Loscon: the home away from home, where every being knows your name, like Callahan’s Place or the Draco Tavern. Spider Robinson has unfortunately had to cancel his appearance at Loscon 50.
Larry Niven
In his stead, Larry Niven has accepted the invitation to be Writer Guest of Honor for Loscon 50. Niven is an American science fiction writer whose extensive writing, beginning with a 1964 story, “The Coldest Place,” has won every major award in the genre. His work has inspired countless readers with a love of science, space and yet-to-be invented technologies that have transformed worlds in and out of fiction.
His most recent work is a short story with Steven Barnes, “Sacred Cow” published in Analog Science Fiction & Fact, November/December 2022.
During his career, Larry Niven has gifted the space and satellite industry with visions that inspire a never-ending reach for the impossible. As he states in one of Niven’s Laws, “There is only one universal message in science fiction: there exist minds that think as well as you do – but differently.” For more information about Larry Niven, visit larryniven.net.
Other guests include singer songwriter Kathy Mar, illustrator and costumer Dr. Laura Brodian Freas Beraha, fan guests Genny Dazzo and Craig Miller.
Loscon hosts a cosplay costume contest, writers and science panels, ice cream social, Regency dance, film screenings, music, art show and maker space during our three day weekend event.
Loscon 50: Nov 29- Dec 1, 2024 Los Angeles area’s longest running Science Fiction Fan Convention. Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel 5711 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
For updates, follow Loscon on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and search for #Loscon.
First panel of the final day of the convention was John Hertz’s book discussion of Heinlein’s The Rolling Stones. It’s from 1952, right in the middle of RAH’s Golden Age of SF juveniles. RAH didn’t choose to depict technology much beyond that which existed or was reasonably plausible for the early 1950s, so instead of a suspension of disbelief the reader obtains a creation of belief. The book is a good example of Heinlein’s expertise in using a socioeconomic basis to create a sense of humanity in his fiction. It’s still readable.
“TIME TRAVEL IN THE MEDIA” PANEL
(L-R) Elektra Hammond, Maria, Chuck Rothman, and Daniel Kimmel
An anthology panel, be it an interesting one that included brief deconstructions and plot analyses, that consisted of shout outs to fan favorites like Quantum Leap and Doctor Who, and some lesser-known shows like The Lazarus Project. My suggestions, when it came time for Q&A, were The History of Time Travel (find it and watch it, it’s worth it) and an old favorite, ‘The Orb’ story arc of The Adventures of Bristol County, Jr. There were so many possibilities for discussion that the panel could have gone on for hours.
CLOSING CEREMONIES
Seated at podium, left to right: Alan Dean Foster, Suford Lewis, Tony Lewis, Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio, Nilah Magruder. Chair Wayne Brown at lectern.
Short and sweet. The guests all had praise for the concom. And the convention got through its four days without any disasters. Special thanks went out to Chuck Rothman who developed the program. I can second and even third that, as there was no lack of interesting panels to attend. Let’s do it again someday!
(L-R) Bill Horst-Kotter, D.G. Valdron, Devo Spice, and Chuck Rothman
I was handicapped by not having seen many of the Ncuti episodes. So here are a few random thoughts from the panelists: Jodie Whittaker era was mostly done in by lots of meh writing. The new Russell T. Davies era hasn’t “hit its stride” yet. “The Space Babies” episode was a lot of “okay” at best. And everybody was really tired of episodes where the fate of the entire universe was at stake. But hey, it’s still a great series!
SUFORD AND TONY – THEIR HOUR
Suford and Tony Lewis: It was a pleasant stroll through their many years in fandom.
IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALI-I-I-VE!!
The fanzine lounge now exists. After a long and at times strange journey, John Hertz arrived in Buffalo late last night, and today spent a couple of hours breathing life into what had been a cold, empty room. Now all it needs is some convention attendees who are interested in fanzines to stop by.
THE “HOW I FOUND FANDOM” PANEL
(L-R) Jilibean, David Kushner, Tony Lewis, Daniel Kimmel, Jeanne Mealy, and D. Cameron Calkins
An interesting blend of recollections which we can probably all mostly identify with. The most usual doorway still seems to be from being a science fiction reader, but science fiction on TV and in the movies seems not far behind. How different things would be if Bjo had not taken it upon herself to start a campaign to save Star Trek.
