Eastercon
Genre	Science fiction
Venue	London Heathrow
Location	London
Country	United Kingdom
First held	1948
Attendance	~800
Official website

Eastercon is the common name for the British National Science Fiction Convention. From 1948 until the 1960s, the convention was held over the three-day Whitsun bank holiday at the end of May. Since then it has been held over the four-day Easter holiday weekend. The pre-1960s conventions are generally considered to have been "Eastercons" even though they were not held over Easter. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... “UK” redirects here. ... Science fiction conventions are gatherings of the community of fans (called science fiction fandom) of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. ... … The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. ... This article is about the Christian festival. ...

Future Eastercons

• 2009: LX will be held at the Cedar Court Hotel, Bradford.
• 2010: Odyssey 2010 will be held at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel in London.

Organisation

British science fiction fandom is far too disorganised to have anything so formal as an organisation to arrange its conventions. The British Science Fiction Association does not have anything to do with organising conventions. Instead, groups of fans (typically 5-8 in number) get together to form "bid committees" and plan where they want to hold the Eastercon, who they want to be their guests of honour, what the theme of the convention will be, etc. The winning bid is chosen by a vote among the people who attend the bid session at the Eastercon two years in advance, or one year if no bid was successful at the bid session two years out. Until the early 1990s there were commonly several bids to hold the Eastercon, but since then the realisation appears to have grown that putting on an Eastercon involves a lot of hard work, and now it is normal for there to be only one serious bid. There may also be a number of joke bids - it is rumoured that in 1989 the joke bid for Inconceivable narrowly beat the serious bid for Speculation on the initial show of hands, but the chair arranged a lobby vote which then went the "right" way. In some years e.g. 2005, no serious bids are made, but one usually emerges in the following year (See "Two Year Bidding" below) It is rumoured that the concom for the 2003 Seacon'03 was put together in the bar shortly before the bidding session at the 2001 convention, in the absence of any other bidders - the Seacon name was extremely ironic as the convention was held in Hinckley which is about as far from the sea as it is possible to get on the British mainland. Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is the community of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy literature, and in contact with one another based upon that interest. ... The British Science Fiction Society was founded in 1958 by a group of authors, publishers, booksellers and fans in order to encourage science fiction in every form. ...

As Eastercons are fan-run/not-for-profit events, the money raised by membership, advertising etc. is spent on running the convention. It is traditional that any surplus is used for the benefit of the convention members, fandom in general or donated to charity. This may include sponsoring items at other conventions, buying equipment for use by other conventions, donating to the RNIB to get works of SF literature converted to talking books for the blind, and funding international fannish visits (often through The League of Fan Funds). The Royal National Institute for Deaf People, which prefers to be referred to as RNID, seeks to represent all deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. RNIDs headquarters are in Islington, in Central London (19-23 Featherstone Street, LONDON EC1Y 8SL). ...

Certain Eastercon host venues have fallen in and out of fashion at various times. Often a particular hotel offers a good package for several years, then either the management prices itself out of the market (perhaps trying for more lucrative conference customers instead), or fans get bored of the location and demand to go somewhere different. For example the Liverpool Adelphi was used five times between 1988 and 1999. It was due to be used again in 2007 but that convention was forced to cancel, in part because of the hotel's poor reputation among fandom. Glasgow was used four times between 1980 and 1991, then there was a break until 2000. Hinckley was used three times between 2001 and 2005 and was seriously considered for 2008 before Heathrow was chosen instead, but it has since come under new management who carried out extensive renovation work and then decided not to host Redemption in 2009.

Finding suitable venues for an Eastercon (enough function and social space of the right types, enough bedrooms, low enough rates, not in a city that's already hosting a big event on the Easter weekend, willing to put up with Eastercon's numerous unusual requirements such as supply of real ale, etc.) is a difficult job. Every year people say "there must be somewhere else we can go," and a lot of effort is put into trying to find new venues - usually with little success. There are plans to document the results of some of the most recent venue searches at Eastercon.org. If you know of a hotel that hasn't been used before and may be suitable, please mention it on the Eastercon Yahoo group or the Eastercon Livejournal community. A pint of real ale. ...

Two-year bidding

Some people claim there is little need to actually have a two-year lead time as the convention can be organised in less than a year. Others point out it is hard enough finding venues with more than two years to go, so potentially losing some of those makes it even more difficult. It also means only one year to get people to join, so the committee can't predict the number of members (and hence their budget). This is a contentious issue and a frequent subject for debate.

