Worldcon

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

Worldcon, (or The World Science Fiction Convention) is the longest running science fiction convention, having been held since 1939, only to be interrupted by World War II from 1942 to 1945.

The name Worldcon is owned by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), whose membership are the paying attendees of the convention. The conventions themselves are run by non-profit, fan organizations, who bid to host the event.

Contents 1 Site selection 2 Furry history 3 Hugo awards 4 Reference 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Site selection

Most Worldcons are held in North America, although they have taken place in the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands. The 2006 Worldcon will be held in Los Angeles, California and the 2007 Worldcon will be the first to be held in Japan.

When a Worldcon is held outside of North America, a North American Science Fiction Convention (or NASFiC) may be held within North America that same year. The 2005 NASFiC was held in SeaTac, Washington under the name of Cascadia Con by the Seattle Westercon Organizing Committee.

[edit] Furry history

Furry events and programming have been a part of recent Worldcons held in North America:

• At the 1980 Worldcon (aka. NorEasCon II) in Boston, Massachusetts, an Erma Felna painting by Steve Gallacci was entered in the art show. The funny animal artwork in an otherwise realistic setting drew attention among fans showing a common interest in science fiction and fantasy about intelligent animals. This led to an informal series of gatherings at Worldcons and Westercons, which eventually branched into a club centered around Rowrbrazzle to organize more "formal" furry parties.

• At the 1996 Worldcon (aka. L.A.con III) in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge was organized by the ConFurence committee as five-day furry programming track. The general Worldcon program schedule publicizes the furry parties, panels, and exhibits which even include a glass-encased "History of Furry Fandom" display by David Bliss.

• At the 1999 NASFiC (aka. Conucopia) in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge reflected on 15 years of fandom.

• At the 2005 NASFiC (aka. Cascadia Con) in SeaTac, Washington, the Stalking Cat was one of the notable program participants.

• At the 2006 Worldcon (aka. L.A.con IV) in Anaheim, California, the Furry Fandom Lounge once again returned from August 24 to 27 under the organization of Rod O'Riley of the Califur group. The programming track included a furry artist reception and panels ranging from fursuiting basics to the new world of furry webcomics.

[edit] Hugo awards

Members of Worldcon (attending or not) may vote on science fiction and fantasy works from the previous calendar year. Winning works receive the Hugo Award. Categories include novels and short fiction, artwork, dramatic presentations and various professional and fan activities.

[edit] Reference

• A Chronology of Furry Fandom by Fred Patten

[edit] See also

• List of Worldcons at Wikipedia

[edit] External links

• World Science Fiction Society website
• LA Con III - the 1996 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles (mirror)
• Conucopia - the 1999 North American Science Fiction Convention in Anaheim
  • Furry Fandom Lounge at Conucopia
• Cascadia Con - the 2005 North American Science Fiction Convention in Seattle
• LA Con IV - the 2006 World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles
  • Furry Fandom Lounge at LA Con IV
  • Furry Fandom Lounge program schedule on the Califur website
• Nippon 2007 - the first World Science Fiction Convention in Japan

Some of this page is derived from Wikipedia. The original article was at WorldCon. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WikiFur, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.