71st World Science Fiction Convention

LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention

Logo by Brad Foster
Status Active
Genre Science fiction
Venue Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center / Marriott Rivercenter
Location(s) San Antonio, Texas
Country USA
Inaugurated August 29-September 2, 2013
Attendance 4,311 (6,060 total)
Organized by Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization, Inc.
Filing status 501(c)(3) non-profit
Website
lonestarcon3.org

The 71st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as LoneStarCon 3, was held in San Antonio, Texas, on August 29-September 2, 2013, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and Marriott Rivercenter.[1][2] The convention committee was chaired by Randall Shepherd. The convention was organized by Alamo Literary Arts Maintenance Organization, Inc. (ALAMO) which had previously organized LoneStarCon 2, the 55th World Science Fiction Convention, held in San Antonio in 1997.[3][4][5]

Program and participants

Author Norman Spinrad at LoneStarCon 3.

The Guests of Honor were editor Ellen Datlow, author James Gunn,[6] fan Willie Siros, author Norman Spinrad, and artist Darrell K. Sweet.[7] (Although Sweet died in December 2011, he remained one of the convention's honored guests.) Paul Cornell served as Toastmaster for the event.[4] Special guests were musician Leslie Fish and author Joe R. Lansdale.[3]

Programming included hundreds of panels, screenings, concerts, signings, meetings, and other events on topics including women in aerospace, Doctor Who, molecular gastronomy, the Vatican library, the histories of both science fiction and its fandom, plus readings of current work by attending authors. More than a dozen panels focused on Texas and its role in speculative fiction plus nearly as many on the life and work of author Robert E. Howard.[5]

The conventions several hundred program participants included authors Lois McMaster Bujold, George R.R. Martin, Jo Walton, Howard Waldrop, and Bradley Denton plus artists John Picacio, Vincent Villafranca, and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman.[5][8][9][10]

Site selection

Committees who had announced bids to host the 2013 Worldcon included "Zagreb in 2013",[11] "Texas in 2013" (San Antonio), and a hoax bid for "Minneapolis in 5773". Only "Texas in 2013" qualified to be on the official ballot. As such, Texas' bid to host the Worldcon was formally unopposed and won in balloting among members of Renovation, the 69th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Reno, Nevada, in August 2011.[12] With 760 valid ballots cast, Texas received 694 votes beating out No Preference with 25 and None of the Above with 14.[13] Write-in candidates included Xerpes with 6, Minneapolis with 5, Denton with 5, Boston with 3, and a number of single-vote entries.[3]

Awards

The Hugo Awards, named after Hugo Gernsback, are presented every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year.[7][14] Results are based on the ballots submitted by members of the World Science Fiction Society.[15] Other awards, including the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Prometheus Award, and the Golden Duck Award, are also presented each year at Worldcon.[16]

The base for the 2013 Hugo trophy was cast in bronze by artist Vincent Villafranca and depicts an astronaut and several aliens reading books while seated around the globe on which the traditional Hugo Award rocket has landed.[17]

The Hugo ceremony was hosted by toastmaster Paul Cornell in the Grand Ballroom of the Marriott Rivercenter in downtown San Antonio.[18] Presentations included the Big Heart Award to Tom Veal by First Fandom, an in memoriam reel featuring music by Leslie Fish, and a comedy routine by author Robert Silverberg.[19] The proceedings were broadcast in partnership with Ustream but technical issues on-site kept the entire ceremony from being broadcast live.[9][20]

Hugo Awards

Other awards

LoneStarCon 3 Film Festival

Future site selection

2015 Worldcon

Three committees announced bids and qualified to be on the site selection ballot for the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention: "Helsinki in 2015" to be held August 6–10, 2015,[25] "Spokane in 2015" to be held August 19–23, 2015,[26] and "Orlando in 2015" to be held September 2–6, 2015.[27][28] The first contested Worldcon selection since the 2006 vote for the 2008 Worldcon site saw active campaigning and drew celebrity endorsements.[29][30]

Spokane won the site selection contest on the third round of ballot counting in Australian-style preferential balloting.[31] Spokane finished with 645 votes, gaining a majority over Helsinki with 610.[32] Orlando was dropped in the second round with 307 votes and "none of the above" had been eliminated in the first round.[33] Spokane's Worldcon is named "Sasquan".[28]

2014 NASFiC

Two committees announced bids and qualified to be on the site selection ballot for the 2014 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC): "Detroit in 2014" to be held July 17–20, 2014, and "Phoenix in 2014" to be held July 30–August 3, 2014.[27] Detroit's bid was certified as the winner with 231 votes over Phoenix with 210 votes.[34] Detroit needed at least 223 votes to win in the first round, based on the total of 453 valid votes cast.[33] Detroit's NASFiC is named "Detcon1".[34]

