# Readercon

Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, typically held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, currently taking place in Quincy, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction, fantasy, slipstream and speculative fiction in the written form. On the rare occasion that there is a discussion held about non-written science fiction, it will have a tongue-in-cheek title such as "Our biannual media panel".
Each convention has at least one guest of honor. Past guests of honor have included authors such as Greer Gilman, Gene Wolfe, Octavia E. Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Karen Joy Fowler, Brian Aldiss, Nalo Hopkinson, Joe Haldeman, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Peter Straub, and China Miéville, and editors such as Ellen Datlow and David G. Hartwell. The convention also makes a point of honoring a deceased author as the Memorial Guest of Honor. In 2009, for instance, the guests of honor were the living writers Elizabeth Hand and Greer Gilman and the memorial guest of honor was Hope Mirrlees.
As of 2012, attendance at the convention has been consistently around 850 for several years.
From 2005 to 2011, Readercon was the official venue for presentation of the Rhysling Award. It has hosted the Shirley Jackson Awards since their founding in 2007.

## Conventions

At least one Guest of Honor and typically one Memorial Guest of Honor are featured during each convention.
| Year | Dates | Name | Venue | Location | Guests of Honor | Memorial | Program |
| 1987 | June 27–28 | Readercon 1 | Holiday Inn of Brookline | Brookline, MA | Gene Wolfe | Philip K. Dick | |
| 1988 | November 18–20 | Readercon 2 | Lowell Hilton | Lowell, MA | Samuel R. Delany | Theodore Sturgeon | |
| 1990 | March 30-April | Readercon 3 | Lowell Hilton | Lowell, MA | John Crowley, Thomas M. Disch | T. H. White | RC3 Program Guide |
| 1991 | July 12–14 | Readercon 4 | Worcester Marriott | Worcester, MA | Barry N. Malzberg, John Clute | | RC4 Program Guide |
| 1992 | July 10–12 | Readercon 5 | Worcester Marriott | Worcester, MA | Michael Bishop, Richard M. Powers | James Tiptree Jr. | RC5 Program Guide |
| 1993 | July 9–11 | Readercon 6 | Worcester Marriott | Worcester, MA | Brian Aldiss, Judith Merril | H. G. Wells | RC6 Program Guide |
| 1994 | July 8–10 | Readercon 7 | Worcester Marriott | Worcester, MA | Ursula K. LeGuin, Terri Windling | Cordwainer Smith | RC7 Program Guide |
| 1996 | July 12–14 | Readercon 8 | Boston Marriott Westborough | Westborough, MA | William Gibson, Larry McCaffrey | Alfred Bester | RC8 Program Guide |
| 1997 | July 11–13 | Readercon 9 | Boston Marriott Westborough | Westborough, MA | Kim Stanley Robinson, Algis Budrys | Cyril M. Kornbluth | RC9 Program Guide |
| 1998 | July 10–12 | Readercon 10 | Boston Marriott Westborough | Westborough, MA | Bruce Sterling, Lisa Goldstein | Leigh Brackett | RC10 Program Guide |
| 1999 | July 9–11 | Readercon 11 | Westin Waltham | Waltham, MA | Harlan Ellison, Ellen Datlow | Gerald Kersh | RC11 Program Guide |
| 2000 | July 21–23 | Readercon 12 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Michael Moorcock, Suzy McKee Charnas | Mervyn Peake | RC12 Program Guide |
| 2001 | July 13–15 | Readercon 13 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Michael Swanwick, David Hartwell | Clifford D. Simak | RC13 Program Guide |
| 2002 | July 12–14 | Readercon 14 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Octavia E. Butler, Gwyneth Jones | John Brunner | RC14 Program Guide |
| 2003 | July 11–13 | Readercon 15 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Hal Clement, Rudy Rucker, Howard Waldrop | R. A. Lafferty | RC15 Program Guide |
| 2005 | July 8–10 | Readercon 16 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Joe Haldeman, Kate Wilhelm | Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore | RC16 Program Guide |
| 2006 | July 7–9 | Readercon 17 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | China Miéville, James K. Morrow | Jorge Luis Borges | RC17 Program Guide |
| 2007 | July 5–8 | Readercon 18 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Lucius Shepard, Karen Joy Fowler | Angela Carter | RC18 Program Guide |
| 2008 | July 17–20 | Readercon 19 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Jonathan Lethem, James Patrick Kelly | Stanislaw Lem | RC19 Program Guide |
| 2009 | July 9–12 | Readercon 20 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Elizabeth Hand, Greer Gilman | Hope Mirrlees | RC20 Program Guide |
| 2010 | July 8–11 | Readercon 21 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Nalo Hopkinson, Charles Stross | Olaf Stapledon | RC21 Program Guide |
| 2011 | July 14–17 | Readercon 22 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Geoff Ryman, Gardner Dozois | Mark Twain | RC22 Program Guide |
| 2012 | July 12–15 | Readercon 23 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Peter Straub, Caitlín R. Kiernan | Shirley Jackson | RC23 Program Guide |
| 2013 | July 11–14 | Readercon 24 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Maureen F. McHugh, Patricia A. McKillip | Roger Zelazny | RC24 Program Guide |
| 2014 | July 10–13 | Readercon 25 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Andrea Hairston, Kit Reed | Mary Shelley | RC25 Program Guide |
| 2015 | July 9–12 | Readercon 26 | Boston Marriott Burlington | Burlington, MA | Nicola Griffith, Gary K. Wolfe | Joanna Russ | RC26 Program Guide |
| 2016 | July 7–10 | Readercon 27 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Catherynne M. Valente, Tim Powers | Diana Wynne Jones) | RC27 Program Guide |
| 2017 | July 13–16 | Readercon 28 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Naomi Novik, Nnedi Okorafor | Tanith Lee | RC28 Program Guide |
| 2018 | July 12–15 | Readercon 29 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Ken Liu, Nisi Shawl | E. Nesbit | RC29 Program Guide |
| 2019 | July 11–14 | Readercon 30 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones | Edward Bryant | RC30 Program Guide |
| 2021 | August 13–15 | Readercon 31 | online | | Jeffrey Ford, Ursula Vernon | Vonda N. McIntyre | RC31 Program Guide |
| 2023 | July 13–16 | Readercon 32 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Jeff VanderMeer, Justina Ireland | L.A. Banks | RC32 Program Guide |
| 2024 | July 11–14 | Readercon 33 | Boston Quincy Marriott | Quincy, MA | Rebecca Roanhorse, Amal El-Mohtar | Naomi Mitchison | RC33 Program Guide |