SMOFcon | |
---|---|
Status | Active |
Genre | Science fiction |
Location(s) | varies |
Inaugurated | 1984 |
Website | www.smofcon.com |
SMOFcon is an annual convention that focuses on the organisation of science fiction conventions. The first SMOFcon took place in 1984, and most have taken place in the United States.
SMOFcon typically attracts 100-150 attendees, and usually occurs in the first weekend of December, though other dates have been known. The content includes formal and informal sessions covering insights from events held in the previous year, information about the latest trends from the community and external experts, reviews of previous events and feedback to bidders for upcoming events, with a focus on learnings that can be widely shared.
A significant number of SMOFcon attendees are also Worldcon organisers and the programme usually includes sessions about the most recent Worldcon and on bids for future Worldcons.
The name of the convention is derived from the word SMOF (also spelled smof), which is an acronym which stands for "Secret Master(s) Of Fandom" and is a term used within the science fiction fan community. Its coining is generally attributed to science fiction author Jack L. Chalker.
Name | Year | Dates | City | Country | Web | Site/Facility | Chair/Sponsoring Org | Size |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0th | 1973/74 | New York | United States | Sheraton | Stew Brownstein | |||
1st | 1984 | Oct 12-14 | Washington, D.C. | United States | Ben Yalow, Joe Siclari, Theresa Renner | |||
2nd | 1985 | Nov | Oakland, CA | United States | CANCELLED | Tom Whitmore, Debbie Notkin + 3 others | ||
3rd | 1986 | Dec 5-7 | Lowell, MA | United States | Lowell Hilton | Mark Olson (MCFI) | 137 | |
4th | 1987 | Nov 20-22 | Columbus, OH | United States | Quality Inn Columbus Airport | Bob Hillis | ||
5th | 1988 | Dec 9-11 | Phoenix, AZ | United States | Hyatt Regency Phoenix | Bruce Farr (CASFS) | 102 | |
6th | 1989 | Dec 8-10 | Toronto, ON | Canada | Holiday Inn Airport | Lloyd & Yvonne Penney | ||
7th | 1990 | Dec 7-9 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | United States | Airport Hilton | Joe Siclari (SFSFS) | ||
8th | 1991 | Dec 6-8 | Portland, OR | United States | Shilo Inn Airport | John Lorentz (OSFCI) | 128 | |
9th | 1992 | Dec 11-13 [1] | New Orleans, LA | United States | Doubletree Hotel | Peggy Rae Pavlat | 95 | |
10th | 1993 | Apr 23-25 | Jersey | Channel Islands | Hotel de France | Tim Illingworth | ||
11th | 1993 | Dec 3-5 | Lexington, KY | United States | Griffin Gate Marriott Resort | Scott & Jane Dennis | 110 | |
12th | 1994 | Dec 2-4 | Burbank, CA | United States | Burbank Hilton | Chocolate Moose;Vice Chairs: Bruce Pelz & Ben Yalow (SCIFI) | 175 | |
13th | 1995 | Dec 1-3 | Austin, TX | United States | Austin Red Lion | Fred Duarte, Jr. (FACT) | 121 | |
14th | 1996 | Dec 6-8 | Seattle, WA | United States | Seattle Hilton | Richard Wright (NCL) | ||
15th | 1997 | Dec 5-7 | Boston, MA | United States | Doubletree Suites Hotel | Sharon Sbarsky (MCFI) | 153 | |
16th | 1998 | Dec 4-6 | Colorado Springs, CO | United States | Radisson Inn | Kent Bloom (FFF) | 86 | |
17th | 1999 | Dec 10-11 | New Orleans, LA | United States | New Orleans DoubleTree Hotel | Michael Siladi (SFSFC) | ||
18th | 2000 | Dec 1-3 | Cocoa Beach, FL | United States | Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach | Joe Siclari (SFSFS) | ||
19th | 2001 | Dec 7-9 | York | UK | Monkbar Hotel | KIM Campbell | ||
20th | 2002 | Dec 6-8 | San Diego, CA | United States | Hacienda Hotel | Scott & Jane Dennis | 125 | |
21st | 2003 | Dec 5-7 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Embassy Suites O'Hare | Erik V. Olson (Midfan) | 123 | |
22nd | 2004 | Dec 3-5 | Washington, DC | United States | Wyndham Washington, DC | Peggy Rae Sapienza (WSFA) | 123 | |
23rd | 2005 | Dec 2-4 | Portland, OR | United States | Red Lion Convention Center Hotel | David Schaber (OSFCI) [2] | 155 [2] | |
24th | 2006 | Dec 1-3 | Kansas City, MO | United States | Hotel Phillips | Margene Bahm (MASFFC) | ||
25th | 2007 | Dec 7-9 | Boston, MA | United States | Hilton Boston Logan Airport | Geri Sullivan (MCFI) | 214 | |
26th | 2008 | Dec 4-7 | Columbus, OH | United States | Drury Inn & Suites | Kim Williams | 130 | |
27th | 2009 | Dec 4-6 | Austin, TX [3] | United States | Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown | Karen Meschke (ALAMO) | 156 | |
28th | 2010 | Dec 3-5 | San Jose, CA [4] | United States | Larkspur Sainte Claire | Glenn Glazer (SFSFC) | 157 | |
29th | 2011 | Dec 2-4 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam | Vincent Docherty | 130 | |
30th | 2012 | Nov 30-Dec 2 | Philadelphia [5] | United States | Hyatt Regency Penn's Landing | Joni Brill Dashoff & Laurie Mann | 196 | |
31st | 2013 | Dec. 6-8 | Toronto, Ontario [6] | Canada | Fairmont Royal York Hotel | Diane Lacey (CanSmof) | ||
32nd | 2014 | Dec. 5-7 | Manhattan Beach, CA [7] | United States | Manhattan Beach Marriott | Bobbi Armbruster & Kim Marks Brown (Scifi, Inc) | 212 | |
33rd | 2015 | Dec. 4-6 | Fort Worth, TX [8] | United States | Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa | Tim Miller (Dallas Future Society) | ||
34th | 2016 | Dec. 2-4 | Rosemont, IL | United States | Crowne Plaza | Helen Montgomery | 167 | |
35th | 2017 | Dec. 1-3 | Boston, MA | United States | Back Bay Hilton | Laurie Mann | 219 | |
