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Worldcon

Entry updated 7 November 2023. Tagged: Community, Fan.

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The usual term – not only in Fan Language but in sf circles generally – for the World Science Fiction Convention, at which the Hugo Awards are presented. This major event began in 1939 and (following an early hiatus caused by war, from 1942 to 1945) continues to be held annually, most frequently in the USA, where it has attracted as many as 8000 attending. The Worldcon takes place under the auspices of the World SF Society, membership of which is conferred by purchasing membership in the current Worldcon. The WSFS Constitution enshrines the Hugo, Retro Hugo and Worldcon site selection rules, and is regularly amended at open business meetings held at each Worldcon.

The choice of future Worldcon sites is made by popular vote of the current event's members, currently two years in advance. The first non-US Worldcon was held in Toronto in 1948, and the first non-North American one in London in 1957. Overall, the right to hold the Worldcon has been voted once each to Germany (1970), the Irish Republic (2019), the Netherlands (1990), Japan (2007), Finland (2017) and New Zealand (2020), four times each to Australia (1975, 1985, 1999 and 2010) and Canada (1948, 1973, 2003 and 2009, the last of these being the first Worldcon in French Canada) and eight times to the United Kingdom (1957, 1965, 1979, 1987, 1995, 2005, 2014 and 2024).

Owing to the 2020 coronavirus Pandemic, that year's New Zealand Worldcon (CoNZealand) could not safely be held as a physical event and became the first Worldcon to take place online. [DRL]

