The 10th World Science Fiction Convention (

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

), also known unofficially as Chicon II, was held on the

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United ...

weekend, 30 August–1 September 1952, at the Morrison Hotel in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, United States. The convention chair was Julian C. May (later also known as Judy Dikty). Campbell Boucher 1952

Participants

For years this Worldcon held the record for the largest attendance at any early science fiction convention, with 870 registered attendees, a figure which was not surpassed by another Worldcon until 1967 for

NyCon 3 The 25th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as NyCon 3 or Nycon 3, was held on 31 August–4 September 1967 at the Statler Hilton Hotel in New York City, United States. The chairmen were Ted White and Dave Van Arnam. Pa ...

in New York City. By way of comparison, the previous year's Worldcon, the Nolacon in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Hugo Gernsback Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publ ...

Programming and events

The program included the performance of an original science fiction ballet.

Awards

It was at this Worldcon that the idea for the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

s was first proposed and adopted. These awards, the highest and oldest honor in science fiction, were first awarded at the next one, the 1953 Worldcon in Philadelphia.

Notes

This Worldcon never chose an official name other than the title "10th World Science Fiction Convention", as both the convention's issued membership card and program book clearly stated. Only the first Worldcon in New York City (1939) and the 11th in Philadelphia (1953) shared this lack of a formal convention name. The phrases "Tenth Anniversary World Science Fiction Convention" (TAWSFiC) and "Tenth Anniversary Science Fiction Convention" (TASFiC, likely a simple linotype error, as "World" is missing) were each used in some of this Worldcon's pre-convention materials; the phrase's acronyms "TAWSFiC" and "TASFiC" were never officially used in print or otherwise by the Chicago committee at that time. However, the 10th Worldcon ''was'' frequently referred to by its members by the unofficial name Chicon II, so dubbed after the previous Chicago

(Chicon) in 1940; this name proved so popular that the convention became known as Chicon II in

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

's lore and written histories. The convention is said to have been the place where Sturgeon's Law was first formulated (although other origin stories claim Sturgeon first articulated the concept in 1951, a year earlier). During a panel discussion on science fiction, one of the panelists observed that about 90% of science fiction was crud.

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sho ...

, also on the panel, replied that 90% of ''everything'' was crud.

In fiction

The previous convention, Nolacon, is a plot point in ''The Case of the Little Green Men'', the first novel by

Mack Reynolds Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (November 11, 1917 – January 30, 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont, and Todd Har ...

, which is set in part at "AnnCon", a fictional version of the 10th World Science Fiction Convention held in 1952. The real 10th Worldcon, held in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, had no actual name like "AnnCon", being simply called, in its own publications, "the 10th Annual World Science Fiction Convention" (and once as "the 10th Annual Science Fiction Convention," likely a dropped-word linotype operator's typo). Before and during the convention, its attendees often referred to it as "Chicon II," an unofficial

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

that stuck to this Chicago Worldcon in the decades that followed.

References

External links

*
SmofInfo: The Long List of Worldcons
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Science Fiction Convention 010 1952 conferences 1952 in Illinois 1952 in the United States August 1952 events in the United States Culture of Chicago Science fiction conventions in the United States September 1952 events in the United States Worldcon