Readercon

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 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction/fantasy/slipstream/speculative fiction in the written form (on the rare occasion that there is a discussion held about non-written science fiction, it will have a tongue-in-cheek title such as "Our biannual media panel"). Past guests of honor have included authors such as Greer Gilman, Gene Wolfe, Octavia 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.

As of 2012, attendance at the convention has been consistently around 850 for several years.

From 2005 to 2011, Readercon was the official venue for presentation of the Rhysling Award. It has hosted the Shirley Jackson Awards since their founding in 2007.

Guests of Honor
At least one Guest of Honor and typically one Memorial Guest of Honor are featured during each convention.


 * Readercon 1 - Gene Wolfe (Memorial: Philip K. Dick)
 * Readercon 2 - Samuel Delany (Memorial: Theodore Sturgeon)
 * Readercon 3 - John Crowley & Tom Disch (Memorial: T.H. White)
 * Readercon 4 - Barry Malzberg & John Clute
 * Readercon 5 - Michael Bishop & Richard Powers (Memorial: James Tiptree)
 * Readercon 6 - Brian Aldiss & Judith Merril (Memorial: H.G. Wells)
 * Readercon 7 - Ursula K. LeGuin & Terri Windling (Memorial: Cordwainer Smith)
 * Readercon 8 - William Gibson & Larry McCaffrey (Memorial: Alfred Bester)
 * Readercon 9 - Kim Stanley Robinson & Algis Budrys (Memorial: C.M. Kornbluth)
 * Readercon 10 - Bruce Sterling & Lisa Goldstein (Memorial: Leigh Brackett)
 * Readercon 11 - Harlan Ellison & Ellen Datlow (Memorial: Gerald Kersh)
 * Readercon 12 - Michael Moorcock & Suzy McKee Charnas (Memorial: Mervyn Peake)
 * Readercon 13 - Michael Swanwick & David Hartwell (Memorial: Clifford D. Simak)
 * Readercon 14 - Octavia E. Butler & Gwyneth Jones (Memorial: John Brunner)
 * Readercon 15 - Hal Clement, Rudy Rucker & Howard Waldrop (Memorial: R.A. Lafferty)
 * Readercon 16 - Joe Haldeman & Kate Wilhelm (Memorial: Henry Kuttner & C.L. Moore)
 * Readercon 17 - China Miéville & James Morrow (Memorial: Jorge Luis Borges)
 * Readercon 18 - Lucius Shepard & Karen Joy Fowler (Memorial: Angela Carter)
 * Readercon 19 - Jonathan Lethem & James Patrick Kelly (Memorial: Stanislaw Lem)
 * Readercon 20 - Elizabeth Hand & Greer Gilman (Memorial: Hope Mirrlees)
 * Readercon 21 - Nalo Hopkinson & Charles Stross (Memorial: Olaf Stapledon)
 * Readercon 22 - Geoff Ryman & Gardner Dozois (Memorial: Mark Twain)
 * Readercon 23 - Peter Straub & Caitlín Kiernan (Memorial: Shirley Jackson)
 * Readercon 24 - Maureen F. McHugh & Patricia A. McKillip (Memorial: Roger Zelazny)
 * Readercon 25 - Andrea Hairston & Kit Reed (Memorial: Mary Shelley)
 * Readercon 26 - Nicola Griffith & Gary K. Wolfe (Memorial: Joanna Russ)
 * Readercon 27 - Catherynne M. Valente & Tim Powers (Memorial: Diana Wynne Jones)
 * Readercon 28 - Naomi Novik & Nnedi Okorafor (Memorial: Tanith Lee)
 * Readercon 29 - Ken Liu & Nisi Shawl (Memorial: E. Nesbit)
 * Readercon 30 - Tananarive Due & Stephen Graham Jones (Memorial: Edward Bryant)
 * Readercon 31 - Jeffrey Ford & Ursula Vernon (Memorial: Vonda N. McIntyre)
 * Readercon 32 - Jeff VanderMeer & Justina Ireland (Memorial: L.A. Banks)