In addition to the Sturgeon Award Ceremony, the hybrid in-person/online symposium will include scholarly panels on such topics as fan fiction and teaching science fiction, roundtable discussions, and creative writing readings that highlight the diversity of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and the Speculative Arts.
This year’s theme – “Celebrating Speculative Communities” – explores how contributors from diverse groups employ speculative genres, and how these speculative productions create and impact notions of community. The theme encourages contemplation of the Gunn Center’s new mission of showcasing international speculative literatures, including creative work by writers from Indian Nations, such as the Kaw, Osage, and others on whose homelands KU stands. Guests include a collective of Indigenous Hawaiian authors and Andrea L. Rogers [Cherokee], whose forthcoming collection of stories, Man Made Monsters, has been called by Publishers Weekly a book that “artfully tackles themes of colonialism and its effects on entire generations, for a simultaneously frightening and enthralling read.” L.L. McKinney (A Blade So Black), Tessa Gratton (Lady Hotspur and Star Wars: The High Republic [Disney/Lucasfilm]), and Natalie C. Parker (the Seafire series) are also featured speakers.
The Sturgeon Symposium will take place in the Commons (Spooner Hall) at the University of Kansas. The first roundtable discussion will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday with the Sturgeon Award Ceremony and reading by the winning writer beginning at 7:00 p.m. On Friday, the symposium will run from 9:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Registration is now open and attendance is free to the public. Registration forms and the program/schedule of events can be found on the CSSF website.
Winnipeg has been voted the right to host the 2023 NASFiC. The con will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from July 20-23, 2023, and be named Pemmi-con 2023.
There were 343 site selection ballots cast, with 312 in favor of Winnipeg, as reported by Chicon 8. The Winnipeg bid was running unopposed after another bid for Orlando folded last month.
Winnipeg’s Guests of Honor will be Dr. Philip J. Currie, Julie Czerneda, John Mansfield, Waubgeshig Rice, Nisi Shawl and Katherina Vermette. The Ghost of Honor will be Lorna Toolis and the Toastmaster will be Tanya Huff. The convention will be chaired by Robbie Bourget and Linda Ross-Mansfield.
As provided by the WSFS Constitution, the same rules that govern the Worldcon, the NASFiC (North American Science Fiction Convention) is held in North America in years when the Worldcon is held overseas. In this case, the 2023 Worldcon will be held in Chendgu, China from August 16-20, 2023.
By Tommy Ferguson: On Friday a group of Norn Iron fans visited The Hilton Lanyon Place and International Conference Centre (ICC) which is next door – (https://www.iccbelfast.com/), to consider the space that is available and whether, costs permitting, a Belfast Eastercon would be viable.
Norn Iron fans
The venue was the site of the 2019 Eurocon, which ran successfully, but looking at additional space, in the ICC.
This new group, with experience from a wide selection of Irish and international conventions, is entitled the ‘Preliminary Belfast Eastercon Assessment Team’ and we went to the Pub afterwards to consider what next steps should be taken and it was agreed that another pint would be a good idea.
Hilton Pub
Following this, and other activities it was agreed we should communicate to Eastercon fans, here, there and elsewhere, that some activity, albeit very initial, is taking place.
PBEAT would look to see if the venue is indeed suitable, and more importantly if it is affordable.
Initial reckoning is that we could accommodate an 800 to 900 person Eastercon, and given the extra travel is involved, this seems like a reasonable amount.
By the end of the evening, there was much excitement about the prospect of a Belfast Eastercon, as evidenced in the images.
With a heavy heart, we write to inform you that Orlando is backing out of the 2023 NASFiC race. This was an incredibly difficult choice to make so close to the vote at Chicon 8 – Chicago Worldcon 2022. There were some factors to our decision that were in our control that helped guide us and some sadly not in our control.
On behalf of the rest of the Orlando committee, thank you to everyone who supported us from our announcement at DisCon III to today and had planned on voting for Orlando. All of us on the committee are so sorry we could not bring the NASFiC to Central Florida.
Winnipeg is now the only remaining filed bid for the 2023 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). Since 1975, NASFiCs have been held whenever the Worldcon is held outside North America, as provided by the WSFS Constitution. The selection of Chengdu, China to host the 2023 Worldcon opened the way for a NASFiC the same year.
The Orlando NASFiC Bid had superseded the Orlando in 2026 Worldcon bid.
In March, the Orlando NASFiC bid had tried to position itself as a more acceptable alternative to attending the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon:
There isn’t an actual mechanism to take away the Worldcon based on the actions of what that committee’s government chooses to do or even not do. We can say, though, that the power of boycotting has always been a way for many diverse voices to be seen and heard, from the Cogadh na Talún in Ireland to the Swadeshi Movement in India. Such actions can and should always be considered by any of the members of WSFS.
