Shoujocon

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Shoujocon
Status	Inactive
Venue	Various
Location	New Jersey/New York
Country	United States
Years in existence	2000 through 2003
Organizer	Shoujo Arts Society
Attendance	600 people in 2003^[1]

Shoujocon was a fan convention for anime and manga which focused on the shoujo (girls') subgenre. Although the convention did not exclusively target female fans, it did naturally appeal to girls and women more than general anime/manga cons might, and thus females made up the bulk of its attendees.^[2] Founded in 2000 by (co-chairs) "Nora" and "Katchan",^[3] and initially financed through eBay sales of fan-donated merchandise,^[4] Shoujocon quickly grew from 456 attendees^[5] to a peak of 1,252.^[6] In addition to its unique audience, Shoujocon attempted many other organizational and programmatic innovations during its time, such as an international staff which held meetings entirely online,^[3] support for doujinshi artists and writers, and cultural workshops.^[7]

In 2002 Nora and Katchan stepped down, turning con leadership over to the newly-formed Shoujo Arts Society (SAS), a non-profit organization incorporated to manage the con and promote the shoujo subgenre via other events.^[8] For the 2003 convention, Shoujocon moved to Rye, New York, where difficulties with the hotel and the change of location triggered a severe drop in attendance^[1] and poor reviews of the convention.^[9] The 2004 convention was first postponed,^[10] then canceled altogether.^[11]

Working the with organizers of Yuricon, the Shoujo Arts Society later announced a joint event called Onna! which was held in October 2005.^[12]

It remains to be seen whether Shoujocon can ever be resurrected in its original form. The Shoujocon and Shoujo Arts Society web sites are no longer online.