Worldcons and their guests of honour

  • 1939: Nycon I (New York) – Frank R Paul
  • 1940: Chicon I (Chicago, Illinois) – E E "Doc" Smith
  • 1941: Denvention I (Denver, Colorado) – Robert A Heinlein
  • 1946: Pacificon I (Los Angeles, California) – A E van Vogt, E Mayne Hull
  • 1947: Philcon I (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – John W Campbell Jr
  • 1948: Torcon I (Toronto, Ontario) – Robert Bloch (pro), Bob Tucker (fan)
  • 1949: Cinvention (Cincinnati, Ohio) – Lloyd A Eshbach (pro), Ted Carnell (fan)
  • 1950: Norwescon (Portland, Oregon) – Anthony Boucher
  • 1951: Nolacon I (New Orleans, Louisiana) – Fritz Leiber
  • 1952: Chicon II/TASFiC (Chicago, Illinois) – Hugo Gernsback
  • 1953: Philcon II (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – Willy Ley
  • 1954: SFCon (San Francisco, California) – John W Campbell Jr
  • 1955: Clevention (Cleveland, Ohio) – Isaac Asimov (pro), Sam Moskowitz ("mystery guest")
  • 1956: NyCon II (New York) – Arthur C Clarke
  • 1957: Loncon I (London) – John W Campbell Jr
  • 1958: Solacon (South Gate, California) – Richard Matheson
  • 1959: Detention (Detroit, Michigan) – Poul Anderson (pro), John Berry (fan)
  • 1960: Pittcon (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) – James Blish
  • 1961: Seacon (Seattle, Washington) – Robert A Heinlein
  • 1962: Chicon III (Chicago, Illinois) – Theodore Sturgeon
  • 1963: Discon I (Washington, District of Columbia) – Murray Leinster
  • 1964: Pacificon II (Oakland, California) – Leigh Brackett (pro), Edmond Hamilton (pro), Forrest J Ackerman (fan)
  • 1965: Loncon II (London) – Brian W Aldiss
  • 1966: Tricon (Cleveland, Ohio) – L Sprague de Camp
  • 1967: Nycon 3 (New York) – Lester del Rey (pro), Bob Tucker (fan)
  • 1968: Baycon (Berkeley, California) – Philip José Farmer (pro), Walter J Daugherty (fan)
  • 1969: St. Louiscon (St Louis, Missouri) – Jack Gaughan (pro), Eddie Jones (fan)
  • 1970: Heicon '70 (Heidelberg, Germany) – E C Tubb (UK) Robert Silverberg (US) Herbert W Franke (Germany) Elliot K Shorter (fan)
  • 1971: Noreascon I (Boston, Massachusetts) – Clifford D Simak (pro), Harry Warner Jr (fan)
  • 1972: L.A.con I (Anaheim, California) – Frederik Pohl (pro), Buck Coulson and Juanita Coulson (fan)
  • 1973: Torcon II (Toronto, Ontario) – Robert Bloch (pro), William Rotsler (fan)
  • 1974: Discon II (Washington, District of Columbia) – Roger Zelazny (pro), Jay Kay Klein (fan)
  • 1975: Aussiecon 1 (Melbourne, Victoria) – Ursula K Le Guin (pro), Susan Wood (fan), Mike Glicksohn (fan), Donald H Tuck (Australian)
  • 1976: MidAmeriCon (Kansas City, Missouri) – Robert A Heinlein (pro), George Barr (fan)
  • 1977: SunCon (Miami Beach, Florida) – Jack Williamson (pro), Robert A Madle (fan)
  • 1978: IguanaCon II (Phoenix, Arizona) – Harlan Ellison (pro), Bill Bowers (fan)
  • 1979: Seacon '79 (Brighton, Sussex) – Brian Aldiss (UK), Fritz Leiber (US), Harry Bell (fan)
  • 1980: Noreascon Two (Boston, Massachusetts) – Damon Knight (pro), Kate Wilhelm (pro), Bruce Pelz (fan)
  • 1981: Denvention Two (Denver, Colorado) – Clifford D Simak (pro), C L Moore (pro), Rusty Hevelin (fan)
  • 1982: Chicon IV (Chicago, Illinois) – A Bertram Chandler (pro), Frank Kelly Freas (pro), Lee Hoffman (fan)
  • 1983: ConStellation (Baltimore, Maryland) – John Brunner (pro), David A Kyle (fan)
  • 1984: L.A.con II (Anaheim, California) – Gordon R Dickson (pro), Dick Eney (fan)
  • 1985: Aussiecon Two (Melbourne, Victoria) – Gene Wolfe (pro), Ted White (fan)
  • 1986: ConFederation (Atlanta, Georgia) – Ray Bradbury (pro), Terry Carr (fan)
  • 1987: Conspiracy '87 (Brighton, Sussex) – Doris Lessing (UK), Alfred Bester (US), Arkady and Boris Strugatski (USSR), Jim Burns (artist), Ray Harryhausen (film), Joyce and Ken Slater (fan), David Langford (special fan)
  • 1988: Nolacon II (New Orleans, Louisiana) – Donald A Wollheim (pro), Roger Sims (fan)
  • 1989: Noreascon 3 (Boston, Massachusetts) – Andre Norton (pro), Betty and Ian Ballantine (pro) (see Ballantine Books), The Stranger Club (fan). The Stranger Club, founded February 1940, was the first sf group based in Boston, and surviving members had collective fan guest of honour status: those present at Noreascon 3 included Chandler Davis and Harry Stubbs (Hal Clement).
  • 1990: ConFiction (The Hague, Netherlands) – Harry Harrison (pro), Wolfgang Jeschke (pro), Joe Haldeman (pro), Andrew I Porter (fan)
  • 1991: Chicon V (Chicago, Illinois) – Hal Clement (pro), Martin H Greenberg (pro), Richard Powers (pro), Jon and Joni Stopa (fan)
  • 1992: MagiCon (Orlando, Florida) – Jack Vance (pro), Vincent Di Fate (artist), Walter A Willis (fan)
  • 1993: ConFrancisco (San Francisco, California) – Larry Niven, Alicia Austin, Tom Digby, Jan Howard Finder, Mark Twain ("Dead GoH")
