SMOF News, volume 4, issue 31

Plea change in the Gen Con heist, Wild Wild West goes online, Hugo trophy lawsuit, and news in brief.

Plea Change Coming in Gen Con Heist

Andrew Giaume and Thomas Dunbar were charged all the way back in September 2023 with the theft of a pallet of Magic: the Gathering cards from Gen Con 2023. Since then, their trial date has been delayed again and again.

However, the latest updates indicate that Dunbar is now scheduled for a change of plea and sentencing on April 22. This suggests that he will now be pleading guilty.

Giaume is now scheduled for a pretrial hearing on June 26, with the trial on July 2.

Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention Regroups Online

After its abrupt shutdown due to a disease outbreak, Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention has resolved to finish the convention with an online event, dubbed WWWC 13.5, scheduled for May 16-18.

Registration is being handled through this Google form. While the event is free, donations will be accepted via Venmo.

Although the outbreak was reportedly determined to be norovirus, the registration form only says WWWC was shut down “due to a mysterious illness outbreak”.

Lawsuit to Pry Loose Hugo Trophy

Chris Barkley, one of the 2023 Hugo Award winners who chose to have his trophy shipped to him from China, has gone to court to force 2023 Hugo administrator Dave McCarty to hand over the trophy.

File 770 has the background:

Barkley was one of the winners who opted to have the Chengdu Worldcon Committee ship his trophy to the United States. The awards were sent to Hugo Administrator Dave McCarty. However, as McCarty told Barkley in February 2024, all of the display cases and some of the awards were damaged in transit from China. The damage to Barkley’s Hugo display box was so bad that it was totally unusable, the award base needed to be tightened up, and there was a notable chip in the paint on the panda. He told Chris he could either have the award the next day, or McCarty could have it repaired and restored. Chris decided to go with the repairs. He still hasn’t received his, although Barkley learned some others have gotten theirs.

Following that, File 770 has a statement from Barkley, describing the initial hearing and his plans for any leftover funds once the trial concludes.

The next hearing will be held April 24.

In Brief

• Jameson Quinn, the inventor of the “E Pluribus Hugo” voting system currently used for Hugo Award nominating, died on March 23, according to his mother and son.

• Marcon is being wound down due to declining membership and is looking to sell off its equipment to other conventions.

• Anime Central (Rosemont, Illinois, May 16-18) has added Yoshiko Nakayama and Honoka Inoue.

• Trek Long Island (Hauppauge, New York, May 31-June 2) has announced that Patrick Kwok-Choon and Rachael Ancheril will be unable to attend.

• The Uncanny Experience (Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 12-13) has added Catherine Disher.

• Florida Supercon (Miami Beach, Florida, July 18-20) has added Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith, and Toshio Maeda.

• ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, July 18-20) has added Sarah Wiedenheft, Alyson Court, Kimiko Glenn and Alison Sealy-Smith.

• Tampa Bay Comic Convention (Tampa, Florida, August 1-3) has added Neil Newbon, Devora Wilde, Jennifer English, Nolan North, Susan Eisenberg, and Cristina Vee.

• Terrificon (Uncasville, Connecticut, August 8-10) has added Jonathan Hickman, Robbie Rist, Kenn Scott, Ernie Reyes Jr., Brian Tochi, James Saito, Ed Brisson, and Chris Giarrusso.

• Miryokucon (Baltimore, Maryland, August 29-31) has added Krystal LaPorte.

• FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 25-27) has added Jason Griffith, Andrew McCarthy, Enrico Colantoni, and Mallorie Rodak.

Event Calendar

Weekend of April 4-6

• Roscon-2025, Moscow, Russia

• Fandom Fest of Southwest Michigan, Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA

• Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Lombard, Illinois, USA

• FilKONtario (music), Markham, Ontario, Canada

• 13 Gears (steampunk), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Furry Down Under 2025: Gods & Monsters (anthropomorphic), Surfers Paradise, Australia

• Marmalade Dog 27 (gaming), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• FallsCon 25: Journey Into the Cosmos (gaming), Wichita Falls, Kansas, USA

• Play (gaming), Bologna, Italy

• Game On Expo, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

• MEPACON (gaming), Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA

• Roll Initiative Con (gaming), Ewijk, Netherlands

• Gondreville est ludique (gaming), Gondreville, France

• Festival Draconis 2025 (gaming), online

• Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2025, Garden City, New York, USA

• FriendCon Spring 2025 (gaming), Portland, Maine, USA

• Havoc XXXIX (miniatures gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• Seven Hills: Generations (RPGs), Sheffield, UK

• Midwest Gaming Classic (video games), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• RetroCon Saar Level 14: Childhood Heroes (retro video games), Völklingen, Germany

