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FenCon VIII/DSC 49
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A Fan-Operated Science Fiction and Fantasy Literary and Filk
Convention in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area
The FenCon Story
The FenCon story begins in 1999 when fans Tim Miller and Ed Dravecky
agreed that what the Metroplex needed was to bring back the fannish science fiction convention.
Dallas has a proud history of such gatherings stretching back to the very first SF convention in
Texas back in 1958. But by 1999, Conniption was a fading memory, Stellar Occasion had shut down,
and all that was left were toy shows and actor-centric autograph festivals.
So Tim and Ed did months of research, visited hotels, and made discreet inquiries
around local fandom. They found the perfect location, the perfect weekend, and after more than a
year's work they had it ready to present to the fan club to which they both belonged. There was just
one tiny problem: their perfect location was the North Dallas/Richardson sector of U.S. 75, their
perfect date was mid-February, and the big news was that another group had just announced they
would launch a literary fannish sf/f convention in Richardson in mid-February 2002: ConDFW.
Back to the drawing boards: So with their date now occupied by another event,
Tim and Ed shelved their plans and decided to just enjoy ConDFW. It wasn't exactly what they'd had in
mind but it was fun and area fans enjoyed it. However, a strange thing happened afterwards. Local SF
club ORAC began talking about organizing their own convention so in 2002 the plans came back off the
shelf. A separate group, what we now call the Dallas Future Society, was organized to allow
the convention to grow independently and planning began in earnest.
And so it begins: The first public FenCon activity was a room party at
ConDFW 2 in 2003. At that point, FenCon had no guests signed, no hotel contract, and only a
general idea of when the first convention would be held: late-September 2004. That didn't stop a few
people who had faith in our group and saw the need for a second convention in the Metroplex from buying
buttons and buying memberships. The very first "Friend of the Fen" membership sold went to Joe Abbott
and we were well on our way.
Now that we had members, we needed guests so a "dream list" was drawn up of all the
authors we hoped to someday bring to Dallas. At the very top of this list, the handful of authors who
had won both the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for the same novel. And at the top of this elite group
was the name Larry Niven.
More to come.
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FenCon VIII
- GoH: Gail Carriger
- Music GoH: Joe Bethancourt
- Fen GoH: Steven H Silver
- Artist GoH: Vincent Di Fate*
- Science GoH: Les Johnson
- Toastmaster: Bradley Denton
- Special Guest: Lou Anders
- Special Guest: Stephan Martiniere
(*Due to professional commitments, Vincent attended virtually.) |
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FenCon VIII was the host for DeepSouthCon 49, a gathering of fans
from across the southern United States. This was the first DSC held in Texas.
2011 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Rufus and Me" by Rick Helmich of Alexander, Arkansas
- Second Place: "The Dark Goddess Rises" by Seth Skorkowsky of Denton, Texas
- Third Place: "The Price of Progress" by Michael Simon of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
- Attendance: TBD
- FenCon ION newsletter: (PDF) Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Program Book cover artist: Vincent Di Fate
- Convention Guide cover artist: Stephan Martiniere
- Official T-Shirt artist: Mel.White
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Julie Barrett
- Convention Chairman: Julie Barrett
- Location: Crowne Plaza North Dallas
14315 Midway Road; Addison, TX 75001
- Theme: Southern Steam
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FenCon VII
- GoH: Spider & Jeanne Robinson*
- Music GoH: Jeff & Maya Bohnhoff
- Fen GoH: Andy Trembley & Kevin Roche
- Artist GoH: John Picacio
- Science GoH: Dr. John Randall
- Toastmaster: Joe R. Lansdale
- Special Guest: Jessica Wade
- Special Guest: Robert J. Sawyer
(* Jeanne Robinson passed away on May 30, 2010, but she remained GoH.) |
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2010 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Little Magic" by Tom Howard
- Second Place: "Family Reunion" by Loa Ledbetter
- Third Place: "Gauntlet" by Shedrick Pittman-Hassett
- Attendance: 716
- FenCon ION newsletter: (PDF) Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Program Book cover artist: John Picacio
- Convention Guide cover artist: John Picacio
- Official T-Shirt artist: Chris Barrett
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Chris Barrett
- Convention Chairman: Julie Barrett
- Location: Crowne Plaza North Dallas
14315 Midway Road; Addison, TX 75001
- Theme: Mad Science!
