Windycon

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Windycon
StatusActive
GenreScience Fiction/Fantasy Convention
Location(s)Oak Brook, Illinois
CountryUnited Statesoda
InauguratedOctober 25-27, 1974
Most recentNovember 10-12, 2023
Next eventNovember 8-10, 2024
Organized byISFiC
Filing statusNon-profit
Websitehttp://www.windycon.org/

Windycon is a science fiction and fantasy literature convention held in Oak Brook, Illinois, on the weekend closest to Veterans Day.

ISFiC, the parent corporation that runs Windycon,[1] was founded in 1973 in Chicago. The first Windycon was held the following year and has been held annually ever since either in Chicago or a Chicago suburb.[2] It is a general interest convention.

ISFiC and Windycon were founded to raise the profile of fandom in Chicago in preparation for a Worldcon bid.[1] In 1982, Chicon IV was the result. From its small beginnings, Windycon has grown to have an annual membership hovering around 1300. It is the largest of the two fan-run Chicago conventions.

Annually since 1986, ISFiC has hosted a writers contest, open to unpublished authors. The contest is judged by professional authors and editors.[3] Separately, Windycon has hosted a writers' workshop under the coordination of Richard Chwedyk since 2000.[4] From 2004 to 2015, ISFiC Press, the publishing arm of Windycon's parent organization, published a Guest of Honor book to be released at the convention.

In addition to traditional con activities, Windycon has also run a series of on-line chats during the con, hosting by Cybling.[5][6]

Event Date Location Convention chair Theme Guests Notes
Windycon I October 25-27, 1974 The Blackstone Hotel

Chicago, IL

Lynne & Mark Aronson
Windycon II October 3-5, 1975 The Blackstone Hotel

Chicago, IL

Lynne & Mark Aronson
  • Author: Bob Tucker
  • Fan: Joni Stopa
  • Toastmaster: Bob Passovoy
Windycon III October 15-17, 1976 Sheraton Chicago

Chicago, IL

Lynne & Mark Aronson
Windycon IV October 7-9, 1977 Arlington Park Hilton

Arlington Heights, IL

Larry Propp The Latvian Loganberry Festival
Windycon V October 6-8, 1978 Arlington Park Hilton

Arlington Heights, IL

Doug Rice
Windycon VI October 5-7, 1979 Arlington Park Hilton

Arlington Heights, IL

Larry Propp
Windycon VII October 24-26, 1980 Hyatt Regency Chicago

Chicago, IL

Midge Reitan & Marcy Lyn-Waitsman
Windycon VIII December 18-20, 1981 Hyatt Regency Chicago

Chicago, IL

Ross Pavlac & Larry Propp A Holiday Party
Windycon IX December 10-12, 1982 Lincolnwood Hyatt

Lincolnwood, IL

Dick Spelman
Windycon X October 7-9, 1983 Arlington Park Hilton

Arlington Heights, IL

Tom Veal
Windycon XI December 7-9, 1984 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Kathleen Meyer
Windycon XII October 11-13, 1985 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Kathleen Meyer
Windycon XIII November 14-16, 1986 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Debra A. Wright ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Getting Along with Larga" by Richard Chwedyk
Windycon XIV November 6-8, 1987 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Debra A. Wright ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "The Library" by Eugenia M. Hayden
Windycon XV November 11-13, 1988 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Kathleen Meyer ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "A Man Makes a Machine" by Richard Chwedyk
Windycon XVI November 10-12, 1989 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Lenny Wenshe
Windycon XVII November 9-11, 1990 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Lenny Wenshe ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Ailin's Castle" by Robin Leigh Michaels
Windycon XVIII November 8-10, 1991 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Marie Bartlett-Sloan ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Soul to Take" by Vanessa Crouther
Windycon XIX November 6-8, 1992 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Marie Bartlett-Sloan ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Make-Up Magic" by Sheila Insley
Windycon XX November 12-14, 1993 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Dina S. Krause ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Dead Chute" by C. T. Fluhr
Windycon XXI November 11-13, 1994 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Dina S. Krause ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Packers" by Emmett Gard Pittman
Windycon XXII November 10-12, 1995 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Bill Roper ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "In Memoriam" by William McCahon
Windycon XXIII November 8-10, 1996 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Bill Roper ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "All Through the House" by C. T. Fluhr
Windycon XXIV November 7-9, 1997 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Ross Pavlac Scots in Space
  • Author: David M. Weber
  • Artist: Doug Rice
  • Editor: Charles Ryan
  • Fan: Tim Lane & Elizabeth Garrott
  • Toastmaster: Yale Edeiken
  • ISFiC Guests: Christian Ready
ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: Little Girl Lost" by David W. Crawford & Carol Johnson
Windycon XXV November 13-15, 1998 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Rick Waterson ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Grandpa" by Susan L. Wachowski
Windycon XXVI November 12-14, 1999 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Rick Waterson ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Passing Through" by Sharon L. Nelson
Windycon XXVII November 10-12, 2000 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Amy Wenshe
Windycon XXVIII November 9-11, 2001 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Amy Wenshe
Windycon XXIX November 8-10, 2002 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Steven H Silver A Visit to Newford ISFiC Press release: A Walk on the Windy Side CD
Windycon XXX November 7-9, 2003 Hyatt Regency Woodfield

