Wiscon

Last updated
WisCon
Genre Feminist science fiction
DatesMemorial Day weekend
FrequencyAnnually
Location(s)Madison, Wisconsin
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1977
Participantsc. 1,000
Organized by(SF)3 -- http://www.sf3.org
Website www.wiscon.net

WisCon or Wiscon, a Wisconsin science fiction convention, is the oldest, and often called the world's leading, feminist science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin, in February 1977, [1] after a group of fans attending the 1976 34th World Science Fiction Convention in Kansas City was inspired to organize a convention like WorldCon but with feminism as the dominant theme. [2] The convention is held annually in May, during the four-day weekend of Memorial Day. Sponsored by the Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction, or (SF)³, WisCon gathers together fans, writers, editors, publishers, scholars, and artists to discuss science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on issues of feminism, gender, race, and class.

Contents

It was announced in 2023 that there would not be a 2024 Wiscon. The convention committee announced they would "take a year to rest, plan, and make adjustments that we don’t usually have time for during the rush of putting on this life-giving feminist speculative fiction convention." [3]

Guests of Honor

Since its inception, WisCon has invited one or more guests of honor to attend the convention every year, guiding and participating in programming and giving a speech at a ceremony in their honor. [4] WisCon 30 (May 26–29, 2006) was an anniversary Wiscon, and 39 previous Guests of Honor attended. [5] For WisCon 40, the convention invited a third guest of honor, Nalo Hopkinson, who was previously a guest of honor at WisCon 26. A virtual event happened on Memorial Day weekend in 2020 at WisCon XLIV. Here are the Guests of honor below: [6]

WisCon #YearGuests of Honor
1Feb. 11–13, 1977 Katherine MacLean, Amanda Bankier
2Feb. 17–19, 1978 Vonda N. McIntyre, Susan Wood
3Feb. 2–4, 1979 Suzy McKee Charnas, John Varley, Gina Clarke
4March 7–9, 1980 Joan D. Vinge, Octavia Butler, David Hartwell, Beverly DeWeese
5March 6–8, 1981 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Don & Elsie Wollheim, Buck & Juanita Coulson, Catherine McClenahan, Steven Vincent Johnson
6March 5–7, 1982 Terry Carr, Suzette Haden Elgin
7March 4–7, 1983 Marta Randall, Lee Killough
8Feb. 24–26, 1984 Elizabeth A. Lynn, Jessica Amanda Salmonson
9Feb. 22–24, 1985 Lisa Tuttle, Alicia Austin
10Feb. 21–23, 1986 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Suzette Haden Elgin
11Feb. 20–22, 1987 Connie Willis, Samuel R. Delany, Avedon Carol
12Feb. 19–21, 1988 R. A. MacAvoy, George R. R. Martin, Stu Shiffman
13Feb. 17–19, 1989 Gardner Dozois, Pat Cadigan
14March 9–11, 1990 Iain M. Banks, Emma Bull
15March 1–3, 1991 Pat Murphy, Pamela Sargent
16March 6–7, 1992 Howard Waldrop, Trina Robbins
17March 5–7, 1993 Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Lois McMaster Bujold
18March 4–6, 1994 Karen Joy Fowler, Melinda Snodgrass, James Frenkel
19May 26–29, 1995 Barbara Hambly, Sharyn McCrumb, Nicola Griffith
20May 24–27, 1996 Ursula K. Le Guin, Judith Merril
21May 23–26, 1997 Melissa Scott, Susanna Sturgis
22May 22–25, 1998 Sheri S. Tepper, Delia Sherman, Ellen Kushner
23May 28–31, 1999 Terri Windling, Mary Doria Russell
24May 26–29, 2000 Charles de Lint, Jeanne Gomoll
25May 25–28, 2001 Nancy Kress, Elisabeth Vonarburg
26May 24–27, 2002 Nalo Hopkinson, Nina Kiriki Hoffman
27May 23–26, 2003 Carol Emshwiller, China Miéville
28May 28–31, 2004 Patricia McKillip, Eleanor Arnason
29May 27–30, 2005 Gwyneth Jones, Robin McKinley
30May 26–29, 2006 Kate Wilhelm, Jane Yolen
31May 25–28, 2007 Kelly Link, Laurie Marks
32May 23–26, 2008 L. Timmel Duchamp, Maureen McHugh
33May 22–25, 2009 Ellen Klages, Geoff Ryman
34May 28–31, 2010 Mary Anne Mohanraj, Nnedi Okorafor
35May 26–30, 2011 Nisi Shawl
36May 25–28, 2012 Andrea Hairston, Debbie Notkin
37May 24–27, 2013 Joan Slonczewski, Jo Walton
38May 23–26, 2014 Hiromi Goto, N. K. Jemisin
39May 22–25, 2015 Alaya Dawn Johnson, Kim Stanley Robinson
40May 27–30, 2016 Justine Larbalestier, Sofia Samatar, Nalo Hopkinson
41May 26–29, 2017 Amal El-Mohtar, Kelly Sue DeConnick
42May 25–28, 2018 Saladin Ahmed, Tananarive Due
43May 24–27, 2019 G. Willow Wilson, Charlie Jane Anders
44May 22–25, 2020 Rebecca Roanhorse, Yoon Ha Lee Traditional in-person convention cancelled due to COVID-19; converted to all-online format [7]
No#Online in 2021Traditional in-person convention cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19. No traditional guests named.
45May 2022 online Zen Cho (not attending), Yoon Ha Lee (not attending), Rebecca Roanhorse, Sheree Renée Thomas
46May 26–29, 2023 Rivers Solomon, Martha Wells [8]

