Conestoga (convention)
Encyclopedia
Conestoga is a literary science fiction
and fantasy
convention
held every year in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. Celebrating science fiction and fantasy literature and art are the staples of Conestoga, but many who are interested in horror, science fiction, anime, and comics attend. Popular activities at the convention include filking (filk singing is a play on folk) and gaming. Featured programming includes a writers track, an art show, a dealer room, a masquerade, and a play put on by the Penguin Playhouse Troupe.
& George Alec Effinger
, Artist Guest of Honor Joy Marie Ledet, Toastmaster Robin Wayne Bailey
, Fan Guest of Honor Gerald Burton, and Filk Guest of Honor Tom Smith
. The con chair was Curtis Berry. The play was the Star Bores Trilogy. Charity activities during the convention benefited the American Cancer Society.
Conestoga '98 was held June 26-28, 1998, at the Sheraton Tulsa Hotel, on 41st Street near Highway 169. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Connie Willis
, Artist Guest of Honor David A. Cherry
, Toastmaster Mark Simmons
, Fan Guests of Honor Jim & Susan Satterfield, and Special Guest Carole Nelson Douglas
. The con chair was Roger Allen. The play was All Alone, After the Fall of a Very Long Night. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Zoo.
Conestoga '99 was held June 25-27, 1999. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Harry Turtledove
, Artist Guest of Honor David Lee Anderson, Toastmaster Gardner Dozois
, Mystery Guest of Honor Barbara Hambly
, Fan Guest of Honor Keith Stokes, and Special Guest George Alec Effinger
. (At the last minute, George Alec Effinger was unable to attend.) The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was The Fandom Menace. Charity activities during the convention benefited Our House.
Conestoga 2000 was held July 14-16, 2000. Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Weber
, Artist Guest of Honor Lubov
, Mystery Guest of Honor Nancy Pickard
, Toastmaster Roger Tener, and Fan Guests of Honor Tim & Kimber Chessmore. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Spandex Men. Charity activities during the convention benefited Operation School Bell.
Conestoga 2001 was held July 27-29, 2001. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Joe Haldeman
, Artist Guest of Honor Kelley Vandevir, Toastmaster Tim Powers
, and Fan Guests of Honor Mike & Karla Weaver. The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was Plan 9 of the Apes. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Air and Space Center.
Conestoga 6 was held July 19-21, 2002. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Elizabeth Moon
, Artist Guest of Honor Nene Thomas, Toastmistress Lee Martindale, Fan Guests of Honor Lori Wolf and A.T. Campbell, III, and Special Guest Joe R. Lansdale
. The con chair was Danny Myers. The play was Attack of the Groans. Charity activities during the convention benefited Tulsa Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc.
Conestoga 7 was held July 18-20, 2003. This was the first year of the Conestoga Short Film Festival and the old OKon mascot "Okie the Penguin" returned as the official mascot of Conestoga Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Brin
, Artist Guest of Honor Keith Birdsong
, Toastmistress Esther Friesner
, and Fan Guest of Honor David Lee Anderson. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Spandex 2XL. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association.
Conestoga 8 was held July 16-18, 2004. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Eric Flint
, Artist Guest of Honor Darrell K. Sweet
, Toastmaster Walter Jon Williams
, and Fan Guests of Honor Curtis & Marilyn Berry. The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was Dorks of the Ring. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Animal Rescue Foundation.
Conestoga 9 was held July 15-17, 2005. Featured guests included Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin, Artist Guest of Honor Brad W. Foster
, Toastmaster Bradley Denton
, and Fan Guests of Honor: Margene Bahm, Paula Helm Murray, & Jim Murray. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was The Sith Hits the Fans. Charity activities during the convention benefited Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Green Country.
Conestoga 10 was held July 28-30, 2006, at the Radisson Tulsa (formerly a Sheraton) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Conestoga shared its tenth anniversary celebration with small press publishers Meisha Merlin Publishing
and Yard Dog Press. Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Drake
, Artist Guest of Honor Don Maitz
, Toastmaster Robin Wayne Bailey
, Fan Guests of Honor Lynn Stranathan & Selina Rosen, plus Special Guest James P. Hogan
. The play was A Night at the Space Opera. Charity activities during the convention benefited The Royal Gauntlet Educational Birds of Prey Show and Animal Rehabilitation Center.
