SMOF News, volume 1, issue 45

Last-minute Westercon complications, FanX co-founder in custody, Illuminati, and news in brief.

Westercon 76 Clears Last-Minute Hurdles

As expected last week, the last-minute write-in bid to hold the 2024 West Coast Science Fantasy Conference in Salt Lake City won the majority of site selection votes (55 out of 60 votes cast). However, it did not quite have all its ducks in a row in time.

The announcement at Westercon.org picks up the story:

[H]owever, while the bid included a valid committee and site, it did not include a requisite non-profit organization. Under the Westercon Bylaws, bids for sites in the USA, whether appearing on the ballot or as a write-in, must include “evidence that the sponsoring organization [of the bid] is a non-profit association or corporation within the applicable state law of the sponsoring organization.”

Thus the bid was invalid. Because there were now no valid bids, the Westercon Business Meeting was free to do almost whatever it wanted:

Consequently, the Westercon Business Meeting was empowered to select a committee under section 3.16 of the Westercon Bylaws. When a committee is selected under section 3.16, the committee does not need to provide evidence of a sponsoring non-profit organization, a facility contract, or any of the other requirements to file a bid to appear on the ballot or to run as a write-in, although the convention is still required to be held somewhere in North America west of 104° west longitude or in Hawaii.

And what it wanted to do was to go ahead and award the 2024 Westercon to the Utah bid, which is now officially Westercon 76.

FanX Co-Founder In Custody For Bomb Threats

Bryan Brandenburg, a co-founder of FanX, an annual media convention in Salt Lake City, is in federal custody after sending a raft of threatening emails promising to blow up various places around the city, the Rockerfeller Center in New York City, and the entire Ivy League. The FBI complaint states that he was unhappy about slow divorce proceedings.

Bleeding Cool has the full details of the charges.

KUTV received this statement from FanX:

Bryan Brandenburg sold his interest in FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention in the Spring of 2019 in order to pursue other business ventures. Since his departure, FanX has had very limited contact with Bryan.

Brandenburg stepped back from FanX in 2018 after widespread condemnation of his handling of harassment complaints.

FanX was originally the Salt Lake Comic Con, until losing a trademark lawsuit to the San Diego Comic-Con.

SMOFs Join the Illuminati

Illuminati: New World Order was a collectible card game based on conspiracy theories about all the groups that supposedly run the world. Illuminati is an upcoming video game adaptation of INWO.

The Illuminati Twitter account has revealed that among those groups will be the Secret Masters of Fandom.

In Brief

• FantasyCon (London, UK, September 16-18) has been cancelled due to low membership sales. The committee is considering alternative options for an event of some sort and promises to make its plans known soon.

• Magical Girl Day (Houston, Texas, USA, August 6-7) has been cancelled after an unsuccessful fundraising campaign.

• Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicago, Illinois, USA, September 1-5) has announced that Artist Guest of Honor Floyd Norman will be unable to participate as a GoH.

Event Calendar

Weekend of July 8-10

• Finncon 2022 (Finnish national sf convention), Espoo, Finland

• Festival Fantazie, Chotěboř, Czech Republic

• Play On Con, Columbiana, Alabama, USA

• Blerdcon (Black geekdom), Arlington, Virginia, USA

• South Afrifur: Cyberpunk (anthropomorphic), Lanseria, South Africa

• East Coast Gaming Expo, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

• Dice Tower East (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Bold Matsuri (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• Rocket City Anime Convention, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

• Anime Friends 2022, São Paulo, Brazil

• Comiccon de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada

• London Film & Comic Con, London, UK

• Fan Expo Chicago (media), Rosemont, Illinois, USA

• Greater Austin Comic Convention, Cedar Hills, Texas, USA

• Mahoning Valley Comicon, Warren, Ohio, USA

• TFcon Toronto (Transformers), Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Weekend of July 15-17

• Estcon 2022 (Estonian national sf convention), Udu, Estonia

• OzCon International (Oz series), Pomona, California, USA

• Once and Future Fantasies (symposium), Glasgow, UK

• Fur-Eh!: Mardi Paws (anthropomorphic), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Anthro Weekend Utah: The Curse of Awubis, Layton, Utah, USA

• Brazil FurFest 2022: A Fantástica Fábrica de Doces (anthropomorphic), Santos, Brazil

• Furway 2022 (anthropomorphic), Brandbu, Norway

• Furry Siesta 2022: The Truth Is Out There! (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France

• ConQuest Fresno (gaming), Clovis, California, USA

• FlaMinGoCon (gaming), Delray Beach, Florida, USA

• Phoenix Con (gaming), Appleton, Wisconsin, USA

• Final Boss Con (gaming), Rio Grande, Ohio, USA

• Breakout 2022 (gaming), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• CharCon 2022 (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA

