# World Fantasy Convention

The World Fantasy Convention is an annual convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art show, a dealer's room, and an autograph reception.
The convention was conceived and begun by T. E. D. Klein, Kirby McCauley and several others.

## Previous conventions

| Dates | Location | Info |
| October 31– November 2, 1975 | Holiday Inn Providence, Rhode Island, US | Theme for 1975 is "The Lovecraft Circle". Guest of Honor: Robert Bloch. Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson. Chaired by Kirby McCauley. Judges were Ramsey Campbell, Edward L. Ferman, David G. Hartwell, Fritz Leiber, and Gahan Wilson. |
| October 29–31, 1976 | The Statler Hotel New York, New York, US | Theme for 1976 is "Unknown Worlds". Guests of Honor: C. L. Moore and Michael Moorcock. Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson. Chaired by Thom Anderson. Judges were Charles Collins, Basil Copper, Gordon R. Dickson, Stuart David Schiff, and Gahan Wilson. |
| October 28–30, 1977 | Los Angeles Biltmore Los Angeles, California, US | Theme for 1977 is "Clark Ashton Smith". Guest of Honor: Richard Matheson. Toastmaster: Gahan Wilson. Chaired by Dennis Rickard. Judges were Robert Bloch, David Drake, Harlan Ellison, Charles L. Grant, and Robert Weinberg. |
| October 13–15, 1978 | Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel Fort Worth, Texas, US | Theme for 1978 is "Robert E. Howard". Guest of Honor: Fritz Leiber. Guest Artist: Alicia Austin. Toastmaster: Andrew Offutt. Chaired by Michael Templin. Judges were Charles N. Brown, Carl Jacobi, Stephen King, T. E. D. Klein, and Karl Edward Wagner. |
| October 12–14, 1979 | Providence Biltmore Providence, Rhode Island, US | Theme for 1979 is "Reunion". Guests of Honor: Stephen King and Frank Belknap Long. Guest Artist: Michael Whelan. Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant. Chaired by Bob Booth. Judges were Poul Anderson, Terry Carr, Dennis Etchison, Elizabeth A. Lynn, and Roy A. Squires. |
| October 31– November 2, 1980 | Marriott Hunt Valley Inn Baltimore, Maryland, US | Theme for 1980 is "Edgar Allan Poe". Guest of Honor: Jack Vance. Guest Artist: Boris Vallejo. Toastmaster: Robert Bloch. Chaired by Chuck Miller and Tim Underwood. Judges were Stephen R. Donaldson, Frank Belknap Long, Andrew J. Offutt, Ted White, and Susan Wood. |
| October 30– November 1, 1981 | The Claremont Hotel Berkeley, California, US | Theme for 1981 is "Mark Twain, Jack London, Ambrose Bierce, Clark Ashton Smith". Guests of Honor: Alan Garner and Peter S. Beagle. Guest Artist: Brian Froud. Toastmaster: Karl Edward Wagner. Chaired by Jack Rems and Jeff Frane. Judges were Paul C. Allen, C. J. Cherryh, Gardner Dozois, Donald M. Grant, and Arthur W. Saha. (Alan Garner was unable to attend the convention.) |
| October 29–31, 1982 | Park Plaza Hotel New Haven, Connecticut, US | Theme for 1982 is "Mark Twain". Guests of Honor: Peter Straub and Joseph Payne Brennan. Guest Artist: Don Maitz. Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant. Chaired by Norman Hood and Harold Kinney. Judges were Pat Cadigan, Virginia Kidd, Theodore Sturgeon, Douglas E. Winter, and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. |
| October 28–30, 1983 | Chicago Marriott O'Hare Chicago, US | Theme for 1983 is "Sixty Years of Weird Tales". Guests of Honor: Gene Wolfe and Manly Wade Wellman. Guest Artist: Rowena Morrill. Toastmaster: Robert Bloch. Chaired by Robert Weinberg. Judges were Bob Booth, John Coyne, Sharon Jarvis, Alan Ryan, and Elizabeth Wollheim. |
