Science Fiction / Fantasy Conventions

What SciFi/Fantasy conventions are the best ones to attend? Which conventions do you plan to attend?

"Capclave" is held in Octobers in the Rockville MD area, and focuses on science fiction writing, editing, etc.

See: www.capclave.org

Oooo Connie Willis is the next Guest of Honor!!!

I haven't ever seen anyone in a costume. Attendence is usually over 200.

"Best" is a hard thing to pin down. I would say it depends on what you want out of the con, and how much time and money you have. I only ever attended cons for fun (or because I was on the concom) and I stuck pretty close to home, but had some great times at the smaller local cons. I also went to the 2008 World Fantasy Con and enjoyed it very much. It was really book-focussed, as opposed to World Science Fiction which takes a broader view of the SF/F field. The bigger cons offer a wider range of programming, larger art shows and dealer rooms, etc.

I'm not planning to attend any cons at the moment, but that could change. Now that my kids are more independent and I've got more disposable income I may be travelling a bit more.

'Worldcon' the World Science Fiction convention is generally pretty good, often has good programming tracks, many authors present for panels and signings. The Hugo Awards are given out here.

It may also have a very good dealers room with many bookdealers (although this years dealer room was lousy for books, since many US dealers didn't bother going due to Canadian customs issues).

It moves locations every year, 2010 is in Australia, while the 2011 Worldcon is in Reno, Nevada.

Chicago is running to host 2012. Texas is running for 2013, and the UK may go for 2014.

Often has upto about 6000 people depending on the year.

I really like Mile Hi Con. It's very family friendly, with a kids' track of activities as well as adult activities. It's not huge - 1500 to 2000 people usually, but it's not so small that you run out of things to do. It's mostly a literary convention, with a light sprinkling of film and anime.

Thanks. Worldcon sounds great, but Australia is a little far for 2010. Mile Hi Con sound perfect for me since I live in Oklahoma. Do you know where the World Fantasy Con will be in 2010?

no but I'm sure if you google World Fantasy Convention 2010 you will find it.

World Fantasy 2010 is in Columbus, Ohio.

It really depends on what you expect from a convention...

For those in the Boston area, Boskone 47 is Feb 12-14 2010.
Last years was a B+ (Charlie Stross as guest star). Tihis year features Tom Shippey, Tolkien biographer and Middle Earth expert.
http://www.nesfa.org/boskone/

The only convention I have ever been to is Dragon*Con in Atlanta. It's always over Labor Day weekend. I think it's great, but then again I don't have anything to compare it to.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were there this year. :)

Dragon Con, really is a Con for a wide range of Media, rather than focusing on SF and Fantasy.

It does have a completely Insane number of people, 60,000 the year we attended.

Theres just TOO many people, so many the Fire Marshall was closing whole floors of the hotel. It's a good con if you like TV or Movie SF, lots of TV folks there.

In the past the BAEN books crew do that con as well, so if you're really into BAEN authors like Ringo, Weber and co, it's probably okay.

I can highly recommend the NASFIC (North American Science Fiction Convention) which happens often when Worldcon is out of the USA, in 2010 the NASFIC is in Raleigh, North Carolina, and should be a great CON.

Web Address is: http://www.reconstructionsf.org/

Location, location, location.
Since I live in central Washington state I enjoy norwescon in Seattle, Radcon in Pasco, WA. and I have not gotten to SpoCon in Spokane, WA. All have between 1,200 to 3,000 people and are low registration fee.

Here is a link to an article claiming that Gene Wolfe and Harlan Ellison intend to attend MadCon 2010 (Madison, WI) in September this year:

MadCon2

Check out Readercon ( http://www.readercon.org/ ) July 8-11, 2010 in Burlington MA.
It's all about books.

I attended the 2001 Readercon, and as a book lover I have to say it was the best con I've ever been to. I've had more fun at other cons, mainly because when I was younger hanging out with friends, drinking silly amounts of beer and having weird discussions was what I liked best about sf conventions, but from a programming perspective I've never been to a better con than Readercon. Absorbing, great panel discussions about literature.

