The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) is the oldest science fiction club in the Washington, D.C. area. It is also one of the oldest science fiction clubs, founded in 1947 by seven fans who met at that year's Worldcon in Philadelphia, the fifth Worldcon held. [1] [2]
Since 1960 it has met on the evenings of the first and third Fridays of each month in the homes of members. All meetings are open (and along the way have included a Polish student, a Cuban author, and a Chilean physician writer [3] ). There are often informal meetings on fifth Fridays. Because there was a 5th Friday in February 1980—a 5th Friday in February occurs only every 28 years—it was decided to hold a relaxacon called DatClave. The second DatClave was held in 2008. [4]
On January 5, 1963, club members from Baltimore were trapped on a Trailways bus when returning to Baltimore after a WSFA meeting. The Baltimore Science Fiction Society was formed on the backseat of the bus. [2]
It hosted the annual Disclave science fiction convention in or near Washington, D.C., from 1950 through 1997. After a four-year hiatus WSFA began a new convention, Capclave. WSFA has also hosted Worldcons, SMOFcons, World Fantasy Conventions, [5] and many other events both casual and otherwise.
Since 1965 WSFA has published the monthly WSFA Journal . WSFA Press has published the books: The Father of Stones by Lucius Shepard in 1989, Through Darkest Resnick With Gun and Camera by Mike Resnick in 1990, The Edges of Things by Lewis Shiner in 1991, Home By The Sea by Pat Cadigan in 1992, and Future Washington, an anthology edited by Ernest Lilley, in 2005, [6] Reincarnations by Harry Turtledove in 2009. In 2010 WSFA Press published two books in conjunction with Capclave, The Three Quests of the Wizard Sarnod, by Jeff VanderMeer, and Fire Watch by Connie Willis. In 2013 WSFA Press published George R. R. Martin's award-winning novella The Skin Trade as a stand-alone 1st Edition hardcover in conjunction with Martin being Capclave's Guest of Honor that year.
Not issued as a WSFA Press book, but published by WSFA, was a promotional giveaway to the membership of the 2005 Capclave, and issued without an isbn, was a chapbook by Guest of Honor Howard Waldrop. The chapbook was published in the format of an Ace Double cover art by Carol Emshwiller, wife of the late artist Ed Emshwiller who did many covers for the Ace science fiction books (signing his art as Emsh). The two stories were "The Horse of a Different Color (That You Rode in On)" and "The King of Where-I-Go". "The King of Where-I-Go" was a finalist for the Hugo Award and the Locus Award.
In 2007, the WSFA inaugurated the WSFA Small Press Award.
WSFA is incorporated as a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.
Disclave was a science fiction convention run by WSFA in or near Washington, D.C., in the springtime of nearly every year from 1950 [7] through 1997. By most counts it was the fourth-oldest science fiction convention. The Washington Post had an article about that first Disclave, which began: "The Washington Science Fiction Association held its first disclave at the Hotel Wardman Park yesterday, with visitors from as far away as Pennsylvania and New York, and rocket expert, Willy Ley, among the speakers."
In 1997, after the final Disclave, WSFA took time off to discuss and plan the structure and focus of their next convention. The first Capclave was held in 2001.
Capclave | |
---|---|
Genre | Science fiction |
Location(s) | Washington, D.C. |
Country | United States |
Organized by | Washington Science Fiction Association |
Website | http://www.capclave.org |
Capclave is a science fiction convention that has been run by the Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) near Washington, D.C., in the autumn of every year starting in 2001.
Year-Mo-Days | Site | State | Featured Guests | Chair | Paid Attendance | Total Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 9 28-30 | Sheraton College Park | MD | Gardner Dozois | Bob MacIntosh | unknown | 296 |
2002 10 18-20 | Hilton Silver Spring | MD | Stanley Schmidt/Alexis Gilliland | Michael Nelson | unknown | 285 |
2003 11 21-23 | Hilton Silver Spring | MD | William Tenn | Sam Lubell | unknown | 234 |
2004 10 15-17 | Tysons Marriott | VA | Nick Pollotta/Butch Honeck/Dennis McCunney | Lee Gilliland | 129 | 250 [8] |
2005 10 14-16 | Hilton Silver Spring | MD | Howard Waldrop/Patrick Nielsen Hayden//Teresa Nielsen Hayden | Michael J. Walsh | 329 | 385 |
2006 10 20-22 | Hilton Silver Spring | MD | Kim Stanley Robinson/Tom Whitmore | Elspeth Kovar | 288 | 378 |
2007 10 12-14 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Jeffrey Ford/Ellen Datlow | Colleen Cahill | 257 | 323 |
2008 10 17-19 | Rockville Hilton | MD | James Morrow/Michael Dirda | Sam Scheiner | 246 | 319 [9] |
2009 10 16-18 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Harry Turtledove/Sheila Williams | Bill Lawhorn | 304 | 387 [10] |
2010 10 22-24 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Connie Willis/Ann VanderMeer/Jeff VanderMeer | Gayle Surrette | 330 | 420 |
2011 10 14-16 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | Carrie Vaughn/Catherynne M. Valente | Cathy Green | 324 | 402 |
2012 10 12-14 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | John Scalzi/Nick Mamatas | George Shaner | 333 | 404 |
2013 10 11-13 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | George R. R. Martin/Sharyn November/Steve Stiles/Howard Waldrop | Michael J. Walsh | 808 | 920 |
2014 10 10-12 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | Paolo Bacigalupi/Holly Black/Genevieve Valentine | Bill Lawhorn | 384 | 453 |
2015 10 9-11 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | Alastair Reynolds/Gordon Van Gelder | Sam Lubell | 368 | 440 |
2016 10 7-9 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | Sarah Beth Durst/Tim Powers | Paul Haggerty | 319 | 419 |
