Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2019: Week 27

Art and merchandise on offer in the vendor hall at HavenCon 4.

HavenCon is a convention focused on LGBTQIA+ geeks and gamers, held annually in Austin, Texas. It is funded mostly by donations but also by sponsors such as Hops & Heroes Comics.

Shane Brown, an organizer for the group Gay Austin Geeks, first got the idea for HavenCon when doing a panel at Wizard World Austin Comic Con in 2014. He was informed that many con attendees had wanted to check out their group's table but couldn't because they weren't out to friends and family attending the event with them. After this, Shane decided he wanted to host a "haven" for gay geeks in the area, and also to demonstrate that LGBTQ fans are a viable market for media creators to take notice of.