Does anyone know of any UK ones?

Best source for UK cons is Dave Langford's Ansible:

http://news.ansible.co.uk/

I went to ReaderCon in 2007 and really enjoyed it as well!

I've also been to the relatively small ConBust at Smith College in Amherst, MA. It is mostly all manga and anime although both Patricia Briggs and Lynn Flewelling hosted panels there when I went. It was a lot of fun.

MoonshineMax, you won't go wrong by attending the largest of them all, the National Convention (aka Eastercon; it's always held over Easter). This year's Eastercon will be at Heathrow - http://www.odyssey2010.org/ .

#16 There's the annual Eastercon, this year in Heathrow again. It takes place over the Easter weekend, and is the biggest con in the sf calendar.

In September, there's the annual Fantasycon, which takes place in Nottingham. Novacon is another annual con, in November, which also takes place in Nottingham. It's more of a fannish con. Also in 2010 is NewCon 5 in Northampton, in October, I think.

#16

What Ian and Johan don't tell you is that UK cons are generally a lot smaller than the US ones.

Eastercon is a good general con - you should be able to find something that interests you in the programme or just hang out in the bar talking to people.

Newcon is a smaller convention which I found very friendly and a lot of fun. It is in October - the 9th and 10th to be precise.

I've been subjected to a massive propaganda campaign designed to get me to Newcon this year. We'll see.

I'm not planning on going to Eastercon this year but I will be at Newcon.

I'm giving Eastercon a miss, but I'll be at Fantasycon - they're launching Catatrophia at the con, and I have a story in it - and I might also make NewCon.

I thought the previous Eastercon at Heathrow was very successful and Heathrow is the ideal location for us because we're arriving from Sweden, so we'll be attending Odyssey. We've attended most but not all Eastercons since 1997.

But Newcon is definitely tempting.

Heathrow is ideal for people visiting the UK and people in London. For the rest of the country, it's not so good. Last time, it cost me more to cross London from the railway station to the hotel than it did to get to London in the first place. And there's nothing around the hotel but other hotels, so you're pretty much stuck there for the duration. Oh, and it was expensive too.

#26

Exactly my feelings even though I am closer to London than you.

I did attend the last one at Heathrow and it was a very good con with high attendance (although some of that would be down to having Neil Gaiman as a GOH) so if you are a newbie don't let either me or Ian put you off.

I'd love to go, more than quite a lot, but its the cost that scares me. £65 + 3 nights?? Phwoar.:(

I might go next year though, as I'll be on my gap year then.

Newcon is cheaper £40 and you can get away with one night in a hotel. Beer and food will push it up a bit.

If you are on a very tight budget consider Picocon which will cost you £8 (if you are a student) and is a one day event.

I don't think there is a Unicon this year, and I'm not sure if anyone has put a bid in for 2011 but those are usually reasonably priced too.

#29: That's great! I may well have to go :D:D:D:D

The hotel used for the Eastercon at Heathrow has a very odd, almost non-Euclidian layout (one floor is secretly a mezzanine, but is numbered as if it were a real floor), and also has quite fierce heat in the function rooms - I passed out on the first evening of the last con held there, and not through alcohol consumption either. One year, a sign appeared on the wall: "You are in a maze of twisty corridors, all alike..."

Anglemark, ANYONE who shows interest in Newcon is liable to be subjected to a massive propaganda campaign. Cathy and I have been attending cons, spearately and together, since the late 1970s, but having spent ten minutes chatting to Ian Watson in the book room at Novacon, we were later the target of a charm offensive from him to go to Newcon which started with the non sequiteur 'Is this your first convention?' Just goes to show that a pro's radar doesn't register mere fans until business intervenes...