2017 10 6-8 | Gaithersburg Hilton | MD | Neil Clarke/Ken Liu | Cathy Green | 291 | 349 |
2018 9 28-30 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Nancy Kress/Alyssa Wong | Cathy Green | 289 | 357 |
2019 10 18-20 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Robert J. Sawyer/Martha Wells | Bill Lawhorn | 338 | 406 |
2020 10 17-18 | Virtual | Troy L. Wiggins | Bill Lawhorn | 347 | 438 [11] | |
2021 10 1-3 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Peter Beagle/Eric Flint | George Shaner | 306 | 278 |
2022 9 30-10 2 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Irene Gallo/Ursula Vernon | Rodger Burns | 234 | 251 |
2023 9 29-10 1 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Charlie Jane Anders/Sarah Pinsker | Aaron Pound | 244 | 282 |
2024 9 27-29 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Matt Dinniman/Sheree Renee Thomas | Bill Lawhorn | 330 | 396 |
2024 9 19-21 | Rockville Hilton | MD | Joe Haldeman/Gay Haldeman/Naomi Kritzer | Sam Lubell |
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization.
The 63rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Interaction, was held on 4–8 August 2005 at the SEC Centre with the attached SEC Armadillo and Moat House Hotel in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Parties took place at the Hilton Hotel.
The 19th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Seacon, was held on 2–4 September 1961 at the Hyatt House Hotel in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The 11th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Philcon II, was held on 5–7 September 1953 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was the first Worldcon to present the Hugo Awards.
Disclave was a science fiction convention run by the Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) in or near Washington, D.C., in the spring of nearly every year from 1950 through 1997. By many counts, it was the third-oldest science fiction convention.
The 56th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as BucConeer, was held on 5–9 August 1998 at the Baltimore Convention Center, the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor, the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor, the Omni Inner Harbor Baltimore, and the Baltimore Hilton and Towers in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
All Our Yesterdays by Harry Warner, Jr., is a history of science fiction fandom of the 1940s, an essential reference work in the field.
The 18th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Pittcon, was held on 3–5 September 1960 at the Penn-Sheraton Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
The 20th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known unofficially as Chicon III, was held on 31 August–3 September 1962 at the Pick-Congress Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The 21st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Discon I, was held on 31 August through 2 September 1963 at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., 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 46th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Nolacon II, was held on 1–5 September 1988 at the Marriott, Sheraton, and International Hotels, and the New Orleans Municipal Auditorium in New Orleans, Louisiana, 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 50th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MagiCon, was held on 3–7 September 1992 at the Clarion Hotel, The Peabody Orlando, and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States.
The 51st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as ConFrancisco, was held on 2–6 September 1993 at the ANA Hotel, Parc Fifty Five, and Nikko Hotels and the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, United States.
The WSFA Small Press Award was inaugurated by the Washington Science Fiction Association in 2007. The award is open to works of imaginative literature published in English for the first time in the previous calendar year. Furthermore, the Small Press Award is limited to short fiction—works under 20,000 words in length—that was published by a small press. The nominees are narrowed down by a panel elected by the WSFA membership, and these finalists are then judged by the entire WSFA membership to select a winner. Throughout the process, the author and publisher of each story are kept anonymous.
Michael Jarrett Walsh owns and operates Old Earth Books, a small press science fiction publisher. He primarily publishes re-prints, though occasionally he issues original books from established authors. His first publication was a short story collection Rude Astronauts, by Allen Steele, published in 1993. He is active in science fiction fandom.
Massachusetts Convention Fandom, Inc. (MCFI) is an American 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization incorporated in 1974 as an administrative vehicle for proposing, promoting, and running World Science Fiction Conventions (Worldcons) and other special (non-ongoing) SF conventions in the New England area.
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.
Peggy Rae Sapienza, was a science fiction fan, con-runner, and promoter of science fiction fandom. She made memorable contributions to Noreascon III in Boston, the 1989 Worldcon, partnering with Fred Isaacs in conceptualizing the ConCourse, a new feature for Worldcons. A Vice Chair of the 1993 Worldcon, ConFrancisco, she served briefly as Acting Chair after the Chairman died, until a new chairman was appointed. In 1998 she chaired BucConeer, the 56th Worldcon in Baltimore. She served as North American agent for the first Worldcon to be held in Japan, Nippon 2007; in 2010 co-chaired, and 2011 and 2012 chaired the SFWA Nebula Awards Weekends; and was Fan Guest of Honor at Chicon 7, the 70th Worldcon, held in 2012. She co-chaired the 2014 World Fantasy Convention just months before she died due to complications from heart surgery.