Closet Con

Convention
Name:	Closet Con
Dates:	1987-present
Frequency:	irregular; there have been ten so far
Location:	Leicester, UK
Type:	fan con
Focus:	slash
Organization:	Village Press
Founder:	Rosemary W
Founding Date:	1987
URL:	Convention Website
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convention location

Closet Con is a small fan-run slash convention held in the UK.

Though held irregularly, it may be the longest running slash con.

Its primary focus is K/S and Star Trek fandom, but the convention organizers stress that they will include "Highlander, Sentinel and as many fandoms as we can cram in. Please let us know what you want to see in the Closet Con programme."

The convention lists the following activities: "There will be video, music video, discussions, panels, entertainment, a special fan guest (or maybe two) extensive sales tables and our welcoming afternoon tea on Friday. As this is a charity event, (any surplus funds will be donated) we shall be trying to raise as much for our charities as we can. Our famous dress-up dinner will take place on Saturday evening (included in the Con price)."

Con Reports

There are many, lengthy con reports in The K/S Press.

1987

The first con was held at Somerville College Oxford.

1988

The second con was held at Nottingham University - guest Kate D.

1988: Con Reports

It is midnight in the University. Soft feed pad along corridors. In small rooms, intense discussions are taking place. In slightly larger rooms, people are crouched over television sets where sometimes outlandish and archaic pictures flicker. In one room marked library" the inmates jump when the door opens and quickly return to their deep, almost trance-like concentration. The atmosphere Is strange, hot house, you can almost see the heat shimmer, yet nobody speaks, for each knows the source of the others' absorption and there is so little time and so much to get through. What is this strange fervour In the halls of academia? Students cramming for finals? Finals, no; fervour, yes. This is the Saturday night of Closet Con '88, our K/S gathering; not so much a con, more a weekend with friends... We move on, talking all the way through dinner (students were never so shrill). We come to the official opening and, with great price, I introduce Kate Daniels, our guest writer from the States. We have been planning and waiting for this all year. Kate does a lovely self-introduction and the audience warms. Now for more fund-raising. The raffles have prizes to make your mouth water (many, many thanks to the kind donors, quite a number from the States. We are very fortunate in having among us the creator of some of the finest music videos in fandom, both K/S and also some of the funniest. We shriek like students again. The evening settles down and the reading marathon begins in the library... Saturday and we are eager and bright. Kate gives her introductory talk... Skillfully, Kate nudges the group into speech. We talk, sometimes shyly, sometimes with passion and sometimes with incredible frankness. What the hell, this is K/S and these are friends. We discuss sexuality, writing, the prevalence of first timers, our own desires, needs and fulfillment. Nobody raises an eyebrow... Now for those of you who have enjoyed the frank festivities at IDICon, all this may seem a little tame, but in this beleaguered isle it's the big time, let me tell you. What I can't tell you adequately is the sense of closeness and heady release that Closet generates. To me, at least, it's magic.

1990

The third con was held at Leicester University - guest Kathy Resch.

1991

The fourth con was held at Leicester University - guest Kathy Resch.

1993

The fifth con was held at Leicester University .

• The title of the con was Enterprise 93 (to avoid any reference to slash)
• Special guests were Barbara Storey and Vicky Clark, the editors of Nome. There were a number of writers, too. The whole con was about 70 people.
• Most attendees were from England, some from Scotland, and 4 from Germany.
• 3 men attended
• There was a zine auction. Unfortunately some of the owners did not know and/or did not disclose they were selling pirated copies (ex. a pirated version of Daring Attempt 7 was sold for 15 pounds). This did not go over well with some attendees.
• An original of Courts of Honor went for 53 pounds (more than $ 80)
• Other zines that were sold: copies of Nome and an original of Mirrors of Mind and Flesh.
• The zine library had around 150 zines and was located in a room with oak panels and big windows with low window sills overlooking a botanical garden. Most of the zines were K/S, but they had a few Pros and B7.
• There was a raffle
• On Saturday there was a dress dinner
• Songvids were shown - in addition to Star Trek there were several Holmes/Watson vids, along with a tape of Nimoy's and Shatner's 25th anniversary tour
• Panels included: what makes a good K/S (or slash) story., the Wave Theory, "Tomcat Kirk - fact or fiction" (in which fans tried to prove with many scenes that Kirk is not really interested in all the women he gets in the episodes) and "The role of Spock" (the female qualities in Spock and why so many women identify with him).
• There was a theme cake with a little marzipan Kirk and Spock, a t-shirt contest, a treasure hunt (based on clues from K/S stories); and a caption contest about a picture of Nimoy and Shatner embracing.
• The convention charity was an AIDS fund and two other health organizations.