Conestoga 11 was held July 20-22, 2007, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Conestoga is the host to 1632 Minicon 6. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Laurell K. Hamilton
, Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio
, Toastmaster Elizabeth Moon
, Fan Guests of Honor Richard and Michelle Zellich, and special "1632" Guest of Honor Eric Flint
. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Heroes of the Lost Battlestar. Charity activities during the convention benefited Safari’s Sanctuary, a non-profit 501(c)(3) wildlife refuge with two missions: rescue & education.
Conestoga 12 was held July 25-27, 2008, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Diana Gabaldon
, Toastmaster Gordon Van Gelder
, Art Guest of Honor Stephen Hickman
, and Fan Guest of Honor Tim Miller. The play was You Don't Mess with the Iron Man. Charity activities during the convention benefited Therapetics, a non-profit organization that provides service dogs to care for the disabled.
Conestoga 13 was held April 24-26, 2009, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Robin Hobb
, Toastmaster Frank Wu
, Art Guest of Honor Real Musgrave, and Fan Guest of Honor Diana Bailey.
Conestoga 14 was held April 23-25, 2010, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor S. M. Stirling
, Artist Guest of Honor Bob Eggleton
, Fan Guest of Honor Leonard Bishop, and Toastmaster Travis S. Taylor.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
held every year in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. Celebrating science fiction and fantasy literature and art are the staples of Conestoga, but many who are interested in horror, science fiction, anime, and comics attend. Popular activities at the convention include filking (filk singing is a play on folk) and gaming. Featured programming includes a writers track, an art show, a dealer room, a masquerade, and a play put on by the Penguin Playhouse Troupe.
Past conventions
Conestoga '97 was held March 21-23, 1997, at the Radisson Inn at the Tulsa Airport. Featured guests included Guests of Honor Barbara HamblyBarbara Hambly
Barbara Hambly is an award-winning and prolific American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction...
& George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio.-Writing career:...
, Artist Guest of Honor Joy Marie Ledet, Toastmaster Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He is a past president of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America . He was South-Central Regional Director for SFWA nine years. He has also hosted three of SFWA's Nebula Awards weekends...
, Fan Guest of Honor Gerald Burton, and Filk Guest of Honor Tom Smith
Tom Smith
- Sports :* R. Thomas "Tom" Smith , American thoroughbred racehorse trainer of Seabiscuit* Tom Smith , Major League player* Tom Smith , Major League player...
. The con chair was Curtis Berry. The play was the Star Bores Trilogy. Charity activities during the convention benefited the American Cancer Society.
Conestoga '98 was held June 26-28, 1998, at the Sheraton Tulsa Hotel, on 41st Street near Highway 169. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Connie Willis
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
, Artist Guest of Honor David A. Cherry
David A. Cherry
David A. Cherry is an American artist, primarily in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He has been nominated eleven times for Hugo Awards, and 18 times for Chesley Awards , and he is a past president of the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.Cherry is the brother of the...
, Toastmaster Mark Simmons
Mark Simmons
Mark Simmons is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Kansas....
, Fan Guests of Honor Jim & Susan Satterfield, and Special Guest Carole Nelson Douglas
Carole Nelson Douglas
Carole Nelson Douglas is an American writer. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler mysteries and the Midnight Louie mystery series....
. The con chair was Roger Allen. The play was All Alone, After the Fall of a Very Long Night. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Zoo.
Conestoga '99 was held June 25-27, 1999. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
, Artist Guest of Honor David Lee Anderson, Toastmaster Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
, Mystery Guest of Honor Barbara Hambly
Barbara Hambly
Barbara Hambly is an award-winning and prolific American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction...
, Fan Guest of Honor Keith Stokes, and Special Guest George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio.-Writing career:...
. (At the last minute, George Alec Effinger was unable to attend.) The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was The Fandom Menace. Charity activities during the convention benefited Our House.
Conestoga 2000 was held July 14-16, 2000. Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Weber
David Weber
David Mark Weber is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Weber and his wife Sharon live in Greenville, South Carolina with their three children and "a passel of dogs"....