  • 1994: ConAdian (Winnipeg, Manitoba) – Anne McCaffrey (pro), George Barr (artist), Robert Runte (fan)
  • 1995: Intersection (Glasgow, Scotland) – Samuel R Delany (writer) Gerry Anderson (media), Les Edwards (artist), Vin¢ Clarke (fan)
  • 1996: L.A.con III (Anaheim, California) – James White (writer), Roger Corman (media), Elsie Wollheim (special), Takumi and Sachiko Shibano (fan)
  • 1997: LoneStarCon 2 (San Antonio, Texas) – Algis Budrys (pro), Michael Moorcock (pro), Don Maitz (artist), Roy Tackett (fan)
  • 1998: BucConeer (Baltimore, Maryland) – C J Cherryh, Milton A Rothman, Stanley Schmidt, Michael Whelan, J Michael Straczynski (special)
  • 1999: Aussiecon Three (Melbourne, Victoria) – Gregory Benford (author), George Turner (author), Bruce Gillespie (fan), J Michael Straczynski (special)
  • 2000: Chicon 2000 (Chicago, Illinois) – Ben Bova (author), Bob Eggleton (artist), Jim Baen (editor), Bob and Anne Passovoy (fan)
  • 2001: Millennium Philcon (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) – Greg Bear (author), Stephen Youll (artist), Gardner Dozois (editor), George H Scithers (fan)
  • 2002: ConJosé (San José, California) – Vernor Vinge (author), David Cherry (artist), Bjo Trimble and John Trimble (fan), Ferdinand Feghoot (imaginary)
  • 2003: Torcon 3 (Toronto, Ontario) – George R R Martin (author), Frank Kelly Freas (artist), Mike Glyer (fan), Robert Bloch ("GoHst of Honor")
  • 2004: Noreascon 4 (Boston, Massachusetts) – Terry Pratchett (pro), William Tenn (pro), Jack Speer (fan), Peter Weston (fan)
  • 2005: Interaction (Glasgow, Scotland) – Greg Pickersgill, Christopher Priest, Robert Sheckley, Lars-Olov Strandberg, Jane Yolen
  • 2006: L.A.con IV (Anaheim, California) – Connie Willis (author), James Gurney (artist), Howard DeVore (fan), Frankie Thomas (special)
  • 2007: Nippon 2007 (Yokohama, Japan) – Sakyō Komatsu (author), David Brin (author), Takumi Shibano (fan), Yoshitaka Amano (artist), Michael Whelan (artist)
  • 2008: Denvention 3 (Denver, Colorado) – Lois McMaster Bujold (pro), Tom Whitmore (fan), Rick Sternbach (artist), Kathy Mar (special music), Robert A Heinlein (ghost)
  • 2009: Anticipation (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) – Neil Gaiman (pro), Elisabeth Vonarburg (invitée d'honneur), Taral Wayne (fan), David Hartwell (editor), Tom Doherty (publisher)
  • 2010: Aussiecon 4 (Melbourne, Victoria) – Kim Stanley Robinson, Robin Johnson, Shaun Tan
  • 2011: Renovation (Reno, Nevada) – Ellen Asher, Charles N Brown (in memoriam), Tim Powers, Boris Vallejo
  • 2012: Chicon 7 (Chicago, Illinois) – Mike Resnick (writer), Rowena Morrill (artist), Story Musgrave (astronaut), Peggy Rae Sapienza (fan), Jane Frank (agent)
  • 2013: LoneStarCon 3 (San Antonio, Texas) – Ellen Datlow, James Gunn, Willie Siros, Norman Spinrad, Darrell K Sweet; Leslie Fish (special), Joe R Lansdale (special)
  • 2014: Loncon 3 (London) – Iain Banks, John Clute, Malcolm Edwards, Chris Foss, Jeanne Gomoll, Robin Hobb, Bryan Talbot
  • 2015: Sasquan (Spokane, Washington) – Brad Foster, David Gerrold, Vonda McIntyre, Tom Smith, Leslie Turek
  • 2016: MidAmeriCon II (Kansas City, Missouri) – Kinuko Y Craft, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Tamora Pierce, Michael Swanwick
  • 2017: Worldcon 75 (Helsinki, Finland) – John-Henri Holmberg, Nalo Hopkinson, Johanna Sinisalo, Claire Wendling, Walter Jon Williams
  • 2018: Worldcon 76 (San José, California) – Pierre & Sany Pettinger, Spider Robinson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro; "Ghosts of Honour" Edgar Pangborn, Rob Wilkins.
  • 2019: Dublin 2019 (Dublin, Ireland) – Bill and Mary Burns, Diane Duane, Ginjer Buchanan, Ian McDonald. Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Steve Jackson (US).
  • 2020: CoNZealand (Wellington, New Zealand) – Greg Broadmore, Larry Dixon, Mercedes Lackey, Rose Mitchell
  • 2021: Discon III (Washington, District of Columbia) – Nancy Kress, Malka Older, Sheree Renée Thomas, Toni Weisskopf, Ben Yalow
  • 2022: Chicon 8 (Chicago, Illinois) – Charles de Lint, Floyd Norman, Erle Korshak and Joe Siclari & Edie Stern
  • 2023: Worldcon 2023 (Chengdu, China) – Liu Cixin, Sergi Lukianenko and Robert J Sawyer
  • 2024: Glasgow 2024 (Glasgow, Scotland) – Chris Baker (Fangorn), Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer, Ken MacLeod, Nnedi Okorafor and Terri Windling
  • 2025: Seattle Worldcon 2025 (Seattle, Washington) – Alexander James Adams, Donato Giancola, Bridget Landry, Martha Wells

further reading

on specific events

A small number of Worldcons have had entire books or chapbooks devoted to them.

other

links

Including upcoming Worldcons and older ones whose websites still remain active.

previous versions of this entry



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