North American Science Fiction Convention
NASFiC, a.k.a. the North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled only during years where the Worldcon is being held outside of the North American continent. NASFiC bids voted on by the Worldcon (or NASFiC if one exists) membership the year after a non-North American Worldcon site has been selected. As of 2009, this is one year in advance of a potential NASFiC.
Activities at a NASFiC parallel those seen at Worldcon, but may differ with each convention committee. The convention may be held as an individual event or in conjunction with another convention. It generally occurs near the time of the Worldcon, but not in direct competition with it. Ten NASFiCs have occurred to date. The name NASFiC is owned by the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS).
The late Robert Sacks led a movement to separate NASFiC from the World Science Fiction Society, similar to Eurocon, but WSFS has chosen to keep NASFiC under its own aegis.
This is a list of the NASFiCs held, or scheduled, so far:
| Year | Name | City | Guests of Honor | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1975 | NASFiC | Los Angeles, California | Harlan Ellison | 1,100 |
| 2nd | 1979 | NorthAmeriCon '79 | Louisville, Kentucky | Frederik Pohl George Scithers |
2,000 |
| 3rd | 1985 | LoneStarCon 1 | Austin, Texas | Jack Vance Richard Powers Joanne Burger |
2,800 |
| 4th | 1987 | CactusCon | Phoenix, Arizona | Hal Clement Marjii Ellers |
3,000 |
| 5th | 1990 | ConDiego | San Diego, California | Samuel R. Delany Ben Yalow |
3,000 |
| 6th | 1995 | Dragon*Con 1995 | Atlanta, Georgia | George Alec Effinger Harlan Ellison Timothy Zahn Michael Whelan Bjo Trimble |
14,312 |
| 7th | 1999 | Conucopia | Anaheim, California | Jerry Pournelle Ellen Datlow Richard Lynch Nicki Lynch |
1,734 |
| 8th | 2005 | Cascadia Con | Seattle, Washington | Fred Saberhagen Liz Danforth Toni Weisskopf Kevin Standlee |
1,785 |
| 9th | 2007 | Archon31/Tuckercon | Collinsville, Illinois | Barbara Hambly Darrell K. Sweet Kevin Murphy Bill Corbett James Ernest Elizabeth Covey Barry Childs-Helton Sally Childs-Helton Nancy Hathaway Lani Tapu Richard Hatch |
1,950 |
| 10th | 2010 | ReConStruction | Raleigh, North Carolina | Eric Flint Brad W. Foster Juanita Coulson Toni Weisskopf |
Read more about North American Science Fiction Convention: 2014 NASFiC Site Selection
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