Norwescon

Norwescon is one of the largest regional science fiction and fantasy conventions in the United States. Located in SeaTac in Washington state, Norwescon has been running continuously since 1978.

"Norwescon" was also the name of the 8th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Portland, Oregon, in 1950.

History

Norwescon grew out of the desire of its founders to host a Worldcon in Seattle in 1981. However, there was one major issue — at the time, most of Pacific Northwest fandom had little or no experience in running cons. Norwescon was therefore originally formed as an effort to get some practice for Worldcon. Realizing they would need a large group of people from which to draw volunteers, the founders also started the Northwest Science Fiction Society or NWSFS.

The first Norwescon was held in a then-unincorporated area now known as the city of SeaTac, Washington. It featured Theodore Sturgeon as its Guest of Honor (GoH) and drew just over 400 attendees. The next year, Norwescon moved up the street to the Hyatt Hotel, the site of the only Seattle-sponsored Worldcon. The Hyatt was the site of Norwescons II through VII, at which point the convention began feeling the pressures of growth; it was then moved to SeaTac's Red Lion Inn. With growth came associated problems, and after two years at the Red Lion, Norwescon was forced to find a new location on short notice. The convention moved back to the Hyatt for a convention called Alternacon. The next year brought a big move to the city of Tacoma, where the Sheraton hosted Norwescon for five years. 1993 brought the convention to the Bellevue area, and in 1994 Norwescon returned to the site of the old Red Lion Inn, now known as the DoubleTree Hotel SeaTac, where it has been ever since, excepting 2020, when the convention was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021, when the convention was all-virtual.

Norwescon's Guest of Honor list has grown over the years, starting with a list of three: Writer Guest of Honor, Fan Guest of Honor, and Toastmaster. The list now includes artists, scientists, volunteers and special guests as well as many other professionals. Norwescon has always made an effort to invite guests who are deserving of the honor, and has thus had a prestigious line of guests.

Norwescon also hosts the Philip K. Dick Award, given to the author of the best original novel appearing in the previous year in paperback form without prior publication as a hardback. The first recipient of the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award was Rudy Rucker for his novel, ''Software''.

Past conventions

# Norwescon I - March 25–26, 1978; GoH: Theodore Sturgeon; FGoH John D. Berry; TM Alan E. Nourse; Attendance 415
# Norwescon II - March 23–25, 1979; GoH: Philip José Farmer; FGoH Loren MacGregor; TM Elizabeth A. Lynn; Attendance 725
# Norwescon III - March 28–30, 1980; GoH: Alfred Bester; FGoH Fred Pohl; TM Theodore Sturgeon; Attendance 732
# Norwescon IV - March 27–29, 1981; GoH: Samuel R. Delany; FGoH Jack Palmer, Pauline Palmer, and Tilda Palmer; TM Philip Klass (William Tenn); Attendance 1410
# Norwescon V - March 18–21, 1982; GoH: Thomas Disch; AGoH Michael Whelan; FGoH Bob Shaw; TM Richard A. Lupoff; Attendance 1371
# Norwescon VI - March 17–20, 1983; GoH: Jack Williamson; AGoH Richard Powers

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