Worldcon

Science Fiction Convention
Name:	Worldcon
Dates:	1939-1941, 1946-present (interrupted by WWII)
Frequency:	annual
Location:	varies from year to year; voted on two years in advance by membership
Type:	fan run
Focus:	science fiction
Organization:	World Science Fiction Society
Founder:	World Science Fiction Society
Founding Date:	1939
URL:	http://www.worldcon.org/
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Worldcon or more formally World Science Fiction Convention, the convention for science fiction fans, is historically focused on the literary aspects of the fandom. It is held annually in a city chosen two years in advance at an earlier Worldcon, most often in the United States. The convention is organized by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), under a constitution which is revised and ratified at several Convention Business Meetings during the course of the con.

In the words of the WSFC itself:

Worldcon is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS). It was first held in 1939 and, after a hiatus during WWII, has been held continuously since 1946. The membership of WSFS is every member of the current Worldcon. There is no Board of Directors or Central Committee of WSFS that manages Worldcons or that selects future sites. The sites of future Worldcons are decided by WSFS members via a bidding process that is open to any group that meets a small number of technical requirements.

The currently selected Worldcons are shown below. Each Worldcon is an independent organization. Except for a small number of things (the administration of the Hugo Awards, the rules for selecting future Worldcon sites, and the process for changing the rules for the Hugo Awards and Site Selection), Worldcons are independent of each other.

Worldcons sell “memberships,” not “tickets.” To attend a Worldcon, you must purchase an attending membership from that Worldcon. To join a Worldcon, contact the individual Worldcon directly. Worldcons also sell a “supporting” (non-attending) memberships that give you membership rights in the World Science Fiction Society, including the right to nominate and vote on the Hugo Awards.

 

Location

Initially, Worldcon was held only in American cities (a different city every year); the first con held outside the United States was in 1948 in Canada; the first non-North American convention was in London, England in 1957. Non-U.S. locations to date include: Toronto (1948, 1973, 2003), London (1957, 1965, 2014), Heidelberg (Germany, 1970), Melbourne (Australia, 1975, 1985, 1999, 2010), Brighton, UK (1979, 1987), The Hague (Netherlands, 1990), Winnipeg (1994), Glasgow (1995, 2005, 2024), Yokohama (2007), Montreal (2009), Helsinki (Finland, 2017), Dublin (Ireland, 2019), and Chengdu (China 2023).

Subpages for Worldcon:

1939 · 1940 · 1941 · Index of Locations

When in held in North America, Worldcon used to rotate between three regions:

1. Western: Baja California, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Saskatchewan, and all states, provinces, and territories westward including Hawaii, Alaska, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
2. Central: Central America, the islands of the Caribbean, Mexico (except as above), and all states, provinces, and territories between the Western and Eastern regions.
3. Eastern: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Quebec, and all states, provinces, and territories eastward including the District of Columbia, St. Pierre et Miquelon, Bermuda, and the Bahamas.

As of 1999, the location requirements have eased: "[a] site shall be ineligible if it is within five hundred (500) miles or eight hundred (800) kilometres of the site at which selection occurs."

When Worldcon is held outside North America, the North American Science Fiction Convention steps in to offer a regional convention for the region in which Worldcon would have been held.

Bidding

When cities want to host Worldcon, they put in a bid two years in advance.[1] Members of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) vote on the location during the Business Meeting held at the convention and are generally encouraged to consider criteria for the site such as being close to home, being a great location for people to visit, or having the best committee who will host the best convention. [2] Members who vote also then are required to support the con for which they vote, which includes buying a Supporting Membership for the host city.

Historically, bidding to host the con can become quite competitive, with campaigns using the available fannish media to drum up support. One of the first of these was an open letter posted by Mark Reinsberg in Voice of the Imagi-Nation in September 1939: In 1940 -- It's Chicago! In more recent years, bidding has become more scarce and in fact some bids have been fully unopposed such as the 2025 bid for Seattle .

Bid Parties

Proponents of a specific location for a future Worldcon start several years in advance, gathering information about their choice of hotels, potential Guests of Honor, and other necessary details. They host parties at several other conventions where prospective members attend, raising funds and persuading people to vote for their location.

In 1989, the Los Angeles bidding committee for the 1996 Worldcon created The Grey Rat Stamp Book, which encouraged holders to attend multiple cons to collect stamps at bid parties.

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  a flyer, sample bid, printed in Skywalker #5 (1983)

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  Front cover of The Grey Rat Stamp Book, 1989

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  2004, flyer

Progress Reports

Once successful, the convention committee spends the next two years preparing for the convention. To ensure transparency, regular reports to the public are expected; pre-Internet, these were in the form of zine-like publications which included art and comic strips to break up the walls of text and numbers.

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  1974 progress report

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  1975, progress report

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  1977 progress report

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  1979 progress report 1

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  1979 progress report 2

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  1979 progress report 3

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  1979 progress report 4

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  Aussiecon 2 Progress Report No. 1, March 1984, cover artwork by Gerald Carr, 21 page booklet. 900 members registered as of 31 Dec 1983.