1995

The sixth con was at Leicester University - guest Jenna Sinclair.

1995: Con Reports

Closet is very small, with no more than sixty on its select, by-invitation only attendance list. Each convention, [the con] invites an American K/S author to be the official "guest”…

On Friday we traveled to the convention, which was held in a dormitory complex…. Each con-goer stayed in a single dormitory room in one of about eight dorm buildings grouped around a common green. The programming took place in a building that had dining facilities, a bar, and several meeting rooms. Surprisingly, for a convention as small as Closet, there were usually three tracks of programming going on throughout the weekend, (two video and one live,) in addition to the zine library, where several people immersed themselves for the duration.

I was nervous to begin with, not knowing what English fans would be like, whether they would want to talk with me, whether our mutual love of K/S would translate into common ground. I needn't have worried. Within a short time I was participating in a vigorous K/S conversation seated on the floor of the library with about seven or eight women, all as deranged as the people I usually consort with. I had the mental image of being surrounded by K/Sers, popping my head up from the center of the circle to catch [E]’s eye, waving at her, and then disappearing for the rest of the weekend.

The same enthusiasm, the same loves, the same obsession, that's what I found in our sisters over the sea. I met many familiar names. …. There were two German fans there….. On Friday night, I admired the t-shirt [one of them] was wearing, a long-haired Spock holding a scroll. It was almost photographic in quality. She disappeared for a while, re appeared wearing a different shirt and insisting that I accept Spock as a gift! Unbelievably kind! I shared several wonderful conversations with [them], who are both subscribers to CT, I believe. [K] has an extensive zine collection that's as big as mine, and which includes a German K/S zine I never knew existed.

…Everyone was so happy to be there. Besides the fact that we broke for coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon, you wouldn't have seen much difference between Closet and our own little internal K/Scon that we hold each year at Shore Leave. (Except that having pre-arranged meals in the dining hall was absolute heaven compared with all the scampering we have to do to get food in Baltimore. Really, we've got to find a solution to that problem.)

For the first time at Closet, [the con] organized a five session Writing Workshop, and I conducted two of the sessions. One was on plot and characterization, the other was supposed to be called "Self-Editing." But the transatlantic connection buzzed at the wrong moment, so Eva heard "Stealth Editing," and that's what was printed in the program. Everybody got a good laugh from that. I was concerned that people wouldn't be too interested in discussing such technical details at a con, but was shocked when at least thirty people came to each of the sessions. And there wasn't any English reticence in talking, either. We really got going on each of the subjects, talked about showing not telling, dialogue mechanics, structure, point of view.

There's so much to tell you about, and not enough space to do it. I remember one dinner, talking about the Leslie Fish story in On the Edge 2, where both Kirk and Spock die, (really die,) and describing the scene where McCoy has to call the bridge and tell Scotty, and starting to cry. I remember the wonderful zine auction, where English women starved for K/S paid really high prices for zines that are easy to get in America. Without a question the First Time zines went for the highest prices. I believe a First Time calendar went for 42 pounds, which is about $67…. I remember being buttonholed by two authors at different times and being told the plot of novels they wanted to publish. One is 7/8 written, the other isn't started yet, but it was wonderful to be one of the first to hear these stories. I remember watching wonderful, unique English songtapes that are every bit as good as our American ones, being so impressed with the talent and dedication of the tape makers, and the K/S love displayed in every frame…I remember being called upon…during the last session to say good-bye, and struggling through the tears to adequately convey my thanks for the welcome, the love, the acceptance that had been showered upon me. I felt desolated at the thought that in two years there will be another Closet Con, and I won't be there. How can you connect so intimately with so many people, and then just leave them?

