# Ad Astra (convention)

Ad Astra is an annual science fiction, fantasy, and horror convention in Ontario. Major events of the convention include the Masquerade, Guest of Honour presentations, panel discussions, Art Show, and Dealer's Room, as well as a wide variety of privately run room parties. Other events on the convention program include a games room, book launches, and the Saturday evening dance.

## Programming

Ad Astra's programming features a wide variety of discussion panels on various topics of interest to science fiction and fantasy fans. Writing, art, and costuming workshops are also often seen each year at the convention.

## History

Ad Astra first ran in 1980, and has run every year since, excepting 1981, 1999 and 2020. The convention occasionally serves as host for other conventions; for example, Canvention 7 was held as part of Ad Astra 7, in 1987, and the convention hosted the Toronto games convention Orion for the years 2003 and 2004.
In previous years, guests have included prominent Canadian writers including Robert J. Sawyer, Nalo Hopkinson, Tanya Huff, Guy Gavriel Kay, Robert Charles Wilson, Phyllis Gotlieb, etc., as well as internationally renowned authors including C. J. Cherryh, David Brin, Connie Willis, Stephen Hunt, Larry Niven, Lois McMaster Bujold, Frederik Pohl, Katherine Kurtz, Orson Scott Card, James P. Hogan and others. Ad Astra has continued to evolve past its focus on literature to include programming dedicated to costuming, art, filking, and media. In some years, Jason Taniguchi has performed popular one-man parody shows at the convention.