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  Aussiecon 2 Progress Report No. 2, October 1984, cover artwork by Gerald Carr, 21 page booklet. 1155 members registered as of 31 July 1984.

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  Aussiecon 2 Progress Report No. 3, Feb 1985, cover artwork by Gerald Carr, 28 page booklet. 1365 members registered.

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  Aussiecon 2 Progress Report No. 4, May 1985, 24 page booklet. 1644 members registered.

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  2004, progress report 5

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  2005, progress report 1

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  2005, newsletter 1

Activities

From the Wikipedia entry:

Activities and events at the convention typically include (but are not limited to):

• Activities to fund fan and external charities (fan funds auctions, blood drives, etc.).
• Art shows presenting paintings, drawings, sculpture and other work, primarily concerning science fiction and fantasy themes.
• Autographing sessions, literary beer or coffee meetings, "Walks with the Stars", and other chances to meet favorite science fiction and fantasy professionals.
• Awards ceremonies:
  • Hugo Awards, Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book.
  • Chesley Awards .
• Costuming – both formal competition (the "Masquerade") and casual "hall costumes" or cosplay.
• Dancing – one or more dances with live music or a DJ. (LoneStarCon 3 had three dances in 2013, including a Firefly Shindig contradance and a steampunk dance.)
• Exhibits – including photos of prominent fans and authors, historical displays, information about space and science, local information etc.
• Huckster room, the fan term for a dealers' or vendors' room – a large hall where fans can buy books, knickknacks, games, comic books, movies, jewelry, costumes and other goods.
• Fan lounge (sometimes called the "Fanzine Lounge") – A place for reading, exchanging, contributing to and talking about fanzines.
• Fan tables – where fan organizations and representatives of other conventions promote their groups.
• Filk and other musical performances, music circles, and workshops.
• Movies – an independent film festival, and other movies rooms showing science fiction movies, television shows, etc.
• Gaming – live-action and tabletop board games, card games, and role-playing games.
• Live theatrical performances (Klingon opera, productions of Rossum's Universal Robots, etc.).
• Panel discussions on a wide range of topics pertaining to speculative fiction (SF) literature; movies, audio and other media; art; graphic stories; fandom and fannish hobbies; science, technology, and society; costuming, gaming, and music.
• Socializing in the "con suite", convention bars, and at parties (typically given by other conventions or bidders, clubs, publishers/magazines, and by private individuals).
• Speeches or other presentations by the Guests of Honor and other program participants.
• Other business of the World Science Fiction Society, including voting on the location of future Worldcons and North American Science Fiction Conventions (NASFiCs, which occur when the Worldcon is overseas) and any changes to the WSFS Constitution, which are made at WSFS business meetings during the convention.

Controversies

• 1939: Several Futurians are denied entrance to the first Worldcon.
• 1964: Breendoggle (also [3][4]) - The Pacificon II concom banned Walter Breen based on information that he had molested boys.
• 1987: Scientologists nominate L. Ron Hubbard for a Hugo. See Conspiracy 87.
• 1996: some hypocrisy regarding art, see an account of some art removal
• 2001: John Norman excluded from speakers
• 2015: Puppygate
• 2023: Chendgu Hugo Results Scandal

Convention Reports

As well as convention reports by attendees, the committee is expected to provide a post-convention report with the Hugo Awards statistics within 3 months of the convention. These reports also include financial and attendance data and post-con thoughts from various members. Like the progress reports, these reports act as a means of providing transparency regarding the con's operations and the voting processes for the Hugos.

Examples:

• Norwescon 28 (2005) - post-con report

1963 Publication

The Convention Annual No. 3 – DisCon Edition 1963 was edited and published in 1964 by fan photographer Jay Kay Klein. Its 104 lithographed pages are reproduced on good-quality white bond with cardstock covers. It contains nearly 300 black and white photographs taken at the 1963 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Washington, DC. In addition to the many photos, the volume contains the following articles: “Some Notes on Conventions and Where They Are Held, or A Blow for Freedom,” by Robert A. Madle, about the Worldcon “rotation system”that ensures they will be held in locations all over the U.S. and abroad; “First Fandom at D.C.,” by Don Ford, about the activities of First Fandom and its members at the DisCon; “Con Report,” by Dave Kyle, a 9-page account of the DisCon from Kyle’s point of view; and an introduction and an article, “DisCon Fandago,” by Jay Kay Klein.

Klein has been known for decades as one of the most devoted photographers at science fiction conventions, and this volume is one of four produced in the ‘60s. The others cover the 1960, 1962 and 1966 Worldcons in Pittsburgh, Chicago and Cleveland, respectively.

Transformative Fandom Inclusion

A 1984 flyer tailored for Star Wars fans: "Most of you have at least heard the term Science Fiction Convention. These are gatherings of fans of Science Fiction and fantasy books and films and TV. Once a year the biggest of these SF Cons, "World Con," is held over the Labor Day weekend in September. [...] COME AND TAKE YOUR FIRST STEPS INTO THE LARGER WORLD OF FANDOM!!!!!"

[more content needed - how has Worldcon treated fanfiction, fan art and fanvids?]