References

  1. ↑ "LoneStarCon 3 wins 2013 Worldcon bid for San Antonio". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. August 23, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  2. ↑ Burnham, Karen (August 2, 2013). "WorldCon Has Lots of Kid Friendly Options". GeekMom. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "LoneStarCon 3 Announces Guests". File 770. August 20, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  4. 1 2 Guzman, René A. (August 21, 2011). "2013 World Science Fiction Convention coming to San Antonio". Geek Speak (San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Express-News). Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Faires, Robert (August 30, 2013). "LoneStarCon, Episode III: The Alamo Strikes Back". The Austin Chronicle (Austin, TX: Nick Barbaro). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ Burnes, Brian (August 16, 2013). "For James Gunn, science-fiction’s golden age has lasted eight decades". The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO: The McClatchy Company). Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Guzman, René A. (August 23, 2013). "How to explore LoneStarCon 3". San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio, TX: Hearst Corporation). Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  8. ↑ Gentry, Amy (September 1, 2013). "LoneStarCon 3: The Lois McMaster Bujold Interview". The Austin Chronicle (Austin, TX: Nick Barbaro). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  9. 1 2 3 Guzman, René A. (September 1, 2013). "Local artist adds another Hugo". San Antonio Express-News (San Antonio, TX: Hearst Corporation). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Gentry, Amy (August 30, 2013). "LoneStarCon 3: The Jo Walton Interview". The Austin Chronicle (Austin, TX: Nick Barbaro). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  11. ↑ Mitchell, Petrea (September 17, 2010). "Today Eurocon, Tomorrow the Worldcon?". Con-News.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
  12. ↑ "LoneStarCon 3 wins 2013 Worldcon bid for San Antonio" (Press release). LoneStarCon 3. August 20, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  13. ↑ "2013 Worldcon: LoneStarCon 3". Locus. August 22, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Hugo Award Finalists". San Antonio, TX: LoneStarCon 3. March 30, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
  15. ↑ Guzman, René A. (July 23, 2013). "Want to vote in the Hugo Awards? You have until July 31 before midnight". Geek Speak (San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Express-News). Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Hugo Award FAQ". The Hugo Awards. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
  17. ↑ Guzman, René A. (August 21, 2013). "Ustream to broadcast 2013 Hugo Awards live online". Geek Speak (San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Express-News). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  18. ↑ Guzman, René A. (September 2, 2013). "Worldcon 2013: Complete list of Hugo Award winners". Geek Speak (San Antonio, TX: San Antonio Express-News). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 Faires, Robert; Gentry, Amy (September 3, 2013). "LoneStarCon 3: The Hugos; Who took home the prizes for best sf/fantasy of the year?". The Austin Chronicle (Austin, TX: Nick Barbaro). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  20. 1 2 Rohter, Larry (September 2, 2013). "'Redshirts' Takes Hugo Award for Best Science-Fiction Novel". The New York Times (New York City). Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  21. ↑ Silver, Steven H (September 2, 2013). "Veal Wins Big Heart". SF Site. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  22. 1 2 Silver, Steven H (September 3, 2013). "Rhysling Award". SF Site. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Glyer, Mike (August 31, 2013). "2013 Sidewise Awards". File 770. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  24. ↑ Silver, Steven H (September 7, 2013). "LoneStarCon 3 Film Festival". SF Site. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  25. ↑ Fox, Rose (September 3, 2012). "Worldcon Breaking News". Genreville (Publishers Weekly). Retrieved September 26, 2012.
  26. ↑ Glyer, Mike (October 30, 2011). "Future Worldcon Bids". File 770. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  27. 1 2 "WorldCon Site Selection". San Antonio, TX: LoneStarCon 3. July 9, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  28. 1 2 Sowa, Tom (November 21, 2014). "Spokane to host 2015 World Science Fiction Convention". The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA). Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  29. ↑ Martin, George R.R. (August 13, 2013). "Finland, Finland, Finland". Not A Blog. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  30. ↑ Foglio, Phil (August 13, 2013). "And Again We Are Back". Hey. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
  31. ↑ Mitchell, Petrea (September 1, 2013). "Spokane Gets 2015 Worldcon". Con-News.com. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  32. ↑ Glyer, Mike (August 31, 2013). "It’s Spokane in 2015". File 770. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  33. 1 2 "Spokane Wins 2015 Worldcon On Third Ballot; Detroit Wins 2014 NASFiC On First Round" (PDF). La Estrella Solitaria (San Antonio, TX: LoneStarCon 3). September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  34. 1 2 Glyer, Mike (August 31, 2013). "2014 NASFiC Result". File 770. Retrieved September 6, 2013.

External links

Preceded by
70th World Science Fiction Convention
(Chicon 7 in Chicago, Illinois) (2012)		 List of Worldcons
71st World Science Fiction Convention
(LoneStarCon 3 in San Antonio, Texas) (2013) 		Succeeded by
72nd World Science Fiction Convention
(Loncon 3 in London, England) (2014)
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