Closet Con was quite a unique experience. First of all, the idyllic setting in an Edwardian College hall amid acres of beautifully landscaped grounds contributed to a feeling of joyful tranquility. There were no crowded, noisy lounges to contend with. We had lovely, paneled meeting rooms in which 20-30 people could come together to talk and be heard.

…the con guest of honor, led three lively, well attended workshops on writing. Her warmth and enthusiasm quickly made her a hit with the British fen. Everyone was soon talking K/S as though we'd all known each other for ages. It was a special treat to meet CT contributor… from Belgium. She speaks English just as well as she writes it, which is excellent.

…the con organizer, did a fabulous job with the programming having at least three or four interesting things going on at once for the whole three days. There were British and American song videos, movies and tv shows that Bill or Leonard were in before and after the series. A zine library was available for quiet reading at all times. Panels include, "True Confessions," "Assemble an Alien" as well as [the] above mentioned [writing] workshops. [The convention organizer] gave an amusing and informative illustrated talk titled, "Tom Cat Kirk-Myth or Reality?" She also led a panel on "Critics and Criticism-Do writers need them and how have things changed?"

One evening, there was an opportunity for an impromptu filking session with [a US] and a few British filkers, The Brits don't seem to do as much filking as we do, But they were absolutely delighted with the filks [we] introduced them to.

All the meals were included in the reasonable weekend cost. They were served in the university dining hall lined with long tables. The Brits called it "institutional food" but it was really pretty good and plentiful. The special Saturday banquet fare was quite elegant, consisting of a large salmon mold, wine and a variety of other dishes.

The final activity of the con was a charity auction of mostly zines, but also a few other things like "jumper" (sweatershirts) dolls, pins, etc. This con was not nearly as commercial as ones we are used to. No one was selling "merchandise" as we know it. A few people brought zines to sell. [J]’s newest novel sold out in less than an hour! A room party after hours provided some of the more "memorable" conversations of the con. Topics ranged from our favorite sexual fantasies to female health concerns. Wine and chocolate fueled the often hilarious, raucous conversation until well 2 a.m.

1997

The seventh con was at Leicester University - guests Jenna Sinclair, Sheila Clark, Valerie Piacentini. There was a nine-year gap between this one and the next one in 2006.

1997: Con Reports

First Time... Last Time -- Closet Con '97.

I'll be honest, I really had to screw up my courage to come to this one. In the closet? Heck, I'm nailed under the floorboards about K/S even though I've been buying and reading from many sources, not a few of which I put faces to over this weekend. Such a pleasure to meet Sheila and Valerie and Jenna and... and... it went so quickly (aargh). I slept too much, in other words, not at all. If we hadn't been thrown out (ever so politely) from the TV room at 2 am, we'd have greeted the rosy (and jade) dawn to the sound of music vids and contented sighs. If I hadn't wanted to hear the guest talks I'd have spent all day in the zine library. If I hadn't wanted to see Shelley's art, I'd have talked to even more people. If I'd chatted less I'd have read more zines. Oh, oh, not enough hours! But happy, yes! And the conversations, not just about fandom and fiction, but politics, space physics, world development, education, cons, salt and bean in porridge (guess who?). What an intelligent and articulate lot you all are. The accommodation was plenty comfortable, the food was fine, but the people�special thanks to Katrien who let me stroke her Spock bear's hair, to the owner of the T'hy'la 17 who let me read "Journey's End" out of her zine in the corner virtually the second she bought it; to Joan for beautiful music; to Jenna for remembering and being concerned about a question I'd raised in KSP and for not laughing at my story idea.

Sorry this is a rave rather than a report. Sorry also that this was to be the last Closet and we'd only just got acquainted. Someone else write an objective report. From my POV, subjectively scrumptious!

This was the first year I'd managed to attend a Closet Con - domestic circumstances had always made it impossible before - and it was quite a shock (as well as flattering) when Rosemary asked me to be a guest along with Ray Newton and Guest of Honour Jenna. Three guests might seem a little like overkill for a two-day con, but Ray and I were scheduled to do joint talks, so really we were a combined single guest.

