These notes have been carefully researched by the WSFS Long List Committee. If you choose to publish them, please do not edit them in any way.
We have normally listed a convention by the least confusing version of its name. Most of the time this is the name preferred by the convention (variants are noted) but we also follow fannish tradition in retroactively numbering the first Worldcon in a series 1 (or I or One). (For example, Noreascon 1 was known at the time only as "Noreascon".) All known naming oddities are noted.
Custom in designating Guests of Honor has varied greatly, with some conventions giving specific titles (Fan, Pro, Australia, US, Artist, etc.) and some simply calling them all Guests of Honor. We have used specific labels where they existed. In general we do not note spelling issues like Honor/Honour.
The Toastmaster is not a Guest of Honor, although some conventions gave the Toastmaster equal billing with the Guests. To confuse matters further, in at least one case a Guest was also designated as Toastmaster. In a few instances the Toastmaster was given a title other than "Toastmaster" such as "Master of Ceremonies". All toastmasters and MCs we are aware of are listed in the notes.
We have tried to note all cases where a guest did not attend.
Under Site we have listed:
Who chaired a particular Worldcon is sometimes less clear than one might expect. Our policy in constructing this list is to be as accurate as possible without being misleading. We have attempted to follow the convention's official record (where it exists) supplemented by other contemporary records. In all cases where we are aware of ambiguity, we have included notes. When multiple people with Chairman-like titles exist (including Co-Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Associate Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and Deputy Assistant Co-Vice Chairman) we list only the actual top manager at the time of the convention in the main list, and all other people who were in line management positions with titles including the word fragment "chair" in the notes (i.e., all line managers with titles matching *[cC]hair*). When the title is co-Chairman and it appears that both were functional top managers, both are included in the Long List. People in support positions (non-line management positions) with Chair-like titles (e.g., "Chairman's Staff" or "Assistant to the Chairman") are not listed. This list does not include bid leadership -- only leadership after the bid was won. Where we found ambiguity, we have documented it.
Additionally, we have attempted to document cases where there was a disconnect between the person holding the title of Chairman and the person(s) who were the actual top manager(s) of the convention.
Where available, this column records two (or in some instances three) numbers: how many paying members actually attended the Worldcon and how many total members there were and, starting in 2020, virtual members.
The Attendance total includes all paid admissions including one-day admissions. (One-day admissions are usually not members of WSFS, and technically not members of the convention, but we do count them for the purpose of computing total attendance. A one-day admission counts as one attendee.) It excludes freebies who did not participate in the convention (e.g., contractors), unpaid children, paid attending members who did not attend, and all supporting members, but it does include free memberships given to people who did participate in the convention (e.g. guests of honor). It also excludes virtual members who are indicated separately.
Total members includes everyone who paid for a membership or admission whether full attending, one-day, child, or supporting, plus the Guests of Honor and other free memberships given to people participating in the convention. It does not include freebies who did not participate in the convention (like contractors).
The available data is very incomplete and imprecise and many of these numbers are probably substantially in error. We have noted cases where we know the numbers to be doubtful. About 99% of the numbers ending in 00 are estimates. The numbers are of the form aaaa/mmmm, where the first number is the attendance and the second the membership. When only one is known, the other is left blank (e.g., /2345 means an unknown attendance and 2345 total members). When only a single number is presented, we don't know whether it is attendance or total members, though, historically, it seems most often to be attendance.
The 1939 Worldcon did not have a name, but simply called itself "World Science Fiction Convention". It has subsequently been called "Nycon I" and "The 1939 Worldcon".
The convention was controlled by a so-called 'Ruling Triumvirate' whose other members were William S. Sykora and James V. Taurasi.
Chicon I was run by a triumvirate. Mark Reinsberg held the title of chairman, with Erle Korshak (secretary) and Bob Tucker (treasurer) as equal partners. Korshak presided over the opening day of the con, when Reinsberg fell ill.
L. Jerome Stanton was Toastmaster.
Don Ford carried out the duties of Chairman, but was officially Secretary-Treasurer; Charles R. Tanner had the honorary title of Chairman.
Ted Carnell, the Fan Guest of Honor, was also Toastmaster with the title "Entertainment Master of Ceremonies." He was brought to North America by the Big Pond Fund.
