2024 NASFiC Site Selection Voting Open

~ Kevin Standlee

Voting to select the site of the 2024 NASFiC is now open at the Site Selection page on the Pemmi-Con (2023 NASFiC) website.

Members of Pemmi-Con, the 2023 NASFiC, can cast a ballot to select the site of the 2024 NASFiC. Members must purchase an advance supporting membership (voting) fee of CAD 40 / USD 30 in order to vote. Voters automatically receive a supporting membership in the winning NASFiC. Only members of Pemmi-Con may vote. Members of the 2023 Worldcon are not eligible unless they are also members of the 2023 NASFiC, per section 4.8 of the WSFS Constitution.

Members can vote in person at Pemmi-Con, can give their ballot to someone else to deliver on their behalf to Pemmi-Con, or can purchase a “voting token” on the Pemmi-Con website to pay the ASM/voting fee, then download the ballot, print it, fill it out completely including the voting token, then scan or photograph the ballot and email it to the Site Selection Administrator. Members can also send a paper ballot by postal mail to Pemmi-Con.

Paper ballots sent by postal mail must arrive by July 11, 2023. Email ballots must be received by the Site Selection administrator by 4 PM Central Daylight Time on July 21, 2023. Voting at Pemmi-Con will be open on Thursday, July 20 and Friday, July 21, 2023, and will end at 6 PM CDT on July 21, 2023. Results of the election will be announced at the WSFS NASFiC Business Meeting scheduled for 10 AM on Saturday, July 22, 2023.

The only bid that filed before the deadline is for Buffalo, New York. Other bids may file as write-in candidates anytime before the close of at-convention voting.

Direct questions about 2024 Site Selection to the Pemmi-Con Site Selection administrators, not to the NASFiC website.

Winnipeg Wins 2023 Site Selection

~ Admin

Winnipeg, Canada has won the vote to host the 2023 NASFiC. Chicon 8 reports that 343 ballots were cast in the election, with 312 in favour of Winnipeg. Orlando, USA, withdrew from the race early in August leaving Winnipeg as the only official bid. For the detailed results, see the NASFiC 2023 Site Selection Report from the Site Selection administrator. Winnipeg was also the host of the 1994 Worldcon.

Winnipeg’s Guests of Honor will be Dr. Philip J. Currie, Julie Czerneda, John Mansfield, Waubgeshig Rice, Nisi Shawl and Katherina Vermette. The Ghost of Honour will be Lorna Toolis and the Toastmaster will be Tanya Huff. The convention will be chaired by Robbie Bourget and Linda Ross-Mansfield.

The Winnipeg website is here.

2020 NASFIC Goes Online-Only

~ Kevin Standlee

The 2020 NASFiC Committee announced that the 2020 NASFiC, previously announced as cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held as an online-only event from August 21-23, according to a statement posted on the convention web site on July 22, 2020:

Along with ongoing negotiations with our Hotel, we’ve been exploring the possibility of providing an Online event for all of you. We are happy to announce that this is now a reality. We have a small team working hard to put together the best online event we can for you to enjoy at the end of August. Due to our transition we’ve revised our dates to reflect the limit of our planning capabilities at this point; they are now Friday, August 21st-Sunday, August 23rd.

As you may know, the skills required to run a virtual event are different from those required to run an in person event. We held off on announcing this digital transformation until we were able to confirm with enough of our staff and guests that they were able and willing to help with a virtual convention that we knew that we’d actually be able to provide you with content.

In recognition of the difficulty of these times we are offering this event for Free with optional donation. We will be reaching out to all our paid members to make sure they have the opportunity to enjoy the content we’re putting together, and are also going to be opening it up to other’s who would like to join.

If you would like to volunteer with us in this challenging transition please fill out our volunteer survey. If you would like to join us as a program participant please email program@columbus2020nasfic.org .

Thanks

Lisa Garrison, Chair
Dale Mazzola, Vice Chair
Kim Williams, Treasurer

In-Person 2020 NASFiC Canceled

~ Kevin Standlee

The 2020 NASFiC Committee announced the cancellation of the 2020 NASFiC on May 14, 2020 in a statement from convention chair Lisa Garrison:

It is with a heavy heart that I and the executive committee, in consultation with Hotel management and the local Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, announce that we have made the decision to cancel the Columbus 2020 NASFiC. Due to the uncertain health situation and the unreliable travel restrictions, it was decided by all that hosting the NASFiC at this time would be unwise.