We had a seven-hour drive to get to Leicester; the biggest problem was being hooted at twice while we were driving along the road looking for Stamford Hall. I'd have thought it was obvious from our speed that we didn't know where we were! Anyway, we found the place, and I went in to look for Rosemary - and the first person I met was Jenna. We'd already exchanged emails so felt we knew each other, and the reality was just as good as I'd hoped; we took to each other right away. Ray only knew her through reading her stories, but she too took to Jenna immediately. We just wish we'd been able to spend more time with her.

Closet Con, with only 50 or so attendees, is a con as they used to be; a con where people talk, and it was marvelous. At so many of today's cons nobody seems to want to do anything but be entertained; it was really good to be at a con where everyone was ready to join in discussion. It was also great to be at a con where we knew virtually everyone, by name even if we hadn't already met.

Rosemary did a talk and video presentation on Gene Coon's contribution to Trek, and possibly to K/S. Jenna's talks were brilliant and insightful, and we thoroughly enjoyed them. It was just a pity that she was limited to three!

Filking has never been a feature of British cons. We did have a Scottish group many years ago that lasted for a couple of years, but apart from that there has never been any filking at cons. Hearing Jenna, therefore, was a very pleasant and, for Ray and me at least, unusual experience (some of the people there had heard Jenna before).

Being guests did mean that to some extent Ray and I had to come out of the closet, so to speak, with regard to our pen names - so many of those attending knew us by our mundane names. I don't think either of us had realised how well-kept a secret our pen names were - but then we were both in jobs where any suspicion that we were sympathetic towards homosexuality could have cost us our jobs. Well, we're both retired now so it didn't matter any more, and it was quite flattering the number of people who said, "You mean -you- are Ray Newton and Fiona James? I never guessed."

It's a pity that Rosemary decided that this was to be the last Closet Con. It was a wonderful weekend in great company, and I can only say to Rosemary thank you. We really enjoyed it, and please, won't you reconsider for 1999?

Closet Con. Oh, my. How even to begin?

Well, let me say this first of all: Rosemary Wild, who organizes it all with stunning efficiency and brio, has said that this will be the last Closet Con ever. "It's not the work," said she, "but I'm running out of original ideas."

Rosemary, for the record, let me state that if this con were to be repeated next year in its exact same form (well, maybe with a new photo for the caption competition ...) I would be One Happy Girl. And I suspect I'm not alone in this. It's your call, of course: but can I raise a timid hand and shout "More!"?

Right. Back to the beginning. Picture me, a lone K/Ser who's never met more than one (1) fellow fan, making her hesitant way to Closet Con. I hope they have name badges, I kept saying to myself, because I sure don't know anyone... My misgivings vanished when I walked onto the grounds of Leicester University, looking for the registration office. At the door of one of the dorms, a woman turns - and says: "Elinor! Right?"

And that (as they say) is how I met the Guest of Honour, Jenna Sinclair, may she live long and scribble - who had recognized me by my hiker's backpack, as it turned out. I was convinced she must be psychic.

Of course Jenna immediately introduced me to everyone in sight (including Sheila and Valerie, the other GOHs) and it all went swimmingly from there. It was such a delight to get to meet people I'd corresponded with - Susan Legge aka Jess aka lots of other things for instance, whom I had mistakenly believed to be a shy & retiring person from all those pseudonyms...Ha! You should have heard her in some of Jenna's discussion panels, especially the one on sex scenes. (No, I won't elaborate - after all, I am a shy & retiring person).

I agree wholeheartedly with the cry of "Oh, oh, not enough hours!" and wish I could have done with less sleep, and thus have talked to even more people, read even more zines, had even more fun. Special thanks to: Jenna, Rosemary (who let me come to the con even though - horror of horrors - my International Money Order got lost! I'm pestering the bank as much as I can, so hopefully I can soon start sleeping again), Carla my compatriot (who treated me to a scrumptious Indian meal when my finances had run out again, and was wonderful company throughout the con), and all the other fun & friendly people I met whose names I'm probably not allowed to mention...

Other highlights:

— the zine library. Lots and lots of lovely zines, with not a few oldies among them. I missed some of the programming (I still want to see Joan's music vids!) through being unable to tear myself away from all those unread zines, which I was flipping through at top speed to look for my favorite authors.