What nobody mentioned Michael Sheard's favorite convention? I highly recommend CONvergence here in Minneapolis MN each year the first weekend in July (this year 07/01/10 – 07/04/10)

Check out the website at:

www.convergence-con.org

Of course I am totally biased. But until my husband introduced me to CONvergence I had no idea geeks could party. I have also met lots of fun people like authors David Weber, Eric Flint, Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon and Lois McMaster Bujold. There are also rocket scientists, actors, physics professors, writers for comics and animation, and all kinds of different artists.

We do silly things, last year we had a 'cone of shame' pass around game. Don't forget they don't call it 'Minnesota Nice' for nothing, its like a get together of your 3000-5000 best friends! And there is food, and drinking, and food and more drinking (or so I have heard). You can watch movies sitting on comfy couches eating popcorn, you can listen to authors read their work, and attend lots of workshops or listen to panel discussions on a wide variety of topics. You can listen to music or do some gaming, we even have a 'room' called Krushenko's where you can participate in conversations about sci fi and fantasy stuff. And something that is also pretty big at the MN Ren Festival - Vilification Tennis.

Did I mention parties? I highly recommend the House of Toast, or Capitan Kirks House of ill Repute.
Check out the web site and look over the 2009 programming guide & pictures to see what went on last year.

DS

(Bruce's evil twin :-))

Oh, and most importantly I forgot to mention that is was a panel on keeping track of your library at CONvergence that led me to LT.

And it's all in the name of charity. CONvergence is a 501(c)3 non-profit entity which serves many community-building and educational goals.

DS

(Bruce's evil twin :-))

I ditto Convergence though we haven't been in years. We spent hours shooting the breeze with Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). It was awesome.

#35 Morphidae - Come back! Come Back! Have even more fun, do some badging, wear fun costumes! Come to our pre-con party (the Wednesday night before CON). . . it involves scotch, and salmon and a chocolate fountain. . . Let me know our room is one of the floors where you need a key to get to. . . we get to 'hob-knob' with the guests. :-)

And at CON if you see a tall, red-bearded man whith a shaved head who "looks like a Viking axe murderer" that would be my hubby. . . And if you run into him in the wee hours of the night or morning at CON. . . it's ok he's there to help, he only LOOKS like a Viking axe murderer.

We are currently working on steam punk weapons. What fun! You have to love Axeman! And the man at Home Depot didn't even look at me odd when I said that I wanted copper piping for my laser. . . now I have to get some LED's.

And all I can say is, David Weber, that man can talk. Anyone who can talk Bruce 'under the table' on the subject of guns, can REALLY talk!

DS

(Bruce's evil twin :-))

# 36

Yes, David Weber can talk! I have been on several panels with him, and it is hard to get a word in, much less a sentence. hehe

>36 We'd love to but between the money and having two dogs that can't be left more than 5 - 6 hours at a time, it just hasn't been feasible. I regret missing out on meeting Mercedes Lackey. If Spider Robinson ever comes, I'll be there no matter what!

I ditto the recommendations of Readercon. It's strictly book-related, only rare discussions of movies and other media. No anime, costuming...etc. I make the claim that it's got the best bookshop of any convention (a completely biased claim --- because I've run it for the last three years...this will be the fourth;-).

Time to revive this topic.

The next conventions I plan on attending are:

* Norcon 26, Oslo, Norway, 10-12th Feb, Guests: China Miéville and Lise Myhre
* Olympus 2012 - The 2012 Eastercon, London Heathrow 6-9 April, Guests: Paul Cornell, Cory Doctorow, George R. R. Martin and Tricia Sullivan
* Åcon 5, Mariehamn, Finland, 17-20 May, Guest: Catherynne M. Valente
* Finncon 2012, Tampere, Finland, 20-22 July, Guests: Lois McMaster Bujold and Liz Williams
* Swecon 2012, Uppsala, Sweden, 5-7 October, Guests: Sara Bergmark Elfgren, Mats Strandberg, Joe Abercrombie, Peter Watts

Will I meet any of you at any of these?