| October 12–14, 1984 | Westin Hotel Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Theme for 1984 is "Fantasy, An International Genre". Guests of Honor: Tanith Lee and Jane Yolen. Guest Artist: Jeff Jones. Toastmaster: Spider Robinson. Chaired by Rodger Turner and John Bell. Judges were Ellen Asher, Ginjer Buchanan, Les Daniels, Mimi Panitch, and George H. Scithers. |
| October 31– November 3, 1985 | Doubletree Hotel Tucson, Arizona, US | Theme for 1985 is "Fantasy Writers of the Southwest". Guest of Honor: Stephen R. Donaldson. Special Guest: Evangeline Walton. Guest Artist: Victoria Poyser. Toastperson: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Chaired by Randal Rau. Judges were Suzy McKee Charnas, Jo Fletcher, George R. R. Martin, Baird Searles, and Terri Windling. |
| October 29– November 2, 1986 | Providence Biltmore Providence, Rhode Island, US | Theme for 1986 is "From 'New Writers' to 'Old Masters'". Guests of Honor: Ramsey Campbell and Charles L. Grant. Guest Artist: J. K. Potter. Toastmaster: Douglas E. Winter. Chaired by Robert Plante. Judges were Robert A. Collins, Ellen Datlow, Dean R. Koontz, Patricia A. McKillip, and Charles de Lint. |
| October 29– November 1, 1987 | Hyatt Regency Nashville Nashville, Tennessee, US | Theme for 1987 is "A Southern Fantasy". Guest of Honor: Piers Anthony. Guest Artist: Frank Kelly Freas. Special Guests: Andre Norton, Karl Edward Wagner, plus Ron and Val Lakey Lindahn. Toastmaster: Charles L. Grant. Chaired by Maurine Dorris. Judges were John M. Ford, Paul Hazel, Tappan King, Michael McDowell, and Melissa Ann Singer. |
| October 28–31, 1988 | Ramada Inn London, England, UK | Theme for 1988 is "Gaslight & Ghosts". Combined with Fantasycon XIII. Guest of Honor: James Herbert. Artist Guest: Michael Foreman. Special Guest: Diana Wynne Jones. MC: Clive Barker. Chaired by Jo Fletcher and Stephen Jones. Judges were Mike Ashley, Scott Baker, Robert S. Hadji, Maxim Jakubowski, and Donald A. Wollheim |
| October 27–29, 1989 | Seattle Sheraton Seattle, Washington, US | Theme for 1989 is "Roots of Fantasy: Myth, Folklore & Archetype". Honored Guests: Ursula K. Le Guin, Avram Davidson, S. P. Somtow, Robert R. McCammon, and Yoshitaka Amano. Toastmaster: Ginjer Buchanan. Chaired by Robert J. Doyle. |
| November 2–4, 1990 | Hyatt Regency Hotel Schaumburg, Illinois, US | Theme for 1990 is "An H. P. Lovecraft Centenary Celebration". Guests of Honor: F. Paul Wilson, L. Sprague de Camp, and Susan Allison. Guest Artist: David B. Mattingly. Special Guests: Robert Bloch and Julius Schwartz. Toastmaster: Raymond E. Feist. Chaired by Robert Weinberg. |
| November 1–3, 1991 | The Doubletree Hotel Tucson, Arizona, US | Theme for 1991 is "The Fantasy Heritage of the Spanish and Indian Cultures". Special Guests: Susan and Harlan Ellison. Artist Guest: Arlin Robins. Toastmaster: Stephen R. Donaldson. Chaired by Bruce Farr and Randal Rau. |
| October 29– November 1, 1992 | Callaway Gardens Resort Pine Mountain, Georgia, US | Theme for 1992 is "Grails: Quests, Visitations, and Other Occurrences". Guests of Honor: Michael Bishop, John Farris, Martin H. Greenberg, Anne McCaffrey, and Robert Gould. Chaired by Richard Gilliam and Edward E. Kramer. |
| October 28–31, 1993 | Radisson South Hotel Bloomington, Minnesota, US | Theme for 1993 is "The Vocabulary of the Fantastic". Guests of Honor: Poul Anderson, John Crowley, and Roger Zelazny. Guest Artist: Thomas Canty (did not attend). Special Guest: Basil Copper. Toastmaster: Neil Gaiman. Chaired by Greg Ketter. |
