OryCon

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Orycon is Portland, Oregon's Science Fiction Convention held in November since 1978.

It is one of many Science Fiction fan conventions held around the world.

[edit] Highlights

Orycon promotes science fiction and fantasy works of all kinds.

There are many pannels and workshops discussing topics from how to write a great science fiction novel to current events in science.

The Endeavour Award is presented to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year.

Susan C Petrey Scholarship Fund Auction, which awards scholarships to the Clarion Science Fiction Writers' Workshop (both in the East and West)

Some of the recient topics have incuded:

- Writing
  - When is enough research too much?
  - How to write about something you don't really know about
  - Using Your Imagination to Write and Draw
  - Inventing Languages: Alien Linguistics
  - Balancing Writing with Family/Real Life -- Deadlines vs. diapers

- Current events
  - What impact does technology really have on history
  - Murdering stemcells and frankenfood: modern biology and the far left and right
  - The web in 2015 - a look ahead
  - The rest of the world's last year in space/Japanese Space Program. What they've done, what they are doing, what they have planned.

- Costuming
  - Making an original costume: What you need to get started
  - Fabric manipulation-How to twist, dye, stitch, fold, pleat and otherwise bully your fabric into submission
  - Period costumes beyond Victorian and medieval: Why don't we see more eras?
  - Costuming 101: Pattern bashing for beginners

- Art
  - Art Jam - Everybody Draws
  - Selling the Offspring: Your Emotional Investment in Your Art and How Much do You Charge for It?
  - The Business of Art
  - My inspiration - My art: Why I did what I did

- Gaming
  - Gaming is organized by Game Storm (OSFCI's gaming convention)

[edit] 2005 Endeavour Award

Winner:
- The Child Goddess by Louise Marley
Finalists:
- Alphabet of Thorn, by Patricia McKillip
- Paradise Passed, by Jerry Oltion
- The Secrets of Jin-Shei, by Alma Alexander
- Two Trains Running, by Lucius Shepard
Judges
- Allen Steele
- Susan Shwartz
- Nalo Hopkinson