SMOF News, volume 1, issue 9
Con or Bust looks for a revival, and news in brief.
Con or Bust Would Like to Avoid a Bust
Con or Bust is a fan fund which operated from 2009 to 2019, helping people from racial minorities attend conventions throughout the United States through donations of money and memberships. Founder Kate Nepveu is looking for people to revive it.
How it went dormant is a story all too familiar to the volunteer world:
In spring 2019, I stepped down from Con or Bust. The existing Board was overcommitted, and subsequently sought volunteers. I offered to help contact people sometime later… and sent out one round of replies and then literally never opened the email account again, because I found it too anxiety-inducing to look at that inbox. (And here you see why I stepped down.) My very belated, but also very sincere, apologies to the Board and those who reached out.
Con or Bust is still a registered non-profit with money, reputation, a domain name, and bylaws that give it leeway to address racial diversity in speculative fiction and its fandom in whatever way its new leadership chooses, even if that is not helping people attend conventions. Nepveu is prepared to help file its missing 2020 and 2021 tax returns and otherwise assist with the transition.
The deadline to volunteer is November 5, 2021. After that:
Immediately after November 5, I will determine—in consultation with any past Board members who are available—whether any plausible candidates have been received. (I say "plausible" to exclude trolls and so forth.) If so, I will report back here and commit a specific period of time to the transition to the new leadership (ideally by the end of the calendar year).
Much more detail is available in Nepveu’s post.
In Brief
Site selection has opened for the 2023 World Science Fiction Convention. Voters must be supporting, attending, or virtual members of this year’s Worldcon (and it is still possible to join and then vote).
Event Calendar
Weekend of October 29-31
SpoCon: Revamped, Spokane, Washington, USA
BristolCon, Bristol, UK
Les Utopiales, Nantes, France
Hallowcon 2021: Gambler's Nightmare (fantasy/horror), Dalton, Georgia, USA
The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
Ohio Valley Filk Festival (music), Worthington, Ohio, USA
Dragonflight 41 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA
EuroQuest 2021 (Eurogames), Pikesville, Maryland, USA
Golden Leaves Con XI (anthropomorphic), Hasliberg, Switzerland
Furry Blacklight 9: Space Travel, Tremblay-en-France, France
Anime Halloween, Schaumberg, Illinois, USA
Oni-Con XVII (anime), Galveston, Texas, USA
SNAFU Con (anime), Reno, Nevada, USA
LumiCon (anime), Tampa, Florida, USA
Manga Barcelona (anime), Barcelona, Spain
Destination Tokyo (anime), Monthey, Switzerland
Anime Weekend Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
DerpyCon 2021 (anime), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Yunicon 2021 (anime), Schwechat, Austria
Youmacon 2021 (anime), Detroit, Michigan, USA
SMASH! (anime), Sydney, Australia
31st Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, UK
All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
Soda City Comic Con, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Fan Expo Denver (media), Denver, Colorado, USA
Fanboy Expo Knoxville (media), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Cherry Capital Comic Con, Acme, Michigan, USA
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of November 5-7
ArmadaCon 2021, Plymouth, UK
IceCon 2021, Rejkjavik, Iceland
World Fantasy Convention 2021, Montréal, Québéc, Canada
Pulp Adventure, Bordentown, New Jersey, USA
Corflu 38 Concorde (fanzines), Bristol, UK
Carnage 24: Lost in the Carnage Triangle (gaming), Dover, Vermont, USA
Midwest Gaming Classic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Retro World Expo (gaming), Hartford, Connecticut, USA
BottosCon 2021 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Hexcon 2021 (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), virtual (usually Troutdale, Oregon, USA)
PAWCon 2021: The Home Furront (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
NekoCon 23 (anime), Hampton, Virginia, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
Anime Destiny 2021, virtual (usually Berkeley, California, USA)
FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium
Comic Con Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
CoosaCon (media), Rome, Georgia, USA
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
CONjuration (Harry Potter), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Weekend of November 12-14
Novacon 50, Nottingham, UK
TusCon 48, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 47: Urban Fantastic, Lombard, Illinois, USA
OryCon 42, Portland, Oregon, USA
ArmadilloCon 2021, Austin, Texas, USA
Multiverse 2021, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
OmegaCon Fall 2021, Siren, Wisconsin, USA
New England Crime Bake 2021: Home Sweet Homicide (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
MEPACon 41 (gaming), White Haven, Pennsylvania, USA
Heroicon (gaming), Decatur, Illinois, USA
Bride of Geekway Mini (gaming), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
MACE 2021 (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Ludo-Outaouais (boardgames), Gatineau, Ontario, Canada
Historicon 2021: Aircraft of War (historical miniatures gaming), Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, USA
MillenniumCon (historical miniatures gaming), Round Rock, Texas, USA
Flüüfff Grand Casino (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium
Bewhiskered: Prepare for Blast Off! (anthropomorphic), Durham, North Carolina, USA
Aquatifur (anthropomorphic), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
CanFURence 2021: The Furs Are Back in Town (anthropomorphic), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Anime Dallas, DFW Airport, Texas, USA
Anime Iwai, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
WasabiCon (anime), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Thought Bubble (comics), Leeds, UK
Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Destination Star Trek London, London, UK
Empire City Con (Steven Universe), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Weekend of November 19-21
Fantastika 2021 (Swedish national sf convention), Stockholm, Sweden
HispaCón 2021 (Spanish national sf convention), virtual
Philcon 2021, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
Anime NYC, New York City, New York, USA
Consequences O: Otherworldly Consequences (gaming), Christchurch, UK
U-Con 2021 (gaming), virtual (usually Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA)
BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA
Anthro Northwest 4 (anthropomorphic), Seattle, Washington, USA
Con Nichiwa (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Colossalcon Texas (anime), Round Rock, Texas, USA
Sin City Anime, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Anime Town: Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, USA
London Film & Comic Con, London, UK
New England Super Megafest Comic-Con, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands
Vienna Comic Con, Vienna, Austria
Time-Flight 2021 (Doctor Who), Holtsville, New York, USA
Weekend of November 26-28
Loscon 47/Westercon 73, Los Angeles, California, USA
Chambanacon 50, Normal, Illinois, USA
Chessiecon 2021, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
UK Ghost Story Festival 2021, Derby, UK
Winter Wolfcon 21 (gaming), Chicago, Illinois, USA
MAG 2021 (gaming/anime), Erfurt, Germany
Atlanta AnimeDay, Duluth, Georgia, USA
Comic Con Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany
Comic-Con Special Edition, San Diego, California, USA
Chicago TARDIS 2021 (Doctor Who), Lombard, Illinois, USA
Starbase Indy 2021 (Star Trek), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Coda
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