History Of The World Fantasy Conventions

1975: The 1st World Fantasy Convention

Site: Holiday Inn, Providence, Rhode Island

Theme: "The Lovecraft Circle"

Guest of Honor: Robert Bloch

Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson

Chair: Kirby McCauley

 

1976: The 2nd World Fantasy Convention

Site: The Statler Hotel, New York, New York

Theme: Unknown Worlds

Guests of Honor: C. L. Moore, Michael Moorcock

Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson

Magister: Thom Anderson

 

1977: World Fantasy Convention III

Site: Los Angeles Biltmore, Los Angeles, California

Theme: Clark Ashton Smith

Guest of Honor: Richard Matheson

Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson

Chairman: Dennis Rickard

 

1978: The 4th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel, Fort Worth, Texas

Theme: Robert E. Howard

Guest of Honor: Fritz Leiber

Guest Artist: Alicia Austin

Toastmaster (Scheduled): Gahan Wilson

Toastmaster (Actual): Andy Offutt

Chairman: Michael Templin

 

1979: The 5th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Biltmore Hotel, Providence, Rhode Island

Theme: Reunion

Guests of Honor: Stephen King, Frank Belknap Long

Guest Artist: Michael Whelan

Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant

Chairman: Bob Booth

 

1980: The 6th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, Baltimore, Maryland

Theme: Edgar Allen Poe

Guest of Honor: Jack Vance

Guest Artist: Boris Vallejo

Toastmaster: Robert Bloch

Chairman: Chuck Miller, Tim Underwood

 

1981: The 7th World Fantasy Convention

Site: The Claremont Hotel, Berkeley, California

Theme: Mark Twain, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, Clark Ashton Smith

Guests of Honor: Alan Garner (did not appear for personal reason), Peter S. Beagle

Guest Artist: Brian Froud

Toastmaster: Karl Edward Wagner

Chairmen: Jack Rems, Jeff Frane

 

1982: World Fantasy Convention '82

Site: Park Plaza Hotel, New Haven, Connecticut

Theme: Mark Twain

Guests of Honor: Peter Straub, Joseph Payne Brennan

Guest Artist: Don Maitz

Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant

Chairmen: Norman L. Hood, Harold Kinney

 

1983: World Fantasy Convention 1983

Site: Chicago, Illinois

Theme: Sixty Years of Weird Tales

Guests of Honor: Gene Wolfe, Manly Wade Wellman

Guest Artist: Rowena Morrill

Toastmaster: Robert Bloch

Chairman: Robert Weinberg

 

1984: World Fantasy Convention 1984

Site: Westin Hotel, Ottawa, Canada

Theme: Fantasy, An International Genre

Guests of Honor: Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen

Guest Artist: Jeffrey Jones

Toastmaster: Spider Robinson

Chairmen: John Bell, Rodger Turner

 

1985: The 1985 World Fantasy Convention

Site: Doubletree Hotel, Tucson, Arizona

Theme: Fantasy Writers of the Southwest

Guest of Honor: Stephen R. Donaldson

Special Guest: Evangeline Walton

Guest Artist: Victoria Poyser

Toastperson: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Chairman: Randal Rau

 

1986: The 12th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Biltmore Hotel, Providence, Rhode Island

Theme: From "New Writers" to "Old Masters"

Guests of Honor: Ramsey Campbell, Charles L. Grant

Guest Artist: J. K. Potter

Toastmaster: Douglas E. Winter

Chairman: Robert Plante

 

1987: The 13th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Hyatt Regency Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee

Theme: A Southern Fantasy

Guest of Honor: Piers Anthony

Guest Artist: Frank Kelly Freas

Special Guest: Andre Norton, Karl Edward Wagner, Ron & Val Lakey Lindahn

Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant

Chairman: Maurine Dorris

 

1988: The 14th World Fantasy Convention (incorporating Fantasycon XIII)

Site: Ramada Inn, London, England

Theme: Gaslight & Ghosts

Guest of Honor: James Herbert

Special Guest: Diana Wynne Jones

Artist Guest: Michael Foreman

Master of Ceremonies: Clive Barker

Chairpersons: Stephen Jones & Jo Fletcher

 

1989: The 15th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Seattle Sheraton, Seattle, Washington

Theme: Roots of Fantasy: Myth, Folklore & Archetype

Honored Guests: Ursula K. LeGuin, Avram Davidson, S. P. Somtow, Robert R. McCammon, Yoshitaka Amano

Toastmaster: Ginjer Buchanan

Chairman: Robert J. Doyle

 

1990: The 16th World Fantasy Convention

Site: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Schaumburg, Illinois

Theme: An H. P. Lovecraft Centenary Celebration

Guests of Honor: F. Paul Wilson, L. Sprague de Camp, Susan Allison

Guest Artist: David B. Mattingly

Special Guests: Robert Bloch, Julius Schwartz

Toastmaster: Raymond E. Feist

Chairman: Robert Weinberg

 