, Artist Guest of Honor Lubov
Lubov
Lubov is the pseudonym of a Russian-born painter specializing in science fiction and fantasy art.-General information:...
, Mystery Guest of Honor Nancy Pickard
Nancy Pickard
Nancy Pickard is a US crime novelist. She has won five Macavity Awards, four Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, and a Shamus Award. She is the only author to win all four awards. She also served on the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America...
, Toastmaster Roger Tener, and Fan Guests of Honor Tim & Kimber Chessmore. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Spandex Men. Charity activities during the convention benefited Operation School Bell.
Conestoga 2001 was held July 27-29, 2001. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Joe Haldeman
Joe Haldeman
Joe William Haldeman is an American science fiction author.-Life :Haldeman was born June 9, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in Puerto Rico, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., Bethesda, Maryland and Anchorage, Alaska as a child. Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known...
, Artist Guest of Honor Kelley Vandevir, Toastmaster Tim Powers
Tim Powers
Timothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
, and Fan Guests of Honor Mike & Karla Weaver. The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was Plan 9 of the Apes. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Air and Space Center.
Conestoga 6 was held July 19-21, 2002. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award.-Biography:...
, Artist Guest of Honor Nene Thomas, Toastmistress Lee Martindale, Fan Guests of Honor Lori Wolf and A.T. Campbell, III, and Special Guest Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale
Joe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
. The con chair was Danny Myers. The play was Attack of the Groans. Charity activities during the convention benefited Tulsa Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Inc.
Conestoga 7 was held July 18-20, 2003. This was the first year of the Conestoga Short Film Festival and the old OKon mascot "Okie the Penguin" returned as the official mascot of Conestoga Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Brin
David Brin
Glen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
, Artist Guest of Honor Keith Birdsong
Keith Birdsong
Keith Birdsong , is an Native American illustrator known best for illustrating covers of Star Trek novels, usually depicting the various actors of the Star Trek television series and movies in a realistic manner....
, Toastmistress Esther Friesner
Esther Friesner
Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman, née Friesner is an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for her humorous pieces.- Life :...
, and Fan Guest of Honor David Lee Anderson. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Spandex 2XL. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Tulsa Speech and Hearing Association.
Conestoga 8 was held July 16-18, 2004. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Eric Flint
Eric Flint
Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures.- Career :...
, Artist Guest of Honor Darrell K. Sweet
Darrell K. Sweet
Darrell K. Sweet is a professional illustrator best known for providing cover art for science fiction and fantasy novels, in which capacity he was nominated for Hugo award in 1983. He also produces art for trading cards and calendars. He is famous for providing the covers of the fantasy epic saga...
, Toastmaster Walter Jon Williams
Walter Jon Williams
Walter Jon Williams is an American writer, primarily of science fiction.Several of Williams' novels have a distinct cyberpunk feel to them, notably Hardwired , Voice of the Whirlwind and Angel Stationn...
, and Fan Guests of Honor Curtis & Marilyn Berry. The con chair was Tim Frayser. The play was Dorks of the Ring. Charity activities during the convention benefited the Animal Rescue Foundation.
Conestoga 9 was held July 15-17, 2005. Featured guests included Guest of Honor George R.R. Martin, Artist Guest of Honor Brad W. Foster
Brad W. Foster
Brad W. Foster is an American illustrator, cartoonist, writer and publisher. He is a fixture at the Hugo Awards, where he holds the record for most awards for "Best Fan Artist." As of 2011, since 1984 he has been nominated 23 times, and won 8...
, Toastmaster Bradley Denton
Bradley Denton
Bradley Clayton Denton is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel Blackburn, about a sympathetic serial killer....
, and Fan Guests of Honor: Margene Bahm, Paula Helm Murray, & Jim Murray. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was The Sith Hits the Fans. Charity activities during the convention benefited Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Green Country.
Conestoga 10 was held July 28-30, 2006, at the Radisson Tulsa (formerly a Sheraton) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Conestoga shared its tenth anniversary celebration with small press publishers Meisha Merlin Publishing
Meisha Merlin Publishing
Meisha Merlin Publishing was an independent publishing company founded in 1996 by former New York book editor Stephen Pagel and Kevin and Brian Murphy...
and Yard Dog Press. Featured guests included Guest of Honor David Drake
David Drake
David Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the premier authors of the military science fiction subgenre.-Biography:...