Donald Day replaced Jack de Courcy as Chairman after the latter's resignation.
Theodore Sturgeon was the toastmaster and had the title "Entertainment Master of Ceremonies."
"TASFiC" stood for "Tenth Anniversary Science Fiction Convention"; it was popularly known as Chicon II, and subsequent Chicons counted it as such.
This was by far the largest Worldcon to date. The membership numbers are confused due to a there being a reported 175 or so "ghosts" (people who came in without paying). The figure of 870 paid attending members seems to be accurate; with ghosts there would be perhaps 1050 people at the convention. The 300 number for Supporting Members is also probably pretty accurate, as it is based on several fairly contemporary reports.
Officially known as "The 11th Worldcon," it was popularly known as Philcon
II.
Milton A. Rothman replaced James A. Williams as Chairman upon Williams'
death. Tom Clareson, PhD was Vice-Chairman.
Isaac Asimov was Toastmaster.
Convention publication showed a pre-convention membership count of 839 members, which does not include at-the-door members. There are reports in fanzines that the estimate being bandied about at-con was about 1000 members.
Though SFCon and Westercon shared the hotel and con chairs, Westercon was held on Friday, September 3, with Jack Williamson as GoH, while Worldcon was held Saturday-Monday September 4-6, with John W. Campbell, Jr., as GoH.
Robert Bloch was Toastmaster.
The identity of the Special Mystery Guest was not revealed (even to the honoree) until the first night of the convention. The Program book noted that "Mr. Boucher [the Toastmaster] will make the presentation of the Achievement Awards and identify the Mystery Guest."
Anthony Boucher was Toastmaster.
Officially known as "NEWYORCON" but -- in the words of a report at the time "The fans wouldn't have it" -- and it has been NYCon II since.
Robert Bloch was Toastmaster.
The Loncon program book does not use the name "Loncon" but refers to the convention as the "15th World Science Fiction Convention."
Combined with the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen. Solacon was physically in Los Angeles, but (by mayoral proclamation) technically in South Gate, California, to fulfill the convention's bid slogan of "South Gate in 58".
Anthony Boucher was Toastmaster.
John Berry, the Fan GoH, was brought to North America by a special fan fund.
Isaac Asimov had been listed as the Toastmaster in all promotional material prior to the convention. At the convention the program book added "...with the assistance of Robert Bloch" who acted as Asimov's foil at the banquet.
Ray Smith was Vice Chairman. The Program Book lists a "non-con program" day on Friday, 2 September.
Isaac Asimov was Toastmaster.
Harlan Ellison was Toastmaster.
Wilson Tucker was Toastmaster.
For a long time the stated attendance figure was 550 members, but this seems to have been the result of a series of ancient typos when setting successive program books. The convention proceedings and other contemporary documentation supports 730 members at the con and 830 members overall.
Isaac Asimov was Toastmaster.
Combined with the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen. Pacificon II was held in Oakland, CA, which was not the same city (LA, 1946) where Pacificon I was held.
Anthony Boucher was Toastmaster.
Tom Boardman was Toastmaster.
Officially jointly hosted by Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati (hence "Tricon"). The question of who chaired the convention is complicated. The Tricon program book lists Cleveland's Ben Jason as Chairman and Detroit's Howard DeVore and Cincinnati's Lou Tabakow as Associate Chairmen, but included all three in the Long List as did NyCon 3 the following year. People involved with the convention confirm that it was run by the three of them working jointly, so they are being treated as co-Chairmen here.
Isaac Asimov was Toastmaster.
The convention's name was written as "NyCon3" at the convention, but -- somehow -- subsequently got changed to Nycon III in versions of the Long List, perhaps echoing NyCon II.
Harlan Ellison was Toastmaster.
Combined with the West Coast Science Fantasy Conference (Westercon), sharing Guests of Honor and Chairmen.
Robert Silverberg was Toastmaster.
The long-used 1430 attendance figure seems to be a mid-range estimate derived from the Baycon Post-Con Report's "total registered attendance just short of 1300...with 2-300 non-registered walk-ins at various times."
Eddie Jones, the TAFF (Trans Atlantic Fan Fund) winner, replaced Ted White, who withdrew as Fan Guest to dramatize the TAFF winner.
