SMOF News, volume 3, issue 29
FanimeCon has a small revolt, Great Philadelphia Comic Con lawsuit settled, and news in brief.
FanimeCon Suffers Staff Rebellion
Staff from two departments at FanimeCon (San Jose, California, May 24-27), a large, long-running anime convention, have resigned over multiple issues and posted an open letter with a call to boycott the convention.
The list of grievances is mostly about specific instances of poor communication. But buried in the “Staff and Attendee Welfare” section is this:
The refusal to remove staff with a history of problematic behavior undermines efforts to ensure a safe and respectful environment.
Despite repeated conversations with the Chair Team and attempts to contact the Board of Directors, there are multiple staffers still on the roster who have been repeatedly reported for harassment and stalking at Fanime. It's important to note that some of these individuals have documented criminal records, and have faced bans from numerous other conventions due to comparable behavior patterns.
There is also a complaint that staff benefits are not up to the same standard as those at similarly sized anime conventions in the US, which comes with a handy comparison chart. Not all the conventions listed are nonprofits like FanimeCon, however. SacAnime is for-profit, and Anime Weekend Atlanta’s current status is unclear.
Some unusual features, compared to staff walkouts at other fan-run conventions, include the use of the term “shows” and “industry” for the nonprofit conventions and the conrunning community, and a demand that the organization behind FanimeCon improve its rating on Charity Navigator.
FanimeCon has posted a news item in response, beginning:
The Board of Directors of FanimeCon would like to apologize for the delay in our response regarding the current resignations and harassment claims that have been made public recently.
Dealing with and returning from the pandemic has not been easy as we’ve had to focus on continuing to keep our attendees and staff safe while also providing a space to connect. When these issues came to our attention, we wanted to gather more information and give the matter proper consideration. We see now our caution comes across as indifference, which is the opposite of what we are trying to convey. This is not an excuse and we could and should be better. Our motto has always been “By Fans, For Fans” and we along with our staff attendees are here to ensure that there’s a safe space for everyone.
Great Philadelphia Comic Con Lawsuit Settled
The Great Philadelphia Comic Con was originally scheduled for April 2020, but was rescheduled twice and then fell completely silent. In October 2021, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against the company behind it, Great Conventions LLC.
That lawsuit has now been settled. An announcement from the AG’s office says in part:
Under the terms of the consent petition, defendants will pay $20,000 in restitution to be distributed to consumers who purchased tickets to the event and have filed complaints with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Great Conventions LLC will also be permanently prevented from operating and/or selling tickets to conventions or other public events in Pennsylvania, and any practices that further violate the Consumer Protection Law.
Details are provided there for ticketholders who want to apply for a share of the restitution money.
In Brief
Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 23-25) has added Steve Burns, Emanuelle Vaugier, and Mark Pellegrino as guests.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Thomas Jane, LeVar Burton, and Colleen Clinkenbeard as guests.
The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 28-29) has added Gail Simone as a guest.
Event Calendar
Weekend of March 22-24
Picocon 41: The Menagerie, London, UK
MidSouthCon 39, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
FantaSci 2024: The Words Must Flow, Durham, North Carolina, USA
OutlantaCon/Gaylaxicon 2024 (LGBTQ+ geekdom), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
WOWCon Beyond (women in media and geekdom), Dallas, Texas, USA
Fluke 2024 (independent comics and zines), Athens, Georgia, USA
Consonance 2024 (music), Santa Clara, California, USA
Motor City Furry Con: The Lost World, Furassic Park, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Thaitails Unifursity (anthropomorphic), Bangkok, Thailand
GameStorm 24, Portland, Oregon, USA
WittCon XIX: The Search for Steve (gaming), Springfield, Ohio, USA
Gary Con XVI (gaming), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Alamo City Game Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Ratinger Spieletage (gaming), Ratingen, Germany
KennyCon (gaming), Marietta, Georgia, USA
NerdCon (gaming), Robinson, Illinois, USA
Ludinord (gaming), Mons-En-Barœul, France
Great Plains Game Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
COSCON XXXIV (RPGs), Butler, Pennsylvania, USA
SIMCON 45: Time Travel! (boardgames), Rochester, New York, USA
PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Hotlead (miniatures gaming), Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Adepticon 2024 (wargaming), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Nadeshicon (anime), Québec City, Québec, Canada
ScottyCon (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
AlmaCon (anime), Alma, Michigan, USA
Manga-Comic-Con, Leipzig, Germany
Anime Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Zenkaikon 2024 (anime), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
Tora-Con 2024 (anime), Rochester, New York, USA
Harucon 2024 (anime), Jerusalem, Israel
Atlantic Entertainment Expo (media), Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
ETSU-Con (media), Johnson City, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of March 29-31
Levitation 2024 (UK national sf convention), Telford, UK
Minicon 57, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
Norwescon 46: Into the Wylde, SeaTac, Washington, USA
Costume-Con 42, Denver, Colorado, USA
Fauntastic: Greetings From Camp Critters! (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France
Las Vegas Fur Con 2024: Nuclear A-paw-calypse, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
GothCon XLVII (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden
Fastaval (gaming), Hobro, Denmark
OzBunnyCon 2024 (gaming), Melbourne, Australia
