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{{Short description|Science fiction convention in Wisconsin, US}}
{{Infobox Convention
| name       = WisCon
| image      =
| caption    =
| status     =
| genre      = [[Feminist science fiction]]
| venue      =
| location   = Madison, Wisconsin
| country    = United States
| first      = 1977
| last       =
| frequency = Annually
| dates = Memorial Day weekend
| organizer  = (SF)3 -- http://www.sf3.org
| filing     =
| participants = c. 1,000
| attendance =
| website    = [http://wiscon.net www.wiscon.net]
}}
{{Sex in SF mini}}

'''WisCon''' or '''Wiscon''', a [[Wisconsin]] [[science fiction convention]], is the oldest, and often called the world's leading, [[feminist science fiction]] convention and conference. It was first held in [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], Wisconsin, in February 1977,<ref name="About Wiscon">{{cite news |work=WisCon |url=http://www.wiscon.info/about.php |title=About WisCon: History of WisCon}}</ref> after a group of fans attending the 1976 [[34th World Science Fiction Convention]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] was inspired to organize a convention like [[WorldCon]] but with feminism as the dominant theme.<ref name="Capital Times article 2006">{{cite news |first=John |last=Wiedenhoeft |title=Klingons Not Focus of Wiscon The Science Fiction Convention Celebrates Literature and Feminism |url=http://host.madison.com/news/local/klingons-not-focus-of-wiscon-the-science-fiction-convention-celebrates/article_0d0c056a-ebe0-552d-b9cc-1bcd0d34fa32.html |location= Madison, WI |work=The Capital Times |date=26 May 2006}}</ref> The convention is held annually in May, during the four-day weekend of [[Memorial Day]]. Sponsored by the Society for the Furtherance and Study of Fantasy and Science Fiction, or ''(SF)<sup>3</sup>'', WisCon gathers together fans, writers, editors, publishers, scholars, and artists to discuss science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on issues of [[feminism]], [[gender identity|gender]], [[Race (human categorization)|race]], and [[social class|class]].

It was announced in 2023 that there would not be a 2024 Wiscon. The convention committee announced they would "take a year to rest, plan, and make adjustments that we don’t usually have time for during the rush of putting on this life-giving feminist speculative fiction convention."<ref>[http://wiscon.net Wiscon website front page; accessed 5-23-24]</ref>