Harlan Ellison was Toastmaster.
Heicon had decided prior to the convention to select the TAFF winner as its Fan Guest. The subsequent winner of the 1970 TAFF election was Elliot Shorter.
Heicon also called itself "Heicon '70 International".
John Brunner was Toastmaster.
Robert Silverberg was Toastmaster.
Robert Bloch was Toastmaster.
Lester del Rey was Toastmaster.
Jay and Alice Haldeman were co-Chairmen until the spring of 1974 when circumstances forced them to move out of Washington. Ron Bounds took over as de facto Chairman until Jay returned for the convention. At the convention, Jay and Ron functioned as co-chairmen. The Discon II program book continued to list Jay and Alice as co-Chairmen, and included a welcome from Jay (co-Chairman) and Ron (vice-Chairman).
Andrew J. Offutt was Toastmaster.
Fan Guest of Honor Donald Tuck did not attend the convention. (Fans had to go to his home in Tasmania to meet him.)
John Bangsund was Toastmaster.
The membership totals are from chairman Ken Keller who reports that the numbers announced during the convention were grossly wrong because one of the C&VB's loaned registrars did not turn in her records until afterwards. The previous Long List number of 2800 was an estimate made by a later compiler from the faulty at-con numbers.
The Municipal Auditorium was used only for some evening events.
Wilson Tucker was Toastmaster.
SunCon was bid by "7 in '77", a group of well-known con-runners who announced their bid while still searching for an ideal site. They selected a Sheraton hotel in Orlando, Florida, which went bankrupt a few months after the bid was selected. The hotel forced a renegotiation of the convention's contract and SunCon wound up moving to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
According to Chairman Don Lundry, his wife Grace Lundry functioned as his co-Chairman; however, convention publications listed Don solely.
In 2003 Don Lundry provided a revised attendance figure of 3240, replacing the number of 2500 reported in publications at the time and subsequently in previous versions of this list. It is possible that this is total membership and not attendance.
Robert Silverberg was Toastmaster.
This was the first IguanaCon, but was called IguanaCon II because of a previous hoax.
Greg Brown was the initial Chairman but was later replaced by Tim Kyger. After the convention, Gary Farber was recognized as having fulfilled the function of Vice-Chairman.
Josef Nesvadba was announced as the European GoH for IguanaCon. He could not get travel papers and did not attend. He was not listed as a guest in PR3. In the program book he was listed on the main GoH page, but was not listed in IguanaCon's own entry in the Long List. Finally, he was not listed in IguanaCon's PR 5, which came out in 1980 and provided a detailed history of what went on, who resigned and who replaced who.
F. M. Busby was Toastmaster.
Seacon 79 was held in Brighton, England, which was not the same city (Seattle, 1961) where Seacon I was held.
Bob Shaw was Toastmaster.
Robert Silverberg was Toastmaster.
Ed Bryant was Toastmaster.
Larry Smith and Bob Hillis were vice-Chairmen.
Marta Randall was Toastmaster.
Jack L. Chalker was Toastmaster.
Like South Gate, Anaheim is part of the greater Los Angeles area.
The Toastmaster and MC positions were essentially equivalent, with Robert Bloch (Toastmaster) officiating at the Hugo Ceremony and Jerry Pournelle (Master of Ceremonies) at the Guest of Honor Speeches and Other Awards Ceremony.
This was the largest Worldcon to date.
David Grigg replaced John Foyster, who resigned for family reasons, as Chairman.
Bob Shaw was Toastmaster.
Alfred Bester did not attend the convention due to poor health.
Malcolm Edwards was Chairman until about nine months before the convention when he resigned from the committee for personal reasons. To minimize possible bad publicity from this, he agreed to remain as titular Chairman and presided at some at-con ceremonies. Paul Oldroyd took over all of his duties, but under the title of "Coordinator". Both Malcolm and Paul agree that that Paul was the de facto Chairman at the time of the convention.
Brian W. Aldiss was Toastmaster.
Mike Resnick was Toastmaster.