| October 27–31, 1994 | Clarion Hotel New Orleans, US | Theme for 1994 is "Obsessions in Fantasy and Gothic Horror". Honored Guests: Damon Knight, George Alec Effinger, George R. R. Martin, Tim Powers, and Kate Wilhelm. Artist Guest of Honor: Jill Bauman. Chaired by Tom Hanlon. |
| October 26–29, 1995 | Inner Harbor Marriott Baltimore, Maryland, US | Theme for 1995 is "Celebrating the Craft of Short Fiction in Fantasy and Horror". Writer Guests of Honor: Terry Bisson, Lucius Shepard, Howard Waldrop. Artist Guest of Honor: Rick Berry. Publisher Guest of Honor: Lloyd Arthur Eshbach. Toastmaster: Edward W. Bryant, Jr. Chaired by Michael J. Walsh. |
| October 31– November 3, 1996 | Woodfield Hyatt Regency Hotel Schaumburg, Illinois, US | Theme for 1996 is "The Many Faces of Fantasy". Guests of Honor: Katherine Kurtz, Joe R. Lansdale, and Ellen Asher. Artist Guest of Honor: Ron Walotsky. Toastmaster: Brian Lumley. Chaired by Nancy Ford, Tina L. Jens, and Phyllis Weinberg. |
| October 30– November 2, 1997 | The International Hotel London, England, UK | Theme for 1997 is "The Centenary of Dracula/The Hidden Realms of London". Combined with FantasyCon XXI. Guests of Honour: Iain Sinclair and Joan Aitkin. Artist Guest of Honour: Bob Eggleton. Special Guests: Hugh Cave and Ron Chetwynd Hayes. Special Media Guest: Doug Bradley. Master of Ceremonies: Robert Holdstock. Chaired by Jo Fletcher. |
| October 29– November 1, 1998 | Doubletree & Marriott Hotels Monterey, California, US | Theme for 1998 is "Golden Ages". Guest of Honor: Gahan Wilson. Special Guests: Cecelia Holland, Richard Laymon, and Frank M. Robinson. Toastmaster: Richard A. Lupoff. Chaired by Bryan Barrett and Linda McAllister. Website archive. |
| November 4–7, 1999 | Rhode Island Convention CenterWestin and Biltmore Hotels Providence, Rhode Island, US | The 25th World Fantasy Convention. Guests of Honor: Charles de Lint, Leo & Diane Dillon, Patricia A. McKillip, and Robert Silverberg. Special Guest: Samuel R. Delany. Toastmaster: John M. Ford. Theme for 1999 is "Voyages". Chaired by Chip Hitchcock & Davey Snyder. Official website. |
| October 26–29, 2000 | Omni Bayfront Hotel Corpus Christi, Texas, US | Theme for 2000 is "El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)". Guests of Honor: K.W. Jeter and John Crowley. Artist Guest of Honor: Charles Vess. Toastmaster: Joe R. Lansdale. Chaired by Fred Duarte. Judges were Suzi Baker, W. Paul Ganley, Tim Holman, Marvin Kaye, and Melissa Scott. Official website. |
| November 1–4, 2001 | Delta Centre-Ville Hotel Montreal, Quebec, Canada | Theme for 2001 is "Je me souviens"/"I remember". Guests of Honor: Fred Saberhagen, Joel Champetier, and Donato Giancola. Toastmaster: Charles de Lint. Chaired by Bruce & Lea Farr. Official website. |
| October 31– November 3, 2002 | Minneapolis Hilton & Towers Minneapolis, Minnesota, US | Theme for 2002 is "Of Gods and Monsters". Guests of Honor: Dennis Etchison, Jonathan Carroll, Kathe Koja, Dave McKean, and Stephen Jones. Chaired by Greg Ketter. Website archive. |
| October 30– November 2, 2003 | Hyatt Regency Washington Washington, D.C., US | Theme for 2003 is "Dark Fantasy: Honorable Traditions". Author Guests of Honor: Brian Lumley and Jack Williamson. (Williamson was unable to attend.) Publisher Guest of Honor: W. Paul Ganley. Artist Guest of Honor: Allen Koszowski. Master of Ceremonies: Douglas E. Winter. Chaired by Michael J. Walsh. Official website |