==Guests of Honor==
Since its inception, WisCon has invited one or more guests of honor to attend the convention every year, guiding and participating in programming and giving a speech at a ceremony in their honor.<ref name="Wiscon Schedule">{{cite web |url=http://wiscon.info/schedule.php |title=Overall Wiscon Schedule |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |work=Wiscon official website |publisher=(SF)<sup>3</sup>|access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref> WisCon 30 (May 26–29, 2006) was an anniversary Wiscon, and 39 previous Guests of Honor attended.<ref>{{cite web|last=Custis |first=Scott |title=STELLAR ROSTER OF FORMER GUESTS OF HONOR WILL ATTEND WISCON 30 |url=http://wiscon.info/archive/wiscon30/W30BrochureCOMP.pdf |work=Looking Back at 30 Years of Science Fiction and Feminism |publisher=(SF)<sup>3</sup> |access-date=2 April 2013 |author2=Jeanne Gomoll }}</ref> For WisCon 40, the convention invited a third guest of honor, [[Nalo Hopkinson]], who was previously a guest of honor at WisCon 26. A virtual event happened on Memorial Day weekend in 2020 at WisCon XLIV.
Here are the Guests of honor below:<ref name="GOH List">{{cite web |url=http://wiscon.info/history.php |title=Past Wiscons |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |work=Wiscon official site |publisher=(SF)<sup>3</sup>|access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |'''WisCon #'''
| style="text-align:center;" |'''Year'''
| '''Guests of Honor'''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1
| Feb. 11–13, 1977
| [[Katherine MacLean]], [[Amanda Bankier]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2
| Feb. 17–19, 1978
| [[Vonda N. McIntyre]], [[Susan Wood (science fiction)|Susan Wood]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |3
| Feb. 2–4, 1979
| [[Suzy McKee Charnas]], [[John Varley (author)|John Varley]], Gina Clarke
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |4
| March 7–9, 1980
| [[Joan D. Vinge]], [[Octavia Butler]], [[David Hartwell]], Beverly DeWeese
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |5
| March 6–8, 1981
| [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]], [[Donald A. Wollheim|Don]] & Elsie Wollheim, [[Buck Coulson|Buck]] & [[Juanita Coulson]], [[Catherine McClenahan]], Steven Vincent Johnson
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |6
| March 5–7, 1982
| [[Terry Carr]], [[Suzette Haden Elgin]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |7
| March 4–7, 1983
| [[Marta Randall]], [[Lee Killough (author)|Lee Killough]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |8
| Feb. 24–26, 1984
| [[Elizabeth A. Lynn]], [[Jessica Amanda Salmonson]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |9
| Feb. 22–24, 1985
| [[Lisa Tuttle]], [[Alicia Austin]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |10
| Feb. 21–23, 1986
| [[Chelsea Quinn Yarbro]], [[Suzette Haden Elgin]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |11
| Feb. 20–22, 1987
| [[Connie Willis]], [[Samuel R. Delany]], [[Avedon Carol]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |12
| Feb. 19–21, 1988
| [[R. A. MacAvoy]], [[George R. R. Martin]], Stu Shiffman
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |13
| Feb. 17–19, 1989
| [[Gardner Dozois]], [[Pat Cadigan]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |14
| March 9–11, 1990
| [[Iain M. Banks]], [[Emma Bull]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |15
| March 1–3, 1991
| [[Pat Murphy (writer)|Pat Murphy]], [[Pamela Sargent]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |16
| March 6–7, 1992
| [[Howard Waldrop]], [[Trina Robbins]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |17
| March 5–7, 1993
| [[Kristine Kathryn Rusch]], [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |18
| March 4–6, 1994
| [[Karen Joy Fowler]], [[Melinda Snodgrass]], [[James Frenkel]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |19
| May 26–29, 1995
| [[Barbara Hambly]], [[Sharyn McCrumb]], [[Nicola Griffith]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |20
| May 24–27, 1996
| [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], [[Judith Merril]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |21
| May 23–26, 1997
| [[Melissa Scott (writer)|Melissa Scott]], Susanna Sturgis
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |22
| May 22–25, 1998
| [[Sheri S. Tepper]], [[Delia Sherman]], [[Ellen Kushner]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |23
| May 28–31, 1999
| [[Terri Windling]], [[Mary Doria Russell]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |24
| May 26–29, 2000
| [[Charles de Lint]], [[Jeanne Gomoll]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |25
| May 25–28, 2001
| [[Nancy Kress]], [[Elisabeth Vonarburg]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |26
| May 24–27, 2002
| [[Nalo Hopkinson]], [[Nina Kiriki Hoffman]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |27
| May 23–26, 2003
| [[Carol Emshwiller]], [[China Miéville]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |28
| May 28–31, 2004
| [[Patricia McKillip]], [[Eleanor Arnason]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |29
| May 27–30, 2005
| [[Gwyneth Jones (novelist)|Gwyneth Jones]], [[Robin McKinley]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |30
| May 26–29, 2006
| [[Kate Wilhelm]], [[Jane Yolen]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |31
| May 25–28, 2007
| [[Kelly Link]], [[Laurie Marks]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |32
| May 23–26, 2008
| [[L. Timmel Duchamp]], [[Maureen McHugh]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |33
| May 22–25, 2009
| [[Ellen Klages]], [[Geoff Ryman]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |34
| May 28–31, 2010
| [[Mary Anne Mohanraj]], [[Nnedi Okorafor]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |35
| May 26–30, 2011
| [[Nisi Shawl]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |36
| May 25–28, 2012
| [[Andrea Hairston]], Debbie Notkin
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |37
| May 24–27, 2013
| [[Joan Slonczewski]], [[Jo Walton]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |38
| May 23–26, 2014
| [[Hiromi Goto]], [[N. K. Jemisin]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |39
| May 22–25, 2015
| [[Alaya Dawn Johnson]], [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |40
| May 27–30, 2016
| [[Justine Larbalestier]], [[Sofia Samatar]], [[Nalo Hopkinson]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |41
| May 26–29, 2017
| [[Amal El-Mohtar]], [[Kelly Sue DeConnick]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |42
| May 25–28, 2018
| [[Saladin Ahmed]], [[Tananarive Due]]
|-

