BayCon

Announcements

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The Sun Rises with Writer Guest of Honor Steven Barnes

We are excited to present BayCon 2022: The Sun Rises!  

BayCon 2022’s theme will explore both what we did in the time we were apart and what we’re looking forward to now that we are back together. Some of us had great bursts of creation during lockdown. Others — equally important — spent their energy on simply returning to us as whole as possible. Over the weekend we’ll examine how these paths have served us, and look forward to what is to come. The last two years have shaped a more dystopian media, but simultaneously created a desire for something more hopeful and positive.

The question of the weekend is perhaps, “what did our paths look like apart and what will they look like as they join together again?”

Writer Guest of Honor Steven Barnes

We are pleased to announce our Writer Guest of Honor Steven Barnes! Steven is the NY Times bestselling author of over thirty novels of science fiction, horror, and suspense.  The Image, Endeavor and Cable-Ace Award winning author also writes for television, including The Twilight Zone, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, and an Emmy Award winning episode of The Outer Limits.

He also has taught at UCLA, Seattle University, and lectured at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.  With his wife, British Fantasy Award winning author Tananarive Due, he has created online courses in Afrofuturism, Black Horror, and Screenwriting. Steven was born in Los Angeles, California, and except for a decade in the Northwest, and three years in Atlanta Georgia, has lived in that area all his life.  Steve and Tananarive live with their son Jason.  www.afrofuturismwebinar.com, www.sunkenplaceclass.com

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BayCon 2022 Toastmaster: Bonnie Gordon

BayCon is excited to welcome back Bonnie Gordon, this time as our Toastmaster in 2022!

Although recently seen in many screen projects and web series, Bonnie is most recognized for her time on ABC’s inventively fun fantasy/reality show, The Quest, (Season 2 coming to Disney+ in 2022!) and many TTRPG shows on Twitch: such as the Star Trek Geek & Sundry show Shield of Tomorrow. Musically, she sings female vocals with 3 bands based in Los Angeles, but most know her as the lead singer of the nerd comedy parody band The Library Bards! Bonnie also has a nerdy jazz solo album, Con Artist, being released early 2022!

If her face doesn’t seem familiar to you, perhaps her voice will… From video games to popular animation, some voiceover credits include Star Trek Prodigy (Ship Computer); Street Fighter V (Rainbow Mika); Muhyo and Roji’s Supernatural Bureau of Investigation (Bico); Mega Man 11 (Bounce Man); Fire Emblem series (Silque and the vocalist for the end credits song); recurring characters on Cartoon Network’s Mighty Magiswords; Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock; Ikki Tousen (Soujin); Akiba’s Trip; Guided Fate Paradox (Frunetti/Misery); Demon Gaze for PSVita (Comit/Chronos/Pluto), and many more to be announced soon!

Her future plans include living off of cheese plates and world domination. You can find her on Twitter and IG at @BonnieBellG and her band Library Bards – @librarybards.

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BayCon 2022 to Return July 4th Weekend at the San Mateo Marriott

Happy holidays to our BayCon family!

We are extremely pleased to announce the return of BayCon in 2022. The convention will be held the weekend of July 1 – 4 at the San Mateo Marriott!

This change of weekends is due to scheduling conflicts for our host hotel, making our Memorial Day plans untenable. We realize many of you planned on a May date for BayCon next year, and we apologize. We made every effort to secure a Memorial Day booking in keeping with those expectations, including exploring opportunities at other hotels.  After months of deliberation, the July 4th weekend ultimately became our best option to hold BayCon next year.

With this news, our Registration team is standing by to offer a Special Discount Membership from now until 31 December: $70 for the whole weekend! Use the promo code HOLIDAY to take advantage of this sale!  If you purchased your membership for BayCon 2020, you’re already good to go as your membership has been automatically extended to include 2022.  Bring your ID and we’ll see you at the hotel!

If you have questions about existing memberships or about the sale, please email reg@baycon.org immediately.

The health of our BayCon family is always at the forefront of our minds. In accordance with the current pandemic guidelines for indoor events within San Mateo County, we will be requiring masks and proof of vaccination for all attendees without exception.  We fully acknowledge that in the months leading up to BayCon’s first day, the county health officer may modify those requirements, regulations, and guidance for indoor events depending on a number of factors outside our control.  BayCon will post our comprehensive health policy on our website and social media, along with any changes as soon as they’re implemented.  We encourage everyone attending our event to stay abreast of any changes regarding this policy.

Note: We are currently in the process of working out the best course of action for attendees under 5 years old and will include that information in a subsequent update.