I'm not one of those people who can write a coherent LoC based on one reading at a con, but there was one story that really stayed with me: The Need for Stars by Carolyn Spencer. Of course it came highly recommended (Carolyn's own favorite, if you remember) and justly so, believe me. I opened another zine after reading it and had to close it again, I couldn't concentrate. Powerful, poignant, moving. "Then give me what you can, Jim." (All the people who have read this story will now go "Ahhhh..") I promise to do a proper LOC when I get my hands on that zine (Darn! Which one? — Note from ye olde eds: First Time 36) again, but in the meantime, many thanks, Carolyn.

— the auction. Good grief. Talk about high-speed - now I know why auctions are considered addictive. I managed to keep my head only through sheer lack of spending money (well, I'd already bought Choices, and lots of excellent British zines). But you should have seen the frenzied bidding on some of the non-zine items, like a Trek music box or a seething-with-sexuality Mirror plate. And in the midst of it, Rosemary and Christine tearing through the lots, never missing a bid. Very impressive. Oh, and at the very end I secured a T'hy'la 12 for only two pounds. I didn't even know that was the one with A Deltan Decameron in it! (A great story - see Mary Eldon's excellent review in KSP some months ago). I guess everyone else was exhausted by then - or at least their pocketbooks were.

— Shelley Butler's art! Finally, a chance to see the Pieta and other works I'd heard of. Mouthwatering stuff - so much so that Carla actually bought an original of Kirk and Spock embracing very tenderly, I forget what it was called but it's just lovely. I know I want to see that one again.

—the atmosphere. Very friendly, very relaxed, a lot of fun. This carried through to the panel discussions as well - with such a small gathering, everyone could speak up without the debate turning into chaos. A whole different concept from the panels I went to at the World Con, where the panelists talk among themselves on a stage and the humble con-goer must listen and be edified. I especially enjoyed Jenna's sex panel, which was more about characterisation if truth be told, but no less fun for that. Her comments about naivete in K/S were right on the mark (in other words, I agreed with them..ha...) and there was a lot of very spirited discussion all round, leaving me with a firm & noble resolve to go and write some discussion material of my own, a resolve fueled by:

— the writing competition. Well, I could hardly leave this out, could I? After all, I won it! she says with a big smug happy grin. It had to be a K/S scene that could be shot (like a movie script) with no actual physical intimacy, if I remember rightly, and nothing much else except dialogue. I'd recently written a short (very short) story that seemed to fit the criteria, so I handed that in and lo, it won! (Although I believe it was nearly tied.)

I am now the proud owner of the Vulcan Teddy Bear I've read so much about in The K/S Press. Very handsome he is too, with his pointy ears and fuzzy black hair. I treasure him, both for himself and as a memento of this wonderful con, and try not to wonder about where he hides his six-inch fangs.

— the 'goodie bag' of makeup we were handed at the beginning of the con - which turned out to be a present from [R's] husband! Imagine a man who thinks nothing of finding sixty-odd presents for a crazy bunch of women he won't even get to meet. Well, bless you, Mr. [W]. And Mrs., too.

Imagine if you can, in a big beautiful building far away, where there was peace, love, and no strangers, only friends you had not yet met. No worries about where your next meal was coming from. Where there were an unlimited number of zines to read, videos to watch, talks to listen to, discussions to take part in. Where there was never enough money to spend, where you could lust openly without looking over your shoulder in case your mother or boss was standing behind you listening in shocked horror. Imagine room parties renewing old friendships and making new ones, raffle prizes you would die for, artwork that got your pulse racing, being out of telephone contact by choice ....

In other words, imagine Closet Con. Only one thing missing, S and K, and it didn’t really matter ‘cause I had a good imagination.

I bitterly regret I never found Closet Con earlier, our acquaintance was short, but it provided memories and friends I’ll value forever. So thanks, Rosemary. Live Long and Prosper.

[much snipped]

Fiona and Ray (who were also guests at the con) had brought some of their K/S art with them to share during their joint talks. There was even an original [Gayle F] which I do not believe has ever been published! I could have listened to Fiona and Ray talk for hours, about anything, but especially about the early days of fandom. They traced the roots of K/S at least to the early 1970s, and talked about a cycle of stories written by Audrey Baker that ended with a decidedly K/S slant. Fiona, if you ever find them, you know I’m vitally interested. (One of the projects on my list of “things to do” is to publish a history of K/S, which, with the help of these two pillars of the international K/S community, should be considerably more accurate than I had dared to hope.)

