The DeepSouthCon (DSC) 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 ...

, which is hosted in different cities in the Southern United States. Site selection is by vote of the membership of a given DSC, for the convention to be held 2 years in the future. DSC is often, but not always, held in conjunction with an existing annual convention so the time of year varies. Many regular attendees of DeepSouthCon are also members of the Southern Fandom Confederation, but there is no direct relationship between the two organizations. DeepSouthCon 60, 2022, will be in Huntsville, AL. www.dsc60.com

Awards

DSC issues two principal awards: the '' Phoenix'', which is awarded to a science fiction professional editor, author, or artist with connections to the South, and the ''Rebel'', which is awarded to a like-placed fan. The Phoenix and Rebel awards are considered lifetime achievement awards for a professional or fan who has done the most ''for'' southern fandom. The 2013 DeepSouthCon, JordanCon in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, awarded the Phoenix to

Robert Jordan James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan," Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the n ...

(posthumously), and the Rebel to Regina Kirby and Mike Lee Rogers. Jordan's award was accepted by his wife, Harriet McDougal. The 2014 DeepSouthCon, Contrails in

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the Twin cities (geographical proxi ...

, awarded the Phoenix to Steve Jackson, and the Rebel to Judy Bemis. The 2015 DeepSouthCon, CONtraflow V in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, awarded the Phoenix to Diana Rowland and (posthumously)

Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy authors, fantasy author and science fiction fandom, active fan, known best for his humorous series ''MythAdventures'' and ''Phule's Company (series), ...

with the Rebel awarded to Michael Scott and Frank Schiavo. A ''Rubble'' award to the person who has done the most ''to'' southern fandom in the past year is also awarded at the DeepSouthCon, usually good-naturedly. The Rubble is not an officially-sponsored convention award.

Locations

Early

The first DeepSouthCon was held in 1963 in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, and had a total attendance of five people. In 1965, attendance had grown to 19 people and the very first Rebel Award was presented to co-chair Al Andrews. In 1970, at the Agacon DSC in

, the first Phoenix Award was presented to Richard C. Meredith, and the convention broke the 100 mark in attendance with 130 members. The largest DeepSouthCon was ConCarolinas 2010 in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, with a total attendance over 1,300 people.

Recent

Recent DeepSouthCons include DSC51, held in April 2013 in conjunction with JordanCon V in

, with special guests

Michael Whelan Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is an Americans, American artist of imaginative Realism (arts), realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has ...

and Seanan McGuire and DSC52 held as a stand-alone event named Contrails in

, in May 2014 with Guest of Honor

Gordon Van Gelder Gordon Van Gelder (born 1966) is an American science fiction editor. From 1997 until 2014, Van Gelder was editor and later publisher of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short ...

and Fan Guests of Honor Pat Molloy, Grace Molloy, and Naomi Fisher. Attendance at DSC52 was reported as "60 people and 1 dog". DSC53 was held in conjunction with CONtraflow V in

, on October 2–4, 2015.

Upcoming

DSC54 will be held in conjunction with JordanCon 8 in

, on April 22-24, 2016. This replaces a previously announced stand-alone Atlanta-based DSC known as "ABC DSC" that suffered financial and other issues and collapsed in Summer 2015. The announced guests of honor are author

Catherine Asaro Catherine Ann Asaro (born November 6, 1955) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, singer and teacher. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire. Biography Catherine Asaro was b ...

and artist John Picacio. DSC 55 was held in conjunction with ConGregate in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

, in July 2017. The winning bid won over a bid for Concave XXXVIII in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. DSC60 was again be held in Huntsville AL on 21-23 OCT 2022. DSC61 will be held on June 23 - 25 in conjunction with LibertyCon 35 in Chattanooga, TN.

Guests

Over the years, guests and award winners of the DeepSouthCon have included

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American people, American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented ...

Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy fiction, fantasy novels and short story, short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for two sequences of novels, t ...

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American author of science fiction, Fantasy literature, fantasy and non-fiction literature. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, both novels and works of ...

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, one of several called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the t ...

, R.A. Lafferty,

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel '' The Mists of Avalon'' and ...

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime fiction, crime, psychological horror fiction, horror and Fantasy Fiction, fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and ...

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. , he is the only person to have won a Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo Award and a Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award in List of joint ...

, Forrest J. Ackerman,

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She has won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her novella '' The Mountains of ...