| October 28–31, 2004 | Tempe Mission Palms Hotel Tempe, Arizona, US | Theme for 2004 is "Women in Fantasy and Horror". Author Guest of Honour: Gwyneth Jones. Artist Guest of Honor: Janny Wurts. Editor Guest of Honor: Ellen Datlow. Publisher Guest of Honor: Betty Ballantine. Toastmistress: Jennifer Roberson. Chaired by Mike Willmoth with vice-chair Larry Vela. Official website |
| November 3–6, 2005 | The Madison ConcourseHotel & Governor's Club Madison, Wisconsin, US | Theme for 2005 is "The Architecture of Fantasy & Horror". Guests of Honor: Graham Joyce, Robert Weinberg, Terri Windling. Artist Guest of Honor: Kinuko Y. Craft. Toastmaster: Peter Straub. Special Recognition: Arkham House. Chaired by Meg Turville-Heitz. Official website |
| November 2–5, 2006 | Renaissance Hotel Austin, Texas, US | Theme for 2006 is "Robert E. Howard Centennial". Published Cross Plains Universe celebrating Robert E. Howard. Guests of Honor: Glen Cook, Dave Duncan, Robin Hobb. Toastermater: Bradley Denton, Editor Guest of Honor: Glenn Lord. Artist Guest of Honor: John Jude Palencar. Robert E. Howard Artist Guest: Gary Gianni. Chaired by Renee Babcock and Fred Duarte. Official website |
| November 1–4, 2007 | Saratoga City Center Saratoga Springs, New York, US | Theme for 2007 is "Ghosts and Revenants". Guests of Honor: Carol Emshwiller, Kim Newman, Lisa Tuttle. Artist Guest of Honor: Jean Giraud (Moebius). Special Guests: Joseph Bruchac, Barbara Roden, Christopher Roden, and George Scithers. Master of Ceremonies: Guy Gavriel Kay. Chaired by Joseph T. Berlant. Official website |
| October 30– November 2, 2008 | Hyatt Regency Calgary Calgary, Alberta, Canada | Theme for 2008 is "Mystery in Fantasy and Horror". Guests of Honor: David Morrell, Barbara Hambly, Tom Doherty. Artist Guest of Honor: Todd Lockwood. Toastmaster: Tad Williams. Chaired by Randy McCharles with vice-chair Kristiina Anderson. Website archive |
| October 29– November 1, 2009 | Fairmont San Jose Hotel San Jose, California, US | Theme for 2009 is "Celebrating Edgar Allan Poe's 200th Birthday". Guests of Honor: Garth Nix, Lisa Snellings, Michael Swanwick, Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer, Zoran Živković, Donald Sidney-Fryer, and Richard A. Lupoff. Toastmaster: Jay Lake. Chaired by David Gallaher with vice-chair Rina Weisman. Official website |
| October 28–31, 2010 | Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus, Ohio, US | Theme for 2010 is "the Whimsical Side of Fantasy". Guests of Honor: Dennis McKiernan, Esther Friesner, David Hartwell, and Darrell K. Sweet. Chaired by Larry Smith and Sally Kobee. Official website |
| October 27–30, 2011 | Town and CountryResort and Convention Center San Diego, California, US | Theme for 2011 is "Sailing the Seas of Imagination". Guests of Honor: Jo Fletcher, Neil Gaiman, Parke Godwin, Shawna McCarthy, and Ruth Sanderson. Toastmaster: Connie Willis. Chaired by Val Ontell. Official website |
| November 1–4, 2012 | Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Toronto, Canada | Theme for 2012 is "Northern Gothic and Urban Fantasy". Guests of Honor: Elizabeth Hand, John Clute, Richard A. Kirk, and Charles de Lint. Toastmaster: Gary K. Wolfe. Chaired by Peter Halasz. Official website |
| October 31– November 3, 2013 | Hilton Brighton Metropole Brighton, UK | Theme for 2013 is "Arthur Machen @ 150". Dedicated to the memory of Richard Matheson. Guests of Honour: Joanne Harris, Joe Hill, Richard Christian Matheson, Alan Lee, and Brian Aldiss. Master of Ceremonies: China Miéville. Co-Chairs: Amanda Foubister, Stephen Jones, Michael Marshall Smith. Official website |