It really is a great loss that this is the last Closet Con, because Rosemary puts on a extraordinarily wonderful convention, truly appreciated by those who manage to attend. It’s the friendliest imaginable place. I always felt as if I were among friends, whether I knew the people sitting around me or not. The easiest thing in the world was to strike up a conversation, much harder was to stop one!

About fifty women attended.

[...]

One of the aspects of Closet that I found most pleasing was the way all meals are paid for and taken communally in the dorm dining hall. That means that a conversation begun at the end of a workshop can continue as you find your way across the campus and to a seat. You never had to stop talking!

And Closet is a place for talking, discussing, disputing, listening too. I enjoyed my conversations with my fellow K/Sers so much.

On Friday night Patricia Roe presented a selection of K/S music videos, many of which I hadn’t seen before. They were wonderful! As many of you may know, I am a real connoisseur of K/S songtapes. I crave them, cherish them, play them, memorize them, and require frequent injections to support my habit! It is a real frustration to me that these songtapes are on a different video system than the one in use in America, and also that they are not exchanged in England as freely as they are here in the United States. I think I’m going into withdrawal .... Some of them are hilarious, others as sensitively presented as any videos you’ve ever seen. Lovely.

On Saturday morning all the guests got to introduce themselves, and during my presentation I not only sang some filks but also highly recommended The K/S Press, and then I showed everybody the six original pieces of art and the many prints drawn by Shelley Butler that I’d brought with me to the con to sell. Then I announced I had a few copies of T’hy’la 18 and T’hy’la 19, and even fewer copies of KaleidoScope 6, and I’d be selling artwork and zines and giving out samples of TKSP in the sales room next door right after my talk.

Big mistake! I didn’t even have the chance to open the boxes with the zines before I was absolutely mobbed. Fists clutching money thrust in my face, and cries of “do you have...?” and “how much did you say ...?”...

[...]

So, I think everybody appreciated Shelley’s presence at the con at least through her art work, and it was fun being able to display the art, sort of like at a museum. (We had to be careful about not having it visible when one of the University workers walked through the area, which was not often.

[...]

Each con Rosemary gives a really interesting talk on Saturday afternoon, and this time round it was the influence of Gene Coon on the development of the K/S relationship, as fanatics like us perceive it. She managed to make a really good case through tracing some of the episodes he’d written (not produced), but also admitted there were others he’d penned, such as the infamous Spock’s Brain that were considerably more difficult to explain.

Late afternoon I moderated a pretty lively discussion which I entitled something like: How Hard? How Deep? How Often?: Let’s talk about Sex! (in K/S, that is) One of the glories of Closet Con is how freely discussion flows once we get it started on any topic. I like to think of it as giving a cart at the top of a hill just a little push, and then running like crazy to try to catch up with it. That’s what my workshop talks at Closet were like. And so much fun. I think I got a little carried away on this one about sex!

I know I got carried away the next afternoon, at the panel discussion that was pretty much the last official scheduled event for the con, where Fiona, Ray and I were on a panel that talked about K/S on the Internet. I have very strong feelings on this subject, and I allowed my passion to carry me past the bounds of good manners, I do believe. I apologized to a few folks after the talk, and I’d like to reiterate that apology now. Thank you for being understanding! On Saturday evening we were all encouraged to “dress up” for the official con dinner, where food was served buffet-style with a lovely presentation. (By the way, at all times there were vegetarian dishes available for the many vegetarians present.) Afterwards I was going to sing a few filks for those who were interested, in the workshop room, and I was truly shocked by the many people who came to listen to me. Thank you all so very much! (And guess what? I forgot the words to my song Without You, at exactly the same spot as I did at Shore Leave. Not to mention the words to a bunch of other songs, so I was reduced to actually reading the lyrics to many. I think jet lag and accumulated lack of sleep were finally beginning to have an effect on my brain. I’d left Texas on July 5, and this was the 19th.)

[...]