### Event history

| Dates | Location | Guests of Honour |
| June 13, 1980 (1980-06-13) - June 15, 1980 (1980-06-15) | Ramada Inn Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada | James Hogan, Steve Simmons |
| June 11, 1982 (1982-06-11) - June 13, 1982 (1982-06-13) | Cara Inn Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Jerry Pournelle, Ro Lutz-Nagey |
| September 23, 1983 (1983-09-23) - September 25, 1983 (1983-09-25) | Cara Inn Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Ben Bova, Ken Fletcher |
| June 8, 1984 (1984-06-08) - June 10, 1984 (1984-06-10) | Howard Johnson Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Dean Ing, David C. Onley, Bob Passavoy |
| June 7, 1985 (1985-06-07) - June 9, 1985 (1985-06-09) | Holiday Inn Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | David Brin, Vonda McIntyre, Mike Glyer |
| June 13, 1986 (1986-06-13) - June 15, 1986 (1986-06-15) | Regal Constellation Hotel 900 Dixon Rd, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada | Steven Brust, Roger Zelazny, Frank Kelly Freas |
| June 12, 1987 (1987-06-12) - June 14, 1987 (1987-06-14) | Holiday Inn Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | C. J. Cherryh, Elisabeth Vonarburg, Diana Gallagher Wu |
| June 10, 1988 (1988-06-10) - June 12, 1988 (1988-06-12) | Holiday Inn Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Orson Scott Card, R.A. MacAvoy, Fran Skene, Taral Wayne |
| June 9, 1989 (1989-06-09) - June 11, 1989 (1989-06-11) | Regal Constellation Hotel 900 Dixon Rd, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada | John Varley, Kerry O'Quinn |
| June 8, 1990 (1990-06-08) - June 10, 1990 (1990-06-10) | Howard Johnson Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Terry Pratchett, Frank Kelly Freas, Larry Stewart |
| June 7, 1991 (1991-06-07) - June 9, 1991 (1991-06-09) | Holiday Inn Airport Hotel Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Barbara Hambly, George Alec Effinger, Bob Eggleton |
| June 5, 1992 (1992-06-05) - June 7, 1992 (1992-06-07) | Sheraton Toronto East Hotel & Towers Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Katherine Kurtz, Lois McMaster Bujold, Jan Howard Finder |
| June 4, 1993 (1993-06-04) - June 6, 1993 (1993-06-06) | Sheraton Toronto East Hotel & Towers Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Frederik Pohl, Dave Duncan, Robin Wood |
| June 17, 1994 (1994-06-17) - June 19, 1994 (1994-06-19) | Sheraton Toronto East Hotel & Towers Toronto, Ontario, Canada | L. Sprague de Camp, Catherine Crook de Camp, Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, George Alec Effinger |
| June 16, 1995 (1995-06-16) - June 18, 1995 (1995-06-18) | Holiday Inn Yorkdale 3450 Dufferin St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Roger Zelazny, A.C. Crispin, Shawna McCarthy, Wayne Barlowe, Kim Newman, Stephen Jones, Michael Copabianco, Ellen Datlow |
| June 7, 1996 (1996-06-07) - June 9, 1996 (1996-06-09) | Days Inn Airport Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Larry Niven, James P. Hogan, Philip Pullman, Robert J. Sawyer, Kathryn Cramer |
| June 13, 1997 (1997-06-13) - June 15, 1997 (1997-06-15) | Days Inn Airport Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Steven Brust, Tim Powers, John Clute |
| June 5, 1998 (1998-06-05) - June 7, 1998 (1998-06-07) | Radisson Hotel Toronto East Don Valley 55 Hallcrown Pl, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Josepha Sherman, Tanya Huff, Keith & Gary Arseneau |
| February 18, 2000 (2000-02-18) - February 20, 2000 (2000-02-20) | Best Western Primrose Hotel 111 Carlton St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Nancy Kress, Charles de Lint, Christopher Stasheff, Scott Edelman, Lloyd and Yvonne Penney |
| February 23, 2001 (2001-02-23) - February 25, 2001 (2001-02-25) | Holiday Inn Don Valley Toronto East 1100 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Connie Willis, David G. Hartwell, Rick Green, Robert J. Sawyer, Urban Tapestry |
| February 8, 2002 (2002-02-08) - February 10, 2002 (2002-02-10) | Colony Hotel 89 Chestnut St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Guy Gavriel Kay, John Howe, Julie E. Czerneda, Ted Nasmith |
| March 21, 2003 (2003-03-21) - March 23, 2003 (2003-03-23) | Colony Hotel 89 Chestnut St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | David Brin, Tanya Huff, Robert Gould, Brian Froud |
| April 2, 2004 (2004-04-02) - April 4, 2004 (2004-04-04) | Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | C. J. Cherryh, Robert Charles Wilson, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Mark Askwith, Don Bassingthwaite, Gord Rose |
| April 8, 2005 (2005-04-08) - April 10, 2005 (2005-04-10) | Days Hotel & Conference Centre - Toronto Airport East 1677 Wilson Ave, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Hutchinson, Tom Smith, Charles Vess, Peter Watts |
| March 31, 2006 (2006-03-31) - April 2, 2006 (2006-04-02) | Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Kelley Armstrong, Terry Brooks, Peter David, Ed Greenwood, Betsy Mitchell, Martin Springett, David Warren |
| March 2, 2007 (2007-03-02) - March 4, 2007 (2007-03-04) | Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Cory Doctorow, Ed Beard Jr., Phyllis Gotlieb, Stephen Jones, Lee Knight & Chris Knight |
| March 28, 2008 (2008-03-28) - March 30, 2008 (2008-03-30) | Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Yvonne Gilbert, Howard Tayler, Christopher Golden, Rebecca Moesta, Kevin J. Anderson, Dr. Shelley Rabinovitch, Glen Loates, Wayne Brown |
| March 27, 2009 (2009-03-27) - March 29, 2009 (2009-03-29) | Crowne Plaza Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Melyssa Ade, Nigel Bennett, Kent Burles, David Drake, Michael Green, Joanne Ellen Hansen, Liana & Steven Kerzner, Mary-Ellen McAlonen, Tamora Pierce, Timothy Zahn |
| April 9, 2010 (2010-04-09) - April 11, 2010 (2010-04-11) | Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Aaron Allston, Eric Flint, Todd McCaffrey, Nerdgasm, Cathy Palmer-Lister, Robert J. Sawyer |
| April 8, 2011 (2011-04-08) - April 10, 2011 (2011-04-10) | Toronto Don Valley Hotel 1250 Eglinton Ave E, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Ben Bova, Kathryn Cramer, Julie Czerneda, Ellen Datlow, Larry Dixon, Dave Duncan, Scott Edelman, Eric Flint, Ed Greenwood, David G. Hartwell, Tanya Huff, Don Hutchison, Stephen Jones, Guy Gavriel Kay, Mercedes Lackey, Todd McCaffrey, Shawna McCarthy, Tamora Pierce, Howard Tayler, Élisabeth Vonarburg, Peter Watts |
| April 13, 2012 (2012-04-13) - April 15, 2012 (2012-04-15) | Markham Holiday Inn 10 East Pearce Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | Harry Turtledove, Lesley Livingston, Shelly Shapiro, Joe Jusko, Peter Halasz |
| April 5, 2013 (2013-04-05) - April 7, 2013 (2013-04-07) | Markham Holiday Inn 10 East Pearce Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada | Ben Bova, Jim Butcher, Scott Caple, Stephen Hunt, Cris Macht |
| April 4, 2014 (2014-04-04) - April 6, 2014 (2014-04-06) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | David Weber, Steven Erikson, Anne Groell, Patricia Briggs, Donato Giancola, Mark Townsend |
| April 10, 2015 (2015-04-10) - April 12, 2015 (2015-04-12) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | Anne Bishop, Charles de Lint, MaryAnn Harris, Denis McGrath, Monica Pacheco |
| April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) - May 1, 2016 (2016-05-01) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | Catherine Asaro, Tom Doherty, Sandra Kasturi, Brett Savory, Jack Whyte |
| May 5, 2017 (2017-05-05) - May 7, 2017 (2017-05-07) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | Brandon Sanderson, Kristen Britain, SM Stirling, Eric Choi, Anne Bishop, Julie Czernada, Ed Greenwood, Guy K. Gavriel, Monica Pacheco, Robert J. Sawyer, Martin Springett |
| July 14, 2018 (2018-07-14) - July 16, 2018 (2018-07-16) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | Bill Fawcett, Maria V Snyder, Timothy Zahn, Jody Lynn Nye, Sylvain Neuvel, Ed Greenwood, Robert J. Sawyer, Lesley Livingston, Eric Choi |
| July 12, 2019 (2019-07-12) - July 14, 2019 (2019-07-14) | Sheraton Parkway North 600 HWY-7 E, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Ontario, Canada | |
| May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01) - May 3, 2020 (2020-05-03) | Toronto Don Valley Hotel and Suites 175 Wynford Dr, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | Ellen Kushner, Robert J. Sawyer, Eric Choi, Ed Greenwood |