We still plan on publishing a souvenir book for all attending and supporting members. Due to the fact that we are still in negotiating penalties with the hotel, ongoing expenses, and our intention to publish a souvenir book, it is not feasible to offer refunds.

The Sheraton is canceling all room reservations for this event. If you have not heard from the hotel within two weeks, please contact the Sheraton directly at 614-365-4500.

We may have a virtual event on the weekend of August 20 -23. We’ll update everyone on that later once we have some plans.

We were very much looking forward to hosting the North American Science Fiction Convention this fall with you and regret that it cannot happen.

Direct questions about the 2020 NASFiC to the 2020 NASFiC committee. The NASFiC.org web site does not operate individual NASFiCs. Each NASFiC is operated by its individual operating committee, not by a central organization. The World Science Fiction Society does not operate NASFiC or Worldcon. It is only the sanctioning entity, and does not operate conventions. Contact each individual convention with questions about that convention.

Columbus, Ohio to Host 2020 NASFiC

~ Kevin Standlee

Columbus, Ohio has been selected as the site for the 2020 NASFiC. The bid received 87 votes out of 96 votes cast with a preference. There were no other officially filed bids.

The convention will be at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio on August 20-23, 2020. For further information see the convention website.

The detailed results of site selection voting held at the 2019 NASFiC (SpikeCon) in Layton, Utah, are as follows:

Candidate Mail Thu Fri Total
Columbus, OH 7 46 34 87
Grantville, WV 1 1   2
Tonopah, NV     2 2
OVFF 1     1
Arcosanti 1     1
Minneapolis in ‘73   1   1
Peggy Rae’s House   1   1
None of the Above     1 1
Total With Preference 10 49 37 96
No preference   1 1 2
Invalid 2     2
Total votes cast       100

Voting Open for 2020 NASFiC

~ Kevin Standlee ~ 1 Comment

Voting has started for the 2020 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). SpikeCon (2019 NASFiC) in Layton, Utah has published the 2020 NASFiC Site Selection ballot on their web site and and distributed it to their members as part of their Progress Report 3.0.

Members of SpikeCon, the 2019 NASFiC in Layton, Utah, are eligible to vote on the site of the 2020 NASFiC upon payment of a $35 Advance Supporting Membership (“Voting”) Fee. This fee purchases a supporting (voting) membership in the 2020 NASFiC, regardless of who wins or how you vote. It is unrelated to any “pre-supporting memberships” (donations paid to any bid committees). Members can vote before the convention through conventional paper mail by printing the ballot and mailing it with payment, or they can vote at the convention. Payment mailed in advance must be by check or money order in US dollars. You can also designate someone else to deliver your ballot to the convention on your behalf. Credit cards are not being accepted for payment of the Advance Supporting Membership Fee.

Only members of SpikeCon/NASFiC 2019 are eligible to vote on the site of the 2020 NASFiC. Members of other WSFS conventions, including the 2019 Worldcon, are not eligible to vote unless they are members of SpikeCon/NASFiC 2019.

Voting in advance closes June 29, 2019. SpikeCon/NASFiC 2019 must receive your ballot by that date. (Postmark date does not count.) Voting at the convention opens on the afternoon of Thursday, July 4, 2019 and closes at 7 PM Mountain Daylight Time on Friday, July 5, 2019.

Bids for future NASFiCs are listed on the NASFiC Bids page. One bid qualified for the 2020 NASFiC Site Selection by filing the required documents with SpikeCon/NASFiC 2019: Columbus in 2020. However, World Science Fiction Society (WSFS) rules allow for write-in votes and votes for “None of the Above.” If None of the Above wins, there will be no 2020 NASFiC. Because of the rules on the counting of site selection ballots, the only possible outcomes are a qualified bid (including a qualified write-in) or “None of the Above” winning the election, or a tie between qualified bids and/or None of the Above. Non-qualified bids (write-ins that don’t file the necessary papers, hoaxes, jokes, etc.) cannot win the election.

The results of the election will be announced at SpikeCon/NASFiC 2019 at a time/place to be determined. There is no WSFS Business Meeting held at NASFiC, and therefore no formal announcement of results before a Business Meeting.