• OKiCon Tulsa (anime), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

• Ithacon 48 (comics), Ithaca, New York, USA

• Romics (comics), Rome, Italy

• Angers Geekfest #6 (media), Angers, France

• FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium

• RodCon (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

• SC Comicon, Greenville, South Carolina, USA

• Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA

• ASU NerdCon (media), Boone, North Carolina, USA

• Fanfaire NYC (media), New York City, New York, USA

• Philip K. Dick Film Festival, New York City, New York, USA

• Armageddon Expo Christchurch (media), Christchurch, New Zealand

• Awesome Con (media), Washington, DC, USA

• Bedford Who Charity Con 10 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK

Weekend of April 11-13

• Fantaxia/Italcon 51 (Italian national sf convention), Genoa, Italy

• LuxCon 2025 (Luxembourgish national sf con), Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

• Virtual Can*Con, online

• HAL-CON 2025, Kawasaki City, Japan

• Fantasy-Con (fantasy), Vienna, Austria

• Corflu 42 (fanzines), Newbury, UK

• Jack Williamson Lectureship 2025: Worlds Beyond, Portales, New Mexico, USA

• 221B Con (Sherlock Holmes), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Woods Flock (anthropomorphic), Spencer, Tennessee, USA

• Texas Furry Fiesta: Murder on the TFF Express (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Furcationland 2025: Fuzzytown Fair (anthropomorphic), Portland, Maine, USA

• UBCon XXXIV (gaming), Buffalo, New York, USA

• HandyCon 16 (gaming), Milton Keynes, UK

• Mayhem III: The Mayhem Revolution (gaming), Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA

• Tabletop Utopia 3 (gaming), Hartford, Connecticut, USA

• DayCon (gaming), Kettering, Ohio, USA

• Ratinger Spieletage (gaming), Ratingen, Germany

• Conpulsion 2025 (gaming), Edinburgh, UK

• Keks-Con 8 (RPGs), Hannover, Germany

• Chaosium Con USA (Chaosium games), Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

• VGM Con: Dimensional Riff (videogames/music), Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

• J-Tsoon6 (anime), Talinn, Estonia

• Sekaicon (anime), Newark, Ohio, USA

• Mang’Azur (anime), Toulon, France

• Atlantic Entertainment Expo (media), Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

• El Paso Comic Con, El Paso, Texas, USA

• Comic-Con Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

• Yellow City Comic Con, Amarillo, Texas, USA

• Fangaea (media), Mission Valley, California, USA

• Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Creation Boston (media), Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• CyPhaCon 2025 (media), Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

• Supanova 2025 – Gold Coast (media), Broadbeach, Australia

• PortmeiriCon (The Prisoner), Portmeirion, UK

• Dairycon 2025 (Transformers), Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, USA

Mid-week convention: Olamot, Tel Aviv, Israel

Weekend of April 18-20

• Reconnect (UK national sf convention), Belfast, UK

• Minicon 58, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Norwescon 47: Through the Cosmic Telescope, SeaTac, Washington, USA

• ConStellation 13: So Say We All, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

• Pawske Party (anthropomorphic), Oslo, Norway

• Las Vegas Fur Con 2025: Ad Vegastra, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Fauntastic: Lati's Mewstery Dungeon (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France

• CODCON XXVIII: Pieces of Twenty-Eight (gaming), Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA

• Fastaval (gaming), Hobro, Denmark

• GothCon (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden

• Who’s Yer Con (gaming), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• EyeCon 2025 (gaming), North Ryde, Australia

• Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada

• TAGCON (boardgames), Pasco, Washington, USA

• Nashville Tabletop Day 2025 (boardgames), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Conquest 2025 (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia

• EyeCon 2025 (RPGs), North Ryde, Australia

• CoMo Retro Con (retro video games), Columbia, Missouri, USA

• WeebCon (anime), Irving, Texas, USA

• MTAC Another World! (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA

• KokoroCon (anime), Nottingham, UK

• The AniMeet, Lusaka, Zambia

• Anime Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

• Comic- und Manga-Convention Münster, Münster, Germany

• Mobile Bay Anime Festival, Daphne, Alabama, USA

• Sakura-Con 2025 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA

• ExpOtaku Vitoria-Gasteiz 2025 (anime), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

• Middle East Film & Comic Con, Abu Dhabi, UAE

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

• Armageddon Expo Wellington (media), Wellington, New Zealand

• Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

• Ratha Con (media), Athens, Ohio, USA

• Sci-Fi Scarborough (media), Scarborough, UK

• Wicked Comic Con, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• German Film Comic Con, Dortmund, Germany