1991: The 17th World Fantasy Convention

Site: The Doubletree Hotel, Tucson, Arizona

Theme: The Fantasy Heritage of the Spanish and Indian Cultures

Special Guests: Susan and Harlan Ellison

Artist Guest: Arlin Robins

Toastmaster: Stephen R. Donaldson

Chairman: Bruce Farr and Randal Rau

 

1992: The 1992 World Fantasy Convention

Site: Callaway Gardens Resort, Pine Mountain, Georgia

Theme: Grails: Quests, Visitations, and Other Occurences

Guests of Honor: Michael Bishop, John Farris, Martin H. Greenberg, Anne McCaffrey, Robert Gould

Chairmen: Richard Gilliam and Edward Kramer

 

1993: 1993 World Fantasy Convention

Site: Radisson South Hotel, Bloomington, Minnesota

Theme: The Vocabulary of the Fantastic

Guests of Honor: Poul Anderson, John Crowley, Roger Zelazny

Guest Artist: Tom Canty (did not appear)

Special Guest: Basil Copper

Other Guests: Megan Lindholm, Don Maitz, Patricia McKillip, Tim Powers, Terri Windling, Jane Yolen

Toastmaster: Neil Gaiman

Chairman: Greg Ketter

 

1994: 1994 World Fantasy Convention

Site: Clarion Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana

Theme: Obsessions in Fantasy and Gothic Horror

Honored Guests: Damon Knight, George Alec Effinger, George R. R. Martin, Tim Powers, Kate Wilhelm

Artist Guest of Honor: Jill Bauman

Chairman: Tom Hanlon

 

1995: 1995 World Fantasy Convention

Site: Inner Harbor Marriott, Baltimore, Maryland

Theme: Celebrating the Craft of Short Fiction in Fantasy and Horror

Writer Guests of Honor: Terry Bisson, Lucius Shepard, Howard Waldrop

Artist Guest of Honor: Rick Berry

Publisher Guest of Honor: Lloyd Arthur Eshbach

Toastmaster: Edward W. Bryant, Jr.

Chairman: Michael J. Walsh

 

1996: World Fantasy Convention 1996

Dates: October 31-November 3, 1996

Site: Woodfield Hyatt Regency Hotel, Schaumburg, Illinois

Theme: The Many Faces of Fantasy

Guests of Honor: Katherine Kurtz, Joe R. Lansdale, Ellen Asher

Artist Guest of Honor: Ron Walotsky

Toastmaster: Brian Lumley

Chairmen: Nancy Ford, Tina L. Jens, Phyllis Weinberg

 

1997: The 1997 World Fantasy Convention

Dates: October 30-November 2, 1997

Site: The International Hotel, London, England

Theme: The Centenary of Dracula/The Hidden Realms of London

Guest of Honour: Joan Aiken, Iain Sinclair

Artist Guest of Honour: Bob Eggleton

Special Guests: Hugh B. Cave, R. Chetwynd-Hayes

Special Media Guest: Doug Bradley

Master of Ceremonies: Robert Holdstock

Chairman: Jo Fletcher

 

1998: World Fantasy Convention 1998

Dates: October 29-November 1, 1998

Site: Doubletree & Marriott Hotels, Monterey, California

Theme: Golden Ages

Guest of Honor: Gahan Wilson

Special Guests: Cecelia Holland, Richard Laymon, Frank M. Robinson

Toastmaster: Richard A. Lupoff

Chairman: Bryan Barrett, Linda McAllister

 

1999: The 25th World Fantasy Convention

Dates: November 4-7, 1999

Site: RICC, Westin and Biltmore Hotels, Providence, Rhode Island

Theme: Voyages

Guests of Honor: Charles de Lint, Leo & Diane Dillon, Patricia A. McKillip, Robert Silverberg

Special Guest: Samuel R. Delany

Toastmaster: John M. Ford

Co-Chairs: Chip Hitchcock & Davey Snyder

 

2000: World Fantasy Convention 2000

Dates: October 26-29, 2000

Site: Omni Bayfront Hotel, Corpus Christi, Texas

Theme: El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)

Guests of Honor: K.W. Jeter, John Crowley

Artist Guest of Honor: Charles Vess

Toastmaster: Joe R. Lansdale

Chairman: Fred Duarte

 

2001: World Fantasy Convention 2001

Dates: November 1-4, 2001

Site: Delta Centre-Ville Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Theme: Je me souviens/I remember

Guests of Honor: Fred Saberhagen, Joel Champetier, Donato Giancola

Toastmaster: Charles de Lint

Chairpersons: Bruce & Lea Farr

 

