What is WisCon?

WisCon is the only feminist science fiction convention in the world. Though we proudly claim this distinction, we look forward to the day when we will not be the one and only, and can describe ourselves simply as the FIRST feminist SF convention. WisCon encourages both women and men to extrapolate, discuss, and debate ideas relating to feminism, gender, race and class. WisCon honors writers, editors and artists whose work explores these themes and whose voices have opened new dimensions and territory in these issues. And, oh yes, we also like to have fun while we're at it.

History of WisCon

The first WisCon in 1977 honored author Katherine MacLean and Amanda Bankier (editor of the first feminist fanzine, The Witch and the Chameleon). In a world in which it was considered progressive for most conventions to schedule a single "Women in SF" panel, WisCon bent fannish traditions by scheduling a whole convention's-worth of panels addressing many feminist and pointedly left-leaning political topics.

WisCon 1 was held on a bitterly cold February weekend on the University of Wisconsin campus. Attendees had to trudge across two frigid blocks between the building where programming took place and the dorm's sleeping rooms, but everyone had a good time in spite of the icy conditions. Legend has it that the first concom had imprinted upon the 1976 Kansas City worldcon (MidAmericon), which was the first convention that most of these young student fans had ever attended. According to these WisCon founders, this experience accounts for the many-tracked program they created for their first convention whose attendance amounted to barely 200 people.

WisCon continues to be known for its unusually heavy, multi-tracked schedule of programming. The first WisCon was partially subsidized by University of Wisconsin funds during its first couple years, which made sense since most members of Madison SF group were University students in those days. The group had just incorporated as SF3 (The Society for the Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction) and was regularly publishing a feminist SF fanzine called Janus, which was nominated twice for a Hugo in the Best Fanzine category. Several of the early WisCon program books doubled as special issues of Janus.

WisCon became very successful and popular among fans and professionals interested in discussing feminism and other political issues in connection with science fiction and fantasy. Con committee members graduated from college, started careers, married, had children, signed mortgages, and bought computers. Memberships grew steadily each year and WisCon quickly outgrew its campus facilities and accumulated sufficient funds to run the convention independent of University support. WisCon became famous not only for its unusually political programming focus, but also for its well-stocked hospitality suite, excellent organization, parties and for the guests it invited.

Over the years, WisCon invited many fine writers, editors and authors whose work touched on feminist, gender, race and class themes. Click here to see a list of Previous Guests of Honor. Membership grew slowly but steadily, and WisCon had to move several times to larger hotels that could provide more programming space and a sufficient number of sleeping rooms. In 1995 WisCon moved to the Concourse Hotel which provides excellent program facilities to WisCon; our relationship with Concourse staff is a cordial partnership. WisCon also left its winter spot in the calendar in 1995 and settled on the early-summer dates of Memorial Day weekend. Happily, attendees no longer need to pack fleece-lined boots and mittens, but can plan instead on balmy temperatures and Saturday morning expeditions to the famous Madison Farmers' Market one block from the Concourse Hotel.

The feminist focus of WisCon has waned and sharpened over the years. WisCon's engagement with feminism was re-energized at WisCon 15 in 1991 when Guest of Honor Pat Murphy announced the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. WisCon became the Tiptree Award's greatest ally and supporter. In 1996, WisCon 20 celebrated the convention's 20th birthday by inviting Ursula K. Le Guin and Judith Merril, as well as all its past guests of honor. Nearly 750 people attended.

WisCon has grown from a small regional convention to a large, truly international convention, with attendees traveling from all over the world in order to meet other fans and professionals with similar interests. Our convention has grown up to become the annual gathering for the feminist SF community. It also functions as a vibrant meeting place for fans and professionals interested in broader themes of gender, race, and class in Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Choosing WisCon Guests of Honor

Anyone may nominate WisCon Guests of Honor. The nomination deadline is March 15 (for the following year's WisCon guests). Do you wish we'd invite your favorite writer, editor, or artist? Check the list of previous WisCon guests and if you don't find that person's name on the list, send us your nomination along with a short description of their work and why you think they would make a good WisCon GoH.

