[ANNOUNCE][F] North American Discworld Convention: The Official Announcement!
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The First North American Discworld Convention will be held September 4-7,
2009 (Labor Day weekend which includes a Monday holiday) at the Tempe
Mission Palms Hotel in downtown Tempe, Arizona (near Phoenix). It will
be a celebration of the Discworld universe created by our Guest of Honor
Terry Pratchett. Other guests will include Diane Duane, Peter Morwood,
and Esther Friesner, with more to be announced. During the weekend we
will have many panels, presentations, readings and other activities for
Discworld fans. We are also planning to have a Maskerade, a Banquet,
a Marketplace (dealer's room/art show), a Charity Auction to benefit
the Orangutan Foundation, a Hospitality Suite, and other activities for
attendees. The North American Discworld Convention is being sponsored by
Leprecon, Inc., an Arizona non-profit volunteer corporation.
Our Guest of Honor, Terry Pratchett, is the international best-selling
author of the Discworld novel series, which began in 1983 with The
Colour of Magic and most recently continued in Making Money. His young
adult and children's books, including the Johnny Maxwell series and
the Tiffany Aching Discworld YA books, have been well received, and he
was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and His
Educated Rodents. He also co-wrote Good Omens with Neil Gaiman.
Our additional guests are fans of Terry's work and good friends of
Terry's. They are also excellent convention guests in their own right
and we're looking forward to having them join us.
Diane Duane and Peter Morwood have written many novels, comics, and
screenplays, both singly and as collaborations. They co-wrote
The Ring of the Nibelungs miniseries (aired in the U.S. on SciFi as
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King), and each has several new novels and
projects in the works.
Esther Friesner is a science fiction and fantasy writer best known for
her humorous stories and anthologies (such as Alien Pregnant by Elvis
and the Chicks in Chainmail series) and her fantasy novel series (Majyk,
Demons, New York by Knight, and Gnome Man's Land). She's recently
embarked on a young adult series featuring a young Helen of Troy with
Nobody's Princess and the upcoming Nobody's Prize.
We will be hosting other guests with connections to Terry and Discworld
in addition to those above and will announce them as they are confirmed.
The convention will run from early afternoon on Friday, September 4th
to late afternoon on Monday, September 7th. There may be some limited
activities available for pre-registered members on Thursday night,
September 3rd, depending on the travel schedule of our guests.
Tentative plans for major events include a special event on Friday
night, the Maskerade on Saturday night, and a Banquet in the early
evening on Sunday. We will have special panels with our guests
including a spotlight talk/interview with Terry Pratchett, probably
on Saturday afternoon. Outside of the major panels and events we plan
to have more discussion panels, presentations, readings, demonstrations,
games, and other activities that will make this a fun and memorable
weekend for everyone.
The Charity Auction will benefit Terry Pratchett's favorite charity,
the Orangutan Foundation, and will likely be held on Sunday afternoon.
There may be some additional fund-raising activities during the
weekend as well.
Our venue is the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona. Leprecon,
Inc. has recently hosted the 2004 World Fantasy Convention and the 2006
Nebula Awards weekend at the Tempe Mission Palms and it has received
acclaim from fans and pros at those events. The hotel is located in
the heart of downtown Tempe with a varied selection of restaurants,
shopping and nightlife nearby. It is a short distance from Phoenix
Sky Harbor International Airport and is accessible via the Phoenix
Light Rail system, which will be opening in late 2008. Our room rates
are US $119 per night S/D, US $129 T, and US $139 Q with a US $9.75
per night hospitality fee that includes airport shuttle, valet and
self parking, internet access, a fitness center, and more. The online
booking code and the reservation phone number will soon be available
on our website.
The initial membership rate will be US $60 for a full weekend
membership, or US $30 for a supporting membership. Children 6-11
will pay US $30 with kids 5 and under free with an adult membership.
These rates will be in effect until March 31, 2008. This rate
includes all regular convention events, panels and presentations.
The Banquet and a possible VIP event/charityevent will cost extra
and will be announced when details are finalized. Payments can be
made via the mail or online via Paypal. Full details are on our
website. We are planning to cap membership in the 900 attendee
range to ensure that all attendees will be able to be seated at
the major functions in our ballroom.
For those wanting to mix in some tourism around the convention
we will be looking into making arrangements with local touring
companies for trips before and/or after the convention with the
possibility for some special excursions being arranged for
attendees. Keep an eye on our website for details.
We're looking forward to hosting a fun weekend for all of our
attendees and our guests. Please be sure to visit our website
at http://www.nadwcon.org and join in the discussions on our
message board and livejournal community.
Lee Whiteside
2009 North American Discworld Chair
http://www.nadwcon.org
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