, Artist Guest of Honor Don Maitz
Don Maitz
Don Maitz is an American science fiction, fantasy, and commercial artist. His most widely-known creation is the "Captain" character of the Captain Morgan brand of rum, although he is perhaps most notable for twice winning the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, science fiction's highest honor...
, Toastmaster Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey
Robin Wayne Bailey is an American fantasy and science fiction author. He is a past president of SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America . He was South-Central Regional Director for SFWA nine years. He has also hosted three of SFWA's Nebula Awards weekends...
, Fan Guests of Honor Lynn Stranathan & Selina Rosen, plus Special Guest James P. Hogan
James P. Hogan (writer)
James Patrick Hogan was a British science fiction author.-Biography:Hogan was born in London, England. He was raised in the Portobello Road area on the west side of London...
. The play was A Night at the Space Opera. Charity activities during the convention benefited The Royal Gauntlet Educational Birds of Prey Show and Animal Rehabilitation Center.
Conestoga 11 was held July 20-22, 2007, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Conestoga is the host to 1632 Minicon 6. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton is an American fantasy and romance writer. She is the author of two series of stories. Hamilton is known for her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake series, featuring a professional zombie raiser/supernatural consultant for the police as the protagonist in a world where...
, Artist Guest of Honor John Picacio
John Picacio
John Picacio is an award-winning American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and horror illustration.-Biography:...
, Toastmaster Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Moon is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award.-Biography:...
, Fan Guests of Honor Richard and Michelle Zellich, and special "1632" Guest of Honor Eric Flint
Eric Flint
Eric Flint is an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also writes humorous fantasy adventures.- Career :...
. The con chair was Randy Farran. The play was Heroes of the Lost Battlestar. Charity activities during the convention benefited Safari’s Sanctuary, a non-profit 501(c)(3) wildlife refuge with two missions: rescue & education.
Conestoga 12 was held July 25-27, 2008, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Diana Gabaldon
Diana Gabaldon
Diana J. Gabaldon is an American author of Mexican-American and English ancestry. Gabaldon is the author of the Outlander Series. Her books they contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and science fiction.-Early life and science career:Diana J. Gabaldon was...
, Toastmaster Gordon Van Gelder
Gordon Van Gelder
Gordon Van Gelder is a Hugo Award-winning American science fiction editor. As of 2008, Van Gelder is both editor and publisher of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form...
, Art Guest of Honor Stephen Hickman
Stephen Hickman
Stephen Hickman is an award-winning American artist, illustrator, sculptor and author. He is best known for his work in science fiction and fantasy with over 350 book and magazine covers to his credit. His efforts have brought an extra dimension to the stories of Robert A. Heinlein, H. P....
, and Fan Guest of Honor Tim Miller. The play was You Don't Mess with the Iron Man. Charity activities during the convention benefited Therapetics, a non-profit organization that provides service dogs to care for the disabled.
Conestoga 13 was held April 24-26, 2009, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb
Robin Hobb is the second pen name of novelist Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden who produces primarily fantasy fiction, although she has published some science fiction....
, Toastmaster Frank Wu
Frank Wu
Frank Wu is a science fiction and fantasy artist living in Arlington, MA. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009; he was previously nominated in 2002 and 2003. He also won the Grand Prize in the Illustrators of the Future contest in 2000. In 2008 he was nominated...
, Art Guest of Honor Real Musgrave, and Fan Guest of Honor Diana Bailey.
Conestoga 14 was held April 23-25, 2010, at the Radisson Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Featured guests included Guest of Honor S. M. Stirling
S. M. Stirling
Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...
, Artist Guest of Honor Bob Eggleton
Bob Eggleton
Bob Eggleton is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror artist. Eggleton has been honored with the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist eight times, first winning in 1994. He also won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2001 for his art book "Greetings From Earth"...
, Fan Guest of Honor Leonard Bishop, and Toastmaster Travis S. Taylor.