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FenCon VI
- GoH: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Music GoH: Carla Ulbrich
- Fen GoH: Warren Buff
- Artist GoH: Kurt Miller
- Toastmaster: Paul Cornell (sponsored by ORAC)
- Special Guest: Keith R.A. DeCandido*
- Special Guest: Howard Waldrop
(* FenCon VI hosted the Region Three Summit for Starfleet International, an annual
gathering of Star Trek fans from Texas and Louisiana.) |
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2009 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "" by
- Second Place: "" by
- Third Place: "" by and "" by (tie)
- Attendance: 808
- FenCon ION newsletter: (PDF) Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Program Book cover artist: Kurt Miller
- Convention Guide cover artist: Kurt Miller
- Official T-Shirt artist: Teddy Harvia
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Barry Whitewater
- Convention Chairman: Russ Miller
- Location: Crowne Plaza North Dallas
14315 Midway Road; Addison, TX 75001
- Theme: Sci-Fi DIY
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FenCon V
- GoH: Gregory Benford
- Music GoH: Three Weird Sisters
- Fen GoH: Gerald Burton
- Artist GoH: Real Musgrave
- Toastmaster: Howard Waldrop*
- Special Guest: Jay Lake
- ORAC Special Guest: Doris Egan
* Due to health concerns, Howard Waldrop was unable to attend. |
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2008 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Dark Running" by Justin Macumber
- Second Place: "Undying Love" by K.G. Anderson
- Third Place: "The Color of Midnight" by Dan Hiestand
- Attendance: 616
- FenCon ION newsletter: (PDF) Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Program Book cover artist: Real Musgrave
- Convention Guide cover artist:
- Official T-Shirt artist: Chris Barrett
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Barry Whitewater
- Convention Chairman: Russ Miller
- Location: Crowne Plaza North Dallas
14315 Midway Road; Addison, TX 75001
- Theme: 50 Years of SF Conventions in Texas
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FenCon IV
- GoH: Connie Willis
- Music GoH: Tom Smith
- Fen GoH: Kathleen Sloan
- Artist GoH: David Mattingly
- Toastmaster: Steve Perry
- Special Guest: Toni Weisskopf
- Shindig Guest: Jarrod Davis*
(* FenCon was the site for the 2007 Lone Star Shindig,
hosted by the DF/W Browncoats for fans of Firefly and Serenity
from across Texas.) |
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2007 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Spirit of Springtime" by Dal Jeanis
- Second Place: "Letters to Miss Goodmanners" by Peggy Nuckles
- Third Place: "Good Morning Sunshine" by Becky Huffman
- Attendance: 661
- FenCon ION newsletter: (PDF) Friday, Saturday, Sunday
- Program Book cover artist: David Mattingly
- Convention Guide cover artist: David Lee Anderson
- Official T-Shirt artist: Shawn Murphy
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Shawn Murphy
- Convention Chairman: Tim Miller
- Location: Crowne Plaza North Dallas
14315 Midway Road; Addison, TX 75001
- Theme: Fentastic Four
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Sing along: FenCon IV Music
Guest of Honor Tom Smith had such a good time at FenCon that he immortalized
us in song. With Tom's kind permission, you can download
The FenCon Song and enjoy it forever. Be sure to
check out Tom Smith Online for more of
Tom's fine work. |
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FenCon III
- GoH: Alan Dean Foster
- Music GoH: Heather Alexander
- Fen GoH: Judith Ward*
- Artist GoH: Darrell K. Sweet
- Toastmaster: Jim Butcher
- Special Guest: Lawrence Watt-Evans
(* Judith Ward passed away on July 3rd, 2006, but she
remained Fen GoH.) |
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2006 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Double Edge" by Delilah Peeler
- Second Place: "All Things Green" by Mary Bowerman
- Third Place: "Love Me" by Becky Huffman
- Attendance: 623
- Program Book cover artist: Darrell K. Sweet
- Convention Guide cover artist: Brad W. Foster
- Official T-Shirt artist: Barry Whitewater
- Staff T-Shirt artist: Barry Whitewater
- Convention Chairman: Tim Miller
- Location: Holiday Inn Select North Dallas
2645 LBJ Freeway; Dallas, TX 75234
- Theme: Sci-Fi Camp
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FenCon II
- GoH: S.M. Stirling
- Music GoH: Leslie Fish
- Fen GoH: Randy Farran
- Artist GoH: Larry Dixon
- Toastmaster: David Gerrold
- Special Guest: Mike Resnick
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2005 Short Story Contest Winners
- First Place: "Winds of Limbo Roar" by Michael Ashleigh Finn
- Second Place: "The Perils of Pet Ownership" by Aaron F. Johnson
- Third Place: "The Damned Kerchief" by Michael Ashleigh Finn
- Attendance: 462
- Program Book cover artist: Larry Dixon
- Convention Guide cover artist: Larry Dixon
- Official T-Shirt artist: Shawn Murphy
- Convention Chairman: Michael Nelson
- Location: Holiday Inn Select North Dallas
2645 LBJ Freeway; Dallas, TX 75234
- Theme: What if?
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FenCon I
- GoH: Larry Niven
- Filk GoH: Michael Longcor
- Fen GoH: Jim Murray
- Toastmaster: Elizabeth Moon
- Special Guest: Joe R. Lansdale
- Special Guest: Ardath Mayhar
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- Attendance: 324
- Program Book cover artist: Cat Conrad
- Convention Guide cover artist: Cat Conrad
- Official T-Shirt artist: Shawn Murphy
- Convention Chairman: Michael Nelson
- Location: Holiday Inn Select North Dallas
2645 LBJ Freeway; Dallas, TX 75234
- Theme: Of the fen, by the fen, for the fen
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Last updated 16 October 2011
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