Conpulsion 2024 (gaming), Edinburgh, UK
EyeCon 2024 (gaming), North Ryde, Australia
Scrum Con (wargaming), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Conquest Games Convention (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia
Louisville Arcade Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
FreeCon 20 (anime), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
KokoroCon 3 (anime), Nottingham, UK
Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Anime Detour: Glow Up!, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
MTAC Dueling Dragons (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Kawaii Kon (anime), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Triad Anime Convention, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
WeebCon (anime), Allen, Texas, USA
Sakura-Con '24 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA
Angers Geekfest 5e Édition (media), Angers, France
Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA
My-Con (media), Orlando, Florida, USA
WonderCon 2024 (media), Anaheim, California, USA
BABSCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA
Weekend of April 5-7
Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Lombard, Illinois, USA
Golden State Fur Con: Back to the 80s!! (anthropomorphic), Los Angeles, California, USA
FallsCon 24: Exploring the Mystic Realms (gaming), Wichita Falls, Kansas, USA
ADK Tabletop Day (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA
LexiCon (gaming), Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Roll Initiative Con (gaming), Ewijk, Netherlands
Board Games at Berkeley Con, Berkeley, California, USA
Gondreville est ludique (gaming), Gondreville, France
Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2024, Garden City, New York, USA
Baycon 2024 (gaming), Kennford, UK
Havoc XXXVIII (miniatures gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Seven Hills (RPGs), Sheffield, UK
Midwest Gaming Classic (video games), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
aniMUC (anime), Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany
Saluki Con (anime), Carbondale, Illinois, USA
FicZone 2024 (anime), Granada, Spain
CyPhaCon 2024 (media), Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Comic-Con Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
RodCon (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA
SC Comicon, Greenville, South Carolina, USA
Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA
ASU Nerd Con (media), Boone, North Carolina, USA
Fanfaire NYC (media), New York City, New York, USA
Supanova 2024 – Melbourne (media), Ascot Vale, Australia
Bedford Who Charity Con 9 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK
Weekend of April 12-14
LuxCon 2024 (Luxembourgish national sf con), Hollerich, Luxembourg
Jack Williamson Lectureship 2024: Oh, the [In]humanity, Portales, New Mexico, USA
Springmoot 2024 (Tolkien), Cambridge, UK
221B Con (Sherlock Holmes), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
13 Gears (steampunk), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Chicago Steampunk Exposition, Schaumburg, Illinois, USA
Woods Flock (anthropomorphic), Spencer, Tennessee, USA
Furcationland 2024: Fireside Tales (anthropomorphic), Portland, Maine, USA
CODCON XXVII (gaming), Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA
DayCon (gaming), Kettering, Ohio, USA
Icon (gaming), Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA
Clocktower Con (social games), McLean, Virginia, USA
Karoshi-Con (anime), DeKalb, Illinois, USA
Riverwalk Anime, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Atlantic Entertainment Expo (media), Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Fan Expo Cleveland (media), Cleveland, Ohio, USA
El Paso Comic Con, El Paso, Texas, USA
Ratha Con (media), Athens, Ohio, USA
CycloneCon (media), Hackettstown, New Jersey, USA
Supanova 2024 – Gold Coast (media), Broadbeach, Australia
IndigiPopX (indigenous media), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA
CabbageCon 2024 (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Columbus, Ohio, USA
PortmeiriCon (The Prisoner), Portmeirion, UK
Dairycon 2024 (Transformers), Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA
Weekend of April 19-21
Concinnity 24, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
ConStellation 13: So Say We All, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Les Intergalactiques, Lyon, France
Roscon-2024, Moscow, Russia
HAL-CON 2024, Kawasaki City, Japan
Swancon 2024, Perth, Australia
2024 Fandom Fest, Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA
JordanCon (fantasy literature), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
FilKONtario (music), Markham, Ontario, Canada
Furry Down Under 2024: Furbidden Planet (anthropomorphic), Surfers Paradise, Australia
Clockwork Alchemy: Aetheric Ocean (steampunk), San Mateo, California, USA
Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
HandyCon 12 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK
Farmageddon XI (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA
Ragnarok 4.0 (gaming), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Rising Phoenix GameCon, Milford, Massachusetts, USA
MEPACON (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
D8 Summit Charity Convention (gaming), Dixon, Illinois, USA
Mayhem Gaming Convention, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada
TAGCON (boardgames), Pasco, Washington, USA
Nashville Tabletop Day 2024 (boardgames), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Little Wars 2024: First to Fight (miniatures gaming), Lombard, Illinois, USA
VGM Con (videogames/music), Plymouth, Minnnesota, USA
CoMo Retro Con (retro video games), Columbia, Missouri, USA
J-Tsoon5 (anime), Talinn, Estonia
Naoki Convention (anime), Eschweiler, Germany
Mobile Bay Anime Festival, Daphne, Alabama, USA
Overload (anime), Auckland, New Zealand
Sci-Fi on the Rock 16 (media), St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
Sci-Fi Scarborough (media), Scarborough, UK
Yellow City Comic Con, Amarillo, Texas, USA
Fangaea (media), Mission Valley, California, USA
Galactic Diversity & Inclusivity Convention (media/space), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Coda
SF media museum planned in Warren, Ohio (Business Journal)
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