The Stranger Club was the first SF club in Boston and sponsor of the pre-War series of Boskones and the club was the Fan Guest of Honor of Noreascon 3. All of its known surviving members were invited to the convention as guests to represent the club and seven were located and attended: Art Widner, Chan Davis, Harry Stubbs (Hal Clement), Louis Russell Chauvenet, Timothy Orrok, Norman Stanley, and Robert D. Swisher.
The convention's name was officially agnostic: "Noreascon 3", "Noreascon Three" and "Noreascon III" were all declared correct forms of the name.
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro was Toastmaster.
Marta Randall was Toastmaster.
Becky Thomson was Co-Chairman for the first two years after the site was selected, then Vice-Chairman thereafter and at the convention.
Spider Robinson was Toastmaster, but Mike Resnick acted as Toastmaster for the Meet-the-Pros party.
David Clark replaced Terry Biffel as Chairman upon Biffel's death. Besides the Chairman, there were Vice Chairs: Peggy Rae Pavlat (Sapienza) and Ruth L. Sachter; and Deputy Vice Chairs: Jeff Canfield and Judy Kindell.
The Guests of Honor were designated as "Honored Guests" and the Toastmaster, Guy Gavriel Kay, was called the "Master of Ceremonies". Mark Twain was "channeled" by Jon deCles.
The Canadian National Science Fiction Convention (Canvention) was held 'in conjunction' with ConAdian -- with separate membership and mostly separate facilities.
Christine Barnson and Kevin Standlee were Deputy Chairs.
Barry B. Longyear was Toastmaster.
Intersection was also the 1995 Eurocon.
When Intersection won, Tim Illingworth and Vincent Docherty were Co-Chairmen. Docherty moved to Oman, resigned and was replaced by Martin Easterbrook. Illingworth subsequently resigned and was replaced by Docherty. Easterbrook and Docherty were Co-Chairmen during the last 18 months of planning and at the convention.
T.R. Smith was Vice-Chairman. Margaret Austin and Oliver Grüter-Andrew were Deputy Chairs.
Diane Duane and Peter Morwood were Toastmasters.
Special Guest Elsie Wollheim died before the convention.
Connie Willis was Toastmaster.
Neal Barrett, Jr. was Toastmaster.
Special Guest J. Michael Straczynski did not attend.
Charles Sheffield was Toastmaster.
GoH George Turner died prior to the convention. Special Guest J. Michael Straczynski attended.
Mike Jencevice and Becky Thomson were associate Chairmen.
Harry Turtledove was Toastmaster.
Laura Syms and Gary Feldbaum were Vice-Chairmen.
Esther Friesner was Toastmaster.
After the bid won, Tom Whitmore was appointed Chairman with Ruth Sachter as Vice-Chairman. Sachter resigned and subsequently Craige Howlett and Cindy Scott were appointed Vice-Chairmen. Finally, Kevin Standlee was appointed Co-Chairman with Whitmore.
Tad Williams was Toastmaster.
Combined with the Canadian National Science Fiction Convention (Canvention).
Artist GoH Frank Kelly Freas did not attend.
Spider Robinson was Toastmaster.
The Guests of Honour were listed with no designation as to type.
Interaction was also the 2005 Eurocon.
Initially Vince Docherty was Chairman with Colin Harris and Paul Treadaway as Vice Chairmen. Subsequently, Harris moved to Co-Chairman, and Treadaway moved to Deputy Chairman.
KIM Campbell was Board convenor of Interaction until her death in November 2003. (The Board had designated the convenor position as a Convention Co-Chair.)
GoH Robert Sheckley was unable to attend the convention.
Bobbi Armbruster and Craig Miller were Vice-Chairmen.
Fan GoH Howard DeVore and Special Guest Frankie Thomas both died before the convention.
Wil McCarthy was Toastmaster.
Ralph Bakshi was originally announced as Artist GoH but withdrew for health reasons.
Julie Czerneda was Master of Ceremonies.
The Guests of Honor were listed with no designation as to type.
GoH Charles N. Brown died before the convention.
Renovation also had Special Guests Tricky Pixie (musicians) and Bill Willingham (a comics writer).
John Scalzi was Toastmaster.
Artist GoH Rowena Morrill did not attend.
Bobbi Armbruster, Helen Montgomery, and Steven H Silver were Vice-Chairmen
The Guests of Honor were listed with no designation as to type.
