Ekpeki Removal from FIYAHCON Belatedly Reported
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is a Nigerian science fiction author and editor who burst on the sf scene a few years ago. In 2022 he was a finalist for two Hugo Awards, and his adventures in trying to get to Worldcon that year were covered here: first his visa being denied, then approved, then a travel glitch which saw him arrive late.
It has now been revealed that Ekpeki was involved in that year’s FIYAHCON, a US-based convention focusing on non-white speculative authors, but was removed due to an ethics complaint.
This has come out in the wake of other accusations against Ekpeki, starting with a detailed story about his appropriating the work of another author who thought she was co-authoring a work with him. Further complaints have emerged since, ranging from poor behavior to other unethical actions. Genre Grapevine and File 770 have links to more.
These revelations have led to some soul-searching on the part of those who helped Ekpeki with his visa troubles and his later fundraising for other projects and convention travel. SMOF News feels that headlining the struggles of someone in contention for a major award trying to reach the convention where that award was given was entirely appropriate, as was the decision to not cover his later travel campaigns because the circumstances were not nearly as notable.
In Brief
Fan Expo Portland (Portland, Oregon, January 17-19) has added Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, and Eli Roth.
The Great Con-Junction (Borehamwood, UK, February 8-9) has added Dave Goelz.
Game On Expo (Phoenix, Arizona, April 4-6) has added Jen Taylor.
Event Calendar
Weekend of November 8-10
Novacon 53, Buxton, UK
TusCon 51, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Windycon 50: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations, Oak Brook, Illinois, USA
Imladris XXII, Kraków, Poland
OmegaCon Fall 2024 (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA
Y/Con 10 (LGBT sf), Paris, France
GeekGirlCon (female geekdom), Seattle, Washington, USA
New England Crime Bake 2024 (mysteries), Dedham, Massachusetts, USA
TeslaCon: The Mystery of Kraken Island (steampunk), Middleton, Wisconsin, USA
Steampunk November, Venus, Texas, USA
The Surrey Steampunk Convivial, Epsom, UK
Lost Coast Steampunk Consortium Convivial, Eureka, California, USA
Vermont Steampunk Expo, Essex Junction, Vermont, USA
Flüüfff: Toxic Critters (anthropomorphic), Brussels, Belgium
PAW '24: The AF-Taur Life (anthropomorphic), San Jose, California, USA
Howloween 2024: The Bork Collective (anthropomorphic), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Hexcon (gaming), Trondheim, Norway
Mythic Con (gaming), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Save Against Fear (gaming), York, Pennsylvania, USA
AcadeCon (gaming), Dayton, Ohio, USA
Spielwiesn (gaming), Augsburg, Germany
MEPACon: Covert Operations (gaming), Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA
Spellen Spektakel (gaming), Utrecht, Netherlands
FLAG Con 2024 (gaming), Ithaca, New York, USA
BottosCon 2024 (gaming), New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Compass Games Expo Fall 2024, Meridien, Connecticut, USA
Spielewelt in Bielefeld (boardgames), Bielefeld, Germany
EuroQuest 2024 (Eurogames), Annapolis, Maryland, USA
TaKtiCon (miniatures gaming), Kansas City, Missouri, USA
The Long Con (RPGs), Longview, Texas, USA
AmberCon NW (diceless RPGs), Troutdale, Oregon, USA
KeyForge Celebration 2024 (KeyForge CCG), Roseville, Minnesota, USA
Music City Multi Con (media/video games), Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Sonic Expo (Sonic the Hedgehog), Mesquite, Texas, USA
Animaine XII (anime), South Portland, Maine, USA
Kumoricon (anime), Portland, Oregon, USA
HizashiCon (anime), Pensacola, Florida, USA
anime expo chibi, Ontario, California, USA
Nishicon 2024: Full Metal Nishi (anime), Eindhoven, Netherlands
Rocky Mountain Con (comics), Denver, Colorado, USA
Motor City Comic Con, Novi, Michigan, USA
Grit City Comic Show, Tacoma, Washington, USA
Twin Tiers Comic-Con, Horseheads, New York, USA
Comic Con Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Hal-Con (media), Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