Offshoot organizations and awards

Beaders at Wiscon 2006. Lisa Freitag (far left), Kate Yule (next left), and Amy Thompson (far right). Beaders at Wiscon 2006.jpg
Beaders at Wiscon 2006. Lisa Freitag (far left), Kate Yule (next left), and Amy Thompson (far right).
Emma Bull at Wiscon, 2006. Photo by Patrick Nielsen Hayden. Emma Bull, Wiscon 2006.jpg
Emma Bull at Wiscon, 2006. Photo by Patrick Nielsen Hayden.
Avedon Carol, Beth Meacham, and Lois McMaster Bujold at Wiscon 30, 2006 Avedon Carol, Beth Meacham, Lois McMaster Bujold.jpg
Avedon Carol, Beth Meacham, and Lois McMaster Bujold at Wiscon 30, 2006

Multiple awards and organizations have been created through or developed from conversations at WisCon that focus on various issues within science fiction and fantasy. Many of these offshoots still maintain close ties to WisCon, hosting parties or panel discussions focused on their areas of interest.

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award (now the Otherwise Award), an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy "that expands or explores our understanding of gender" was first discussed as part of Pat Murphy's Guest of Honor speech at WisCon 15 in 1991. The concept originated in a discussion at a prior WisCon, partly as "...a reaction to the fact that all of the science fiction awards were named after men. So they named the Tiptree for a man who was actually a woman". [9] James Tiptree, Jr., was the pen name of Alice B. Sheldon. [10] The Tiptree Ceremony has been held at other conventions, but is usually held at WisCon. [9]

The Carl Brandon Society was founded in 1999 following discussions at Wiscon 23 about race, racism, and science and fantasy, inspired in part by Delany’s essay “Racism and Science Fiction” published in the New York Review of Science Fiction (August 1998). [11] The organization is dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in science fiction, fantasy and horror. In 2005 they created the Parallax Award, given to works of speculative fiction created by a self-identified person of color, and the Kindred Award, which is given to any work of speculative fiction dealing with issues of race and ethnicity; nominees may be of any racial or ethnic group. [12]

Broad Universe, an organization with the primary goal of promoting science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by women, was first discussed at a panel discussion in 2000 at WisCon 24. It has since developed into a nonprofit with an online newsletter and other publications, a podcast, and a frequent presence at many conventions both to sell books written by members and to provide more information and help organize to support women writing, editing, and publishing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction. [13]