Only concom members are eligible to vote in the Guest-of-Honor election. Guests of Honor for the next year are usually announced on Sunday at WisCon.

Carl Brandon Society

The Carl Brandon Society (www.carlbrandon.org) is dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy, and horror. We aim to foster dialogue about issues of race, ethnicity, and culture; raise awareness both inside and outside the fantastical fiction communities; promote inclusively in publication and production; and celebrate the accomplishments of people of color in science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

The Society was founded at the 1999 WisCon fiction convention in Madison, Wisconsin, when WisCon responded to a request from people of color in the community by scheduling more programming items that addressed race and by having a focus group where people of color could meet and formulate strategies for increasing the awareness and representation of people of color in the genres and in the community. This request was incited by Samuel R. Delany's "Racism and Science Fiction" article, published in the August 1998 New York Review of Science Fiction (volume 10, issue 12). This essay was recently republished in the anthology Dark Matter, which is available at most bookstores.

We named ourselves after the fictional fan writer Carl Brandon in much the same way that the Tiptree Award named itself after the fictional male writer James Tiptree, Jr. Much as Alice Sheldon played with the concepts of gender in her writing as James Tiptree, Jr., so did Terry Carr play with the concepts of race in his writing as Carl Brandon, Jr. We also feel that just as women can now write under their own names, so can people of color now write (and publish) our own stories. And just as the Tiptree Award creates a "shortlist" of the best fiction expanding gender boundaries every year, so does the Carl Brandon, Jr., society publish a list of SF written by people of color that's published every year. We've got further to go, for now - which is why we're also working to make fandom a more pleasant place for people of color.

Broad Universe

BROAD UNIVERSE celebrates women's writing and art within science fiction, fantasy, and horror . The group grew out of a panel discussion at Wiscon 2000 entitled World Domination 101. There, panelists discussed Women Writing the West and Sisters in Crime and the many things they do for their members -- newsletters, book catalogs, listservs, chat rooms, awards, and conventions. At the time, women writers in our genre had an award (Tiptree) and a convention (Wiscon), but nothing outside of those two efforts to help promote their work year-round.

We wanted to change that. We wanted to do exactly what these groups were doing, only differently. Instead of paper catalogs and newsletters, we started our group on the web. Our website (www.broaduniverse.org) was launched four months after Wiscon, and has grown steadily to the point where it now boasts a newsletter, book catalog, listserv, FAQ, statistics page, and links to related activities.

Our listserv is open to all fans of women's writing and art in our genre, whether women, men, or transgendered. Members hail from all over the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. There's no typical discussion -- topics range all over the board, from ebook publishing to finding agents to research questions on Medieval herbology.

The list has also grown our personal communities, as we now get to meet these fascinating people at conventions. We get together at Broad Universe teas, evening parties, group readings, and informational tables, to promote our writing and have a great time, all at once.

Our group readings are another success story, as everyone has two friends who'll attend, and all together, they fill the room. Our informational table at Worldcon 2002 (which had a trial run at Wiscon) was hugely successful, with almost 400 passers-by stopping to look at our display books, and going home with our business card.

And still we continue to grow. A group in Chicago is starting to get together outside of conventions, and making noises about forming a real-live Broad Universe chapter. We're almost to the point of collecting paid memberships from those who'd like access to a PR database we put together from the PR lists of half a dozen brazen hussies and a small-press publisher. We don't think it'll be long before we're looking into ads in Publisher's Weekly, and info tables at bookseller conventions.

We're young and scrappy and looking for fun. But every year, we come back to Wiscon, our home base and Mother Church. This is the place where we began, our safe place to experiment with the next great idea. Without Wiscon, we wouldn't exist.

Financial Support of WisCon

WisCon appreciates the generosity of those who make donations to the convention. WisCon is sponsored by SF3 (The Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Inc.), a 501(c)(3) educational and literary society. So donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. (WisCon memberships are not tax deductible because you get an equivalent value for them.)

Previous Conventions

Click here to see a list of previous Guests of Honor and Conventions.

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