Science fiction convention in the Boston, Massachusetts area
Readercon is an annual science fiction convention , typically held every July in the Boston , Massachusetts area, currently taking place in Quincy, Massachusetts . It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987[ 1] [ 2]
Each convention has at least one guest of honor. Past guests of honor have included authors such as Greer Gilman , Gene Wolfe , Octavia E. Butler , Samuel R. Delany , Karen Joy Fowler , Brian Aldiss , Nalo Hopkinson , Joe Haldeman , Caitlín R. Kiernan , Peter Straub , and China Miéville , and editors such as Ellen Datlow and David G. Hartwell . The convention also makes a point of honoring a deceased author as the Memorial Guest of Honor. In 2009, for instance, the guests of honor were the living writers Elizabeth Hand and Greer Gilman and the memorial guest of honor was Hope Mirrlees .[ 3]
As of 2012, attendance at the convention has been consistently around 850 for several years.[ 4]
From 2005 to 2011, Readercon was the official venue for presentation of the Rhysling Award .[ 5] Shirley Jackson Awards since their founding in 2007.[ 6]
At least one Guest of Honor and typically one Memorial Guest of Honor are featured during each convention.[ 7]
Year Dates Name Venue Location Guests of Honor Memorial Chair Program 1987 June 27–28 Readercon 1 Holiday Inn of Brookline Brookline, MA Gene Wolfe Philip K. Dick 1988 November 18–20 Readercon 2 Lowell Hilton Lowell, MA Samuel R. Delany Theodore Sturgeon 1990 March 30-April Readercon 3 Lowell Hilton Lowell, MA John Crowley , Thomas M. Disch T. H. White RC3 Program Guide 1991 July 12–14 Readercon 4 Worchester Marriott Worchester, MA Barry N. Malzberg , John Clute RC4 Program Guide 1992 July 10–12 Readercon 5 Worchester Marriott Worchester, MA Michael Bishop , Richard M. Powers James Tiptree Jr. RC5 Program Guide 1993 July 9–11 Readercon 6 Worchester Marriott Worchester, MA Brian Aldiss , Judith Merril H. G. Wells RC6 Program Guide 1994 July 8–10 Readercon 7 Worchester Marriott Worchester, MA Ursula K. LeGuin , Terri Windling Cordwainer Smith RC7 Program Guide 1996 July 12–14 Readercon 8 Boston Marriott Westborough Westborough, MA William Gibson , Larry McCaffrey Alfred Bester RC8 Program Guide 1997 July 11–13 Readercon 9 Boston Marriott Westborough Westborough, MA Kim Stanley Robinson , Algis Budrys Cyril M. Kornbluth RC9 Program Guide 1998 July 10–12 Readercon 10 Boston Marriott Westborough Westborough, MA Bruce Sterling , Lisa Goldstein Leigh Brackett RC10 Program Guide 1999 July 9–11 Readercon 11 Westin Waltham Waltham, MA Harlan Ellison , Ellen Datlow Gerald Kersh RC11 Program Guide 2000 July 21–23 Readercon 12 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Michael Moorcock , Suzy McKee Charnas Mervyn Peake RC12 Program Guide 2001 July 13–15 Readercon 13 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Michael Swanwick , David Hartwell Clifford D. Simak RC13 Program Guide 2002 July 12–14 Readercon 14 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Octavia E. Butler , Gwyneth Jones John Brunner RC14 Program Guide 2003 July 11–13 Readercon 15 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Hal Clement , Rudy Rucker , Howard Waldrop R. A. Lafferty RC15 Program Guide 2005 July 8–10 Readercon 16 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Joe Haldeman , Kate Wilhelm Henry Kuttner , C. L. Moore RC16 Program Guide 2006 July 7–9 Readercon 17 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA China Miéville , James K. Morrow Jorge Luis Borges RC17 Program Guide 2007 July 5–8 Readercon 18 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Lucius Shepard , Karen Joy Fowler Angela Carter RC18 Program Guide 2008 July 17–20 Readercon 19 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Jonathan Lethem , James Patrick Kelly Stanislaw Lem RC19 Program Guide 2009 July 9–12 Readercon 20 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Elizabeth Hand , Greer Gilman Hope Mirrlees RC20 Program Guide 2010 July 8–11 Readercon 21 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Nalo Hopkinson , Charles Stross Olaf Stapledon RC21 Program Guide 2011 July 14–17 Readercon 22 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Geoff Ryman , Gardner Dozois Mark Twain RC22 Program Guide 2012 July 12–15 Readercon 23 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Peter Straub , Caitlín R. Kiernan Shirley Jackson RC23 Program Guide 2013 July 11–14 Readercon 24 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Maureen F. McHugh , Patricia A. McKillip Roger Zelazny RC24 Program Guide 2014 July 10–13 Readercon 25 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Andrea Hairston , Kit Reed Mary Shelley RC25 Program Guide 2015 July 9–12 Readercon 26 Boston Marriott Burlington Burlington, MA Nicola Griffith , Gary K. Wolfe Joanna Russ RC26 Program Guide 2016 July 7–10 Readercon 27 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Catherynne M. Valente , Tim Powers Diana Wynne Jones ) RC27 Program Guide 2017 July 13–16 Readercon 28 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Naomi Novik , Nnedi Okorafor Tanith Lee RC28 Program Guide 2018 July 12–15 Readercon 29 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Ken Liu , Nisi Shawl E. Nesbit RC29 Program Guide 2019 July 11–14 Readercon 30 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Tananarive Due , Stephen Graham Jones [ 8] Edward Bryant RC30 Program Guide 2021 August 13–15 Readercon 31 online Jeffrey Ford , Ursula Vernon [ 9] Vonda N. McIntyre RC31 Program Guide 2023 July 13–16 Readercon 32 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Jeff VanderMeer , Justina Ireland [ 10] L.A. Banks RC32 Program Guide 2024 July 11–14 Readercon 33 Boston Quincy Marriott Quincy, MA Rebecca Roanhorse , Amal El-Mohtar [ 11] Naomi Mitchison RC33 Program Guide
^ Shanahan, Mark (June 23, 2005). "His numbers are in the ballpark" . Boston Globe . Retrieved July 7, 2019 . ^ Gunderson, Matt (July 13, 2006). "Glitz an alien concept to these sci-fi fans" . Boston Globe . Retrieved July 7, 2019 . ^ "Readercon: Guests" . Retrieved July 7, 2019 .^ Fox, Rose (July 2, 2012). "Readercon is close to selling out of memberships!" . Retrieved July 7, 2019 . ^ Silver, Steven H (July 13, 2009). "Rhysling Winners" . SF Site News . SF Site. Retrieved July 7, 2019 .^ "The Shirley Jackson Awards" . Retrieved July 7, 2019 .^ "Readercons Past" . Readercon. Retrieved 13 June 2023 .^ "Readercon30 Guests" . Readercon. Retrieved 19 October 2024 .^ "Readercon31 Guests" . Readercon. Retrieved 19 October 2024 .^ "Readercon32 Guests" . Readercon. Retrieved 19 October 2024 .^ "Readercon33 Guests" . Readercon. Retrieved 19 October 2024 .
