Philcon
| Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| First held | 1936 |
| Last held | 2010 |
| Organizer | Philadelphia Science Fiction Society |
| Official website | http://www.philcon.org/ |
Philcon, also known as the "Philadelphia Science Fiction Conference", is an annual science fiction convention, which has been held in or near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nearly every year since 1936. The convention is run by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS). Usually held in November, its programming features a mixture of literary, science, gaming, film, anime, and costuming. There is usually an open Meet the Authors/Artists Party on Friday and a Masquerade on Saturday, as well as the usual programming mixture of literature, art, costuming, and gaming panels, an art show, a dealers' room, a masquerade, and movies.
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[edit] Philcon 2011
The 2011 Philcon will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ from November 18 through 20.[1] The Principal Speaker is science fiction author Cory Doctorow, a Canadian science fiction author, journalist, and blogger. who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. His novel, Little Brother, which foresaw the impact of social media on political movements, was nominated for the 2009 Hugo Award. In a case of life imitating art, Little Brother has been translated into Persian and is being covertly distributed by liberal activists in Iran. The Artist Guests of Honor are the husband and wife team of Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. Boris Vallejo works almost exclusively in the fantasy and erotica genres. His hyper-representational paintings have graced the covers of dozens of science fiction paperbacks and are featured in a series of best-selling glossy calendars, as well as on album covers, video box art, and movie advertising. Julie Bell has painted the covers for about 100 fantasy/science fiction book and magazine covers since 1990. She was the first female artist to do a cover painting for the Marvel Comics version of Conan the Barbarian. In the early 1990s, she illustrated painted covers for video games as well as best-selling trading cards for the superheroes of Marvel and DC. She designed the award-winning Dragons of Destiny sculpture series, Mistress of the Dragon's Realm dagger series, as well as the Temptation Rides sculpture series produced by The Franklin Mint. She also did the cover art for two albums by the rock icon Meat Loaf. S.J. Tucker tours the USA solo and as leader of two bands, Skinny White Chick and Tricky Pixie. She has released seven full-length albums containing all-original material, as well as two live discs. Her sound stretches from comedy to lullabyes to full-on punk, even including electronica
[edit] History
In 1936, a half dozen fans came down from New York by train for the first intercity meeting of fans ever held. A picture taken of the group at Independence Hall has appeared in a number of the histories of science fiction fandom. They held a business meeting at the house of Philadelphia fan Milton A. Rothman, electing Rothman as chair and New Yorker Frederik Pohl as Secretary.[2] Since Philadelphia had been the site of the 1936 Democratic and Republican National Conventions, they declared themselves the Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention. Part of the group went to John Baltadonis' home to examine his art collection and the printing press used to publish the PSFS newsletter. At Rothman's house, the group talked about science fiction and played craps. On the way back to the train station, some of the attendees sang early filk songs. One of the attendees, John B. Michel published an account of the day, the first convention report, in a New York fanzine.
Nine people attended the first Philcon in 1936. They were Ossie Train, Donald A. Wollheim, Milton A. Rothman, Frederik Pohl, John B. Michel, Will Sykora, David Kyle, Robert A. Madle, and John Baltadonis.[3]
Many fan historians, as well as the PSFS, claim that the first Philcon was the first science fiction convention ever held. Others make this claim for a 1937 event in Leeds, England.[who?] Attendees at the British event bought tickets to sit in a hall and listen to several speakers and to hear a few congratulatory telegrams. They also voted to create the British Science Fiction Association.
[edit] Worldcons
The World Science Fiction Convention, or Worldcon, has been held in Philadelphia three times:
- The 5th World Science Fiction Convention, called Philcon I, was held in 1947.
- The 11th World Science Fiction Convention, called Philcon II, was held in 1953.
- The 59th World Science Fiction Convention, called the Millennium Philcon, was held in 2001.
[edit] Sources
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Sam Moskowitz, "The Immortal Storm", Hyperion Press, 1974, available from NESFA Press, http://www.nesfa.org/press/. The history of science fiction fandom up to World War II by one of the key players.
John Bristol (Jack Speer), "Fancyclopedia", Fantasy Foundation, 1944, is available online at fanac.org/Fannish_Reference_Works/Fancyclopedia/Fancyclopedia_I/. One of the first serious attempts to study science fiction fandom.
Dick Eney, "Fancyclopedia II", Operation Crifanac 1959. This is an attempt to update Jack Speer's earlier encyclopedia. The site, fanac.org, is the site of The Fan History Project, an organization dedicated to the serious study of the history of science fiction.
Lew Wolkoff, "The First Philcon, An Oral History", Phanadelphia Corporation, 1985, is available from The Millennium Philcon, the 2001 World Science Fiction Convention, which may be contacted from www.2001.worldcon.org. This was an oral history, a series of interviews with the persons who had attended the 1936 Philcon along with supplemental material, which includes: a map of Philadelphia; listings of the contents of the October 1936 issues of various science fiction magazines; a summary of current events, current science fiction movies, and the current plotline of several science fiction/fantasy newspaper comic strips; photographs taken at the event and supplied by the photographer; and copies of the text of several science fiction fan magazine reports of the event.
Frederik Pohl, "The Way the Future Was: A Memoir", Del Rey Books, 1978. Covers much of his career in fandom, including his accounts of attending the first PhilCon in 1936.
[edit] References
- ^ Philcon 2011 Official website
- ^ Sam Moskowitz. The Immortal Storm, A History of Science Fiction Fandom, 1st ed.,1954, The Atlanta Science Fiction Organization Press, Atlanta, GA, page 82. ISBN 978-0883551608
- ^ Frederik Pohl. The Way the Future Was:A Memoir, 1st ed., 1978, Del Rey Books.