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |43
| May 24–27, 2019
| [[G. Willow Wilson]], [[Charlie Jane Anders]]

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |44
| May 22–25, 2020
| [[Rebecca Roanhorse]], [[Yoon Ha Lee]] Traditional in-person convention cancelled due to [[COVID-19]]; converted to all-online format<ref>[https://locusmag.com/2020/07/wiscon-44-report/ "Wisconsin 44 Report" ''Locus Online''; July 3, 2020; accessed 05-28-2022]</ref>

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |No#
| Online in 2021
| Traditional in-person convention cancelled in 2021 due to [[COVID-19]]. No traditional guests named.

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |45
| May 2022 online
| [[Zen Cho]] (not attending), [[Yoon Ha Lee]] (not attending), [[Rebecca Roanhorse]], [[Sheree Renée Thomas]]

|-
| style="text-align:center;" |46
| May 26–29, 2023
| [[Rivers Solomon]], [[Martha Wells]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiscon.net/about/past-wiscons|title=Past WisCons|author=WisCon Chairs, Stephanie Sarac, Lindsey Taveren|access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> 
|}

==Offshoot organizations and awards==
[[File:Beaders at Wiscon 2006.jpg|thumb|Beaders at Wiscon 2006. Lisa Freitag (far left), Kate Yule (next left), and Amy Thompson (far right).]]
[[File:Emma Bull, Wiscon 2006.jpg|thumb|[[Emma Bull]] at Wiscon, 2006. Photo by [[Patrick Nielsen Hayden]].]]
[[File:Avedon Carol, Beth Meacham, Lois McMaster Bujold.jpg|thumb|[[Avedon Carol]], [[Beth Meacham]], and [[Lois McMaster Bujold]] at Wiscon 30, 2006]]

Multiple awards and organizations have been created through or developed from conversations at WisCon that focus on various issues within science fiction and fantasy. Many of these offshoots still maintain close ties to WisCon, hosting parties or panel discussions focused on their areas of interest.

The [[James Tiptree, Jr. Award]] (now the [[Otherwise Award]]), an annual literary prize for science fiction or fantasy "that expands or explores our understanding of gender" was first discussed as part of Pat Murphy's Guest of Honor speech at WisCon 15 in 1991. The concept originated in a discussion at a prior WisCon, partly as "...a reaction to the fact that all of the science fiction awards were named after men. So they named the Tiptree for a man who was actually a woman".<ref name="Founding Mothers">{{cite web|last=Gomoll|first=Jeanne|title=Founding Mothers: The Jeanne Gomoll Interview|url=http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20080915/simmons-a.shtml|work=Strange Horizons|access-date=3 April 2013|date=15 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008062352/http://www.strangehorizons.com/2008/20080915/simmons-a.shtml|archive-date=8 October 2013}}</ref> James Tiptree, Jr., was the pen name of Alice B. Sheldon.<ref>{{cite news|last=Itzkoff|first=Dave|title=Alice's Alias|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/20/books/review/20Itzkoff.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|access-date=3 April 2013|newspaper=New York Times: Sunday Book Review|date=August 20, 2008}}</ref> The Tiptree Ceremony has been held at other conventions, but is usually held at WisCon.<ref name="Founding Mothers" />

