Disclave was a

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

run by the

Washington Science Fiction Association The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) is the oldest science fiction club in the Washington, D.C. area. It is also one of the oldest science fiction clubs, founded in 1947 by seven fans who met at that year's Worldcon in Philadelphia, the ...

(WSFA) in or near

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in the spring of nearly every year from 1950 through 1997. By many counts, it was the third-oldest science fiction convention. At first it was intermittent and small, with an attendance as low as 22 people (in 1953). From 1965 on, it happened every year. From 1971 on, it lasted the three days of

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend. For a notable section of the SF community, that weekend was considered Disclave's; even after the final session, several years passed before a similar mid-Atlantic group (

Balticon Balticon is the Maryland Regional science fiction convention, sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS). It has been held annually since 1966. The name "Balticon" is trademarked by BSFS. Overview Balticon brings together over 1 ...

) began meeting on Memorial Day. The highest attendance was 1485 (in 1979), 85 more members than in 1981 when

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

was the Guest of Honor. Some other Guests of Honor have been

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is an acclaimed writer, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her no ...

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and ...

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards tha ...

and

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

. Notable chairs were Jay Haldeman,

Alexis A. Gilliland Alexis Arnaldus Gilliland (born August 10, 1931 in Bangor, Maine) is an American science fiction writer and cartoonist. He resides in Arlington, Virginia. Gilliland won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1982, notably beating Davi ...

and

Jack Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a me ...

. In the early 1990s, more and more non-members of Disclave came to the hotel in conjunction with the convention. In 1997, a fire sprinkler was broken, flooding much of the hotel. Although an investigation determined that neither Disclave nor WSFA were responsible, "the Disclave flood" was forever associated with the convention. The 1998 Disclave, scheduled for a different hotel on a different weekend, was canceled six weeks before the convention by the hotel. The 1997 convention was the last Disclave. After Disclave, WSFA planned the structure and focus of their next convention. The first

Capclave The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) is the oldest science fiction club in the Washington, D.C. area. It is also one of the oldest science fiction clubs, founded in 1947 by seven fans who met at that year's Worldcon in Philadelphia, the ...

was held in 2001.

List of Disclaves

References

{{reflist

External links

Disclave website
Culture of Washington, D.C. Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1950 Recurring events disestablished in 1997 1950 establishments in Washington, D.C. 1997 disestablishments in Washington, D.C.