• HorrorCon Germany (horror media), Rust, Germany

• Star Wars Celebration Japan, Chiba, Japan

• BABSCon 2025 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA

Weekend of April 25-27

• Concinnity 25, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• RavenCon 18, Richmond, Virginia, USA

• 3. Science Fiction & Fantasy-Tag, Apensen, Germany

• Les Intergalactiques, Lyon, France

• OmegaCon (relaxacon), Siren, Wisconsin, USA

• JordanCon (fantasy literature), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• Springmoot 2025 (Tolkien), Cambridge, UK

• Ice and Fire Convention (Song of Ice and Fire series), Mt. Sterling, Ohio, USA

• Malice Domestic 37 (mysteries), Bethesda, Maryland, USA

• Furry Weekend Holland, Baarlo, Netherlands

• Klingen Con LVI (gaming), Remscheid, Germany

• Ragnarok 5.0 (gaming), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

• DaveCon (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• LexiCon (gaming), Lexington, Kentucky, USA

• Icon (gaming), Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA

• D8 Summit Charity Convention (gaming), Dixon, Illinois, USA

• Rising Phoenix GameCon, Milford, Massachusetts, USA

• Con-tribution (gaming), Peoria, Illinois, USA

• iMagicon (gaming), Minot, North Dakota, USA

• Cheyenne Gaming Convention, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

• WizardCon 2025 (gaming), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• Puget Con 2025 (gaming), Everett, Washington, USA

• Spring CamasCon (gaming and Christian retreat), Peshastin, Washington, USA

• Jeu au Boute (boardgames), Chertsey, Québec, Canada

• Fun K-Town (boardgames), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

• Little Wars 2025: Shot Heard Round the World (miniatures gaming), Lombard, Illinois, USA

• Recon 2025: Surf and Turf! (miniatures gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA

• LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• Final Three Con (social games), McLean, Virginia, USA

• Oz-Con (anime), West Plains, Missouri, USA

• LoboCon (anime), Rohnert Park, California, USA

• aniMUC (anime), Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany

• Overload (anime), Auckland, New Zealand

• Umiko (anime), Koper, Slovenia

• Castle Point Anime Convention, Seacaucus, New Jersey, USA

• Anime St. Louis, St. Charles, Missouri, USA

• FicZone 2025 (anime), Granada, Spain

• Austria Comic Con, Wels, Austria

• Causeacon (media), Beckley, West Virginia, USA

• Fayetteville Comic Con, Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA

• Mortal Hunters 4 Con (Shadowhunters), Düsseldorf, Germany

Weekend of May 2-4

• DemiCon 36: Fantasy, Urbandale, Iowa, USA

• AtomaCon 2025, North Charleston, South Carolina, USA

• IconiCon 2025, Suffolk, Virginia, USA

• Maine Cosplay Extravaganza, Portland, Maine, USA

• Wonderplace Alpha (steampunk), Lake George, New York, USA

• Aethercircus Steampunk Festival, Buxtehude, Germany

• Furgeddaboutit (anthropomorphic), Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, USA

• Ibercon (anthropomorphic), Madrid, Spain

• It’s Ruff Out (anthropomorphic), Ontario, Wisconsin, USA

• Garden State Fur the Weekend Pt Deux (anthropomorphic), New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

• Farmageddon 12 (gaming), Farmer City, Illinois, USA

• Wagoncon 8 (gaming), The Dalles, Oregon, USA

• Buckeye Game Fest, Columbus, Ohio, USA

• Gaming Hoopla, Mundelein, Illinois, USA

• Congress of Gamers Spring Session, Rockville, Maryland, USA

• Mountain Mania 2025 (gaming), East Burke, Vermont, USA

• LoBsterCon XXVIII (boardgames), Eastbourne, UK

• Richmond Open (miniatures gaming), Doswell, Virginia, USA

• Anime Onsen, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

• ExpOtaku Tarragona (anime), Tarragona, Spain

• Otaku Oasis (anime), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Kogaracon 2025 (anime), Edison, New Jersey, USA

• MondoCon 2025 (anime), Budapest, Hungary

• Harucon 2025 (anime), Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria

• Superstar Comic Con, Savannah, Georgia, USA

• Portsmouth Comic Con, Portsmouth, UK

• Día del Cómic Festival, Lima, Peru

• Comic Con Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

• Northern FanCon (media), Prince George, British Columbia, Canada

• Saratoga Comic Con, Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

• Pixies Street Con (media), York, South Carolina, USA

• Galactic Diversity & Inclusivity Convention (media/space), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

• Crypticon Seattle (horror media), Seatac, Washington, USA

• Power of the Force (Star Wars), Köln, Germany

• Vampire Fan Weekend (Vampire Diaries), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Coda

• Gen Con Rodeo

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