Further Confusion, or Furcon, is an annual

furry convention A furry convention (also furry con or fur con) is a fan convention, formal gathering of members of the furry fandom – people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with anthropomorphism, human characteristic ...

held in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, each January, celebrating the anthropomorphics genre or

furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and weari ...

, including charitable benefits, educational seminars, art shows, panels and general social activities. It was the first event sponsored by Anthropomorphic Arts and Education (Furcon is its registered service mark) and continues to be its largest. Beginning in 1999 with the attendance of 691 individuals, Further Confusion has grown rapidly. In 2023, its record attendance was 5,388 individuals from around the world. Further Confusion donated over $100,000 to various charitable beneficiaries (including

animal shelter An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of the agricultural communities, where stray livestock w ...

rescue group An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteer ...

s, and the

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an American non-profit organization formed in 1986 to protect the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, First Amendment rights of comics creators, publishers, and retailers covering legal ...

) in the period 1999–2008. Its art show sales routinely exceed $50,000.

Guests of honor

Until 2017, Further Confusion invited significant artists, writers, or other creative workers as guests of honor. The guests of honor were: * Ed Kline, Ken Mitchroney and Michael H. Payne (1999) * C. J. Cherryh, Shawn Keller, John Nunnemacher,

Karen Prell Karen Leigh Prell (born July 26, 1959) is an American puppeteer and animator. She is the performer of Red Fraggle in ''Fraggle Rock''. Early life and career Prell was born on July 26, 1959, in Florida but grew up in Seattle, Washington. She a ...

Mike Quinn Michael Patrick Quinn (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professional football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Denve ...

and

Jane Fancher Jane Suzanne Fancher (born 1952) is a science fiction and fantasy author and artist. Work In the early 1980s, she worked for Warp Graphics as an art assistant on ''Elfquest'', providing inking assistance on the black and white comics and colorin ...

(2000) *

Diane Duane Diane Duane (born May 18, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, long based in Ireland. Her works include the ''Young Wizards'' young adult fantasy series and the ''Rihannsu'' Star Trek novels. Biography Born in New York C ...

, Christina Hanson, Peter Morwood, Felorin and Talzhemir (2001) *

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American science fiction author. He has won the Hugo Award, Hugo,

and Kevin Palivec (2002) * Karen Anderson and

Toby Bluth Frederick L. "Toby" Bluth (July 11, 1940 – October 31, 2013) was an American illustrator who worked on many Disney films and others as animator, background artist, and production designer. He had a long career writing and illustrating children' ...

(2003) * Heather Alexander, Grant Freckelton and

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His 1970 novel ''Ringworld'' won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus, Ditmar Award, Ditmar, and Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula award ...

(2004) *

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghost ...

and Walter Crane (2005) * Eric Elliott and

Jane Lindskold Jane M. Lindskold (born September 15, 1962) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short story, short stories and novels. Early life Jane M. Lindskold was born on 15 September 1962, and grew up in Washington, D.C., and the Chesap ...

(2006) * Baron Engel and

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. ...

(2007) * David Alan Barclay, Rodney Haley, and

Alexander James Adams Alexander James Adams (formerly Heather Alexander; born November 8, 1962) is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the Celtic and world music genres who blends mythical, fantasy, and traditional themes in performances, switching between i ...

(2008) *

Jeff Pidgeon Jeff Pidgeon is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist and voice actor at Pixar. Early life Influenced by Charles M. Schulz's comic strip ''Peanuts'', Jeff Pidgeon dreamed of becoming a newspaper cartoonist. He studied and gradu ...

, Anita Coulter and Clare Bell (2009). * Michael Fry, T. Lewis, and Ursula Vernon (2010) * Blotch (artist) (2011) * E. E. Knight and Matthew Ebel (2012) * Ursula Vernon and

Chris Savino Christopher Mason Savino (born October 2, 1971) is an American comic book artist, writer and former animator. He is well-known for having created the animated series '' The Loud House'' (2016–present) for Nickelodeon. Savino has also worked on ...

(2013) * Mandi Tremblay (2014) * Andy Heath, Warrick Brownlow-Pike and Lex Rudd (2015) * Dana Simpson, fursuit maker Syber, and artists: Fox Amoore and Pepper Coyote (2016)

Anthropomorphic Arts and Education

Anthropomorphic Arts and Education, Inc. (AAE) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

that supports educational and charitable activities of interest to furry fans. AAE is primarily involved with organizing Further Confusion, as an activity that raises funds and donations on behalf of charities, conducts seminars, and provides a gathering place for the furry fandom. Anthropomorphic Arts and Education at WikiFur

References

* * * * *

External links

* {{coord, 37, 19, 43, N, 121, 53, 20, W, type:landmark, display=title Furry conventions San Francisco Bay Area conventions Recurring events established in 1999