The BayCon 2019 Dealers Room is now accepting applications!
BayCon members come to the convention every year looking for collectibles, clothing, jewelry, comics and games, books, and more. Joining BayCon 2019 as a dealer is a great way to promote your business and connect with the customers you want to have for life. BayCon offers reasonable rates and memberships with the purchase of a table in the Dealers Room.
We are pleased to announce that hotel room reservations BayCon 2019 are now open! BayCon returns this year to the San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport, at the intersection of Hwy 101 and 92.
(link updated 11.11.18)
BayCon 2019’s group rate is $139/night for a King room, $149/night for a Double-Queen. A limited number of King suites are also available at $169/night, subject to availability.
BayCon 2019 welcomes Hugo Award-winning author David Brin as our Writer Guest of Honor!
David Brin is a science fiction author, scientist and tech speaker/consultant. In 1997, his book The Postman, was adapted as a feature film starring Kevin Costner. His newest novel Existence is about humanity’s fight for survival in the near future. Brin’s 16 novels, including NY Times Bestsellers and Hugo Award winners, have been translated into more than twenty languages. His 1989 novel, Earth, foreshadowed global warming, cyber-warfare and the web. David’s non-fiction book The Transparent Society: Will Technology Make Us Choose Between Freedom and Privacy? won the Freedom of Speech Award of the American Library Association.
In addition to writing, David serves on the external advisory council of NASA’s Innovative and Advanced Concepts program (NIAC). He often appears on shows such as Nova, The Universe, and Life After People, speaking about science and future trends. He has keynoted scores of major events hosted by the likes of IBM, GE, Google, Boeing, and the Institute for Ethics in Emerging Technologies.
Find out more about David Brin at his website.
BayCon is excited to announce Artist Guest of Honor Gary Villarreal. Gary Villarreal graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelors degree in Visualization. He is currently a full-time Concept Artist at MethodEXP and a generalist when it comes to his professional work; designing environment, vehicles, weapons and characters. However, Gary is well known for his character designs and his style rendering, often adding volume to his characters. Over the years, Gary has grown an interest in storytelling, which has given him the ability to further immerse his viewers in the fantasy worlds that his characters live in. His illustrations have been featured in the pages of 3Dtotal Sketching from the imagination: Dark Arts and Graphite Magazine.
According to Hugo-winning and former BayCon Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio, “[Gary] is going to melt peoples faces….” (we’re pretty sure in a good way).
Find Gary on Instagram @villarte, and on Art Station at https://www.artstation.com/garyvillarreal.
BayCon 2019 returns for its 37th year, and will again be hosting the convention at the San Mateo Airport San Francisco Marriott (at Hwy 92 & 101 in San Mateo, CA) over Memorial Day Weekend 2019.
This year’s theme celebrates science fiction’s influence in and inspiration from the digital world, from video games to the internet. “Cyberspace” got its name from William Gibson in the 1980s, and with the advances in high tech and the vision of artists, writers, and engineers since then, the future that previously existed only in science fiction has now become science fact. From Cline’s “Ready Player One.” to Stephenson’s “REAMDE,” to movies like “Ex Machina” and “Ghost in the Shell,” the virtual world, artificial intelligence, and technology continue to pervade and inspire the imagination of creators in the digital and analog playgrounds of science fiction.
BayCon 2019 will explore the world of digital dreams, artificial intelligence, and the rise of video games in a modern world. Come escape with us into the data stream–strap on your power gloves and your headset, and if you find yourself out of extra lives, remember to Insert Coin to Continue….
— Robert Toland
BayCon 2019 Chair