DeepSouthCon

DeepSouthCon
DeepSouthCon
Status Active
Genre Science Fiction/Fantasy
Venue Embassy Suites Hotel
Location Huntsville, Alabama in 2012
Country United States
First held 1963
Organizer Julie Wall
Filing status Non-Profit
Attendance ~500 (average)
Official website http://www.deepsouthcon.org/

The DeepSouthCon (DSC) is an annual science fiction convention, which is hosted in different cities in the Southern United States. Site selection is by vote of the membership of a given DSC, for the convention to be held 2 years in the future. DSC is often, but not always, held in conjunction with an existing annual convention so the time of year varies. Many regular attendees of DeepSouthCon are also members of the Southern Fandom Confederation, but there is no direct relationship between the two organizations.[1]

Contents

Awards

DSC issues two principal awards: the Phoenix, which is awarded to a science fiction professional editor, author, or artist with connections to the South, and the Rebel, which is awarded to a like-placed fan. The Phoenix and Rebel awards are considered lifetime achievement awards for a professional or fan who has done the most for southern fandom.[2]

A Rubble award to the person who has done the most to southern fandom in the past year is also awarded at the DeepSouthCon, usually good-naturedly. The Rubble is not an officially-sponsored convention award.[3]

Locations

The first DeepSouthCon was held in 1963 in Huntsville, Alabama, and had a total attendance of five people. In 1965, attendance had grown to 19 people and the very first Rebel Award was presented to co-chair Al Andrews. In 1970, at the Agacon DSC in Atlanta, Georgia, the first Phoenix Award was presented to Richard C. Meredith, and the convention broke the 100 mark in attendance with 130 members.[4] The largest DeepSouthCon was ConCarolinas 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a total attendance over 1300 people. The most recent DeepSouthCon was DSC49 in conjunction with FenCon (Dallas, Texas) held September 23–25, 2011. Seated upcoming editions include DSC50 to be held as a stand-alone event in Huntsville, Alabama, in June 2012 and DSC51 to be held in conjunction with JordanCon in the Atlanta, Georgia, area in April 2013.[5]

Guests

Over the years, guests and award winners of the DeepSouthCon have included Sam Moskowitz, Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Philip José Farmer, L. Sprague de Camp, Jack Williamson, R.A. Lafferty, Stephen King, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Bloch, Gregory Benford, Orson Scott Card, Forrest J. Ackerman, Mercedes Lackey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Mike Resnick, Larry Elmore, Harry Turtledove, James P. Hogan, Steve Jackson, George Alec Effinger, Barbara Hambly, Vincent Di Fate, John Ringo, David Drake, Jerry Pournelle, Albin Johnson, Brad W. Foster, Selina Rosen, and dozens more.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Southern Fandom Confederation". http://www.smithuel.net/sfc/. 
  2. ^ a b "Sci-fi Convention: 'Star Wars,' 'Close Encounters' spur interest in Atlanta meet". Rome News-Tribune (Rome, GA): p. 4. February 17, 1978. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eCMzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8zIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3383,1471829&dq=science-fiction&hl=en. Retrieved March 3, 2011. 
  3. ^ "RUBBLE WINNERS: If Life Hands You Sour Grapes--Try Making Whine: A Brief History of the Rubble Award". Southern Fandom Confederation Handbook. http://www.smithuel.net/sfchb/hbp2rub.html#Page26a. 
  4. ^ "History Of The DeepSouthCon". Southern Fandom Resource Guide. http://scenic-city.com/sfrg/deepsouthcon.htm. 
  5. ^ Mitchell, Petrea (October 7, 2011). "JordanCon Gets DeepSouthCon For 2013". con-news.com. http://con-news.com/?p=6673. Retrieved October 7, 2011. 

External links


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