The [[Carl Brandon Society]] was founded in 1999 following discussions at Wiscon 23 about race, racism, and science and fantasy,  inspired in part by [[Samuel R. Delany|Delany]]’s essay “Racism and Science Fiction” published in the ''[[New York Review of Science Fiction]]'' (August 1998).<ref>[https://www.nyrsf.com/2018/01/sandra-j-lindow-black-to-okorafor-entering-an-intersection-of-afrofuturism-comics-and-the-womens-mov.html Lindow, Sara J. "Black to Okorafor: Entering an Intersection of Afrofuturism, Comics, and the Women’s Movement" ''New York Review of Science Fiction'' Issue 344 (Vol. 29, #8; December 2017). Retrieved 6 March 2020]</ref> The organization is dedicated to addressing the representation of [[person of color|people of color]] in science fiction, fantasy and horror. In 2005 they created the [[Carl Brandon Society#The CBS Parallax and Kindred Awards|Parallax Award]], given to works of [[speculative fiction]] created by a self-identified person of color, and the [[Carl Brandon Society#The CBS Parallax and Kindred Awards|Kindred Award]], which is given to any work of speculative fiction dealing with issues of race and ethnicity; nominees may be of any racial or ethnic group.<ref name="CB Awards">{{cite web |url=http://www.carlbrandon.org/awards.html/ |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Carl Brandon Society Awards |work=Carl Brandon Society official website |access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>

[[Broad Universe]], an organization with the primary goal of promoting science fiction, fantasy, and horror written by women, was first discussed at a panel discussion in 2000 at WisCon 24. It has since developed into a nonprofit with an online newsletter and other publications, a podcast, and a frequent presence at many conventions both to sell books written by members and to provide more information and help organize to support women writing, editing, and publishing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction.<ref name="About Broad Universe">{{cite web |url=http://www.broaduniverse.org/about/about/ |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=About Broad Universe |work=Broad Universe official website |access-date=2 April 2013}}</ref>

==Books about WisCon==
In 2007, [[Aqueduct Press]] began issuing a series of books titled "WisCon Chronicles", with ''The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 1'' {{ISBN|978-1-933500-14-0}}, edited by [[L. Timmel Duchamp]].<ref>[http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/WisConChronicles-Vol1.html ''The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 1'' on Aqueduct Press website]</ref> Volume 2 was ''The WisCon Chronicles: Volume 2: Provocative essays on feminism, race, revolution, and the future'' {{ISBN|978-1-933500-20-1}}, edited by Duchamp and [[Eileen Gunn]];<ref>[http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/WisConChronicles-Vol2.html Volume 2]</ref> followed by ''The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 3: The Carnival of Feminist SF'' {{ISBN|978-1-933500-30-0}}, edited by [[Liz Henry]];<ref>[http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/WisConChronicles-Vol3.html Volume 3]</ref> ''The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 4: Voices of WisCon'' {{ISBN|978-1-933500-40-9}} edited by [[Sylvia Kelso]];<ref>[http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/WisConChronicles-Vol4.html Volume 4]</ref> and ''The WisCon Chronicles: Volume 5: Writing and Racial Identity'' {{ISBN|978-1-933500-73-7}}, edited by [[Nisi Shawl]] and released at WisCon 35 (May 27–30, 2011), where Shawl was Guest of Honor.<ref>[http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/WisConChronicles-Vol5.html Volume 5]</ref> Volume 5, like Volume 4 before it, was supported by a grant from the Society for the Furtherance & Study of Fantasy & Science Fiction [(SF)<sup>3</sup>]. ''The WisCon Chronicles 6: Futures of Feminism and Fandom'' {{ISBN|9781619760080}}, edited by Alexis Lothian, was issued at WisCon 36 in 2012; and ''The WisCon Chroncles 7: Shattering Ableist Narratives'' {{ISBN|9781619760424}}, edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft, was issued at WisCon 37 in late May 2013.<ref>[http://dsq-sds.org/article/view/4284/3601 Wagner, Kathryn and Alexis Lothian. "Access and Fandom: Disability Studies From a Feminist Science Fiction Perspective"], ''[[Disability Studies Quarterly]]'' Vol. 34, No. 2 (2014)</ref>