NC Comic Con, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Twin Cities Con (media), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Akron Comiccon, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, USA
SyFiPopFest (media), Leesburg, Florida, USA
Pony Friends Forever (My Little Pony), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Weekend of November 15-17
CONjuration (fantasy), Duluth, Georgia, USA
BGG.CON (gaming), Dallas, Texas, USA
U-Con (gaming), Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
TimpCon (gaming), Provo, Utah, USA
Társasjátékok Ünnepe (gaming), Budapest, Hungary
Gridcon 5 (boardgames), Taunton, UK
RPG Alliance Con, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
SNAFU Con (anime), Reno, Nevada, USA
Omnicon: Full S.T.E.A.M Ahead (anime), Cookeville, Tennessee, USA
Anime Oklahoma, Midwest City, Oklahoma, USA
Anime Town Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, USA
Anime Iwai: Zodiac, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
San Diego Anime Con, San Diego, California, USA
Thought Bubble (comics), Harrogate, UK
Nairobi Comic Con, Nairobi, Kenya
Grand Rapids Comic Con, Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
PalmCon: Treasure Coast (media), Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA
Weekend of November 22-24
Philcon 2024, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA
MiniCon 2024: Polish Prosperity (anthropomorphic), Hlavatce, Czechia
Consequences Q: Quintessential Consequences (gaming), Christchurch, UK
Spel (gaming), Antwerp, Belgium
LFG Canberra (boardgames), Griffith, Australia
Asian Board Games Festival, Singapore
Milan Games Week & Cartoonomics (media/gaming), Milan, Italy
Free Play Florida (retro video games), Lakeland, Florida, USA
HotaruCon 3 (anime), Milton Keynes, UK
Akimatsuri (anime), Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
M.A.G.E (anime), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Miryokucon (anime), Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Con Nichiwa 2024 (anime), Tucson, Arizona, USA
Colossalcon North (anime), Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Heroes Dutch Comic Con, Utrecht, Netherlands
Weekend of November 29-December 1
Loscon 50, Los Angeles, California, USA
Dragonmeet (gaming), London, UK
GobbleCon (gaming), Burlingame, California, USA
Tabletop Oahu (gaming), Oahu, Hawaii, USA
Geek Days Lille (media), Lille, France
Fan Expo San Francisco (media), San Francisco, California, USA
Stars of Time Comic Con, Weston-super-Mare, UK
Anime Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA
Anime Festival Asia Singapore, Singapore
Comic Con Arabia, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Chicago TARDIS (Doctor Who), Lombard, Illinois, USA
Starbase Indy 2024: Exploring New Worlds (Star Trek), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Weekend of December 6-8
Nordcon: The Weird West, Jastrzębia Góra, Poland
XXVIII Mereth Aderthad (Tolkien), Altafulla, Spain
Dragonsteel Nexus 2024 (Brandon Sanderson), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Smofcon 41 (con-running), SeaTac, Washington, USA
Midwest Furfest: Heist (anthropomorphic), Rosemont, Illinois, USA
FURUM 2024: Furkini Bottom (anthropomorphic), Selangor, Malaysia
TsunamiCon (gaming), Wichita, Kansas, USA
PAX Unplugged (tabletop gaming), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Shorehammer (miniatures gaming), Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Emerald Con (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Bellevue, Washington, USA and online
30 Manga Barcelona (anime), Barcelona, Spain
Otaku U III: Junior Year (anime), Livonia, Michigan, USA
Yama Con (anime), Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA
Anime Wonder Festival, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Anime Frontier, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Maui Comic Con, Kahului, Hawaii, USA
Tokyo Comic Con, Tokyo, Japan
Comic Con Okinawa, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
GalaxyCon Columbus (media), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Creation Nashville (media), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
CCXP 24 (media), São Paulo, Brazil
Coda
Ransom payment in baguettes (The Register)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.