FenCon
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| Science Fiction Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Fan-Operated Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary and Filk Convention |
| Dates: | |
| Frequency: | annually |
| Location: | Dallas/Fort Worth Area, TX |
| Type: | non-profit |
| Focus: | |
| Organization: | |
| Founder: | Tim Miller and Ed Dravecky |
| Founding Date: | 2004 |
| URL: | http://www.fencon.org/ http://archive.fencon.org/ |
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FenCon is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention with filk held each year on or around the fourth full weekend of September in or around Dallas, Texas.[1] The name is derived from "fen", the fannish plural of "fan",[2] and "con", an abbreviation for "convention".[3]
FenCon is a production of the Dallas Future Society, a non-profit Wikipedia:501(c)(3) corporation that seeks to promote the advancement of science, literature, and music for all mankind.[4]This is the same organization that has run WhoFest, a Doctor Who-focused media-oriented science fiction convention, since 2013.[5]
FenCon is a production of the Dallas Future Society,[note 1] and in the past was sponsored by O*R*A*C*.
FenCon is a literary science fiction and fantasy convention with quite a lot of filk programming, some science programming, an outstanding collection of guests, an art show, a charity auction, a short story contest, a writers workshop, our signature FenCon Cabaret, costuming and maker programming
History
The FenCon story begins in 1999 when fans Tim Miller and Ed Dravecky agreed that what the Metroplex needed was to bring back the fannish science fiction convention. Dallas has a proud history of such gatherings stretching back to the very first SF convention in Texas back in 1958. But by 1999, Conniption was a fading memory, Stellar Occasion had shut down, and all that was left were toy shows and actor-centric autograph festivals.
[...]
Local SF club ORAC began talking about organizing their own convention so in 2002 the plans came back off the shelf. A separate group, what we now call the Dallas Future Society, was organized to allow the convention to grow independently and planning began in earnest.
The first public FenCon activity was a room party at ConDFW 2 in 2003. At that point, FenCon had no guests signed, no hotel contract, and only a general idea of when the first convention would be held: late-September 2004. That didn't stop a few people who had faith in our group and saw the need for a second convention in the Metroplex from buying buttons and buying memberships. The very first "Friend of the Fen" membership sold went to Joe Abbott and we were well on our way.
Now that we had members, we needed guests so a "dream list" was drawn up of all the authors we hoped to someday bring to Dallas. At the very top of this list, the handful of authors who had won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for the same novel. And at the top of this elite group was the name Larry Niven.[6]
Guests
The first FenCon was held in 2004 with Larry Niven as our guest of honor. FenCon II was held in 2005 with S.M. Stirling as our guest of honor. FenCon III was held in 2006 with Alan Dean Foster as our guest of honor. FenCon IV was held in 2007 with Connie Willis as our guest of honor. FenCon V was held in 2008 with Gregory Benford as our guest of honor. FenCon VI was held in 2009 with Lois McMaster Bujold as our guest of honor. FenCon VII was held in 2010 with Spider Robinson as our guest of honor. FenCon VIII was held in 2011 with Gail Carriger as our guest of honor. FenCon IX was held in 2012 with C.J. Cherryh as our guest of honor. FenCon X was held in 2013 with Cory Doctorow as our guest of honor. FenCon XI was held in 2014 with Eric Flint as our guest of honor. Fencon XII was held in 2015 with S.M. Stirling as our guest of honor. Fencon XIII was held in 2016 with Jim C. Hines as our guest of honor. FenCon XIV was held in 2017 with Keven J. Anderson as our Special Guest. FenCon XV was held in 2018 with Larry Niven as our guest of honor. FenCon XVI was held in 2019 with Trevor Quachri as our Guest of Honor. FenCon XVII did happen, with Adam-Troy Castro and a stellar line-up of guests and program participants.
Notes
- ^ The Dallas Future Society is a Texas-based, Federally-recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization informally organized in 2002 and formally created in Feburary 2003. The DFS is dedicated to promoting the advancement of science, literature, and music for all mankind. FenCon is our main outlet for these goals and the one time each year we bring top people in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, filk music, science, art, and more together. The Dallas Future Society is open to all and membership dues are paid annually. "Dallas Future Society". 2013-04-14. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14.
References
- ^ "FenCon - Wikipedia". 2022-03-11. Archived from the original on 2022-03-11.
- ^ Halevi, Charles Chi (August 27, 2000). "Science fiction is fun for fen". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 28. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
- ^ "FenCon III archive". Dallas Future Society. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2009.
- ^ "Official website". Dallas Future Society.
- ^ Auping, Alicia (October 4, 2013). "Your Tutorial for this Weekend's FenCon X". Dallas Observer. Dallas, TX. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
- ^ "FenCon - A Brief History". 2017-02-15. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15.