The NASFiC can never be the Worldcon, and no one can promise you that. What we can promise you, however, is our deep commitment to running for you the best alternative to the Worldcon we can–a convention that celebrates the diversity and inclusivity that empowers us all as fans and commits our spirit to “keep moving forward,” as Walt Disney once said.
It’s also vital for us to recognize that some in the community have strong feelings about our own government here in Florida and perhaps even the American South at large. It would be hypocritical to not point that out in a statement like this, and we see and hear all of your opinions and feelings regarding this topic.
As the statement implied, they were already having to labor under the political baggage created by passage of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, leading to weeks of public acrimony between state Governor Ron DeSantis and Disney over the company’s opposition to the law which limits how educators discuss LGBTQ issues in the classroom. Then, the state legislature retaliated by voting to revoke a special tax district created in 1967 to facilitate the operation of DisneyWorld.
Today’s announcement did not specify all the factors behind the withdrawal, however, the state’s political and cultural news profile must have been one of them.
StokerCon 2023, the Horror Writers Association annual convention, will be held at the Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square, from June 15-18th.
Today they added a third Guest of Honor, author of Succulent Prey, The Resurrectionist, and more, Wrath James White. Find Wrath’s work here and follow him on Twitter.
SMOFCon 38, an in-person event, will be held at Le Centre Sheraton Montreal, December 2-4, 2022. SMOFcon is an annual convention that focuses on the organization of science fiction conventions. This year’s theme will be “Cirque des Smofs — the three-ring circus that is con-running.”
The Montreal group had planned to hold SMOFcon in 2020, however, the host organization concluded the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made it unsafe to do so and arranged to postpone their turn to 2022.
Membership rates and hotel information are available at the link.
The British Fantasy Society’s annual convention will be held after all despite a week ago Lee Harris having announced that FantasyCon 2022 would not be possible this year because of financial issues.
The British Fantasy Society quickly ran a survey “the results of which have convinced us that a smaller event is possible.” They told members today that FantasyCon will go ahead this year, still on the same weekend and still in Heathrow, although it will be a two-day event rather than the usual three.
Join us at the Radisson Red Hotel and Conference Centre, Heathrow, on 17th and 18th September for two days packed full of panels, workshops, readings and book launches. Programming will start at 10am on Saturday and run until 3pm on Sunday. Anyone arriving on Friday evening is welcome to join us for an informal social in the bar, while Saturday evening will see the banquet and British Fantasy Awards ceremony. Ticket information is at the link.
The BFS Annual General Meeting will take place September 18 at 10:00 a.m. BFS members can attend the AGM, even if they are not attending the convention. FantasyCon attendees are welcome to attend the AGM but cannot vote.
Bryan Brandenburg, co-founder of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, was arrested at his Waipahu home in Hawaii on May 23 reports the Deseret Newsand appeared in a Hawaii federal court the following day to face charges of transmitting threats in interstate commerce, and threatening and conveying false information concerning the use of an explosive. Federal prosecutors are seeking to hold Brandenburg in jail until his case is adjudicated, court records say.
The FBI agent’s affidavit in the charging document filed by Federal attorneys on May 20 (available at Bleeding Cool) details the threats.
Brandenburg sent emails on May 4 to people in Utah threatening to bomb the 3rd District Courthouse in Salt Lake City, the State Capitol, the Mayor’s office, every Ivy League School, and the Federal Courthouse in San Diego. Two days later, he sent emails to people in Utah threatening to bomb Hall Labs and the University of Utah Center for Medical Innovation.
Previously, on March 8, Brandenburg had emailed a Judicial Case Manager with the Utah State Courts, Third District, Salt Lake City asking when he would get a ruling on his divorce. The Manager informed Brandenburg that the judge had 60 days to make a ruling. On April 29, Brandenburg emailed the Court, “60 days is today. I look forward to ending this nightmare. Thank you.”
On May 2, Brandenburg emailed the Court, “I want a fucking divorce in Utah.” A Judicial Assistant with the Utah State Courts, Third District, Salt Lake City, replied: “Sir, your language will not be tolerated.”
On May 3, Brandenburg wrote to the Court:
a. “Your broken promise of a ruling in 60 days will not be tolerated children.”
b. “So go fuck yourself. All of you”
c. “I guess I’ll just have to bomb the city
On May 4, The Judicial Case Manager and Judicial Assistant received emails from Brandenburg’s gmail account at their Utah court email addresses. In separate emails he wrote among other things:
a. 6:59 AM= “Thanks for finally sending my Divorce decision. You can still fuck the fuck off.”
b. 7:08 AM = “We’re still going to bomb the 3rd District Courthouse. Hae [sic] a nice day.”
c. 7:26 AM = “Now we’re going to bomb the State Capital.. .. “
d. 7:28 AM “And then …. We’ll bomb the mayor’s office … “
e. 7:34 AM = “And then, we’re going to level the sacred temple … “
f. 7:37 AM= “And then …. We’ll level the Rockefeller Center in NYC … “
g. 8:00 AM = “And NOW … WE’RE BOMBING EVERY IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL, STARTING WITH MIT, YALE, AND HAAARRRVVVV ARDDDD … ”
h. 8:38 AM = “We’re bombing the Federal Couthouse in San Diego to teach them a lesson … [This message included a screenshot picture of the Federal Courthouse in San Diego and its address.]