Books about WisCon

In 2007, Aqueduct Press began issuing a series of books titled "WisCon Chronicles", with The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 1 ISBN   978-1-933500-14-0, edited by L. Timmel Duchamp. [14] Volume 2 was The WisCon Chronicles: Volume 2: Provocative essays on feminism, race, revolution, and the future ISBN   978-1-933500-20-1, edited by Duchamp and Eileen Gunn; [15] followed by The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 3: The Carnival of Feminist SF ISBN   978-1-933500-30-0, edited by Liz Henry; [16] The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 4: Voices of WisCon ISBN   978-1-933500-40-9 edited by Sylvia Kelso; [17] and The WisCon Chronicles: Volume 5: Writing and Racial Identity ISBN   978-1-933500-73-7, edited by Nisi Shawl and released at WisCon 35 (May 27–30, 2011), where Shawl was Guest of Honor. [18] Volume 5, like Volume 4 before it, was supported by a grant from the Society for the Furtherance & Study of Fantasy & Science Fiction [(SF)3]. The WisCon Chronicles 6: Futures of Feminism and Fandom ISBN   9781619760080, edited by Alexis Lothian, was issued at WisCon 36 in 2012; and The WisCon Chroncles 7: Shattering Ableist Narratives ISBN   9781619760424, edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft, was issued at WisCon 37 in late May 2013. [19]

Helen Merrick's 2009 The Secret Feminist Cabal ( ISBN   978-1-933500-33-1), a 2010 Hugo nominee, while a broader history of the topic, contains a number of mentions and descriptions of WisCon itself and of various WisCon-spawned projects such as the Tiptree Awards, Broad Universe, and the Carl Brandon Society, beginning with the author's preface and continuing throughout the book. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction focused on such feminist themes as: gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist SF is political because of its tendency to critique the dominant culture. Some of the most notable feminist science fiction works have illustrated these themes using utopias to explore a society in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias to explore worlds in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue.

Science fiction and fantasy serve as important vehicles for feminist thought, particularly as bridges between theory and practice. No other genres so actively invite representations of the ultimate goals of feminism: worlds free of sexism, worlds in which women's contributions are recognized and valued, worlds that explore the diversity of women's desire and sexuality, and worlds that move beyond gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Ryman</span> Canadian writer of science fiction, fantasy, slipstream and historical fiction

Geoffrey Charles Ryman is a Canadian writer of science fiction, fantasy, slipstream and historical fiction. Ryman has written and published seven novels, including an early example of a hypertext novel, 253. He has won multiple awards, including the World Fantasy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Russ</span> American writer and academic (1937–2011)

Joanna Russ was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny. She is best known for The Female Man, a novel combining utopian fiction and satire, and the story "When It Changed".

The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science fiction authors Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler, subsequent to a discussion at WisCon.

Broad Universe is a United States-based, all volunteer organization with the primary goal of promoting science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by women. Writers, editors, publishers, reviewers, artists, and fans are invited to join them. "Broad-minded" men are welcome to participate. The organization originated in a panel discussion at WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2000.

The Carl Brandon Society is a group originating within the science fiction community. Their mission "is to increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction." Their vision is "a world in which speculative fiction, about complex and diverse cultures from writers of all backgrounds, is used to understand the present and model possible futures; and where people of color are full citizens in the community of imagination and progress."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Murphy (writer)</span> American novelist

Patrice Ann "Pat" Murphy is an American science writer and author of science fiction and fantasy novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eileen Gunn</span> American writer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Klages</span> American writer (born 1954)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelley Eskridge</span> American writer

Kelley Eskridge is an American writer of fiction, non-fiction and screenplays. Her work is generally regarded as speculative fiction and is associated with the more literary edge of the category, as well as with the category of slipstream fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Frenkel</span> American editor and literary agent

James Raymond Frenkel is an American editor and agent of science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, and other books, formerly for Tom Doherty Associates. He has edited numerous prominent authors such as Vernor Vinge, Joan D. Vinge, Frederik Pohl, Andre Norton, Loren D. Estleman, Dan Simmons, Jack Williamson, Timothy Zahn, Marie Jakober and Greg Bear. His agency clients include John C. Wright and L. Jagi Lamplighter. He and his wife, author Joan D. Vinge lived in Madison, Wisconsin for many years, but have moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

