A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices, differentiating fandom-affiliated people from those with only a casual interest.
Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939. The members of each Worldcon are the members of WSFS, and vote both to select the site of the Worldcon two years later, and to select the winners of the annual Hugo Awards, which are presented at each convention.
A science fiction convention is a gathering of fans of science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as films, television, comics, animation, and games. The format can vary but will tend to have a few similar features such as a guest of honour, discussion panels, readings and large special events such as opening/closing ceremonies and some form of party or entertainment. Science fiction conventions started off primarily in the UK and US but have now spread further and several countries have their own individual conventions as well as playing host to rotating international conventions.
Dragon Con is a North American multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. As of 2017, the convention draws attendance of over 80,000, features hundreds of guests, encompasses five hotels in the Peachtree Center neighborhood of downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, and runs thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture. It is owned and operated by a private for-profit corporation, with the help of a 1,500-member volunteer staff. Dragon Con has hosted the 1990 Origins Game Fair and the 1995 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC).
BayCon is the San Francisco Bay Area's longest-running fan-run science fiction and fantasy convention. It is held over Memorial Day weekend in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. BayCon draws many attendees from throughout California and also as far away as Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. The most recent BayCon was held from Friday, May 24, through Monday, May 27, 2019, in San Mateo, California. The conventions in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next BayCon is scheduled for July 4-7, 2024.
ConCarolinas is a three-day-long science fiction convention held once each year in Charlotte, North Carolina, hosted by ConCarolinas, Inc., a non-profit corporation.
MarsCon in Virginia Beach, Virginia is a mid-sized regional science fiction convention founded in 1990. The convention provides a relaxed environment for people who enjoy science fiction to meet new friends and talk about their interests. The convention has been described as "the largest and longest-running science fiction/fantasy convention in the Tidewater area."
FenCon is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention with filk held each year on or around the fourth full weekend of September in or around Dallas, Texas. The name is derived from "fen", the fannish plural of "fan", and "con", an abbreviation for "convention".
Archon is a multigenre convention that has been held annually in Collinsville, Illinois and is hosted by St. Louis Science Fiction, Ltd. It is the largest convention of its type in the St. Louis, Missouri area, bringing a few thousand fans of science fiction, fantasy and horror each year. Archon is held at the beginning of October.
VCON is a fan run fantasy, gaming, and science fiction convention held annually in the metro Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. It has been hosted by the West Coast Science Fiction Association (WCSFA) since 1993, and by the Western Canadian Science Fiction Convention Committee Association (WCSFCCA) before that.
Con-Version was an annual science fiction and fantasy convention held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Since its beginning in 1984, the convention hosted many authors such as Robert J. Sawyer, Larry Niven, and J. Michael Straczynski; it also hosted the judging for the Robyn Herrington Memorial Short Story Competition. Appearances had also been made by Jeremy Bulloch and Dirk Benedict.
MechaCon was an annual three-day anime convention held during the summer at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the oldest active anime convention in Louisiana.
MarsCon is a science fiction convention held in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. It was first held in February 1999 with the goal of appealing to a diverse audience of fans in Minnesota and the vicinity. It is a mid-sized convention with a wide variety of events including panel discussions, guest of honor presentations, music of many kinds, art show, film room, science room, dealers room, charity auction, and a masquerade. Past guests have included actors, authors, artists, scientists, musicians, producers, and even the occasional pooka. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune describes MarsCon as "for the sci-fi serious nerds".
Stellar Occasion was a three-day science fiction convention held in the Dallas, Texas area in the mid to late 1990s. It blended science fiction literary and media guests with space science in an unusual, fan-oriented cross between the traditional science fiction convention and a commercial media event. Stellar Occasion is notable for being an early proponent of the television series Babylon 5 and featuring both writers and actors from the show each year.
BabelCon was a science fiction and multigenre convention, held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Established in 2006, the convention took place at the Cook Hotel and Lod & Carole Cook Alumni Center on the campus of Louisiana State University. Formerly a project of the non-profit Science & Engineering Education Foundation (SEEF), it was last managed by Babelcon LLC. After a split between the organizers in late 2010, the upcoming convention was postponed then ultimately cancelled.
Hal-Con Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Comic Convention, commonly known as Hal-Con, was founded in the 1970s and revived in the 2010s. It is traditionally an annual weekend event held in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Atlantic Canada during the middle of Fall.
DemiCon is an annual volunteer-run science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention held in Des Moines, Iowa, in late April/early May. The convention was first held in 1990.
ConCoction is a full-spectrum multi-genre fantasy and science fiction convention based in Cleveland, Ohio, and is held annually in March. It is a not-for-profit endeavor run by the local and regional community of fans to promote Community Service, Education, and the Arts in Northeastern, Ohio.
Magnum Opus Con (MOC) was an annual multigenre convention which generally took place each spring in various cities in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina from 1986 to 2001. Organized by comics retailer Roland Castle, the convention was designed to attract science fiction fans of all stripes. Over its 16-year run, MOC featured hundreds of celebrity guests and ran hundreds of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, gaming, and other elements of fandom.