The Judicial Case Manager, after receiving the email that threatened to bomb the courthouse where they were working at that time, notified the Head of Security.
On May 6, four media people located in Utah received emails from Brandenburg’s gmail account saying: “Hall Labs is Frankenstein Inc. They put illegal medical devices in me without my knowledge or permission with U ofU [University of Utah] Center for Medical Innovation. We’re bombing both campuses today for crimes against humanity. Bryan Brandenburg”
The four media people were an employee of the Salt Lake City Weekly, a co-host of a Salt Lake City, Utah morning show, a reporter and editor at the Salt Lake Tribune, and an editor of the Utah InDepth Team.
The Tribune reporter notified the University of Utah police department, which evacuated the U of U Center for Medical Innovation located in the basement level of the Health Sciences Library. The police department conducted a bomb sweep of the buildings using explosive scenting dogs. After an extensive search police declared the scene safe as no explosive devices were uncovered, and evacuees were allowed back into the buildings.
That same day, FBI special agents in Hawaii interviewed Brandenburg, who confirmed he had used the gmail address to send the bomb threats. Furthermore, he read the emails out loud to agents and acknowledged sending them (excerpt for the threat to the Federal Court in San Diego which they didn’t learn about until later). Brandenburg told the agents he sent the emails to get their attention and to pressure the “court” and “family” so he could get his money back that they stole from him. He was unhappy with how long it took the judge to rule on his divorce case and believed the court and his family worked together to take his money.
Brandenburg faces two counts of federal charges related to the threats. He faces a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison.
Brandenburg is no longer part of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, which originally was named Salt Lake Comic Con. While he was still a co-owner of the company that ran the event, they were embroiled in a years-long lawsuit that ended with San Diego Comic Con successfully barring them from using “Comic Con” in their name, followed by the judge granting a crushing award of $4 million in attorneys fees to San Diego Comic Con.
In 2018 Brandenburg also faced allegations he mishandled harassment concerns at FanX. After his apologies did not defuse the controversy, Brandenburg took a leave of absence, and he sold his interest in the convention in Spring 2019.
FantasyCon, the annual convention of the British Fantasy Society, has been canceled for 2022. Lee Harris, who was running the event on behalf of the BFS, informed their Executive Committee last week that it wasn’t financially viable.
The con website has announced:
We have some disappointing news.
Due to lower-than-expected membership sales, a traditional 3-day FantasyCon is simply not going to be possible, this year. We simply had too few people book to make the event viable.
This is hugely disappointing, but with Covid still an ongoing issue, combined with the current cost of living crisis, it’s perhaps not surprising that we’re not getting the membership numbers we need.
However, all is not lost. The British FantasyCon Committee are considering alternative options and will be in touch with members, soon.
Everyone who has paid for a membership, dealer table or advertisement for FantasyCon 2022 will have received an email and can expect a full refund to be processed asap.
FantasyCon 2022 had been planned for September 16-19 at Heathrow.
We’re currently around £24,000 away from break-even point, and while memberships continue to come in, it’s a dribble, not a stream; we were anticipating the event would make a loss, but I’m sure you can appreciate that a loss of £20,000-£24,000 is too much to bear.
A traditional FantasyCon is simply not going to be possible, this year.
The British Fantasy Society Committee are considering a number of options for a smaller event, and will be canvassing BFS and FantasyCon members over the coming week to see what people would prefer.
The BFS also tweeted that they are looking into other possibilities.
Utah in 2024, being the only bid for Westercon 76, has been voted the rights to host the convention. The site selection results were announced at the Westercon 74 Business Meeting in Tonopah on July 3.
The Utah in 2024 committee composed of Charles Galway as Chair, Cheryl A. Sneddon, and Mike Willmoth will hold the convention at the Doubletree Salt Lake City Airport which is located on the edge of the city and right by the airport. The dates of the convention will be July 4-7, 2024.
The Meeting also voted that they should find a sponsoring non-profit organization.
At present attending memberships are $50 and supporting memberships are $25. Anyone who voted in site selection already has a supporting membership and may upgrade to an attending membership for the difference in price, $25. The current rates will continue through at least December 31, 2022.
The committee says a website will be created soon. For more information or questions you can email them at [email protected].
The Tonopah Telegraph – Westercon 74’s daily newzine – published the voting details.
2024 Site Selection Stats
Voters
60
No preference
2
Total with Preference
58
Votes for Utah
55
Votes for “Any State that protects abortion rights”
2
None of the above
1
More details and video of the business meeting will eventually be available online.
