Chattacon is an annual

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction subgenre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of ex ...

held in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. The convention is organized by the nonprofit Chattanooga Speculative Fiction Fans, Inc. First held in 1976, the convention drew more than 1,200 attendees to the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel in 2014. Chattacon was founded by Chattanooga native Irv Koch; the first Chattacon was held in January 1976. Formatted as a "relaxacon", it drew 81 guests, and lost money. By Chattacon III in 1978, it was a more traditional science fiction convention, with A. E. van Vogt as Guest of Honor, and had returned the costs of its original organization to Koch, with enough left over to serve as

seed money Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggest ...

for Chattacon IV.

Conventions

History

Chattacon 36
held January 21–23, 2011, included guests of honor writers Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, artist Ruth Thompson, filkers Bill and Brenda Sutton, and Baen Books publisher Toni Weisskopf as toastmaster. Attendance for this event was estimated at over 1,000 members.
Chattacon 37
held January 20–22, 2012, included writers Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, author Laura Ann Gilman, and artist John Picacio, plus '' The Morganville Vampires'' writer Rachel Caine as Special Guest and author Mark L. Van Name as Toastmaster.
Chattacon 38
held January 25–27, 2013, included guests of honor

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy author. His first major novel was ''The Drawing of the Dark'' (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was ''The Anubis Gates'' ...

and

Cherie Priest Cherie Priest (born July 30, 1975) is an American novelist and blogger living in Seattle, Washington. Biography Priest is a Florida native, born in Tampa in 1975. She graduated from Forest Lake Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh- ...

, artist guest William Stout, and toastmistress Wendy Webb.
Chattacon 39
held January 24–26, 2014, included guest of honor Tobias Buckell, featured guests John Kaufmann, Jean Johnson, and Robert Buettner, plus toastmistress Wendy Webb and special music guest Matthew Ebel.
Chattacon 40
held January 30–February 1, 2015, included guests of honor Julie Czerneda,

Kathleen Ann Goonan Kathleen Ann Goonan (May 14, 1952 – January 28, 2021)Kathleen Ann Goonan (1952–2021)

, and Tobias Buckell, artist guests Alan M. Clark and David Deitrick, special guest Adam-Troy Castro, and toastmistress Wendy Webb.
Chattacon 41
held January 29–31, 2016 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, included guest of honor William C. Dietz, artist guest of honor Scott Grimando, special guest Larry Correia and toastmistress Wendy Webb.
Chattacon 42
held January 20–22, 2017 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, included guest of honor

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct mag ...

, with Alan Pollack as the artist guest of honor, special guest Jennifer Mulvihill and toastmistress Wendy Webb.
Chattacon 43
held January 19-21, 2018 at the Chattanoogan, included guest of honor Peter David and artist guest of honor Todd McCaffrey, as well as artist Sam Flegal and gaming aficionado Michael Bielaczyc.
Chattacon 44
held January 19-21, 2019 at the Read House, included guest of honor Timothy Zahn and artist guest of honor Charles Urbach, as well as author

Tim Waggoner Tim Waggoner is an American author of novels and short stories in the fantasy, horror, and thriller genres. Education Waggoner graduated from Wright State University in 1989 with a Master of Arts in English with a Creative Writing Concentr ...

and toastmaster D. Alan Lewis.
Chattacon 45
held January 26-28 2020 at the DoubleTree Hilton Chattanooga, included guest of honor Robert McCammon, artist guest of hono
Melissa Gay
special guest Faith Hunter and toastmaste
Big Daddy Voodoo

Recent

'
Chattacon 46
'', was held January 22-24 2021, originally scheduled for the DoubleTree Hilton Chattanooga, was held live online on

Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...

. Guests included guest of hono
M. D. Cooper
artist guest of hono
Amanda Makepeace
special gues
Brian Cooksey
and toastmistress Brandy Bolgeo Hendren. '
Chattacon 47
'', was held January 14-16 2022 at the DoubleTree Hilton Chattanooga. Guests included author guest of honor M.D. Cooper, artist guest of honor Amanda Makepeace, special guest Brian Cooksey, and toastmistress Brandy Bolgeo Hendren.

Upcoming

'
Chattacon 48
'', will be held in January 2023 in Chattanooga. Guests include will include guest of hono
Martin Powell
artist guest of hono
Leia Powell
special gues
B.L. Blankenship
special gues
Paige Gardner
(originally scheduled to attend Chattacon 47) and toastmaste
Michael Corrie

References

External links

Chattacon official website
{{Multigenre conventions in North America Recurring events established in 1976 Science fiction conventions in the United States Culture of Chattanooga, Tennessee Festivals in Tennessee Tourist attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee Conventions in Tennessee 1976 establishments in Tennessee