FenCon: A Science Fiction Convention in Dallas
FenCon Information
Fiction Convention
Event Features More Than 50 Writers, Artists, and Musicians
Dallas, TX September 2008-- Dr. Gregory Benford, an astrophysicist at
the University of California, Irvine as well as author of 20 novels
and several short stories, is Guest of Honor at FenCon V, a general
interest science fiction/fantasy and filk (music) convention to be
held Oct. 3-5, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel North Dallas/Addison in
Addison, Texas. Benford has won two Nebula Awards, the John W.
Campbell Award, the United Nations Medal in Literature, and the Lord
Foundation Award for contributions to science and the public
comprehension of it. He has served as an advisor to the Department of
Energy, NASA and the White House Council on Space Policy.
Along with Benford, “House” co-executive producer Doris Egan will be
appearing as a Special Guest. Egan also is a novelist, short story
author, and essayist. She also has written and served as producer for
television shows such as “House,” “Numb3rs,” “Smallville,” and “Dark
Angel.”
FenCon V marks the return of Real Musgrave to Dallas fandom as Artist
Guest of Honor. Musgrave created the very popular “Pocket Dragons,”
which are known around the world. Musgrave has been in retirement,
and FenCon is thrilled that he will be our Artist Guest of Honor.
Also, FenCon V features the Pegasus award-winning group Three Weird
Sisters as Music Guest of Honor. The group has produced several albums
and uses harp, double bass, guitar, and bodhran accompaniment in their
music. Their music has been described as "what the Carter family
would have sounded like if they'd done filk / folk / Celtic / blues /
insert music type."
Award-winning author and editor Jay Lake is a FenCon V Special Guest
and leads the convention's writers workshop. This intense series of
sessions is the perfect means for aspiring writers to sharpen skills
and polish that unpublished manuscript. Lake, the author of four
novels and more than 200 short stories, was the 2004 John W. Campbell
Award for Best New Writer and a winner of the L. Ron Hubbard’s Writers
of the Future contest.
FenCon will also be celebrating 50 years of science fiction
conventions in Texas. Dr. Benford was a member of the 1958 convention
committee for SouthwesternCon 6 which took place in Dallas.
More than 50 guests are scheduled to appear at this three-day event.
Filk concerts (folk music with a science fiction/fantasy twist) runs
all day Saturday. Numerous activities are available including
informative and instructional panels and demos, an art show and
charity auction, performances, a video room, an open gaming area, and
a costume contest. FenCon V also features a dealers’ room of more than
20 vendors with merchandise ranging from books to collectibles to
jewelry.
FenCon's designated charity is Reading and Radio Resource, a non-
profit organization that provides alternatives to reading for people
with visual impairments and learning disabilities. All proceeds from
the charity auction will benefit Reading and Radio Resource.
This is an incredible opportunity to meet and learn from an amazing
list of Science Fiction and Fantasy authors and artists and to
experience a convention with a major focus on Filk.
For more information on FenCon, visit www.fencon.org,