Three Years On
SMOF News has made it to the end of another volume. After a year containing two Worldcons which produced about five typical Worldcons’ worth of news between them, and where a major convention platform nearly vanished suddenly, I think that I should stop expecting any year to be less eventful than the previous ones.
As with last year, a full index to volume 3 will be following. Going back through the last 51 issues has reminded me of all the little highlights and lowlights that have happened alongside the main headlines. There are the conventions and the people we’ve lost, and the new conventions started. On the personal front, there’s the time I realized I had put out two issue 18s, but also quirky little moments of joy like the day I discovered that Otakon, Otakukon, and Otakuthon were all the same weekend, so I could list three cons with nearly identical names together for the first and probably only time ever.
Looking ahead, the only change coming to the newsletter will be minor wording tweaks to guest announcements. And I hope that the coming year will bring closure to the sagas of the Gen Con heist (trial still currently scheduled for early October) and Warhorn (handover hopefully still happening by September 30, but we still don’t know the name of the new owner).
Thank you, as always, to all those who are still reading.
In Brief
Despite last year’s report that Pat Henry was retiring and handing the business to his daughters, the latest filings for Dragon Con, Inc. available from the Georgia Corporations Division still list him as the CEO.
The Endeavour Award, a partially volunteer-juried award given at OryCon every year, now has its own Substack newsletter and is looking for volunteer readers.
Ohio Valley Filk Festival 40 (Worthington, Ohio, October 25-27) has posted the final ballot for the Pegasus Awards.
FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Dick Van Dyke, Logic, Lucie Pohl, and Kaycee Stroh as guests.
Portland Retro Gaming Expo (Portland, Oregon, September 27-29) has added Charlie Kraslavsky, Eric Pirius, and Gregory “Greg” Smith as guests.
ConVivial (Williamsburg, Virginia, February 28-March 2) has added R. S. Belcher as its Author Guest of Honor.
Norwescon 47 (SeaTac, Washington, April 17-20) has added Wayne Barlowe as its Artist Guest of Honor.
Trek Long Island (Hauppauge, New York, May 30-June 1) has added Iona Morris as a guest.
Event Calendar
Weekend of August 30-September 1
Dragon Con, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CoKoCon 2023, Tempe, Arizona, USA
Bouchercon 2024: Murder and Mayhem in Music City (World Mystery Convention), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Oxonmoot 2024 (Tolkien), Oxford, UK and online
Viencon 2024: Shark House, Best House (relaxacon), America, Netherlands
Big River Steampunk Festival, Hannibal, Missouri, USA
Eurofurence 28: Cyberpunk (anthropomorphic), Hamburg, Germany
Tails & Tornadoes Fur Con: Furries in Space! (anthropomorphic), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Mephit Fur Meet: The Rawring 20's (anthropomorphic), Memphis, Tennessee, USA
FursonaCon: Dungeon Delvers (anthropomorphic), Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Megaplex: Terror at Typhon's Keep (anthropomorphic), Orlando, Florida, USA
PhiliFUR 2024: Nostalgia Saga (anthropomorphic), Quezon City, Phillipines
Pacificon Game Expo 46, Santa Clara, California, USA
TCEP 29: Your Route to Fun! (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 2024 (gaming), Seattle, Washington, USA
Gateway 2024 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
GrandCon 2024 (gaming), Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
NOVA Open (wargaming), Washington, DC, USA
ReaperCon 2024 (miniatures gaming), Denton, Texas, USA
Nan Desu Kan 27 (anime), Aurora, Colorado, USA
San Japan 15 / Okashicon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
MatsuriCon 2024: Tricks and Treats (anime), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Saboten Con 2024 (anime), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Tucson Comic Con (media), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Long Beach Comic Con, Long Beach, California, USA
Meta Con Minneapolis (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
No Brand Con (media), Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA
Afro Future Con: Educational Culture Complex (media), San Diego, California, USA
Whooverville 15 (Doctor Who), Derby, UK
Weekend of September 6-8
Kapitularz, Łódź, Poland
Albacon 2024, Clifton Park, New York, USA and online
ArmadilloCon 2024, Austin, Texas, USA
Furry Migration 2024: Lost in Time, Being Found (anthropomorphic), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
B-Con 2024 (gaming), Northglenn, Colorado, USA
Tabletop Central (gaming), Savoy, Illinois, USA
Tabletop Scotland (gaming), Perth, UK
Strong Tower Gaming Convention, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
QuestCon Orlando / Crucible (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
Council Con 2024, Schenectady, New York, USA
Connecturday (video games), Heredia, Costa Rica
F2 Con (video games), Clarksville, Tennessee, USA
SCG Con Tampa (collectible card games), Tampa, Florida, USA
Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 (Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), London, UK
Tracon (anime), Tampere, Finland
Connichi (anime), Wiesbaden, Germany
Anime Texas, Spring, Texas, USA
Anime 307, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
Comic Con Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Fanboy Expo Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA
Arkansas Comic Con, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Colossalcon East (media), Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania, USA
Ottawa Comiccon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Rose City Comic Con, Portland, Oregon, USA
Cub Con 2024 (media), Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Retro Con 2024 (‘80s media), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA
Alpha Omega Con (Christian-themed sf media), Whittier, California, USA
Weekend of September 13-15
34th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and online
Furever West: Furry of the Opera (anthropomorphic), Laramie, Wyoming, USA
FurGiV 2024: Dragon Dance (anthropomorphic), Hanoi, Vietnam
Hawkland Gaming Festival, La Plata, Maryland, USA
Hold the Line (miniatures gaming), Port Clinton, Ohio, USA
Gaming Istanbul (video games), Istanbul, Turkey
Anime Conclave, Metairie, Louisiana, USA
Anime Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
Anime Fargo 2024: That Time I Got Isekai'd, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
AncientCityCon (media), St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA
Flower City Comic Con: Total Sports Experience, Rochester, New York, USA
Cartoon-A-Paloozah, Temecula, California, USA
Comic Con Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
London Comic Con, London, Ontario, Canada
Lagos Comic Convention, Lagos, Nigeria
Incredible Con (media), North Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Popcorn! (media), Sheffield, UK
East European Comic Con, Bucharest, Romania
Silver Scream Con III (horror media), Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Weekend of September 20-22
Copernicon, Toruń, Poland
P-Con, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Southern Maine Steampunk Fair, Kennebunk, Maine, USA
Eurofurence 28: Cyberpunk (anthropomorphic), Hamburg, Germany
West Aussie Fur Frenzy: Urban Beats (anthropomorphic), Freemantle, Australia
SIBCON XXVIII (gaming), Butler, Pennsylvania, USA
MegaMooseCon (gaming), Richburg, South Carolina, USA
Spellenfestival Genk (gaming), Genk, Belgium
CuseCon 2024 (gaming), Syracuse, New York, USA
Big Geek Con 2024 (gaming), Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Game Devs of Color Expo, online
Michigan GT (wargaming), Lansing, Michigan, USA
Southern Front 2024 (miniatures gaming), Morrisville, North Carolina, USA
Terra MystiCon (Terra Mystica boardgame), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Ani-Medford (anime), Medford, Oregon, USA
Spa-Con (media), Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
ThunderCon (media), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Edmonton Expo (media), Edmonton, Alberta, USA
Granite State Comicon (media), Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
Creation Washington D.C. (media), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Ultracon Comic Con, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Weekend of September 27-29
Archon 47, Collinsville, Illinois, USA
Necronomicon 2024: Let the Journey Begin, Tampa, Florida, USA
Capclave 2024 (books), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Innsmouth Literary Festival (weird fiction and cosmic horror), Bedford, UK
Anno 1900 (steampunk), Lasauvage, Luxembourg
Furry Takeover: Dino Might (anthropomorphic), Fontana Dam, North Carolina, USA
Rügen Furcon 2024 (anthropomorphic), Binz, Germany
Planszówki w Spodku (gaming), Katowice, Poland
AB-Confusion (gaming), online
Shake, Battle & Roll (gaming), Southampton, UK
ShireCon 2024 (gaming), Canaan, Connecticut, USA
TableToppers ‘24 (gaming), Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
Hurricon 2024: Engaging in Asymmetric Warfare (miniatures gaming), Kissimmee, Florida, USA
Barrage 2024 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
MAGWest 2024 (video games), San Jose, California, USA
Pixel Expo: Act III (video games), Perth, Australia
Portland Retro Gaming Expo (retro video games), Portland, Oregon, USA
SkålCon 2024 (Pathfinder& Starfinder RPGs), Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Rappig Crossing (Tales video games), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Animate!, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Animeverse Fest, Pasadena, Texas, USA
Anime St. Pete, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Tiger Con 2024 (anime), Valdosta, Georgia, USA
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Bowness-on-Windermere, UK
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (comics and animation), Columbus, Ohio, USA
La Mole (media), Mexico City, Mexico
SiouxperCon 2024: Happily Ever After (media), Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
King-Con 2024: Three Nights at King-Con (media), Kingman, Arizona, USA
Extremicon (media), St. Robert, Missouri, USA
Norcon (media), Norfolk, UK
FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Comic Con Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
Fountain City Fandemonium (media), Bryan, Ohio, USA
Infinity Con Gainesville (media), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Missouri Anime Festival, Springfield, Missouri, USA
Lodi Comic Con, Lodi, California, USA
Colorado Fan Fest (media), Greeley, Colorado, USA
Fantasy Festival (media), Peristeri, Greece
Mare Fair (My Little Pony), Orlando, Florida, USA
The Uncanny Experience (X-Men), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Coda
Checking Star Trek: Deep Space 9’s predictions for August 30, 2024 (San Francisco Chronicle)
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