Eastercon traditions

The Doc Weir award is voted on and presented each year at Eastercon to an "unsung hero" of British fandom.

The George Hay Memorial Lecture, a presentation on a scientific topic by an invited speaker, has been held every Eastercon since 2Kon in 2000.

Trademark

In 2003 at Seacon, in a momentary lack of disorganisation, a fan offered to obtain the UK trademark for "Eastercon" on behalf of UK fandom and this was agreed by the small percentage of that year's convention who attended that programme item. This trademark was subsequently obtained and so any group that now wants to run an "Eastercon" and use that name must clear it with the trademark holder first. This is not so much to control fans running an Eastercon as to prevent its takeover by large commercial companies who have no idea what an Eastercon should be about.

List of Eastercons

Notes: Arthur Bertram Chandler (March 28, 1912 _ June 6, 1984) was an Australian science fiction author most well-known for his John Grimes novels and the Rim World series. ... Forrest J Ackerman (born November 24, 1916 in Los Angeles, California) is a legendary science fiction fan and collector of science fiction-related memorabilia. ... John Russell Fearn(1908-1960) One of the first British writers to appear in US pulp science fiction magazines. ... John Carnell (1912-1972) British science fiction editor known for editing New Worlds in 1946 then from 1949 to 1963. ... Don Ford was an influential American science fiction fan from Ohio. ... Sir Kingsley William Amis (April 16, 1922 – October 22, 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. ... Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (sometimes credited as Bruce Montgomery) (October 2, 1921—September 15, 1978) an English crime writer and composer. ... Edwin Charles Tubb (October 15, 1919 -) is a British author, primarily of science fiction. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American science fiction author who has lived in many parts of the world including Mexico, England, Denmark and Italy. ... John Brunner John Kilian Houston Brunner (September 24, 1934 – August 26, 1995) was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. ... Henry Kenneth Bulmer, (January 14, 1921 – December 16, 2005), born in London, England, was a British author, primarily of science fiction. ... Judith Merril (January 21, 1923, New York, New York - September 12, 1997, Canada) was an North American science fiction author and anthologist. ... James Benjamin Blish (East Orange, New Jersey, May 23, 1921 – Henley-on-Thames, July 30, 1975) was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. ... Anne Inez McCaffrey (born April 1, 1926) is an American science fiction author best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Samuel Ray Delany, Jr. ... Bob Shaw (December 31, 1931 - February 12, 1996) was a British science fiction author and fan. ... Peter Weston is an influential British science fiction fan. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American science fiction author who has lived in many parts of the world including Mexico, England, Denmark and Italy. ... Sir Peter Geoffrey Roberts (23 June 1912 - 22 July 1985) was a British Conservative politician. ... At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Robert Silverberg (January 15, 1935, Brooklyn, New York) is a prolific American author best known for writing science fiction, a multiple winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. ... Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American author. ... John Middleton Murry, Jr. ... Jim Barker is the General Manager of the Calgary Stampeders. ... Colin Kapp (1928—) is the author of a number of science fiction novels and short stories. ... Thomas M. Disch Thomas Michael Disch (Born February 2, 1940) is an American science fiction author and poet. ... David Langford David Rowland Langford (born April 10, 1953, in Newport, Monmouthshire) is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. ... Ian Watson (born 1943) is a British science fiction author. ... Angela Carter (May 7, 1940 – February 16, 1992) was an English novelist and journalist, known for her post-feminist magical realist and science fiction works. ... John Thomas Sladek (December 15, 1937 - March 10, 2000) was an American science-fiction author. ... Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series, often with a feminist outlook. ... Avedon Carol is an anti-censorship and civil liberties campaigner and a researcher in the field of sex crime. ... James White (April 7, 1928 - August 23, 1999) was a prolific Northern Irish author of science fiction novellas, short stories, and novels. ... Pierre Barbet (May 16, 1925 - July 20, 1995) was the main pseudonym used by French science fiction writer Claude Avice. ... Josef Nesvadba (June 19, 1926 Prague, Czechoslovakia – April 26, 2005 Prague) was a Czech science-fiction writer, one the best known. ... Christopher Priest (born July 14, 1943 in Cheadle) is an English writer, whose notable works include Fugue for a Darkening Island (US title Darkening Island), Inverted World, The Affirmation, The Glamour, The Prestige and The Separation. ... Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels. ... Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941 in Mobile, Alabama) is an American science fiction author and physicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. ... Joseph William Haldeman is an American science fiction author. ... Chris Atkinson born November 30, 1979 in the far South Coast town of Bega, New South Wales, Australia, is a professional rally driver. ... For the former head of the Grenadian security forces, see Keith Roberts (Grenada). ... Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 - January 31, 2001) was a Canadian science fiction author. ... Gwyneth Jones is a British writer born in 1952. ... Len Wein (born June 12, 1948, New York City, New York) is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics Swamp Thing and for reviving Marvel Comics X-Men. ... Avedon Carol is an anti-censorship and civil liberties campaigner and a researcher in the field of sex crime. ... Michael John Harrison (July 26, 1945, Warwickshire ), is a UK science fiction author, fantasy author and literary fiction author, who writes as M. John Harrison. // Biography and writing career Harrisons first story was published in 1966. ... Don Lawrence (Donald Southam Lawrence) (November 11, 1928, London - December 29, 2003, Jevington) was a British comic book artist and author. ... Anne Inez McCaffrey (born April 1, 1926) is an American science fiction author best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. ... Iain Menzies Banks (officially Iain Banks, born on 16 February 1954 in Dunfermline, Fife) is a Scottish writer. ... SMS, alias Simon Short, is a Hampshire-born, Lancashire-based artist known for his award-winning covers for science-fiction magazine, Interzone, and for his work for British anthology magazine 2000AD. Entering comics and illustration full time in 1987, he won a British Science Fiction Award in 1998 and a... Robert Holdstock is an English fantasy author and was born in Kent in 1948 - he became a full-time writer in 1975 after studying Medical Zoology as a student. ... Geoffrey Charles Ryman (born 1951) is a writer of science fiction, fantasy and slipstream fiction. ... Paul McAuley (born April 23, 1955), a British botanist, award-winning author, and self-described science junkie. ... John Brunner John Kilian Houston Brunner (September 24, 1934 – August 26, 1995) was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. ... George Raymond Richard Martin, sometimes called GRRM, born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey is an American author and screenwriter of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. ... Karel Thole, pseudonym of Carolus Adrianus Maria Thole (Amsterdam, Netherlands, April 1920 1914 - Cannobio, Italy, March 26, 2000), Dutch painter and illustrator. ... Diane Duane (b. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an award winning and prolific American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction and historical fiction. ... Peter Morwood (b. ... Lois McMaster Bujold (November 2, 1949, Columbus, Ohio) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. ... Roger Robinson (born April 22, 1982) is an American football player who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals. ... Bob Shaw (December 31, 1931 - February 12, 1996) was a British science fiction author and fan. ... Jack Cohen is a reproductive biologist at the University of Warwick, England. ... Colin Greenland (b. ... Bryan Talbot (born February 24, 1952) is a British comic book artist and writer. ... Vernor Steffen Vinge (IPA: ) (born February 10, 1944) is a mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction author who is best known for his Hugo award-winning novels A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, as well as for his 1993 essay The Technological Singularity, in which... Brian Wilson Aldiss, OBE, (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk) is a prolific English author of both general fiction and science fiction. ... Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 — February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction writer, one of very few African-American women in the field. ... David Langford David Rowland Langford (born April 10, 1953, in Newport, Monmouthshire) is a British author, editor and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. ... Jon Bing (b. ... Ian McDonald at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow Ian McDonald, born in 1960, is an award-winning British science fiction novelist, living in Belfast. ... Connie Willis at Clarion West, 1998 Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born 31 December 1945) is an American science fiction writer. ... Peter Soyer Beagle (born in 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. ... John [Frederick] Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who lives in Britain. ... Jeff Noon Jeff Noon (born in 1957 in Droylsden, Manchester, England) is a novelist, short story writer and playwright whose works make extensive use of wordplay and fantasy. ... Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay Guy Gavriel Kay (born November 7, 1954) is a Canadian author of fantasy fiction. ... Katherine (Irene) Kurtz (born 1944) is the author of numerous fantasy novels, especially the Deryni novels. ... Stephen Baxter (born in Liverpool, 13 November 1957) is a British hard science fiction author. ... Lisanne Norman (Born February 15, Glasgow, Scotland) is a Science Fiction author. ... Michael Scott Rohan (born 1951 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author. ... Brian Stableford (born July 25, 1948) is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 50 novels. ... Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American historian and prolific novelist who has written historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction works. ... Peter Weston is an influential British science fiction fan. ... Christopher Evans (born 1951) is a British science fiction writer of Capellas Golden Eyes (1982), Mortal Remains (1996), Ice Tower (2000), and co-editor with Robert Holdstock of two original SF anthologies, Other Edens (1987) and Other Edens II. Christopher Evans is the winner of the BSFA award in... Mary Rosalyn Gentle (1956—) is a UK science fiction and fantasy author. ... Danny Flynn, born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom is a fantasy and science fiction artist. ... Christopher Priest (born July 14, 1943 in Cheadle) is an English writer, whose notable works include Fugue for a Darkening Island (US title Darkening Island), Inverted World, The Affirmation, The Glamour, The Prestige and The Separation. ... Philip Pullman CBE (born October 19, 1946) is a British writer. ... Announcer for Double Dare and History IQ. Categories: Television biographical stubs ... Ken MacLeod (born August 2, 1954), an award-winning Scottish science fiction writer, lives near Edinburgh. ... Robert Rankin Robert Fleming Rankin (born July 27, 1949) is a prolific British humorous novelist. ... // Ben Jeapes 1965-present Early Life Ben was born in Belfast on the 14th of February 1965. ... Richard Morgan (b. ... Michael John Harrison (July 26, 1945, Warwickshire ), is a UK science fiction author, fantasy author and literary fiction author, who writes as M. John Harrison. // Biography and writing career Harrisons first story was published in 1966. ... Brian Froud (born 1947 in Winchester) is an English fantasy illustrator. ... Elizabeth Hand (b. ... Justina Robson is a science fiction author from Leeds, England. ... Robin McKinley (born November 16, 1952 as Jennifer Carolyn Robin Turrell McKinley) is a fantasy author especially known for her Newbery Medal-winning novel The Hero and the Crown. ... Peter Dickinson is a British author who has written a wide variety of books over a long and distinguished career. ... Sharyn November (born 1960) is an American editor of books for children and teenagers. ... For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ... Sharyn November (born 1960) is an American editor of books for children and teenagers. ... Neil Richard Gaiman (IPA: ) (born November 10, 1960[2]) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (born September 19, 1947) is a British writer of science fiction, horror and fantasy. ... China Tom Miéville (born September 6, 1972, Norwich) is a British fantastic fiction writer. ... Charles David George Charlie Stross (born Leeds, October 18, 1964) is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... Jon Courtenay Grimwood is a British science fiction author. ... Tim Powers at the Israeli ICon 2005 SF&F Convention Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. ... Dirk Maggs is a freelance writer and director working across all media. ... Alastair Reynolds (born in 1966 in Barry, South Wales) is a Welsh science fiction author. ... Liz Williams is a British science fiction writer. ... Mike Carey is the writer of the Eisner Award nominated Lucifer and Hellblazer, comic book titles published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. ... There have been several notable figures named John Dowd. ...