Paul Cornell was Toastmaster.
Leslie Fish and Joe R. Lansdale were special guests.
Initially Laura Domitz and Bill Parker were Co-Chairmen. Randall Shepherd later was appointed Vice-Chairman. In March, 2013, Shepherd swapped jobs with Domitz and Parker.
Guest of Honor Darrell Sweet died before the convention.
GoH Iain M. Banks died before the convention.
The Guests of Honor were listed with no designation as to type.
Initially, Sally Woehrle and Bobbie DuFault were Co-Chairmen, but DuFault died a two weeks after the bid was won.
The Vice-Chairmen were Glenn Glazer, Pierre Pettinger and Mike Willmoth.
The Guests of Honor were listed with no designation as to type.
Pat Cadigan was Toastmaster
Initially Diane Lacey, Ruth Lichtwardt, and Jeff Orth were Co-Chairmen. In February 2016, Lichtwardt became sole Chairman and Lacey was appointed Vice-Chairman.
Initially Jukka Halme, Saija Aro, and Crystal Huff co-chaired the convention. Aro resigned in May 2016 and Huff resigned in November 2016, leaving Halme as sole chairman.
Attendance and Total Members both include 2346 Attending memberships sold at about half price, the majority of which reflected a discount given to first time Worldcon attendees.
There were 1876 one-day memberships. As is normal, they were counted as attendances.
Karo Leikomaa and Colette H. Fozard were Vice-Chairmen
Bob Wilkins and Edgar Pangborn were dead when selected and were designated "gHost of Honor" and "Ghost of Honor", respectively.
John Picacio was also Toastmaster.
George R. R. Martin was Toastmaster.
CoNZealand was forced by the Covid-19 pandemic to forego holding an in-person convention and ran entirely (with one unimportant exception) online. (The exception was a pro-forma WSFS Business meeting which was held in Wellington and lasted only long enough to validate 2022 Site Selection and pass all pending business on to DC3.) The physical sites which had been slated to be used were the TSB Arena and Shed 6, the Michael Fowler Center, the West Plaza Hotel, and the Intercontinental Hotel, all in Wellington, NZ.
CNZ used three online platforms with independent registrations for different aspects of the con. The number adopted for CNZ's attendance is the highest of those three registration numbers. No numbers are available for how many fans actually participated.Initially, Colette Fozard and William Lawhorn were co-chairs. Fozard
resigned in January 2021.
In June, Lawhorn resigned and at the start of July, Mary Robinette Kowal was appointed to replace him.
DisCon III removed Toni Weisskopf, Publisher of Baen Books, as Guest of Honor in
March 2021 following controversy over content posted on the Baen's Bar Internet
forum with which Baen Publications was closely associated.
Initially, the convention facility was the Marriott Wardman Park. The Omni Shoreham was subsequently added. In Match 2020 due to Covid-19, the Wardman Park closed and later declared bankruptcy. In April 2021, the convention announced a shift to new dates of December 15-19, 2021 and a move to the Omni Shoreham as its sole facility.
DisCon III also had Malka Older (did not attend) and Sheree Renée Thomas as special guests.
GoH John Harris did not attend.
Nearly 3000 residents of China paid for a supporting membership in order to
vote in Site Selection, though only around 2000 of them did. In spite of them
not otherwise participating in the convention, all ~3000 are counted in the
membership totals.
The count of virtual members is how many virtual memberships were sold, not how
many actually participated (which was not tracked.)
Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders were Toastmasters.
In August, 2021, Erle Korshak died. He remained a GoH.
Dr. Eve L. Ewing, Gene Ha, and Eric Wilkerson were Special Guests
In April 2022, Charles de Lint withdrew as GoH because he was unable to attend due to his wife's health.
In June 2022, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due were added as GoHs.
In July, 2022, Floyd Norman informed the convention he would not be attending and was removed as GoH.
Haijun Yao and Xiaolan Liang were honorary co-chairs
The convention was originally scheduled to be held August 16-20, 2023 at the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center. In January 2023, this was changed to October 18-22, 2023 at the Chengdu Science Fiction Museum.
Marguerite Smith is Vice-Chair
K. Tempest Bradford and Nisi Shawl will be "Hosts"
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