THE CONVENTION’S NAME BADGE
Here it is. Mine is numbered “S 1329”, and when I asked the con registration folks what the “S” meant (everybody’s badge has that feature), nobody knew.
Also, I checked what the current registration totals were and found out there were 475 pre-reg and (as of this evening) 509 people in attendance.
Nobody was able to explain to me why my badge number is 1329.
PARTY TIME
Only one party last night (Montreal in 202-whenever) and it appeared to have run out of food after about an hour-and-a-half. Lots more options this evening.
Here’s what the New Orleans CONtraflow DeepSouthCon 2025 had to offer. Yum!
PARTY #2
The Capricon party also has lot of good stuff to eat, but next to nobody has figured out where it is yet.
NO TROUBLE AT ALL FINDING THIS PARTY
Minneapolis in 2073 had lots of good ambience, pretty good food, and friends to talk to. Hurry up with those longevity drugs!
I may have to walk that “good food” comment back a bit… featured snack food is Peeps.
THE HOTEL. An interesting building (more on that a bit later) but I don’t think it was truly ready for the convention. I was told that it had run out of food last night — if so, not so good planning on its part. And one of the three elevators has been out of service since about 3-4 days before the start of the convention with no estimate when it will be repaired.
As for the elevators which do work, there’s an interesting steampunk vibe with the room floor display.
THE WONDERFUL OLD GENESEE BUILDING. The building that is occupied by the Hyatt Regency opened back in 1923 as a multi-tenant office building. It survived various boom and bust cycles over the decades until, in 1976, it went into bankruptcy. Hyatt reached agreement with the city of Buffalo to have a hotel in the space the building occupied, but there was enough community resistance to the original plan of razing the building to make way for a characterless glass-walled tower that an enterprising architectural firm came up with a way to include the building into a new and better overall design.
There was an addition of a new atrium and the new Hyatt hotel opened in February 1984. The facade of the old building is still a prominent feature that segues the atrium into the hotel proper. It’s a grand space.
The original building facade.
PANEL: THE MOTE IN GOD’S EYE +50. Friday morning panel looking back at the Niven-Pournelle novel from 1974. Another partly virtual panel with (l-r) Donald Wyatt, Jr., Entwife Judy, JMac, and two online participants. Oh group mind, help me with who they are.
Overall, a pretty good retrospective. It wasn’t a Motie-esque dissection, but it did delve into a lot of the details and nuances of the novel.
BEHOLD THE FANZINE LOUNGE! It’s located next to the gaming area, which itself is only marginally busier.
Still, this is an improvement from yesterday, when the fanzine lounge was locked up the entire day.
BUFFALOS EVERYWHERE. As you might expect, statues of bison are fairly common here in Buffalo. This one is “Molly” and she’s located on the walkway over Pearl Street between the hotel and the convention center.
(Photo by Andy Porter, but since it’s my phone he’s doing it as a work for hire. In this case he works really cheaply!)
PANEL: BOOKS TO FILM.
(L-R) Vaughne Hansen, Catherine Cohen, Alan Dean Foster, Lawrence Connolly, and Richard Sparks
Pretty informative and interesting, from a nuts-and-bolts deep dive perspective. Lots of useful information for prospective screenwriters interspersed with many amusing anecdotes.
THE DEALERS ROOM, ART SHOW, FAN TABLES, AND FREEBIE TABLES AREA
All these are in the Convention Center. There is still a huge amount of unused space, probably enough to stage a fannish softball game like the one at the 2013 Worldcon in Texas.
PANEL: GALAXY QUEST +25
(L-R) Joshua Palmatier, Randy Hoffman, JF Garrard, Ira Nayman, and John-Allen Price
The panel went out of its way to avoid movie trivia associated with the film. Instead, there was a lot about how the movie affected the career path on some of the actors and how fandom embraced the film. But the most memorable thing that happened was when the real-time voice recognition onscreen text kept pranking Nayman. The first time he had the microphone it interpreted him as saying “penis 45 penis 45 penis 45”.