• Early conventions did not always have a particular name, and sometimes were given a name retrospectively when another Eastercon was held in the same town, e.g. Brumcon only acquired its name when Brumcon II was held in Birmingham.
• The 1957 convention held in Kettering has recently acquired a semi-mythical status among British fandom, since at a distance of nearly 50 years nobody who might have attended can definitely remember actually attending this one, as opposed to the other Kettering conventions in 1955, 1956 and 1958, and there does not appear to be any surviving contemporary documentation from the con itself; however, there is just enough evidence from fanzines of the time and other fannish memorabilia to suggest that it did, in fact, take place.
• The official numbering of the conventions has been somewhat adjusted, following the naming of the 1972 convention as "Eastercon 22" which necessitated the counting of 21 previous Eastercons, which is why the 1951 Festivention is not counted.
• Convoy, the 2007 Eastercon elected by members of Concussion, was forced to cancel at the end of October 2006 due to concerns over security arrangements at the hotel. Contemplation was formed at the 2006 Novacon by Chris O'Shea and Fran Dowd as a very short notice emergency replacement. Convoy's guests of honour were invited to attend, and Sharyn November initially accepted, but she was ultimately unable to attend due to work commitments.

Fandom (from the noun fan and the affix -dom, as in kingdom, dukedom, etc. ... Novacon is an annual UK science fiction convention that takes place in (or near) Birmingham in November. ...

External links

• Eastercon.org - the central Eastercon website
• Eastercon Trademark - FAQ (and not so FAQ)
• ConCussion - the 2006 Eastercon
• Contemplation - the 2007 Eastercon
• Convoy - the cancelled 2007 Eastercon (see Contemplation above)
• Orbital 2008 - the 2008 Eastercon
• LX 2009 - the 2009 Eastercon
• Odyssey 2010 - the 2010 Eastercon
• Running the Eastercon - a "how to run an Eastercon" guide by Steve Davies, Chair of Reconvene
• The Conbledegook File - a glossary of Eastercon related jargon