[[Helen Merrick]]'s 2009 ''[[The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminisms|The Secret Feminist Cabal]]'' ({{ISBN|978-1-933500-33-1}}), a 2010 [[Hugo Award|Hugo]] nominee, while a broader history of the topic, contains a number of mentions and descriptions of WisCon itself and of various WisCon-spawned projects such as the Tiptree Awards, Broad Universe, and the Carl Brandon Society, beginning with the author's [[preface]] and continuing throughout the book.<ref>Merrick, Helen. ''The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminisms'' Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2009; pp. v–vi, ''et seq.''</ref>

==See also==
* [[Feminist science fiction]]
* [[Janus (science fiction magazine)|''Janus'' (science fiction magazine)]]
* ''[[The Witch and the Chameleon]]''
* [[Women in speculative fiction]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*Bankier, Amanda, "Guest of Honor Speech at Wiscon 1" [http://www.wiscon.info/downloads/bankier.pdf]
*Gomoll, Jeanne, "Guest of Honor Speech at Wiscon 24" [http://www.wiscon.info/downloads/gomoll.pdf]
*Gomoll, Jeanne, "An Open Letter to Joanna Russ", in ''Six Shooter'' (Jeanne Gomoll, Linda Pickersgill, and Pam Wells, eds.) - reprinted in ''Fanthology '87'' [https://web.archive.org/web/19990223194504/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8720/letter.htm]
*Hanson, Amy Axt, "How Is Wiscon Different from Other Cons?", ''The Broadsheet'' May 2002 [http://www.broaduniverse.org/broadsheet/archive/0205aah.html]
*Marks, Laurie J., "Why, and How a Wallflower Throws a Party at Wiscon", ''The Broadsheet'' May 2002 [http://www.broaduniverse.org/broadsheet/archive/0205ljm.html]
*McClenahan, Catherine. "Wiscon, Then and Now." ''Wiscon 20 Souvenir Book'', Madison: SF<sup>3</sup>, 1996; pp.&nbsp;46–48.
*Morgan, Cheryl, "Down Among the Rad Fems, 1998", ''The Broadsheet'' May 2002 [http://www.broaduniverse.org/broadsheet/archive/0205cm.html]
*Merrick, Helen. "From ''Female Man'' to Feminist Fan: Uncovering 'Herstory' in the Annals of SF Fandom," in ''Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism'', edited by Helen Merrick and Tess Williams; Nedlands: University of Western Australia Press, 1999; pp.&nbsp;115–139.
*Wiedenhoeft, John. "Klingons Not Focus of Wiscon The Science Fiction Convention Celebrates Literature and Feminism", ''The Capital Times'' May 26, 2006 [http://host.madison.com/news/local/klingons-not-focus-of-wiscon-the-science-fiction-convention-celebrates/article_0d0c056a-ebe0-552d-b9cc-1bcd0d34fa32.html]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.wiscon.net WisCon website]
* [http://www.sf3.org (SF)<sup>3</sup> website]
* [https://otherwiseaward.org/ Otherwise Award website]
{{Feminist science fiction}}

[[Category:Science fiction conventions in the United States]]
[[Category:Culture of Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Conventions in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Feminist organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Feminist science fiction]]
[[Category:Festivals in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Madison, Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1977]]
[[Category:Science fiction conferences]]
[[Category:1977 establishments in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Annual events in Wisconsin]]
[[Category:History of women in Wisconsin]]