SMOF News, volume 2, issue 51

Gen Con manhunt ends, succession at Dragon Con, and news in brief.

Gen Con Theft Suspects Located

Following up on last week’s manhunt, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says:

UPDATE – Detectives are no longer looking for these persons of interest. Detectives have been in communication with their attorneys. The case is expected to presented to the prosecutor's office in the near future for charging consideration.

(A Second) Changing of the Guard at Dragon Con

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that longtime Dragon Con, Inc. CEO Pat Henry is handing the business to his daughters:

The modern Dragon Con is, in a word, massive.

It’s a cultural phenomenon that far exceeds what Henry and his friends first envisioned 37 years ago. Which makes it even more remarkable that, as the years have gone by, Dragon Con’s founders have quietly consolidated convention leadership and handed it to the next generation: Mandy Collier and Rachel Reeves.

The article depicts this as a natural evolution of Henry leading Dragon Con right from its founding to the massive event it is today. This is in line with Dragon Con’s official history, but significantly different from the story told by any other source.

Ed Kramer, briefly mentioned by the Journal-Constitution as a co-founder who caused some trouble along the way, was the original chair of Dragon Con and its public face until he was forced to step down in 2000 after being charged with child molestation. Kramer would remain a shareholder in Dragon Con, Inc.’s predecessor DragonCon/ACE Inc., drawing a share of the profits from the convention, until its dissolution in 2013.

A 2012 article in Atlanta Magazine (content warning: mostly about how Kramer was able to render his house arrest ineffective while awaiting trial on child molestation charges) describes Henry’s early role:

During DragonCon’s first twelve years or so, it was Kramer who clearly called the shots. While cofounder Pat Henry (no relation to this writer), an accountant by trade, kept the books, Kramer served as manager, negotiating sponsorships, enforcing vendor agreements, and using his networking skills to wrangle such top-shelf celebrities as writers Clive Barker and George R.R. Martin, artist Brian Froud, filmmaker Kevin Smith, and half the cast of Star Wars.

One by one, the older, fan-driven Atlanta cons folded, unable to compete with the newcomer’s catch-all approach and Kramer’s flair for publicity and aggressive style as a booker.

After Kramer stepped back in 2000, Henry took control of the company, and relations between him and Henry deteriorated. The article does agree that the rest of the Henry family joined the company around this time:

In 2009 Kramer filed the first of two lawsuits against Henry and DragonCon/ACE Inc. In the complaints, now both filed in Fulton County Superior Court, Kramer essentially accuses his former partner of looting the company by spending con funds on junkets to Las Vegas, giving himself a healthy (but unspecified) salary as CEO, and putting his wife and daughters on the payroll.

Henry’s own perspective was not available:

Henry hung up the phone when contacted for comment, and he did not return subsequent messages.

In Brief

• Chengdu Worldcon (Chengdu, China, October 18-22) has opened up Hugo Award and site selection voting. Hugo voting closes on October 1, electronic site selection voting on October 6. (Attendees will be able to vote on site selection in person.)

• The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 16-17) has added Alé Garza as a guest.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, September 21-23) has added Gina Carano, Emanuelle Vaugier, Johnny Whitaker, and Jim Meskimen as guests.

• LVL UP Expo (Las Vegas, April 26-28) has announced Adam McArthur, Anne Yatco, Robbie Draymond, Kaiji Tang, and Ray Chase as its initial slate of special guests.

• Trek Long Island (Hauppage, New York, May 31-June 2) has announced Melissa Navia as its first guest.

Event Calendar

Weekend of August 25-27

• Bubonicon 54: Across the Multiverse, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

• Dni Fantastyki, Wrocław, Poland

• Camp Feral!: Business Casual (anthropomorphic), Algonquin Park, Ontario

• Furrydelphia (anthropomorphic), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

• IndyFurCon 2023: Mission: Impawssible (anthropomorphic), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Weekend at the Asylum (steampunk), Lincoln, UK

• Northeast Ohio Steampunk Festival, Burton, Ohio, USA

• FallCon 36: Dice, People & Meeples (gaming), Calgary, Alberta, Canada

• LincCon the 13th (gaming), Merrill, Wisconsin, USA

• MaricopaCon X (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• Tacticon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA

• Tabletop Scotland (gaming), Perth, UK

• Brussels Games Festival, Brussels, Belgium

• Norwich Games Con, Norwich, UK

• Retro World Expo (gaming), Hartford, Connecticut, USA

• Great Escape on the Lake (gaming), Bradford, New York, USA

• 2D Con 2023: Another World (video games), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Windblume (Genshin Impact), Frisco, Texas, USA

• TennoCon (Warframe), London, Ontario, Canada

• Kokorokon (anime), Collinsville, Illinois, USA

• Hikari (anime), Poznań, Poland

• Kin-Yoobi Con (anime), Union City, California, USA

• PopCult Anime Con, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

• My Hero Convention: Florida (anime), Fort Walton Beach, Florida, USA

• Ganbatte 2023 (anime), Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

• Fan Expo Canada (media), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Fandom Fest 2023 (media), Schenectady, New York, USA

• Fairfax Comic Con, Chantilly, Virginia, USA

• My-Con (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Fandom Fest 2023 (media), Schenectady, New York, USA

• Jemcon 2023: Rockin’ Romance in Rhode Island (Jem and the Holograms), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

Weekend of September 1-3

• Kapitularz (Polish national sf convention), Łódź, Poland

• Dragon Con, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• CoKoCon 2023, Tempe, Arizona, USA

• Bouchercon 2023: Murder at the Marina (World Mystery Convention), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Oxonmoot 2023 (Tolkien), Oxford, UK

• Big River Steampunk Festival 2023, Hannibal, Missouri, USA

• Eurofurence 27: Black Magic (anthropomorphic), Hamburg, Germany

• Tails & Tornadoes Fur Con: Wild Wild West (anthropomorphic), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• Mephit Fur Meet: Tropical Paradise (anthropomorphic), Memphis, Tennessee, USA

• Pacificon Game Expo 44, Santa Clara, California, USA

• TCEP 28 Parties Later (gaming), Sterling, Virginia, USA

• SaltCON End of Summer (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA

• Gamesfest, Pasco, Washington, USA

• WGGCon (gaming), Croton-on-Hudson, New York, USA

• PAX West 2023 (gaming), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Gateway 2023 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA

• GrandCon 2023 (gaming), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

• ConsimWorld Expo 2023 (gaming), Tempe, Arizona, USA

• NOVA Open (wargaming), Washington, DC, USA

• ReaperCon 2023 (miniatures gaming), Denton, Texas, USA

• SCG Con (collectible card games), Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Nan Desu Kan 26 (anime), Aurora, Colorado, USA

• San Japan 14 (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA

• Expo Anime: Natsumatsuri, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

• Connichi (anime), Wiesbaden, Germany

• Saboten Con 2023 (anime), Phoenix, Arizona, USA

• Fanboy Expo Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Tucson Comic Con (media), Tucson, Arizona, USA

• Long Beach Comic Con, Long Beach, California, USA

• Robcon (media), Abingdon, Virginia, USA

• Meta Con Minneapolis (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• No Brand Con (media), Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA

• East European Comic Con, Bucharest, Romania

• GalaxyCon Austin (media), Austin, Texas, USA

• Whooverville 14 (Doctor Who), Derby, UK

Weekend of September 8-10

• OutsideCon, Burns, Tennessee, USA

• Furvana Vice (anthropomorphic), Ocean Shores, Washington, USA

• Furry Migration 2023: Disco Fantasy (anthropomorphic), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Platypus-Con (gaming), Juneau, Alaska, USA

• Planszówki w Spodku (gaming), Katowice, Poland

• PPG Con (gaming), Manitou Springs, Colorado, USA

• Conecturday (video games), San José, Costa Rica

• Senshi Con (anime), Anchorage, Alaska, USA

• Tracon (anime), Tampere, Finland

• Animate!, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

• Anime Fiesta, McAllen, Texas, USA

• Anime Oklahoma, Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA

• Anime Town Greenville 2023, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

• Arkansas Comic Con, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA

• Colossalcon East (media), Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania, USA

• Popcorn! (media), Sheffield, UK

• Ottawa Comiccon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Comic Con Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

• Afro Future Con 2023: Extending Reality (media), San Diego, California, USA

• ThunderCon (media), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

• Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

• Silver Scream Con 2023 (horror media), Danvers, Massachusetts, USA

• Retro Con 2023 (‘80s media), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA

• The Labyrinth Experience & Masked Ball, High Wycombe, UK

• PhileFest (X-Files), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

Weekend of September 15-17

• Copernicon, Toruń, Poland

• P-Con, Irving, Texas, USA

• Albacon 2023, Clifton Park, New York, USA

• Fantasycon, Birmingham, UK

• 33rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, online

• SWFL SteamCon (steampunk), Cape Coral, Florida, USA

• Megaplex: Be Anything, Do Anything! (anthropomorphic), Orlando, Florida, USA

• West Aussie Fur Frenzy: Under the Big Top (anthropomorphic), Freemantle, Australia

• Furever West (anthropomorphic), Laramie, Wyoming, USA

• FursonaCon 2023: Dino Safari (anthropomorphic), Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

• ShireCon 5 (gaming), Canaan, Connecticut, USA

• Strong Tower Gaming Convention, Brookfield, Wisconsin, USA

• Tabletop Central (gaming), Savoy, Illinois, USA

• B-Con 2023 (gaming), Northglenn, Colorado, USA

• ReUnity Games 2023, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

• Tennessee Game Days Fall 2023, Franklin, Tennessee, USA

• Hold the Line (miniatures gaming), Port Clinton, Ohio, USA

• Southern Front 2023 (miniatures gaming), Morrisville, North Carolina, USA

• Retro Palooza (retro video games), Arlington, Texas, USA

• J-Con (anime), Derby, UK

• Anime Fargo 2023: Enter the Ninja, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

• Chizu Con 2023 (anime), Madison, Wisconsin, USA

• AncientCityCon (media), St. Augustine, Florida, USA

• Granite State Comicon (media), Manchester, New Hampshire, USA

• Edmonton Expo (media), Edmonton, Alberta, USA

• Fandom Kissimmee (media), Kissimmee, Florida, USA

• Extremicon (media), St. Robert, Missouri, USA

• CaperCon (media), Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada

• Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA

• Flower City Comic Con, Rochester, New York, USA

• Cartoon-A-Paloozah, Temecula, California, USA

• Comic Con Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

• London Comic Con, London, UK

• Midgard 2023 (media), Reykjavik, Iceland

• Alpha Omega Con (Christian-themed sf media), Whittier, California, USA

• The Uncanny Experience (X-Men), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Weekend of September 22-24

• Necronomicon 42: Life, the Convention, and Everything, Tampa, Florida, USA

• 2nd Annual Sturgeon Symposium, Lawrence, Kansas, USA

• Dum-Dum 2023 (Edgar Rice Burroughs), Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA

• Furnavia (anthropomorphic), Kristiansand, Norway

• PhilliFur 2023: Tails and Fables (anthropomorphic), Quezon City, Philippines

• 9th Annual Steampunk Fair, Kennebunk, Maine, USA

• Anno 1900 (steampunk), Lasauvage, Luxembourg

• Council Ganing Con 42, Schenectady, New York, USA

• SIBCON XXVII (gaming), Butler, Pennsylvania, USA

• Nuke-Con (gaming), Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA

• Game On Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

• Big Geek Con (gaming), Saginaw, Michigan, USA

• MegaMooseCon (gaming), Richburg, South Carolina, USA

• CuseCon 2023 (gaming), Syracuse, New York, USA

• Barrage 2023 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA

• Hurricon 2023: Lost Causes (miniatures gaming), Kissimmee, Florida, USA

• Recruits (wargaming), Lee’s Summit, Missouri, USA

• CEOtaku (anime fighting games), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Rappig Crossing (Tales video games), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium

• Anime USA, Arlington, Virginia, USA

• MidessAnime, Odessa, Texas, USA

• Anime Houston, Houston, Texas, USA

• Microcon II (comics), St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

• Thessaloniki Comic Convention vol. 8, Thessaloniki, Greece

• NORCON (media), Norfolk, UK

• Lagos Comic Convention, Lagos, Nigeria

• Spa-Con (media), Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

• Comic Con Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

• Fountain City Fandemonium (media), Bryan, Ohio, USA

• Cincinnati Comic Expo, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

• Rose City Comic Con, Portland, Oregon, USA

• Alabama Comic Con, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

• Superstar Comic Con, Savannah, Georgia, USA

• FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

• Mobicon 2023 (media), Mobile, Alabama, USA

Coda

• Airborne fish sparks New Jersey power outage (CNN)

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