The next time, it captioned him “shut up shut up”, and the time after that “more country music please”. Didn’t quite upstage the panel, but it came close.
PANEL: HEINLEIN: HOW DOES HE HOLD UP TODAY?
(L-R) David Gerrold, David Ritter, Entwife Judy, and Stephen Wilk
As expected, the panelists drew a dividing line between the early Heinlein who wrote entertaining and sense of wonder so-called “juveniles” and the later Heinlein who wrote bloated and self-indulgent novels. The panel did a good job dissecting many of Heinlein’s stories and novels, and the consensus seemed to be that, yeah, it all does still hold up today, even though some of it is obviously retro. We’re all still fans.
OPENING CEREMONIES. Wayne Brown on stage. Alan Dean Foster (in straw hat) said this is the first convention of any kind he’s been to in ten years.
GoHs seated at podium, left to right: Suford Lewis, Tony Lewis, Nilah Magruder, Kaja Foglio, Phil Foglio, Alan Dean Foster.
VIRTUAL GUEST IS INTRODUCED. Cheryl S. Ntumi, all the way from Ghana.
And yeah, the real time closed captioning was (as usual) doing wonky things.
PANEL: EARLY FANDOM. Late afternoon panel about “Early Fandom in Upstate New York”. David Ritter of the First Fandom Foundation described the 1943 Schenectacon and the 1944 Buffalocon, including mini histories of many of the fans from that era. About a dozen in the audience, and we were all fascinated and entertained.
PANEL: ARE TRADITIONAL SF CONS DYING? Short answer: probably.
Randy Hoffman, Michael Ventrella, Tony Lewis, and David Stephenson expound on the topic.
HYBRID PANEL: An entertaining one: “Science Fiction in 60s Comics”.
Left to right: Stephen Wilk, Chuck Rothman, D.G. Valdron and (virtually) Martin Shoemaker
By John Hertz: Since 1975, North America has held a NASFiC (North America Science Fiction Convention) when the World Science Fiction Convention is overseas. In 2024, the 82nd Worldcon being at Glasgow, Scotland, the 16th NASFiC will be at Buffalo, New York, July 18-21.
We’ll discuss three Classics of Science Fiction at Buffalo, one discussion each. Come to as many as you like. You’ll be welcome to join in.
Our operating definition is “A classic is a work that survives its own time. After the currents which might have sustained it have changed, it remains, and is seen to be worthwhile for itself.” If you have a better definition, bring it.
Each of the three is famous in a different way. Each may be more interesting now than when first published.
Have you read them? Have you re-read them?
Leigh Brackett, Shadow Over Mars (1944)
This won the 1945 Best Novel Retro Hugo. It has action, aliens, politics, alien politics — also characterization — subtlety — indeed richness — all within the realm of Startling Stories where it first appeared — which could be done, and sometimes was.
Robert A. Heinlein, The Rolling Stones (1952)
Never mind whether these “flat cats” look like Star Trek tribbles (when David Gerrold wrote The Trouble with Tribbles, he hadn’t read Stones; seeing the similarity, he asked Heinlein’s permission, which was granted in exchange for an autographed copy of Gerrold’s script). Consider Edith and Roger Stone.
Tom Clancy, TheHunt forRedOctober (1984)
Of course it’s SF. No one could build the caterpillar drive in 1984. What a reach outside our field this book has had — even to a U.S. President! How does the author do it? Story? Characterization? Corroborative detail (thanks, Gilbert & Sullivan)?
BayCon 2025, to be held July 4-7, 2025 at the Marriott Hotel in Santa Clara, California, will host Westercon 77, the 2025 West Coast Science Fantasy Conference.
BayCon 2025: A Convenient Parallel Dimension will have Guests of Honor, J.K. Woodward, Sasha Graham, Stacy Meyn, Tracy Newby, and Catherine Mary Stewart plus others. The theme highlights the Paranormal, Horror, and Supernatural in Speculative Fiction.
