BayCon News

Pre-registration for BayCon 2014 is open! Join us next year with Guest of Honor, David Weber!

We are proud to announce The California Autism Foundation as our charity this year. Check back soon for details!

BayCon is committed to a safe space for our members. Read our updated Harassment Policy.

Thanks for Attending!

Thank you for joining us for another great BayCon. Pre-registration for BayCon 2014 is open! Join us next year with Guest of Honor, David Weber!

Turning 31 in '13!

Welcome to BayCon 31! In eerie symmetry, 2013 will see the 31st incarnation of our convention!  Recognizing the infamy of the number 13, our veteran Chair, Caradwen "Sabre" von Braskat will usher in Triskaidekaphobicon: the BayCon where the theme is 13!

Author Guest of Honor
Lois McMaster Bujold

Our Writer Guest of honor is known for the Miles Vorkosigan Saga, the Chalion Series, and the Sharing Knife series. Lois is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the Hugo Award for Best Novel four times, matching Robert Heinlein's record.

Artist Guest of Honor
Cliff Nielsen

We are pleased to announce our newest addition to Triskaidekaphobicon! Cliff is best known as a fantasy, science fiction artist, a book illustrator and graphic novel artist. He has drawn for Marvel Comics, done cover art for Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and illustrated numerous children's fantasy stories including one edition of Chronicles of Narnia! (Oh, and ask him about Beloved!) You can see his work at http://www.shannonassociates.com/artist/cliffnielsen.

Fan Guests of Honor
Chris and John O'Halloran

Our Fan Guests of Honor have been active behind-the-scenes in SF fandom for more than two decades. When you aren't not seeing them be Masquerade "ninjas," they help run Consonance, play Taiko drums, and allow themselves to be dominated by their cats.

Toastmaster
Veronica Belmont

Our Toastmaster is the San Francisco-based technology and gaming-centric video host of Tekzilla (a weekly tech help and how-to show on Revision3.com) and The Sword and Laser, a science fiction and fantasy video show, podcast, and community, co-hosted with Tom Merritt.

Special Musical Guests
S. J. Tucker & Betsy Tinney

Our Special Musical Guests are Seattle-based acoustic musicians who make music with fantasy and mythic themes. S.J., also known as "Sooj," has won three Pegasus Awards: Best Performer (2010), Best Writer/Composer (2011), and Best Filk Song (2012). Betsy Tinney is a classically-trained cellist who has also won a Pegasus Award for Best Performer (2012).

What is Triskaidekaphobicon?

Other than the obvious answer of "the year is 2013 and we're in a hotel with a 13th floor" (which is very much a rarity), we plan on exploring and emphasizing a bit of the darker side of fantasy and science fiction. The morphology of myth and legend is always fascinating and our programming will include looking at where superstitions and old wives tales, etc. come from as well as how they've changed over time.

We'll also take a look at these things from a different perspective. For example, in "The Three Little Pigs", what if we remember that the Wolf was following his nature when terribly hungry? It's fascinating to explore these things that are part of our consciousness and culture, and that we use to teach our children, but how has the message, and the lesson, changed over the centuries?

Have suggestions for BayCon 2013? Feel free to contact our chairman at chair13@baycon.org.