA at the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport. The theme was “Uncovering Mysteries.” Guests of honor were Ken Liu (writer), Galen Dara (artist), and Mathew Wedel (science). (Wayne Barlowe was originally scheduled to be artist GoH, but had to cancel due to schedule conflicts.) Green Ronin was the spotlight publisher, represented by Nicole Lindroos and Chris Pramas.
Norwescon ...Read More
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The 42nd Williamson Lectureship was held April 5-7, 2018, in Portales NM. The Lectureship, held to honor SF pioneer Jack Williamson, took place at Eastern NM University with casual gatherings around town. Santa Fe author S.M. Stirling, known for his Emberverse series and other alternate history efforts, was the guest of honor, and Connie Willis served as toastmistress. The theme for the 2018 Lectureship was “Changes.” The event, often dubbed ...Read More
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The 39th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) took place March 14-18, 2018 at the Orlando Airport Marriot Hotel. The theme was ”200 Years of the Fantastic: Celebrating Frankenstein and Mary Shelley”. Academics, writers, publishers, editors, artists, students, independent scholars, and more participated, with about 457 people attending (down from 490 last year) and about 306 either presenting a paper or appearing on a panel (up from ...Read More
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The 2018 Friends of Genre convention (FOGcon 8) was held March 9-11 at the Walnut Creek Marriot in Walnut Creek CA. 190 memberships were sold, plus an additional 32 day passes. The theme was “Performance in SF&F”, with honored guests Andrea Hairston, Ada Palmer, and Thomas M. Disch (posthumously).
Programming included 74 participants and 55 slots, with panels on science, writing, publishing, literature, politics, and more, with titles such as ...Read More
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StokerCon, sponsored by the Horror Writers Association, was held at the Biltmore in Providence RI, March 1-4, 2018. HWA president Lisa Morton said, “It’s hard to beat hundreds of horror-lovers huddled together in a supposedly haunted hotel while a Nor’easter rages outside.” Guests of honor were Ramsey Campbell, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Victor LaValle, Elizabeth Massie, Sam Weller, and Craig Engler; Jeff Strand was emcee. Morton said, “This was our third ...Read More
Read moreWinners of the Shimmer Program’s Worldcon 76 Attending Funding for Chinese fans have been announced. Lin Jiayu (Mackenzie Lin) and Shi Ran (Sharon Shi) will each receive RMB 10,000 (approximately $1,600) to attend and staff Worldcon 76. This year’s winners were chosen by Worldcon Facilities DDH Mike Willmoth and winner of the Worldcon 75 Attending Funding Yang Sumin.
The Shimmer Program is funded by Storycom, “the first professional story commercialization ...Read More
Read moreChuck Serface has launched the LGBTQ Initiative with the intention of funding 50 memberships to Worldcon 76. So far, the initiative has raised enough money to fully fund seven memberships.
Funded memberships are available to SF/F fans and professionals who identify as LGBTQ. Applicants should send an email to lgbtqworldcon@gmail.com with a personal statement under 500 words including information about themselves and why they want to attend Worldcon. Applications will ...Read More
Read moreWorldcon 76, to be held August 16-20, 2018 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA, has released Progress Report 2.0, with a letter from the chair, 2017 highlights from artist guest of honor John Picacio, “Fans, and Food” by Christopher J. Garcia, membership details, a hotel update, info on the 1943 Retrospective Hugos, the WSFS Constitution, tips for first-time attendees, a preview of the exhibit hall, ...Read More
Read moreThe final day to nominate for the 2018 Hugo Awards and 1943 Retro Hugo Awards is March 16, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.
The Hugo Awards are hosted by Worldcon 76, to be held August 16-20, 2018 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA. Nominations “are open to any person who was a voting member of the 2017, 2018, or 2019 Worldcons as of December 31, ...Read More
Read moreVoting is open for the DUFF, TAFF, and GUFF races.
The Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF) to send fans from Australasia to Worldcon 76, or to other major conventions in North America in 2018, has one candidate: Marlee Jane Ward. Voting is open until March 31, 2018. DUFF is open to “anyone who has been active in science fiction fandom” before the start of the previous year. Candidates for a ...Read More
Read moreArisia 2018 was held January 12-15 at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston MA. The convention, held annually in the Boston area since 1990, welcomed over 4,500 registered attendees and featured author guest of honor V.E. Schwab, artist guest of honor Ashe Samuels, comics industry guest of honor Shannon Watters, and fan guest of honor Mikki Kendall. The convention held over 400 hours of programming on subjects including anime, comics, ...Read More
Read moreWorldcon Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio has started the Mexicanx Initiative to sponsor attending memberships to Worldcon 76 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA, to be held August 16-20, 2018. As previously reported, Picacio and John Scalzi announced that they would each sponsor two attending memberships. Other sponsors (including Christopher Brown, Ctein, Ty Franck, Mary Robinette Kowal, John & Christine O’Halloran, Chris Rose, and ...Read More
Read moreJohn Scalzi and Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio are sponsoring four attending memberships to Worldcon 76 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA, to be held August 16-20, 2018. Two memberships are available to “Mexicanx professional sf/f artists or writers” and two to “Mexicanx sf/f fans,” all four to be chosen by Picacio. Interested applicants can leave a reply on Picacio’s Twitter or Facebook, or ...Read More
Read moreThe Science Fiction & Fantasy Conventions Of New Zealand Incorporated (SFFCONZ, Inc.) non-profit society has filed a bid to host the 2020 Worldcon at the TSB Bank Arena and Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, from August 12-16, 2020.
The Utah Fandom Organization is bidding to hold NASFiC 2019 at the Davis Conference Center in Layton UT from July 4-7, 2019. NASFiC happens whenever a Worldcon is held outside ...Read More
Read moreThe 2018 SMOFCon (SMOFCon 36) will be held November 30 – December 2, 2018 at the Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa in Santa Rosa CA with the theme “Conventions at the Speed of Light: Technology for the Modern Convention.” Bruce Farr is the convention chair. Attending memberships cost $50 until December 31, 2017, after which prices will change.
For more information, see the official website.
While you are here, please ...Read More
Read moreIn a joint statement during SMOFCon 35, both Worldcon 76 in San Jose and Dublin 2019 (Worldcon 77) announced that they will present Retrospective Hugo Awards for 1943 and 1944 respectively. The 1943 Retro Hugos for works first published in 1942 will be awarded in a ceremony to be held on August 16, 2018 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA. The 1944 Retro Hugos for ...Read More
Read moreStorycom has again set up the Shimmer Program to encourage “2 active Chinese fans” to attend the 76th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose CA on August 16-20, 2018. The two selected individuals will each receive RMB 10,000 to cover travel expenses with the idea that “the beneficiaries should also volunteer to work for Worldcon 76 and promise to take active ...Read More
Read morePulpFest 2018 will be held July 26-29, 2018, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Pittsburgh PA. Joe R. Lansdale is the Guest of Honor.
For more information and membership rates, see the official website.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to ...Read More
Read moreThe 2020 World Fantasy Convention will be held at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City UT, starting October 29, 2020. A convention website with more information, including membership rates, will be available “at the conclusion of the Baltimore conference.”
The 2018 WFC will be held November 1-4, 2018 at the Baltimore Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore MD. The theme is “Ports in a Storm.”
The 2019 WFC will ...Read More
Read moreThe Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, Inc. (SCIFI, Inc.) won the bid for the 2019 World Fantasy Convention. It will be held October 31 – November 3, 2019 at the Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles CA with the theme of “Fantasy Noir.” Guests of honor will include Margo Lanagan, Beth Meacham, and Chris McGrath. Robert Silverberg will be Toastmaster. Attending membership is currently $150, and supporting ...Read More
Read moreThe New York Science Fiction Society (the Lunarians (2), Inc.) has decided not to hold Lunacon in 2018. Lunacon was previously canceled for 2015 but was held again in 2016 and 2017. In a press release, Lunarians (2) president Stuart C. Hellinger said:
Our organization has the future of Lunacon under complete review and evaluation. Once a decision has been finalized as to how and if to proceed, we will ...Read More
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