SMOF News, volume 3, issue 25
A-Kon has to skip a year, Hugo Awards mess continues, and news in brief.
A-Kon Skipping 2024 Due to Funding Problems
A-Kon, the longest-running anime convention in North America, is unable to run its 33rd event in 2024 due to multiple funding problems.
A statement posted to Facebook and X (found via Anime News Network) says in part:
Unfortunately, not only has our Board of Investors run into their own funding delays, but subsidies promised from the State [of Texas] to cover certain expenses have been delayed as well. Waiting for this funding has put us in a tight spot, and we’ve been expecting it to come any day now for several months. Until it arrives we’re unable to honor our agreements with our venues, reboot our website, sign talent, or move forward with planning the con.
Refunds will be issued to people who had already pre-registered for 2024.
Hugo Awards Pot Continues to Boil
In the wake of the release of widely disbelieved Hugo Award voting statistics and a shakeup at the organization which administers the Hugo and Worldcon service marks, a new round of revelations and resignations began last week with the release of “The 2023 Hugo Awards: A Report on Censorship and Exclusion” at File 770 and Genre Grapevine.
This report, relying on leaked emails from the Chengdu Worldcon Hugo committee reveals that just about everyone was a little bit right about what was happening behind the scenes. Some ballots were tossed due to suspected slate voting, and some works were disqualified due to a haphazard process of political censorship. There is also no evidence to suggest that committee head Dave McCarty was untruthful when he stated that no censorship orders came from the government of China. Instead, from the evidence presented, the censorship appears to have originated with McCarty himself.
Additional developments since then include:
Diane Lacey, who was a member of the Chengdu Hugo committee and the source of the leaked emails, has resigned from CanSMOF, the organization running the Montréal in 2027 Worldcon bid. Lacey also provided an open letter to File 770 apologizing for her role in the process.
Kat Jones, another member of the Chengdu Hugo committee, has resigned from the position as Hugo administrator for the 2024 Worldcon.
Glasgow 2024, this year’s Worldcon, has released a statement announcing Jones’s resignation and apologizing for the damage caused to the community, although it is an entirely separate organization from the Chengdu Worldcon.
Cheryl Morgan has resigned from the Hugo Awards Marketing Committee, a committee related to WIP and not directly involved with the Chengdu Hugo process.
Dave McCarty has also resigned from the Hugo Awards Marketing Committee.
McCarty has been accused of sexual harassment in two posts on BlueSky, both of whose authors say this is not the first time they have spoken up.
In Brief
The Get Up-and-over Fan Fund (GUFF) is running its first race since 2020, looking for candidates to travel from Oceania to this year’s Worldcon in Glasgow (August 8-12).
Indiana Comic Convention (Indianapolis, Indiana, March 22-24) has added Steve Burns, Sean Chiplock, Taylor Gray, and Arthur Darvill as guests.
Norwescon 46 (SeaTac, Washington, March 28-31) has added Kate Alice Marshall as a special guest.
Event Calendar
Weekend of February 23-25
ConCave 43, Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
FenCon XIX, Irving, Texas, USA
Cosplay Up! 2024 (costuming), Manila, Philippines
FurSquared 2024 (anthropomorphic), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
NordicFuzzCon 2024 (anthropomorphic), Malmö, Sweden
Atlanta Game Fest 42, Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA
Total Confusion 38 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Plattecon XXXVII: Year of the Glitch (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
CalCon (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
Gamicon Arsenic (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
LootFest (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Prolog 2024 (gaming), Trollhättan, Sweden
SoRCon 15 (boardgames), Basildon, UK
PrezCon 2024 (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA
Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Pensacon (media), Pensacola, Florida, USA
Weekend of March 1-3
CoastCon 46, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
Picocon 41: The Menagerie, London, UK
Ret-Con 2024, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Cor41u (fanzines), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Cardboard*Con: Ye Olde Cardboard Con 15 (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Gdakon (anthropomorphic), Gdansk, Poland
Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 12, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Evercon 24 (gaming), Rothschild, Wisconsin, USA
SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA
Tennessee Game Days Spring 2024, Franklin, Tennessee, USA
GAD-CON 2024 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA
CincyCon 2024 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA
Cold Barrage 2024 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
Games With Trains, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Intercon V: Voices (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
Kawacon: 3 Wishes (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
SwampCon Cirque du Gator (anime), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
Anime Crossroads 2024, Plainfield, Indiana, USA
ExpOtaku Almería 2024 (anime), Almería, Spain
Puchicon NJ (anime), Teaneck, New Jersey, USA
Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA
Sunrise Comic Con, Sunrise, Florida, USA
Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA
KhromaKon (media), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
PeoriaCon 2024 (media), Peoria, Illinois, USA
House of Mouse Expo (Disney-owned media), Kissimmee, Florida, USA
Weekend of March 8-10
Cleveland ConCoction, Aurora, Ohio, USA
MarsCon 2024, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Pulp Fiction Central, Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Fur the More: Arthurian Legends (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA
VancouFur 2024: Claws & Clockwork (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
14. Bremer Spiele-Tage (gaming), Bremen, Germany
Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA
Gratislavia (gaming), Wrocław, Poland
Dice Tower West (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
ShushCon 2024 (gaming), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA
MidWinter ‘24 (gaming), Haugesund, Norway
TezalCon (video games), Daleville, Alabama, USA
PrinceCon 47 (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Lost Golaricon 2024: Once More With Feeling (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
MinamiCon 29 (anime), Southampton, UK
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Anime Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA
Japan Expo Marseille (anime), Marseille, France
ACEcon 2024 (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
Kikori Con 2024 (anime), Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA
Collective Con (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Dublin Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland
CarrierCon 2024 (media), Alameda, California, USA
TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, US
Weekend of March 15-17
SFW 15, Great Yarmouth, UK
Nerdi Gras 2024, Duluth, Georgia, USA
45th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, Florida, USA
GollanczFest 2024 (sf books), London, UK
Gateway Fur Meet: Murder Mystery Party (anthropomorphic), Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Furnal Equinox: Under the Sea (anthropomorphic), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Texas Furry Fiesta: Singularity Point (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA
BashCon 38 (gaming), Toledo, Ohio, USA
Zuiderspel (gaming), Veldhoven, Netherlands
Ludesco (gaming), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
LeiriaCon (gaming), Leiria, Portugal
Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
AireCon (gaming), Harrogate, UK
TokenCon 2024 (gaming), Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
Breakout 2024 (gaming), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
GOBfest (boardgames), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Playthrough (video games), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Concrete Cow (RPGs), Milton Keynes, UK
Ambercon US (diceless RPGs), Livonia, Michigan, USA
Founders & Legends (D&D), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Ani-Me Con 12.0 (anime), Fresno, California, USA
EvilleCon: Year of the Dragon (anime), Evansville, Indiana, USA
Anime New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Colorado Anime Fest 2024, Denver, Colorado, USA
Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA
GalaxyCon Richmond (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand
Paris Manga Sci-Fi Show (media), Villepinte, France
Florida PolyCon (media), Lakeland, Florida, USA
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
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
Coda
The Groucho Marx Theory of Efficient Markets (KelloggInsight, hat tip: Money Stuff)
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