I'll certainly be at Olympus 2012 - I'm launching Rocket Science at the con.

Me too, all being well.

I have paid for Eastercon and Worldcon so hope to be at both.

I'm a supporter for Chicon, for the voting rights (Hugo, 2014 site selection) and the Hugo Voters Package (hoping there will be one). But I don't think I'll be able to attend. We'll see.

Update to the convention list:

Fantasticon 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1-3 June, Guests: Alastair Reynolds and Ellen Datlow

And Swecon 2012 has added Kelly Link and Niels Dalgaard to the line-up.

I-CON 31 March 30 - April 1st. Authors GOH is David Weber. Stony Brook University, NY.

http://www.iconsf.org

http://capricon.org/capricon32/

Capricon 32 - Just North of Chicago. February 9th - February 12th

GOH Cory Doctorow.

Who's going to the SFX Weekender in Prestatyn? It's 2 - 5 Feb, so in about a fortnight's time.

We can't make it. But our friends Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin (from Pornokitsch) will be announcing the Winners of the Kitschie Awards that weekend.

Din't realise you knew them. I chat with them a lot on Twitter, tho I've yet to meet them in person. I've also contributed to Pornokitsch. and, of course, they do very nice reviews of my own fiction :-)

My wife Arin knows Jared from University of Chicago. They've been friends a long time. Jared and Anne are true book people. They are enjoying themselves getting into the world of publishing :-)

I read one of the pieces you did for Pornokitsch a while back.

They did a really positive review of my story in Alt Hist 3, and managed to find a lot more in it than I remember putting in :-)

Bump :)

It's about time to check who is going to the Worldcon this year :)

I thought Worldcon had passed already...

Nah - it's August/September as pretty much any year I remember.

I considered Chicon, but alas, America is a long way off from here. So just as I suspected above, no Worldcon for me.

I intend to be there, must get my flight sorted. Membership and hotel already sorted.

I'll be attending Chicon myself, if only to flog Capclave (since I'm an officer of the DC convention).

*perks up* Capclave?

You've got me curious now. Whassat?

http://www.capclave.org/capclave/capclave12/

It's the successor convention to Disclave, which was one of the world's oldest running science fiction conventions, but which had to be discontinued after 1997 because of an accident which was not the organisers' fault.

It's always held in the Washington DC area.

The original poster should be aware that World Fantasy is much different than Worldcon (World Science Fiction Convention) and other cons.

World Fantasy is very small, with membership strictly limited. It usually only has one or two simultaneous programming tracks, no costuming, no games, and the dealer's room is mostly books only. Most attendees are writers or aspiring writers, as opposed to other conventions at which members are writers, artists, fans, costumers, gamers, etc.

Maybe it was World Fantasy that just passed...

Capclave looks intriguing. It's within driving distance, even...

World Fantasy is usually around Halloween weekend, I believe.

Worldcon hovers around Labor Day, although in recent years it's been held earlier in August as well. It's Labor Day weekend this year (Chicago) and next (San Antonio), though.

Some big convention just passed.
My brain must be fried... Darn DC heatwave...

San Diego Comic Con. The big convention! ;-)

>61 World Fantasy is smaller but there are enough fans there. But yeah, it is more books oriented. :)

^And books are actually my preferred element of conventions, but I admit I found the two World Fantasy Conventions I went to a little dry. There'a a lot less evening social interaction, as most of the pros there have scheduled a lot of business meetings are are not as socially available as they sometimes are at other cons.

The World Fantasy con sounds very much like Readercon, which was also this past weekend (12-15 July).

^68, I agree they're similar, but I think Readercon is a lot more fun than World Fantasy. The bad prose game alone is worth the price of admission to Readercon!

Readercon is the only US con I've been to, and I loved it. The general book-loving atmosphere and the quality of most panels... aaah.

I loved the World Fantasy though - exactly because it is smaller and quieter.