Patricia had some more music videos for us to watch. It was one of those magical nights: very late, we were all stressed out from lack of sleep, but so happy, not only in what we were doing but in the company we were keeping. Patricia, Maggy, Mary and I were having a wonderful time, in tune with each other and with these gorgeous music videos of Jim and Spock portraying how very much they loved each other — when at 2 a.m. a young man from the college told us, oh so politely, that he had to lock up. I was definitely entertaining ideas of staying up till at least 4, maybe making it an all-nighter, but we dutifully packed it up and went to sleep instead. Got four hours that night, not bad for a con, huh?

[...]

2006

The eighth ClosetCon 8 was held July 21-23, 2006 at Leicester University nine years after the previous one. The Fan Guest of Honor was Killa.

From a fan's convention report: "The original Closet Con was a purely K/S based fan con, but over the years they have widened their fandom fun to cover most other fandoms. Sentinel, Stargate, SGA were all obviously popular (couldn't find another Ozzie, unfortunately *bah*) and it was good to see a few of the Brit Sentinel fans (waves to Marion) who are always fun to be around. We had the usual discussions that inevitably happen at fan cons; writing, characterisation, fandom survival etc, and while they are always wonderful to sit through, I don't think anyone involved believed we'd come to any real conclusions other than we all have very different ideas about fandom! LOL! I was suckered into watching 'Boston Legal' by L, and now I'm haunted by slashy visions of Bill Shatner and James Spader as Denny Crane and Alan Shore in bed together. I think I should be either ashamed or afraid, or possibly both, but the visions won't go away...:) I remembered just how much I loved K/S way back, and how I used to devour those old zines. Some of the zines now look terribly dated, but hell, so do I:) Watched songvids until our eyes bled, talked smut until we were hoarse, and laughed until it hurt, so all in all, a good con!"

2007

From an announcement in a 2007 The K/S Press:

• JULY 18th - 20th 2008, We had so much fun at Closet 8 we decided to do it again! Our venue is Beaumont Hall of Residence Leicester University, a lovely old house set in stunning botanical gardens. here will be talks, panels, discussions, music videos, viewing rooms, competitions, raffles, zines to buy, hopefully a guest and anything else we can dream up. Closet is mainly K/S but all fandoms are very welcome and the programme will cater for everyone. All proceeds go to our charities. Accommodation is in the modern guest rooms next to the Hall. Package includes all meals from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. (No more hunting for something to eat when you’d rather be at the con!) Friday afternoon features our welcoming afternoon tea with theme cakes. Saturday features our dress-up dinner. The convention package price will be something in the region of £190 (not including registration). Prices will be confirmed at the beginning of 2008. Registration £35.00 Closet is an enormously friendly con. Come by yourself or bring a friend (or more!)"

2008

ClosetCon 9 was held in July 18th - 20th 2008.

2010

Promotion for Closet Con Ten (2010) included an email from founder Rosemary, which states, in part:

"as so many people are new to us, I thought I ought to explain a bit about it. CLOSET is a K/S con which started in 1987 and since then we have run 9 of them, 7 at Beaumont Hall of Residence Leicester University, Leicester UK. This will be number 10! . . . We are the longest running slash convention. We called it CLOSET because wanted to be discreet; people often had jobs and contacts that called for privacy. At the University we are known as Media Writers!"

Other planned events announced:

Panels

• Would you read K/S if it didn't have any sex in it?
• How did you find K/S?
• What is your reading history - stayed with K/S for ever and ever or moved away. Why - for both?
• How do you like it - sex of course - slash of course - K/S of course or whatever
• What makes your ovaries dance? If it's not Nimoy is it Spock?
• Pink Slash Flamingos ... or not? The panel takes a last look at Denny and Alan (Boston Legal), Kirk and Spock. The Flamingos get married but is it slash?

Competitions:

• The Bare Chest Game
• Spot the Missing Scene

The fanzine library will be made available and there will be showings of Star Trek episodes, the Star Trek: Reboot, and gay/lesbian themed films.

There was also some discussion as to whether this would be the last Closet Con.

The art auction raised 800 pounds for charity. Caren Parnes' art brought in 180 pounds alone. The funds were split 3 ways between Breast Cancer Care, Macmillan Nurses and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

2014

Closet Con was scheduled for 26th - 28th September 2014 in Northampton, UK but was canceled due to low participation.