CAN*CON
CAN•CON, or more completely "CAN•CON: The Conference on Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature", is a periodic science fiction and fantasy convention in Ottawa put on by The Society for Canadian Content in Speculative Arts and Literature. Founded in 1991 by James Botte and Farrell McGovern in response to a perception that there were no dedicated public venues that featured primarily Canadian speculative fiction writers, editors, and artists. In addition to the focus on Canadian content, it was also an attempt to bring a focus on the book back to Ottawa science fiction and fantasy events.[1] It ran from 1992 through 1997, and again in 2001 before taking a hiatus of several years due to financial constraints; it was then relaunched in 2010.
Over the years, CAN•CON has had as guests or attendees the cream of Canadian English and French speculative fiction writers and artists (with the notable exceptions of Spider Robinson, Margaret Atwood, and William Gibson). As such, it became a meeting place for Canadian writers and artists and their fans, and provided a natural venue for the national meetings of various related Canadian organizations. This caught the notice of TOR Books' senior editor David Hartwell, who came to CAN•CON and signed deals with many Canadian science fiction and fantasy writers. Of this he said, "I did more business at CAN•CON than I did at Worldcon". This informal access to large numbers of Canadian writers enabled him to spearhead TOR's Canadian publishing initiative.[2]
| Convention | Dates | GoHs |
|---|---|---|
| CAN*CON '92 | May 22-24, 1992 | Guy Gavriel Kay, Donald Kingsbury, Jeff Green, Meghan Dunn, Jan Scott, Paul Valcour |
| CAN*CON '93 | May 14-16, 1993 | Karen Wehrstein, Shirley Meier, Bink, Robert J. Sawyer, Greg Ioannou |
| CAN*CON '94 | May 13-15, 1994 | S. M. Stirling |
| CAN*CON '95 / Boréal 12 / Canvention 15 | May 12-14, 1995 | Dave Duncan |
| CAN*CON '96 | May 17-19, 1996 | Robert Charles Wilson, Charles de Lint, Robert J. Sawyer |
| CAN*CON '97 | May 2-4, 1997 | |
| Hiatus | ||
| CAN*CON 2001 | August 17-19, 2001 | Robert J. Sawyer |
| Hiatus | ||
| CAN*CON 2010 | August 20-22, 2010 | Marie Bilodeau |
| CAN*CON 2011 | September 9-11, 2011 | Julie E. Czerneda, Leonard Kirk, Liana K and Ed the Sock |
| CAN*CON 2012 | September 21-23, 2012 | Hayden Trenholm, Tom Fowler, Alan Neal |
| CAN*CON 2013 / Canvention 33 | October 4-6, 2013 | Robert J. Sawyer, Hayden Trenholm, Mark Robinson |
| CAN*CON 2014 | October 3-5, 2014 | Jo Walton, Gabrielle Harbowy, Jay Odjick |
| CAN*CON 2015 | October 30 - November 1, 2015 | Edward Willett, Trevor Quachri, Cristina Perissinotto |
| CAN*CON 2016 | September 9-11, 2016 | Tanya Huff, Sheila Williams, Sam Morgan, Eric Choi |
| CAN*CON 2017 | October 13-15, 2017 | Steven Erikson, Sheila Gilbert, Kim-Mei Kirtland |
| CAN*CON 2018 | October 12-14, 2018 | Kevin Hearne, Miriam Weinberg, Kurestin Armada |
| CAN*CON 2019 / Canvention 39 | October 18-20, 2019 | Kelly Robson, Charlie Jane Anders, Lee Harris, DongWon Song |
| Sara Megibow | ||
| CAN*CON 2021 | October 14-16, 2021 | Sara Megibow, Fonda Lee |
| CAN*CON 2022 | October 14-16, 2022 | Nathan Caro Fréchette, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, E. D. E. Bell, C. L. Clark, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki |
- ↑ CAN•CON '95/CANVENTION 15 Winter Programming Session backgrounder, W. Paul Valcour. March 2, 1995.
- ↑ David Hartwell
| Convention | |
| Website | 1992— |
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