2002: 2002 World Fantasy Convention

Dates: October 31-November 3, 2002

Site: Minneapolis Hilton & Towers, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Theme: Of Gods and Monsters

Guests of Honor: Dennis Etchison, Jonathan Carroll, Kathe Koja, Dave McKean, Stephen Jones

Chairman: Greg Ketter

 

2003: World Fantasy Convention 2003

Dates: October 30-November 2, 2003

Site: Hyatt Regency Washington, Washington, DC

Theme: Dark Fantasy: Honorable Traditions

Guests of Honor: Brian Lumley, Jack Williamson (appeared via video interview)

Artist Guest of Honor: Allen Koszowski

Publisher Guest of Honor: W. Paul Ganley

Master of Ceremonies: Douglas E. Winter

Chairman: Michael J. Walsh

 

2004: World Fantasy Convention 2004

Dates: October 28-31, 2004

Site: Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, Tempe, Arizona

Theme: Women in Fantasy and Horror

Guests of Honor: Gwyneth Jones, Janny Wurts, Ellen Datlow

Publisher Guest of Honor: Betty Ballantine

Toastmistress: Jennifer Roberson

Chairman: Mike Willmoth

 

2005: World Fantasy Convention 2005

Dates: November 3-6, 2005

Site: The Madison Concourse Hotel & Governor's Club, Madison, Wisconsin

Theme: The Architecture of Fantasy & Horror

Guests of Honor: Graham Joyce, Robert Weinberg, Terri Windling

Artist Guest of Honor: Kinuko Y. Craft

Toastmaster: Peter Straub

Special Recognition: Arkham House

Chairman: Meg Turville-Heitz

 

2006: World Fantasy Convention 2006

Dates: November 2-5, 2006

Site: Renaissance Hotel, Austin, Texas

Theme: Robert E. Howard Centennial

Guests of Honor: Glen Cook, Dave Duncan and Robin Hobb

Artist Guest of Honor: John Jude Palencar

Editor Guest: Glenn Lord

Robert E. Howard Artist Guest: Gary Gianni

Toastmaster: Bradley Denton

Chairman: Renee Babcock and Fred Duarte

 

2007: World Fantasy Convention 2007

Dates: November 1-4, 2007

Site: The Saratoga Hotel and Conference Center, Saratoga Springs, New York

Theme: Ghosts and Revenants: Memory, History and Folklore

Guests of Honor: Carol Emshwiller, Kim Newman, Lisa Tuttle

Artist Guest of Honor: Jean Giraud (Moebius)

Special Guests: Joseph Bruchac, Barbara and Christopher Roden, George Scithers

Master of Ceremonies: Guy Gavriel Kay

Chairman: Joe Berlant

 

2008: World Fantasy Convention 2008

Dates: October 30-November 2, 2008

Site: Hyatt Regency, Calgary, Alberta

Theme: Mystery in Fantasy & Horror

Guests of Honor: David Morrell, Barbara Hambly, Tom Doherty

Artist Guest of Honor: Todd Lockwood

Toastmaster: Tad Williams

Chairman: Randy McCharles

 

2009: World Fantasy Convention 2009

Dates: October 29-November 1, 2009

Site: The Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California

Theme: Celebrating Edgar Allan Poe's 200th Birthday

Guests of Honor: Garth Nix, Michael Swanwick, Ann & Jeff VanderMeer

Artist Guest of Honor: Lisa Snellings

Toastmaster: Jay Lake

Special Guests: Zoran Zivkovic, Donald Sidney-Fryer, Richard A. Lupoff

Chairman: David Gallagher

 

2010: World Fantasy Convention 2010

Dates: October 28-31, 2010

Site: Hyatt Regency Hotel, Columbus, Ohio

Theme: Whimsical Side of Fantasy

Guests of Honor: Dennis McKiernan, Esther Friesner, David Hartwell, Darrell K. Sweet

Chairman: Larry Smith and Sally Kobee

 

2011: World Fantasy Convention 2011

Dates: October 27-30, 2011

Site: Town & Country, San Diego, CA

Theme: Sailing the Seas of Imagination

Guests of Honor: Jo Fletcher, Neil Gaiman, Parke Godwin, Shawna McCarthy, Ruth Sanderson, Connie Willis

Chairman: Val Ontell

 

2012: World Fantasy Convention 2012

Dates: November 1-4, 2012
Site: Sheraton Parkway, Toronto, Ontario
Theme: Northern Gothic and Urban Fantasy
Guests of Honor: Elizabeth Hand, John Clute, Richard A. Kirk,
Toastmaster: Gary K. Wolfe,
Special Guests: Patricia Briggs, Charles De Lint, Tanya Huff, Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon
Chairman: Peter Halasz