If you’re an existing member and you’re unable to abide by the requirements we’ve listed for any reason, please email the address above so we can refund your membership.

All other details about BayCon 2022, such as hotel reservations, art show, and dealers room, are currently being worked on by our awesome staff. As soon as information becomes available, we will post it on our website and social media. As above, please make sure to follow all of our social media and visit our website regularly to read that important information as soon as we make it available.

We’re excited and looking forward to a reunion with our BayCon family! Thank you for your continued patience and stay tuned for more announcements!

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#Slipstream Writers and Educators

The Slipstream Symposium has been cancelled.

We are pleased to introduce to you the very talented people joining M Todd Gallowglas for the Slipstream symposium!

Mari Murdock is a freelance writer based in Utah. She has been writing in the tabletop gaming industry for 8 years, with writing credits from companies like Fantasy Flight Games, Green Ronin Publishing, Alderac Entertainment Group, and Gallant Knight Games. You can find her online on Twitter at @murdock_mari or on her website MariMurdock.com.
Arley Sorg is co-Editor-in-Chief at Fantasy Magazine, senior editor at Locus Magazine, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare Magazines, and a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He takes on multiple roles, including slush reader, movie and book reviewer, and interviewer at multiple venues, including Clarkesworld Magazine and his own site: arleysorg.com. Arley grew up in England, Hawaii, and Colorado, and studied Asian Religions at Pitzer College. He lives in Oakland, and, in non-pandemic times, usually writes in local coffee shops. He is a 2014 Odyssey Writing Workshop graduate.
Writer. Publisher. Graphic Designer. Educator.  Victor Dandridge is a leading, new voice for innovation and production within the self-publishing market.  He’s found acclaim with his own imprint, Vantage: Inhouse Productions, the weekly internet review series, Black, White & Read All Over, and the pop culture podcast, Hall of Justice.  Wanting not only to entertain, but also to educate, Victor launched his U Cre-8 Comics line — a unique bridge between comics and classroom fundamentals. https://www.facebook.com/victor.dandridgejr
Register for #Slipstream Symposium

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BayCon Postponed Until 2022

To our members, fans, guests, staff, and other supporters:

BayCon has made the difficult decision to postpone the convention until an as yet undecided date in 2022.

This decision was not made lightly. Because of the most recent shift back to a lockdown in California, as well as the forecast for how things may go in the near future, and most importantly to ensure the safety and good health of all of us, we feel that setting another date for 2021 is not appropriate at this time.

We realize that we have pushed the date forward for our convention a couple of times already. It is our sincere hope that this incredible community will continue to bear with us during these uncertain times. Our hard-working staff of volunteers continues to plan for a time when we can bring everyone together in the grand and storied tradition this community expects, without the risk to the health of those in attendance.

2020 has been a trying year for all of us: In the convention and event planning business, everyday work, and in our personal lives. More than six months after the COVID-19 pandemic caused most of the country to shut down, most of California has slid back to the purple tier, severely limiting our activities and forcing more of us to figure out how to best cope financially and personally.

If you purchased a membership for 2020/2021, you do not need to take further action for 2022. As we have more information regarding a solid convention date and get things in place we will make sure that our members, guests, and supporters are kept in the loop. Thank you for your loyalty and patience during this difficult time. We know everyone wants to get back out and mingle with their friends, fellow authors, role models, and geeks. But health and safety must come first. 

We invite you to engage with our social media and to check the website for updates as we continue to work towards putting on the next BayCon. Do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. 

BayCon remains committed to our community and will proceed with our popular virtual mini-cons. We have many more ideas and awesome guests who plan to share their personal time for us to get our convention fix. Hope to see you at the next one!

Sincerely,

BayCon Board of Directors
Artistic Solutions, Inc.

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BayCon 2021 Zoom Mini-Con #3 November 7th

Hello, member, guests, and staff!

Thanks for hanging with us through the ups and downs of this tumultuous year. As you’re already aware, we’ve rescheduled BayCon to 2021 and will not be having a physical con this year. However, that doesn’t mean we have been sitting on our hands. You know the programming ninjas have been hard at work ….

So without further ado, it’s time to announce that BayCon 2021 is hosting its 3rd virtual mini-con of the year, happening Saturday, November 7th on Zoom! Guests of Honor Cory Doctorow and Galen Dara are joining us again along with several other guests and BayCon regulars. Get ready for some great programming, including music, readings, and panels. You won’t want to miss it. Because the event is taking place online, attendance will be limited. We will announce signs up to attend very soon: Be on the look out for a sign up form in the next week or so. More details soon.

Check out our event on Facebook.