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About Nippon 2007 About WorldCons Agents Art Show Awards Blogs/Galleries Checklist Child Care Committee Contact Us Con Suite Contests Dealers Room Donbura-con Exhibits Facilities / Maps F A Q Fanspeak Filking (Music!) Guests of Honor Handicapped Services Hotels Hotel Alternatives Hugo Awards Hugo Winners Hugo Nominees Rocket Archive Language/Food/Culture Links LiveJournal Main Events: Masquerade Members Mmbrshp Transfer Newsletters (At Con) Parties Photos Program - Western Program Grid Program Participants Program - Japanese Publications Registration Seals/Stickers Seiun Awards Site Map Site Selection 2009 Speculative Japan Tour with Fans Ghibli Tour Travel Travel Links Volunteers World S F Society Nippon Bid Site Nippon2007.org Archon 31 (NASFiC) 2008 Denvention 3 2009 Anticipation
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About WorldconsWorldcon - (noun, proper) - the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society. Nippon 2007 is the 65th Worldcon. (spel. variant) - WorldCon.
Stars aplenty. Worldcons are overrun with the big name authors and artists of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Galaxies have lots of glitter, and Worldcons are no different. Science Fiction and Fantasy's top honors, the Hugo Awards, shine at every Worldcon. The fans have all voted (no exit polls here!) for the year's best, and the winners are announced and receive their Rocket trophies at the highlight Hugo Awards Ceremony.
The Masquerade glitters as well. You'll see green-skinned aliens and winged fairies wandering about, Need a copy of Hugo-winner Dreamsnake, or an 'Alien Nation' t-shirt? The Dealers Room is your destination for books and merchandise. Like to own the original painting of a book cover? The Art Show has them and much more, along with the artists themselves. Guests of Honor? Nippon 2007 has five stellar examples, crossing the boundaries of East and West. Music? The Filking never ceases.
At the heart of every Worldcon are the Fans. Us - you 'n me. Fans vote for the Hugos and select future Worldcon sites, but most importantly, volunteer fans run the Worldcons. The folks behind the Registration counters, the 'gofer' setting up name tags for the next panel, everyone you see, paid the full membership fee for the privilege of working at the con. You can join this heightened level of fandom, too. Go to our Volunteer page for details, or when you get to Yokohama, just tell a volunteer that you'd like to help.
The list of Worldcons is long, going back to 1939, but for the most part they've been held in English speaking countries (making allowances for Glasgow). Japan is decidedly not, so Nippon 2007 presents us with some challenges and opportunities we've never had. With good will and a little perseverance, this will be one of the greatest Worldcons ever.
The Once and Future WorldconsWorldcons have a persistence about them, often manifested in their web sites and in their Pass-Along Funds. Herein the most recent examples:
Upcoming Worldcons
Upcoming Worldcon BidsCities wishing to hold a Worldcon will start planning many years ahead of time, but Site Selection voting by Worldcon members takes place two years in advance. Nippon 2007 members will vote for the 2009 site. A fee is collected with each vote and given to the winning bid. In return, each voter receives a supporting membership in that convention. More information is found on our 2009 Site Selection page.The current Site Selection bidders are :
NASFiC A North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) is held in North America in any year when the Worldcon is outside of North America.
The 2007 NASFiC is Archon 31 and will be held in Collinsville, IL (St Louis area) August 2-5, 2007.
More information on NASFiCs can be found at http://nasfic.org/. More! |
That's simple enough, but there's a galaxy inside, folks.
You'll ride in an elevator with Robert Silverberg, pass 
armoured knights and spacesuited astronauts reading the party notice board, and the occasional undefined creature doing ill-defined things in the hallway. But they all gather the night of the Masquerade to put on a blockbuster show that leaves Vegas in the interstellar dust.
For seekers of knowledge, Worldcons have panels and presentations on every imaginable (and unimaginable) subject. Rocket scientists and philosophers, publishers and editors and agents, you name it. All aspects of Science Fiction, Fact, and Fantasy are fair game when the Programming mavens start putting their show together.