| November 6–9, 2014 | Hyatt Regency Crystal City Arlington County, Virginia, US | The theme is 1914, a time of transition, a commemoration of the births of the artist Virgil Finlay and the author Robert Aickman, as well as the beginning of World War I. Guests of Honor: Guy Gavriel Kay, Les Edwards, Stuart David Schiff, Lail Finlay. Toastmaster: Mary Robinette Kowal Co-Chairs: Peggy Rae Sapienza & Michael J. Walsh. (Jane Yolen was originally slated to be Toastmaster but was forced to cancel her appearance due to medical issues.) Official website |
| November 5–8, 2015 | Saratoga City Center and Saratoga Hilton Saratoga Springs, New York, US | The theme is epic fantasy. Guests of Honor: Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Steven Erikson. Toastmaster: Graham Joyce, Special Guests: David Drake and Glen Cook. Chair: Joseph Berlant Official website |
| October 27–30, 2016 | Greater Columbus Convention Center andthe Hyatt Regency Columbus Columbus, Ohio, US | The theme: “Flights of Fantasy.” Official website |
| November 2–5, 2017 | Wyndham Riverwalk San Antonio, Texas, US | The theme was "Secret Histories." Guests of Honor: Tananarive Due, Karen Joy Fowler, Gregory Manchess, David Mitchell, Toastmaster: Martha Wells Official website |
| November 1–4, 2018 | Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel Baltimore, Maryland, US | Guests of Honor: Kaaron Warren, Scott Edelman, Tom Kidd and Michael J. Walsh – Special Guest Aliette de Bodard, and Toastmaster Linda D. Addison Official Website |
| October 31 – November 3, 2019 | Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel Los Angeles, California, US | Guest of Honor: Tad Williams. Special Guest of Honor: Margo Lanagan. Special Guest: Beth Meacham. Toastmaster: Robert Silverberg. Official Website |
| October 29 – November 1, 2020 | Little America Hotel Salt Lake City, Utah, US - Virtual Convention | Author Guest of Honor: Stephen Gallagher. Artist Guest of Honor: David Cherry. Editor Guest of Honor: Anne Groell. Author Special Guest: Stephen Graham Jones. Toastmasters Tracy and Laura Hickman. Official Website |
| November 4 – 7, 2021 | Hotel Montreal Bonaventure Montreal, Canada | Author Guest of Honor: Nisi Shawl. Artist Guest of Honor: John Picacio. Editor Guest of Honor: André-François Ruaud. Special Guests: Owl Goingback, Yves Meynard. Toastmaster Christine Taylor-Butler. Official Website |
| November 3 – 6, 2022 | Hyatt Regency New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana, US | Theme: Old Souls and New Rhythms. Author Guest of Honor: Victor LaValle, Jo Walton. Artist Guest of Honor: Iris Compiet. Editor Guest of Honor: Ginjer Buchanan. Special Guests: Caitlín R. Kiernan, Andrei Codrescu. Toastmaster Ursula Vernon. Official Website |
| October 26 – 29, 2023 | Sheraton Crown Center Kansas City, Missouri, US | Author Guest of Honor: Kij Johnson, Adam-Troy Castro. Artist Guest of Honor: Elizabeth Leggett, Vincent Villafranca. Editor Guest of Honor: Jonathan Strahan. Special Guests: Pat Cadigan. Toastmaster Steve Barnes, Tananarive Due. Official Website |
| October 17 – 20, 2024 | Sheraton Niagara Falls Niagara Falls, New York, US | Author Guest of Honor: Heather Graham, Scott H. Andrews. Artist Guest of Honor: Galen Dara. Special Guests: P. Djèlí Clark. Toastmaster Michael Swanwick. Official Website |
| October 30 – November 2, 2025 | DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole Brighton, UK | Theme: Lyrical Fantasy and 50 Years of British Fantasy and Horror. Official Website |