<i>Janus</i> (science fiction magazine)

Janus was a feminist science fiction fanzine edited by Janice Bogstad and Jeanne Gomoll in Madison, Wisconsin, and closely associated with that city's science fiction convention, WisCon. It was repeatedly nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine ; this led to accusations that if Janus had not been feminist, it wouldn't have been nominated. Eighteen issues were published under this name from 1975 to 1980; it was succeeded by Aurora SF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nisi Shawl</span> African-American writer, editor, and journalist

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Diversicon is an annual speculative fiction convention held in July or August in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota area. Diversicon provides programming and social opportunities to encourage the multicultural, multimedia exploration and celebration of SF by those within and outside of the traditional SF community. Diversicon includes both live and posthumous guests. It is sponsored by SF Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Wood (literary scholar)</span> Canadian professor, author and editor (1948–1980)

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<i>The Witch and the Chameleon</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Hairston</span> African-American science fiction and fantasy playwright and novelist

Andrea Hairston is an African-American science fiction and fantasy playwright and novelist. Her novel Redwood and Wildfire won the James Tiptree Jr. Award for 2011. Mindscape, Hairston's first novel, won the Carl Brandon Parallax Award and was short-listed for the Philip K. Dick Award and the James Tiptree Jr. Award. Hairston was one of the Guests of Honor at the science fiction convention Wiscon in May 2012.

Jeanne Gomoll is an American artist, writer, editor, and science fiction fan, who was recognized as one of the guests of honor at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention, having been a guest of honor at numerous previous science fiction conventions. She has been nominated multiple times for awards in artist and fanzine categories, and for service to the genre of science fiction, particularly feminist science fiction.

References

  1. ↑ "About WisCon: History of WisCon". WisCon.
  2. ↑ Wiedenhoeft, John (26 May 2006). "Klingons Not Focus of Wiscon The Science Fiction Convention Celebrates Literature and Feminism". The Capital Times. Madison, WI.
  3. ↑ Wiscon website front page; accessed 5-23-24
  4. ↑ "Overall Wiscon Schedule". Wiscon official website. (SF)³. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Custis, Scott; Jeanne Gomoll. "STELLAR ROSTER OF FORMER GUESTS OF HONOR WILL ATTEND WISCON 30" (PDF). Looking Back at 30 Years of Science Fiction and Feminism. (SF)³. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  6. ↑ "Past Wiscons". Wiscon official site. (SF)³. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Wisconsin 44 Report" Locus Online; July 3, 2020; accessed 05-28-2022
  8. ↑ WisCon Chairs, Stephanie Sarac, Lindsey Taveren. "Past WisCons" . Retrieved January 4, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. 1 2 Gomoll, Jeanne (15 September 2008). "Founding Mothers: The Jeanne Gomoll Interview". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original on 8 October 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Itzkoff, Dave (August 20, 2008). "Alice's Alias". New York Times: Sunday Book Review. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Lindow, Sara J. "Black to Okorafor: Entering an Intersection of Afrofuturism, Comics, and the Women’s Movement" New York Review of Science Fiction Issue 344 (Vol. 29, #8; December 2017). Retrieved 6 March 2020
  12. ↑ "Carl Brandon Society Awards". Carl Brandon Society official website. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "About Broad Universe". Broad Universe official website. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  14. ↑ The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 1 on Aqueduct Press website
  15. ↑ Volume 2
  16. ↑ Volume 3
  17. ↑ Volume 4
  18. ↑ Volume 5
  19. ↑ Wagner, Kathryn and Alexis Lothian. "Access and Fandom: Disability Studies From a Feminist Science Fiction Perspective", Disability Studies Quarterly Vol. 34, No. 2 (2014)
  20. ↑ Merrick, Helen. The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminisms Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2009; pp. v–vi, et seq.

Sources

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