Albacon
| Albacon | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Science fiction/Fantasy |
| Location(s) | Albany, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1996 |
| Organized by | LASTSFA |
| Filing status | Non-profit |
| Website | |
| http://www.albacon.org/ | |
Albacon is the Albany science fiction convention, held each autumn in the Albany, New York area, also called the Capital District.
Albacon is the largest "Con" in upstate New York. It is hosted by LASTSFA, or Latham-Albany-Schenectady-Troy Science Fiction Association, a local science fiction fandom group. The Albacon website lists itself as:
a weekend gathering of fans and creators of Science Fiction or Fantasy, including literature, movies, games, and other mediums ... three days of panel discussions, interviews, films, games, readings, autographs, an art show, dealers room, debates, conversation, socializing, and such ....—Albacon website[1]
On September 23, 2011, it was announced that Albacon 2011 was cancelled. LASTSFA instead held another Albacon in October 2012, in Latham, New York. The most recent Albacon was a relaxacon, held November 1 to 3, 2013, in Saratoga Springs, New York.[2]
Past Albacons
The con has hosted many special guests. In 2006, the Guest of Honor (GoH) was Peter David,[3] a novelist most famous for his short stories, television shows and The Incredible Hunk comic book; the Artist Guest of Honor was Omar Rayyan.[4] Additional guests in 2006 included on-line cartoonist J. Jacques,[5] Nick Sagan (son of Carl Sagan and a science fiction writer in his own right), and Klingon linguist and psychologist Lawrence M. Schoen.[6]
Other guests at recent Albacons have included filker Erwin S. Strauss (Filthy Pierre), humorist-novelist Esther Friesner, Shannara creator Terry Brooks,[7] Lois McMaster Bujold,[8] novelist Don Sakers, web cartoonist Jeph Jacques, and science fiction researcher and fan Jan Howard Finder ("The Wombat").[9]
Albacon was not held in 2007, because LASTSFA co-hosted the World Fantasy Convention in Saratoga Springs, New York, with Guests of Honor Carol Emshwiller, Kim Newman, Lisa Tuttle and artist Jean Giraud (Moebius).[10]
Guests of Honor & Special Guests
| Year | Location | Guest of Honor | Art Guest of Honor | Fan Guest of Honor | Special Guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Howard Johnson Conference Center, Albany, NY | Nancy Kress | Jill Bauman | Shirley Maiewski | None |
| 1997 | Ramada Inn, Schenectady, NY | Melissa Scott | Charles Lang and Wendy Snow-Lang | Wayne Brown | Don't Quit Your Day Job Players |
| 1998 | Ramada Inn, Schenectady, NY | Esther Friesner | Jael | Joe Mayhew | Don't Quit Your Day Job Players |
| 1999 | Ramada Inn, Schenectady NY | Hal Clement | Vincent Di Fate | Seth Breidbart | None |
| 2000 | Ramada Inn, Schenectady NY | Glen Cook | Joe DeVito | Jan Howard Finder | None |
| 2001 | Ramada Inn, Schenectady NY | Larry Niven | Bob Eggleton & Marianne Plumridge | Bonnie Atwood & Ted Atwood | None |
| 2002 | Ramada Inn Schenectady, NY | Mike Resnick | Tom Kidd | Sharon Sbarsky | Steve Miller & Sharon Lee |
| 2003 | Roaring Brook Ranch Resort, Glens Falls, NY | Lois McMaster Bujold | Allen Koszowski | Oz Fontecchio; | Leslie Fish, Filker |
| 2004 | Crowne Plaza, Albany, NY | David Drake | None | David Kyle | None |
| 2005 | Crowne Plaza, Albany, NY | Terry Brooks | Rowena | Byron Connell & Tina Connell | Travis Tea |
| 2006 | Crowne Plaza, Albany, NY | Peter David | Omar Rayyam | None | None |
| 2007 | Not held | ||||
| 2008 | Crowne Plaza, Albany, NY | Anne McCaffrey (unable to attend) and Todd McCaffrey | Barclay Shaw | Gary S. Blog | None |
| 2009 | Sovereign Hotel, Albany, NY | Elizabeth Hand | Alan Beck | D. Cameron Calkins | Igor's Egg |
| 2010 | Sovereign Hotel, Albany, NY | Allen Steele | Ron Miller | Lisa Ashton | None |
| 2011 (Cancelled) | Sovereign Hotel, Albany, NY | Jackie Kessler | Stephen Hickman | The Wombat & Roberta Rogow (filker) | Keith DeCandido (media) |
| 2012 | Holiday Inn Express, Latham, New York, NY | Keith R.A. DeCandido | Jody A. Lee | Erwin S. Strauss (Filthy Pierre) | Julie E. Czerneda (educator), The Wombat & Roberta Rogow (filker) |
| 2013 | Residence Inn, Saratoga Springs, NY | None (relaxicon, with no guests) | None | None | None |
| 2014 1/2 | Best Western Albany Airport Inn, Albany, NY | Mur Lafferty | None | None | None |
Future Albacons
The next Albacon will be Albacon 2014 1/2, to be held May 8-10, 2015 in Albany, NY. The committee said it would not doing an Albacon 2015, since they were organizing World Fantasy Con, hence the name.
References
- ↑ Albacon web site. Retrieved April 14, 2007.
- ↑ "Albacon 2013 Information: Basic details: November 1-3, 2013". LASTSFA. n.d. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ Peter David's web site
- ↑ Omar Rayyan's web site
- ↑ J. Jacques' Questionable Content on-line cartoons
- ↑ Albacon guests webpage
- ↑ 2005 Guest of Honor webpage
- ↑ 2003 Guest of Honor
- ↑ 2000 Fan Guest of Honor, also at The Wombat's webpage and imdb
- ↑ World Fantasy Convention 2007 site.