• Lavecon 2022 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK

• Ettin Con 2022 (gaming), online

• Berlin Brettspiel Con 2022 (gaming), Berlin, Germany

• GeeklyCon 2022 (gaming), Rochester, New York, USA

• Southern-Fried Gaming Expo (video games), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Anime North, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Dokidokon (anime), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• Dream Con (anime), Arlington, Texas, USA

• Atsusacon: Ninja vs Samurai (anime), Ghent, Belgium

• Sydney Manga & Anime Show, Sydney, Australia

• Shore Leave 42 (media), Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA

• ConnectiCon XIX (media), Hartford, CT

• Hershey Comic Con, Grantville, Pennsylvania, USA

• Metrocon (media), Tampa, Florida, USA

• Saggeek (media), Saguenay, Québec, Canada

• Utopia 2022 (Doctor Who), Wyboston, UK

• TrotCon (My Little Pony), Columbus, Ohio, USA

Weekend of July 22-24

• ConGregate 8, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

• Celsius 232, Avilés, Spain

• Aurawra (anthropomorphic), Sydney, Australia

• Festival Ludique International de Parthenay (gaming), Parthenay, France

• Open Gaming Convention 2022, Westford, Massachusetts, USA

• Twisted Lords Con 2022 (gaming), Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA

• World Boardgaming Championships, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA

• Historicon 2022: World in Conflict: Italy (miniatures gaming), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

• Zolocon Game On (video games), Warminster, Pennsylvania, USA

• Classic Game Fest (retro video games), Austin, Texas, USA

• AkaiCon: Aces and 8’s (anime), Lebanon, Tennsesse, USA

• Metrocon (anime), Tampa, Florida, USA

• AnimeIowa: The Spectrum of Heroes!, Coralville, Iowa, USA

• Kitsune Kon (anime), Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

• ExpOtaku Tarragona (anime), Tarragona, Spain

• Tekko 2022 (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Ai-Kon 2022 (anime), Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

• Chibi-Con 2022 (anime), Winterthur, Switzerland

• Kogan Con 2022: The Summer Festival Episode (anime), Grand Haven, Michigan, USA

• Comic-Con International, San Diego, California, USA

Weekend of July 29-31

• Diversicon 29: More Human Than We Are, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• NärCon 2022, Linköping, Sweden

• Confluence 2022, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, USA

• LeakyCon (Harry Potter), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien (symposium), Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

• Costume College 2022: Costuming Post Apocalypse: Creating a New World, Woodland Hills, California, USA

• CanFURence 5 (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Kantcon (gaming), Overland Park, Kansas, USA

• Field of Games, Silverstone, UK

• Ropecon 2022 (gaming), Helsinki, Finland

• Cardboard Caucus 2022 (gaming), Des Moines, Iowa, USA

• PretzCon 2022 (gaming), Omaha, Nebraska, USA

• Ptarmicon 2022 (gaming), Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada

• World Boardgaming Championships, Seven Springs, Pennsylvania, USA

• Otakon (anime), Washington, DC, USA

• Tokonatsu (anime), Henlow, UK

• AnimeFest, Dallas, Texas, USA

• Tokyo in Tulsa: Worlds Collide (anime), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• OokiiSoraCon (anime), Helena, Montana, USA

• Anime Com Fest, Kingston, Jamaica

• Anime Revolution, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Wasabicon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA

• New World Comic Con 7, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

• GalaxyCon Raleigh (media), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

• TERRIFICON (media), Uncasville, Connecticut, USA

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention, Tampa Bay, Florida, USA

• The Urban Nerd Con (Black media), Montgomery, Alabama, USA

• GalaCon (My Little Pony), Ludwigsburg, Germany

• Above, Below, & Beyond (Beauty and the Beast TV show), Wichita, Kansas, USA

Weekend of August 5-7

• ArmadilloCon 2022, Austin, Texas, USA

• AMA-CON, Amarillo, Texas, USA

• CrossingsCon 2022 (sf books), Montréal, Québec, Canada

• PulpFest 50, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK

• Megaplex: Electric AvUwU (anthropomorphic), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Tierra de Nadie (gaming), Mollina, Spain

• Gen Con 2022 (gaming), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Fragapalooza 2022: Hybrid Venture Showcase (LAN gaming), Leduc, Alberta

• Crunchyroll Expo (anime), San Jose, California, USA

• Otakuthon (anime), Montréal, Québec

• Advík (anime), Prague, Czechia

• Puchicon NJ (anime), Teaneck, New Jersey, USA

• KO+Con (anime), Lewisville, Texas, USA

• Anime-zing!, Davenport, Iowa, USA

• Queen City Anime Convention, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

• Animangapop Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

• Animethon 2022, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Mid City Micro-Con (comics), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

• Fanboy Expo Knoxville (media), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Dublin Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland

• Really Cool Comic Con, Flint, Michigan, USA

• Bell County Comic Con, Belton, Texas, USA

Coda

• Crabs that wear hats (The Guardian)

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