Links of Interest

Worldcons

• WSFS (The World Science Fiction Society) oversees how locations for Worldcons are chosen. The WSFS is also responsible for the Hugo Awards.
• Aussiecon 4 - the 68th Worldcon - in Melbourne, Australia, September 2–6, 2010. Guests of Honour: Kim Stanley Robinson, Robin Johnson, Shaun Tan.
• http://worldcon.org/bids/ has information regarding upcoming Worldcon bids.

Canadian Conventions

The following is a list of links for Canadian conventions:

• March 27 - 29, 2009 Ad-Astra - at Toronto Ontario, Canada “Ad Astra” means “to the stars” and the focus of the group is on literary works that fall into the speculative fiction genre (science fiction and fantasy).
• April 30th - May 3rd, 2009 World Horror Convention 2009 - at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Theme: In the Dead of Winter, Hear the Wind Scream
• May 15 - 18, 2009 KeyCon 26 - at Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada
• May 22 - 24, 2009 Anime North - at Toronto Ontario, Canada Canada’s premiere fan-fun anime convention.
• July 10 - 12, 2009 Polaris 23 - at Toronto, Ontario, Canada Science Fiction, Fantasy, and beyond!
• August 21 - 23, 2009 Con-Version 25 - at at the Metropolitan Centre Hotel in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Calgary’s premiere science fiction and fantasy convention.
• October 2 - 4, 2009 V-Con 34 at Vancouver, BC, Canada Vancouver’s Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Gaming Convention.

Local Conventions

The following is a list of links for Montréal conventions:

• May 9 - 11, 2008 Boréal - at Montréal, Québec. Canada Le 25e congrès de la science-fiction et du fantastique. Canada’s only purely francophone science fiction & fantasy convention.
• July 31 - August 2, 2009 Otakuthon - at Montréal, Québec. Canada Montréal’s own anime convention.
• October 3 - 5, 2008 Draconis - at Montréal , Québec, Canada A bilingual games convention in downtown Montréal.
• October 17 - 19, 2008 Con*Cept - at the Days Hotel in Montréal, Québec, Canada They cover all aspects of fandom: literature, television, comics, art, gaming, and much more.

Other Conventions

The following is a list of some of the other conventions that we’ve encountered on the web.

• June 26 - 29, 2008 Midwestcon 59 - at Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A. The genuine, the original, *the* Relaxacon.
• July 3 - July 6, 2008 Westercon 61 - at Las Vegas, Nevada, USA A Gathering of Fen in the Desert
• September 26 - 28, 2008 Conjecture at San Diego, California, USA A convention devoted to all things science-fiction and fantasy, but focusing primarily on literature.
• October 3 - 5, 2008 Archon 32 - at Collinsville, Illinois, U.S.A St. Louis SF & Fantasy convention.
• October 10 - 13, 2008 Gaylaxicon 2008 - at Washington, DC, U.S.A. Gaylaxicon is the annual international gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & friends Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Gaming Convention, held in a different city each year hosted by a local GLBTQ fan organization.
• October 10 - 12, 2008 Albacon - at Albany, New York, U.S.A.
• October 17 - 19, 2008 CapClave 2008- at Hilton Washington DC/Rockville, Executive Meeting Center, Maryland, USA Where reading is not extinct!
• November 14 - 16, 2008 WindyCon 35 - at Lombard, Illinois, USA Military SF.
• November 28 - 30, 2008 Loscon 35 - at Los Angelis, California, USA Exploring the golden ages of science fiction.
• January 16 - 19, 2009 Arisia - at Hyatt Regency Cambridge, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
• February 15 - 17, 2008 Boskone - at Westin Waterfront, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A NESFA’s regional Science Fiction Convention.
• March 20 - 22, 2009 Lunacon - New Jersey, U.S.A Lunacon is a science fiction and fantasy convention full of fun and exciting things to do!
• April 10 - 13, 2009 Eastercon LX - at Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford, UK The 60th British National Science Fiction Convention. For fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy (including books, films, TV and other forms), it regularly attracts 600–1000 people who spend the long Easter weekend attending talks, joining in games, taking part in panels and other events as well as just staying up chatting with like-minded people in the bar and other social spaces. By joining you don’t get a “ticket” you become a member of the Eastercon and are encouraged to join in with whatever activities interest you most!

Awards

The following is a list of Canadian awards for science fiction and fantasy literature:

• The Aurora Awards: Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association
• The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic
• Les prix Boréal (French site)
• Le Grand Prix de la science-fiction et du fantastique québécois. (French site)
• The Constellation Awards Canada’s fan awards for excellence in science fiction television and film.

Canadian SF Clubs and Associations

The following is a list of Canadian clubs for science fiction and fantasy fans:

• MonSFFA. The Montréal Science Fiction & Fantasty Association.
• BCSFA. The British Columbia Science Fiction Association.
• CUFF. The Canadian Unity Fan Fund (CUFF) is a Canadian national fund which provides for an Eastern Canadian or a Western Canadian science fiction enthusiast to attend CanVention.
• DWIN. The Doctor Who Information network.

Other link

One of the things that make fandom great are its individual parts, the fans themselves. Emru Townsend was an important figure in both the local SF and animation scene for close to twenty years. Instead of writing about animation, comics, and technology, last year he spent his time writing about how people could save his life, or that of someone just like him at www.healemru.com. To find out more about how you can help people who need bone marrow transplants by registering with your national bone marrow registry, visit www.healemru.com or www.aclt.org.