A convention, founded in 1978 as Darkover Grand Council (often called Darkovercon or Darkover), and starting in 2014, renamed Chessiecon, which is held in the Mid-Atlantic states and is devoted to fantasy.
It is currently on hiatus, with a February 26, 2023, decision not to hold the convention in 2023 due to financial and volunteer issues. The con did not make its room block commitment in 2022 and were attempting to raise $11,000 through contributions; they had garnered less than $6,000 as of August 2023.
Judy Gerjuoy founded Darkover Grand Council and ran it (and funded its deficits) for 35 years until she died in early 2013. In its early days, it was centered around Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover series, and she and Katherine Kurtz were frequent guests. The first two conventions were held in July in New York City, after which it moved to Thanksgiving Weekend and down to Wilmington, Delaware, and eventually Maryland.
The final Darkovercon was a blowout celebration and it the following year it became Chessiecon, which is sponsored by the Thanksgiving Science Fiction Society.
| Convention |
Dates |
GoHs, Notes
|
| Darkover Grand Council 1978 |
July 9, 1978 |
Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Marion Zimmer Bradley
|
| Darkover Grand Council 1979 |
July 13-15, 1979 |
Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Marion Zimmer Bradley
|
| Darkover Grand Council 1980 |
November 28-30, 1980 |
Katherine Kurtz, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jack Chalker
|
| Darkover Grand Council IV |
November 27-29, 1981 |
C. J. Cherryh
|
| Darkover Grand Council V |
November 26-28, 1982 |
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katherine Kurtz, Hannah Shapero
|
| Darkover Grand Council 6 |
November 25-27, 1983 |
Katherine Kurtz, Hal Clement, Don Wollheim, Elsie Wollheim, Diana Paxson, Paul Edwin Zimmer
|
| Darkover Grand Council 7 |
November 23-25, 1984 |
|
| Darkover Grand Council 8 |
November 29-December 1, 1985 |
Diana Wynne Jones
|
| Darkover Grand Council 9 |
November 28-30, 1986 |
Anne McCaffrey
|
| Darkover Grand Council 10 |
1987 |
|
| Darkover Grand Council 11 |
1988 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 12 |
1989 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 13 |
1990 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 14 |
November 29-December 1, 1991 |
Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katherine Kurtz, Robin Wood
|
| Darkover Grand Council '92 |
November 27-29, 1992 |
|
| Darkover Grand Council 16 |
1993 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 17 |
1994 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 18 |
1995 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 19 |
1996 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 20 |
1997 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 21 |
1998 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 22 |
1999 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 23 |
2000 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 24 |
2001 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 25 |
2002 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 26 |
2003 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 27 |
2004 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 28 |
November 25-27, 2005 |
C. S. Friedman, Tamora Pierce, Diana Paxson, Katherine Kurtz, James Macdonald, Scott MacMillian, Debra Doyle
|
| Darkover Grand Council 29 |
2006 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 30 |
2007 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 31 |
2008 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 32 |
2009 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 33 |
2010 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 34 |
2011 |
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| Darkover Grand Council 35 |
2012 |
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| Darkovercon 36 |
November 29-December 1, 2013 |
Rosemary Edghill, Steampunk Family, Katherine Kurtz, Melissa Scott, Clam Chowder
|
| Chessiecon 2014 |
November 28-30, 2014 |
Tamora Pierce, Tom Smith, Katherine Kurtz
|
| Chessiecon 2015 |
November 27-29, 2015 |
Seanan McGuire, Heather Dale, Ursula Vernon
|
| Chessiecon 2016 |
November 25-27, 2016 |
Sarah Pinsker, S. J. Tucker, Tabitha Ladin
|
| Chessiecon 2017 |
November 24-26, 2017 |
Ada Palmer, T. J. Burnside-Clapp, Megan Willis
|
| Chessiecon 2018 |
November 2018 |
Jo Walton, Dr. Mary Crowell
|
Chessiecon 2019 |
November 29–December 1, 2019 |
Charlie Jane Anders, Cathy McManamon. Canceled
|
| Chessiecon 2020 (virtual) |
November 27–29, 2020 |
Charlie Jane Anders, Tom Smith
|
| Chessiecon 2021 (virtual) |
November 26-28, 2021 |
Danielle Ackley-McPhail
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| Chessiecon 2022 |
November 25-27, 2022 |
Danielle Ackley-McPhail, The Blibbering Humdingers
|
Chessiecon 2023 |
November 24–26, 2023 |
Canceled
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