Schaumburg, IL

Steven H Silver Space Station Windycon ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "True Worth" by John D. Nikitow
Windycon 31 November 12-14, 2004 Wyndham O'Hare

Rosemont, IL

Bonnie Jones Innerspace ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Orbital One" by Chris Krolczyk

ISFiC Press release: Relativity by Robert J. Sawyer

Windycon 32 November 11-13, 2005 Wyndham O'Hare

Rosemont, IL

Bonnie Jones Alternate History ISFiC Press release: Every Inch a King by Harry Turtledove
Windycon 33 November 10-12, 2006 Wyndham O'Hare

Rosemont, IL

Pat Sayre McCoy First Contact ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Ad Alienos" by P. R. Gomez

ISFiC Press release: Outbound by Jack McDevitt

Windycon 34 November 9-11, 2007 Wyndham O'Hare

Rosemont, IL

Pat Sayre McCoy The Worlds of the Others ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Ivan and the Plate of Fried Chicken" by Joe McCauley

ISFiC Press release: Finding Magic by Tanya Huff

Windycon 35 November 14-16, 2008 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Rick Waterson Military SF ISFiC Press release: When Diplomacy Fails edited by Eric Flint & Mike Resnick
Windycon 36 November 13-15, 2009 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Joseph Stockman Steampunk ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Oracle" by John M. Cowan

ISFiC Press release: The Shadow on the Doorstep by James P. Blaylock

Windycon 37 November 12-14, 2010 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Joseph Stockman The Lands of Fae and Back Again ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Lost and Found" by Mary Mascari

ISFiC Press release: Assassin and Other Stories by Steven Barnes

Windycon 38 November 11-13, 2011 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Richard France The Periodic Table of the Science Fiction Elements ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "The Pod" by Mary Mascari

ISFiC Press release: Aurora in Four Voices by Catherine Asaro

Windycon 39 November 9-11, 2012 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Richard France & Bill Roper Zombies ISFiC Press release: Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots by Seanan McGuire
Windycon 40 November 8-10, 2013 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Bill Roper The Big Tent ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Windy van Hooten's Was Never Like This" by Liz A. Vogel

ISFiC Press release: The Goblin Master's Grimoire by Jim C. Hines

Windycon 41 November 14-16, 2014 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Deb Kosiba Grimm Tales ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Under the Hill" by Siobhan Duffy

ISFiC Press release: Harvest Season by SF Squeecast

Windycon 42 November 13-15, 2015 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Steven H Silver The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Windycon ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Catamount" by M. Arguete

ISFiC Press release: Bimbo on the Cover by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff

Windycon 43 November 11-13, 2016 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Daniel Gunderson King of the Nerds ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "The Furrier" by Siobhan Duffy
Windycon 44 November 10-12, 2017 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Daniel Gunderson Dystopia
  • Author: Rudy Rucker
  • Artist: Paul Taylor
  • Science: Holly Wilper
  • Costuming: Tawny Letts
  • Music: Erica Neely
  • Video Game: David Abzug
  • Fan: Judi Miller
  • Toastmaster: Adam English
Windycon 45 November 9-11, 2018 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Daniel Gunderson & Kerry Kuhn Unlikely Heroes
  • Author: Faith Hunter
  • Artist: Galen Dara
  • Costuming: Kevin Roche
  • Music: Jen Midkiff
  • Fan: Bobbi Armbruster
  • Toastmaster: Andrew Trembley
Windycon 46 November 15-17, 2019 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Kerry Kuhn Space Opera
Breezycon November 13-15, 2020 Online Evan Reeves Online replacement due to COVID-19 pandemic
Windycon 47 November 12-14, 2021 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

Evan Reeves Urban Fantastic
Windycon 48 November 11-13, 2022 Westin Lombard Yorktown Center

Lombard, IL

John Donat Shattering the Glass Ceiling
Windycon 49 November 10-12, 2023 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago - Oak Brook

Oak Brook, IL

Dana "Star" DeMichael Adventure Is Out There
  • Science: April Choi
  • Gaming: Rick Heinz
  • Comic: Trevor Mueller
  • Artist: Logan Rocha
  • Cosplay: Jess Stary
  • Music: Laser Webber
  • Toastmaster: Sean Daeley
ISFiC Writers Contest Winner: "Boxed" by David L. Wyatt Jr.
Windycon 50 November 8-10, 2024 DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago - Oak Brook

Oak Brook, IL

Joseph "Vlad" Stockman & Daniel Gunderson Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Pavlac, Ross, What's an ISFiC, ISFiC Web Site, retrieved, 2015-11-10
  2. ^ The Windycon Big List, Windycon Web Site, retrieved, 2007-05-19
  3. ^ "ISFiC, Inc.: Writers Contest Winners". www.isfic.org. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. ^ Foster, Adrienne (August–September 2009), "Next Manuscript, Please: Amazing Tales of the Worldcon Writers Workshop", SFWA Bulletin, p. 10
  5. ^ Murphy, Janice, Windycon 26 Chats, Cybling, retrieved, 2007-05-19
  6. ^ Murphy, Janice, Windycon 29 Chats, Cybling, retrieved, 2007-05-19

External links[edit]