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 ...

Larry Elmore Larry Elmore (born August 5, 1948) is an American fantasy artist whose work includes creating illustrations for video games, comics, magazines, and fantasy books. His list of work includes illustrations for ''Dungeons & Dragons'', ''Dragonlance'', ...

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed his ...

, James P. Hogan, Steve Jackson,

George Alec Effinger George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947 – April 27, 2002) was an American science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Writing career Effinger was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 10, 1947. His father was a United States Navy vetera ...

Barbara Hambly Barbara Hambly (born August 28, 1951) is an American novelist and screenwriter within the genres of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction. She is the author of the bestselling Benjamin January mystery series featuring a ...

Vincent Di Fate Vincent Di Fate (born November 21, 1945) is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and realistic space art (hardware art) illustration. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011. Career Di Fate ...

John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York ...

David Drake David A. Drake (September 24, 1945 – December 10, 2023) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran, he worked as a lawyer before becoming a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography ...

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...

, Albin Johnson,

Brad W. Foster Brad W. Foster (born April 26, 1955) is an American illustrator, cartoonist, writer and publisher. He has also been Artist Science fiction convention#Guests of Honor, Guest of Honor at multiple conventions such as ArmadilloCon 10, Conestoga 9, Ar ...

, Selina Rosen, and dozens more.

References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.southernfan.com/deepsouthcon.htm , title=History Of The DeepSouthCon , work=Southern Fandom Resource Guide {{cite web , url=http://www.smithuel.net/sfchb/hbp2rub.html#Page26a , title=RUBBLE WINNERS: If Life Hands You Sour Grapes--Try Making Whine: A Brief History of the Rubble Award , work=Southern Fandom Confederation Handbook {{cite web , url=http://www.smithuel.net/sfc/ , title=Southern Fandom Confederation {{cite news , newspaper=

Rome News-Tribune ''Rome News-Tribune'' is the local daily newspaper of Rome, Georgia, in the United States. Begun originally as a weekly newspaper, the paper has survived several merges with other newspapers and now distributes news on a daily basis through prin ...

, location= Rome, GA , title=Sci-fi Convention: 'Star Wars,' 'Close Encounters' spur interest in Atlanta meet , page=4 , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eCMzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8zIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3383,1471829&dq=science-fiction&hl=en , date=February 17, 1978 , accessdate=March 3, 2011 {{cite news , first=Petrea , last=Mitchell , publisher=con-news.com , title=JordanCon Gets DeepSouthCon For 2013 , url=http://con-news.com/?p=6673 , date=October 7, 2011 , accessdate=October 7, 2011 {{cite web , work=Fancyclopedia 3 , url=http://fancyclopedia.org/contrails , title=Contrails {{cite web , work=Fancyclopedia 3 , url=http://fancyclopedia.org/steve-jackson , title=Steve Jackson {{cite web , work=Fancyclopedia 3 , url=http://fancyclopedia.org/dsc-51 , title=DeepSouthCon 51 {{cite news , first=Mike , last=Kennedy , work=The NASFA Shuttle , publisher=North Alabama Science Fiction Association , page=12 , title=DeepSouthCon52 Breaking News , url=http://www.con-stellation.org/nasfa/shuttle/2014/sh1405C.pdf , format=PDF , date=May 2014 , accessdate=October 21, 2014 {{cite news , first=Steven H , last=Silver , authorlink=Steven H Silver , work=

SF Site ''SF Site'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine edited by Rodger Turner. It is among the oldest of websites dedicated to science fiction and primarily publishes book reviews. It has won the Locus Award and received nominations for ...

, title=DeepSouthCon Awarded to JordanCon , url=https://www.sfsite.com/news/2015/10/05/deepsouthcon-awarded-to-jordancon/ , date=October 5, 2015 , accessdate=October 6, 2015 {{cite news , first=Steven H , last=Silver , authorlink=Steven H Silver , work=

, title=DeepSouthCon 55 to North Carolina , url=https://www.sfsite.com/news/2015/10/05/deepsouthcon-55-to-north-carolina/ , date=October 5, 2015 , accessdate=October 6, 2015

External links

DeepSouthCon historyDeepSouthCon 52 - 2014 - Bristol, VirginiaDeepSouthCon 53 - 2015 - New Orleans, Louisiana
Science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1963