Fanfiction

Over the years, a few panels have been hosted regarding FanFiction

Worldcon had two panels on slash [fandom] in 2018...

1) The Meta of Slash: Its Influence on Fan Culture (modded by Constance Penley with speakers Cecelia Tan, Laura Antoniou, Megan Kent, K.M. Szpara, and Charlotte Hill)

2) Transform This: Fanfic as a Vector for Reclaiming Hostile Canons (modded by Michi Trota, with speakers Cecelia Tan, Jennifer Mace, Constance Penley, and Nino Cipri.

North American Con, the one in San Juan PR a few years ago had Paula Smith as Fan Guest of Honor. Also, check Winnipeg Worldcon 1994 had several fan panels, including one on slash with Clive Barker.

In addition to panels on Fanfiction, one very notable event in the presence of fanfiction at WorldCons was in 2019 when the fanfiction archive, Archive of Our Own, won a Hugo Award. See Archive of Our Own and The Hugo Awards for more information.

Fan Vids

For the most part, fan vids have received little acceptance or welcome at WorldCons, even as the Hugo Categories branched out to include non-written works (ex: fan edits, film or TV). However, on a few occasions, fans were able to secure panel spots to discuss or showcase fanvids.

LonCon 2014 (London, UK)

Two Panels

Saturday

• Types of Fanvids (vidshow)
• Capital Suite 9 (ExCeL), 12pm - 1:30pm
• Such Heights
• Fanvids are short videos (90 seconds to five minutes) of footage edited from one or more films, television programmes, advertisements, or cartoons set to music. They may, for example, tell a story, comment on a theme in the source text or media in general, provide "fan squee", tell fan history, or create fan community. In this vidshow the well respected vidder and organiser of the UK's only dedicated vidding convention VidUKon, Such Heights, introduces different types of fanvids including promotional, meta, shipping, and multi-fandom vids.

Sunday

• History of Vidding (vidshow)
• Capital Suite 15 (ExCeL), 3pm - 4:30pm
• Such Heights
• Fanvids are short videos (90 seconds to five minutes) of footage edited from one or more films, television programmes, advertisements, or cartoons set to music. They may, for example, tell a story, comment on a theme in the source text or media in general, provide "fan squee", tell fan history, or create fan community. In this vidshow the well respected vidder and organiser of the UK's only dedicated vidding convention VidUKon, Such Heights, traces the history of fanvids. She presents the beginning of vidding with VHS, through different technological developments on DVD, PCs, Macs, and downloads. She explores cultural changes where fanvids were only made possible through the sharing of material via post and in person, niche conventions, and gradual popularisation through to YouTube mashups which are a form of fanvids but not part of the classical vidding tradition

A list of some of the fanvids shown that year can be found on the Nine Worlds Geekfest page (some of the playlists overlapped that year)

Gallery: Program Books

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  a special issue of the amateur science fiction periodical (fanzine) Van Houten Says, published for the first World Science Fiction Convention (NYcon 1), held in New York over the Fourth of July weekend in 1939. It includes two pages of convention-related chatter by Van Houten, plus a one-page advertisement for the Tesseract Annual, featuring work by H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, et al.

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  1940 program book, there were 128 attendees, scan is here

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  1940 CHICON SCRAPBOOK produced by Bob Tucker (Le Zombie style), sort of a prevue to the 1940 CHICAGOCON. This has short fan intros by Tucker about a paragraph each for Forrest Ackerman, Ray Bradbury, Donald Wollheim, and Damon Knight and others. Ten pages, mimeo.

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  1952 program book, there were 870 attendees, scan is here

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  1958 front, program book, scan of program book is here

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  1958 inside front cover, program book

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  1962 program book, 5 1/2 x 8 3/8, 68 pages plus 4 page insert of the entire roster of convention attendees. Wraparound cover by Ed Emsh. Profile of Theodore Sturgeon by Groff Conklin. Program guide. List of the 1962 Hugo Awards. Ads including a full page tribute to Clark Ashton Smith who died in 1961.

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  back cover of 1963 issue, showing some Masquerade participants

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  front cover of 1963 issue

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  1968 front, program book

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  1969 front, program book

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  1971 front, program book

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  1974 front cover

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  1975, front, program book

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  1979 front, program book

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  1981 front, program book

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  1981 back, program book

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  1982 front, program book

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  1982 back, program book, there were 4,275 attendees, scan is here

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  1983 front cover, program book

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  1983 back cover, program book

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  1984 front cover, program book

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  1984 back cover, program book

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  1985 Con Book (Aussiecon 2) Front Cover

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  1985 Worldcon back cover

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  1986 front cover, program book

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  1991 program book, there were 5,661 attendees, scan is here

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  1999 pocket guide

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  2000 program book, scan is here

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  2004 front cover, program book

External Resources

• World Science Fiction Society
• The Hugo Awards
• Wikipedia's article
• Rob Hansen's THEN: THE ARCHIVE has some information about Worldcons held in the U.K.
• photos and program book from the 1949 con
• Fancyclopedia3 entry
• Noreascon 3 (1989) photo gallery
• The FANAC Fan History Project's Photo Albums and Reports