36th | 2018 | Nov. 30 - Dec 2 | Santa Rosa, CA | United States | Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa | Bruce Farr | ~165 | |
37th | 2019 | Dec. 6-8 | Albuquerque, NM | United States | Hyatt Regency Albuquerque | Ron Oakes | ||
SMOFcon 37&1/4 | 2020 | Dec 5 | Virtual | SMOFcon 38 & 39 Committees | ||||
SMOFcon Europe / 39 | 2021 | Dec 3-5 | Lisbon | Portugal | VIP Executive Art’s Hotel | James Bacon & Vincent Docherty | 55/144 | |
SMOFcon 38 | 2022 | Dec 2-4 | Montreal | Canada | Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel | Jannie Shea | ||
SMOFcon 40 | 2023 | Dec 1-3 | Providence, RI | United States | Providence Marriott Downtown | Lisa Hertel MCFI | ||
SMOFcon 41 | 2024 | Dec 6-8 | Seattle, WA | United States | DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport | Marah Searle-Kovacevic | ||
Worldcon, officially 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.
Mike Glyer is both the editor and publisher of the long-running science fiction fan newszine File 770. He has won the Hugo Award 12 times in two categories: File 770 won the Best Fanzine Hugo in 1984, 1985, 1989, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2016 and 2018. Glyer won the Best Fan Writer Hugo in 1984, 1986, 1988, and 2016. The 1982 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) committee presented Glyer a special award in 1982 for "Keeping the Fan in Fanzine Publishing."
File 770 is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published and administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first win in 1984 and the latest in 2018.
The DeepSouthCon (DSC) is an annual science fiction convention, which is hosted in different cities in the Southern United States. Site selection is by vote of the membership of a given DSC, for the convention to be held 2 years in the future. DSC is often, but not always, held in conjunction with an existing annual convention so the time of year varies. Many regular attendees of DeepSouthCon are also members of the Southern Fandom Confederation, but there is no direct relationship between the two organizations.
The 70th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Chicon 7, was held on 30 August–3 September 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The 71st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as LoneStarCon 3, was held on 29 August–2 September 2013 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and Marriott Rivercenter in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
The 9th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Nolacon I, was held 1–3 September 1951 at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
The 22nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Pacificon II, was held on 4–7 September 1964 at the Hotel Leamington in Oakland, California, United States.
The 42nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as L.A.con II, was held on 30 August–3 September 1984 at the Anaheim Hilton and the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, United States.
The 47th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Noreascon 3, was held on 31 August–4 September 1989 at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel, Hilton Hotel, Boston Park Plaza, and the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
The 54th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as L.A.con III, was held on 29 August–2 September 1996 at the Hilton Anaheim, Anaheim Marriott, and the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, United States.
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The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Loncon 3, was held on 14–18 August 2014 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom.
The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Sasquan, was held on August 19–23, 2015 at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Washington, United States.
Detcon1 was the 11th occasional North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). It was held in Detroit, Michigan, from July 17–20, 2014, in the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center. This NASFiC was scheduled because London, England, was selected as the location for the 2014 World Science Fiction Convention.
The 74th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MidAmeriCon II, was held on 17–21 August 2016 at the Bartle Hall Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The convention's name, by established Worldcon tradition, follows after the first MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Kansas City in 1976.
The 75th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Worldcon 75, was held on 9–13 August 2017 at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre in Helsinki, Finland.
The 77th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Dublin 2019—An Irish Worldcon, was held on 15–19 August 2019 at the Convention Centre, as well as in The Point Square, Dublin, Ireland.
The 79th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as DisCon III, was held on 15–19 December 2021 in Washington, D.C., United States.
The 81st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as 2023 Chengdu Worldcon, was held on 18–22 October 2023 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The co-chairs were Chen Shi, Ben Yalow, and Hongwei He.