The Westercon Business Meeting of Westercon 75, held during the 2023 Loscon, established a committee charged to either find a committee to host Westercon 77 or to organize it themselves. After discussions with several individuals and groups about the matter, the “Caretaker Committee” selected BayCon to host Westercon 77.
Those persons who voted in the Westercon 77 Site Selection held at Westercon 75 will receive supporting memberships in Westercon 77/BayCon 2025, which will apply as a credit toward an attending membership in Westercon 77/BayCon 2025.
Memberships to Westercon 77/BayCon 2025 will be available at Westercon 76 at the Doubletree Hotel Salt Lake City Airport, July 4-7, 2024, and at BayCon 2024 at the Marriott Hotel, Santa Clara California, July 4-7, 2024. Additional information and online membership sales will be available at the BayCon convention website after the conclusion of BayCon 2024.
[Based on a press release. Thanks to Kevin Standlee for the story.]
By Richard Man: One of the pleasant surprises with Nebula 2024 was that Dr. Gregory Benford was there. Dr. Benford suffered a stroke in December 2022, but he appears to be recovering well and quite sharp.
Gay Haldeman, Naomi Fisher, Joe Haldeman, and Gregory Benford (seated)
Richard Man, Gay Haldeman, Naomi Fisher, Joe Haldeman, John Hertz, and Gregory Benford (seated)
Registration for The Anvil is open! The Anvil is The Dream Foundry’s new event, hosted by their Con or Bust program, is a virtual one-day unconference for creatives of color, happening August 10 from noon-10 p.m. Central.
The unconference format does away with top-down programming. Instead, the event list is built by the attendees and to meet their wants and needs. In addition to attendee-led discussions and networking opportunities, The Anvil will feature keynote speeches and sessions for sharing work. All Anvil attendees will be able to participate in Crowdfunding to Build Independence, a workshop run by short film startup incubator Seed & Spark.
The Anvil is an opportunity for creatives of color to meet a cohort of industry peers, share experiences, advice, and the resources needed to thrive in an ever changing and often hostile industry. Celebrate craft, creativity, and community with peers and colleagues during 10 hours dedicated to honoring and supporting creatives of color and their work.
Registration for the Anvil will be capped at 500 attendees and there are no registration fees for their core audience. All sponsorship fees and other revenue brought in beyond the event’s expenses will go towards funding Con or Bust grants.
Dream Foundry is actively inviting sponsors for this event, from industry organizations, businesses, and individuals looking to demonstrate and renew their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in a way that has clear and immediate impact. Sponsorship applications are available here.
Dream Foundry’s Con or Bust program issues cash grants and other material support to fans and creatives of color to help connect them with SFFH genre events and resources. Dream Foundry is the registered 501(c)(3) non-profit that hosts the annual Ignyte Award winning Flights of Foundry, a 3-day 24-hour multidisciplinary virtual convention with global attendance.
By John Hertz: We’ll discuss three Classics of Science Fiction at Westercon 76 in Salt Lake City, one discussion each. Come to as many as you like. You’ll be welcome to join in.
Our operating definition is “A classic is a work that survives its own time. After the currents which might have sustained it have changed, it remains, and is seen to be worthwhile for itself.” If you have a better definition, bring it.
Each of the three is famous in a different way. Each may be more interesting now than when first published.
Have you read them? Have you re-read them?
I. Asimov. Foundation and Empire (1952)
A great man; a great plan; what can go wrong? Or, better for us since we’re discussing it, how does the author show us? Not only is skim milk masquerading as cream, but cream masquerades as skim milk. I’ve said Watch this author use dialogue to paint character; one of SF’s finest moments may be the single word “Obviously”.
E. MacGregor, Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (1951)
This little jewel may be just about perfect. Why are there seven noisy children? Why is our hero the sort of woman who thinks she’d better get supper ready? Her car breaks down after eighteen years; the man she’s offering a ride to says”Where are your tools?” Of course they’re in the car, it’s 1951.
R.L. Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886)
The best treatment l know of this masterly story is in Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature (1980), a book well worth while. We’ll do the best we can. The doctor’s name rhymes with “sea pill”, not “peck, Will”; it’s Scots, as the author was.
