Boskone
| Science Fiction Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Boskone |
| Dates: | 1941-1945; 1965- |
| Frequency: | annual |
| Location: | Boston |
| Type: | |
| Focus: | science fiction and fantasy |
| Organization: | the New England Science Fiction Association |
| Founder: | |
| Founding Date: | original 1941; second founding 1965 |
| URL: | http://www.nesfa.org/boskone |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Boskone is a science fiction and fantasy convention. Originally founded in 1941 by the Stranger Club. The convention took a hiatus between 1945 and 1965, when it was revived initially by the Boston Science Fiction Society, then picked up by the New England Science Fiction Association in 1966. The name is a twofold pun - it sounds like a contraction of "Boston Convention" and furthermore references the antagonists from Edward "Doc" Smith's Lensman series.
The Boskone from Hell (1987)
A series of unfortunate incidents involving rowdy convention attendees, fire alarms, and safety hazards forced Boskone to move from Boston proper to the suburbs in 1987. This incident is referred to as the "Boskone From Hell." This incident led to a much pared-down program, the removal of Masquerade events and much of the adults-only programming.
- Boskone 24
- 1987: The Boskone From Hell; archive link by SciFiHistorian (2021)
The Boskone from Hell Letter
The Boskone Letter is here.
From a fan in 2021:
The story of The Boskone From Hell spread fast, and after a few weeks it was clear that no hotel in Boston was willing to host the next con. The closest hotel they could find was in Springfield, MA - almost 90 miles away! Even then, the new hotel would only take them if they agreed to some new rules. Between the hotel and NESFA themselves, the following changes were made for Boskone 25:
- No costumes or weapons
- A strict membership cap
- No attendees under 18 without a parent or guardian
- A drastic reduction in programming, with all of the movie and TV content removed (gotta stick it to those media fans)
Once this had all been decided, a letter was mailed out to all attendees of Boskone 24 explaining the changes. If you’ve been saying “cool story, but where’s the drama?”, THIS is the drama.
I’ll link the text of the Boskone Letter for those who feel like reading it. Overall, I don’t feel it’s that tone deaf - certainly I’ve seen worse. But the effect it had on the community was apocalyptic. Younger SF fans felt they were being unfairly blamed for the disaster of Boskone 24, and that requiring them to come with a parent was effectively telling them they weren’t welcome. (It would be clarified later that this didn’t apply to young members if they got an SF club to vouch for them, but the damage was done). Older fans felt they were being unfairly punished for things they didn’t do. Media fans chafed at the removal of everything they found interesting. A lot of people felt the restrictions were unnecessary (not knowing some were insisted on by the hotel, or not understanding how badly the SF fandom’s reputation had been damaged the previous year). While I was doing research it wasn’t uncommon to find angry Livejournal comments made well into the mid 2000s to the tune of “I’ll never go back to Boskone! It’s clear they don’t want people like me!” It was clear that the greater Boston SF community heard only one message in the Boskone letter - “You’re not good enough for us, and we don’t want you.” [1]
The Rise of Arisia
Fan dissatisfaction with this turn of events led to the founding of Arisia, both to fill the hole left by Boskone's move to the suburbs and to fill the void left by Boskone's much stricter rules and smaller size. Arisia's name reflects this - Arisia in the Lensman series was the nation of 'good' protagonists opposing the evil empire of Boskone.
Boskone in Later Years
Boskone is a small-to-midsized convention, with an average of 1000 attendees yearly. The programming tends to be more focused on the literary and scientific aspects of science fiction, as opposed to Arisia's focus on fan culture and the fan community. The writer Guest of Honor often holds a book launch on site through NESFA's publishing arm, NESFA Press; while the Guest of Honor artist generally has pieces up for auction at the art show. Other notable characteristics of Boskone include Kaffesklatches and Literary Beers, both events where small groups of attendees can sit down to have coffee or beer with the panelists and guests, and thereby have a more intimate conversation. The huckster's room tends to carry a wide selection of used books, but not a lot of con swag (ie, few T-shirts, action figures, toys, memorabilia, etc).
cover of the program book for 1978, art by Arthur Thompson (ATom)
convention program book for 1983, art by Wendy Pini
Con Reports
External Links
- ^ from 1987: The Boskone From Hell; archive link by SciFiHistorian (2021)