Minicon
   HOME
*





Minicon
Minicon is a science fiction and fantasy convention in Minneapolis usually held on Easter weekend. Started in 1968 and running approximately annually since then, it is one of the oldest science fiction conventions in the midwest United States. It is run by the Minnesota Science Fiction Society, a non-profit organization that is "dedicated to furthering the appreciation of science fiction and fantasy literature". Minicon has had many guests of honor over the years, including Gordon R. Dickson, Poul Anderson, Clifford D. Simak, Lester del Rey, Frederik Pohl, Octavia E. Butler, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, and Terry Pratchett. Features Staples of modern Minicons are: * Several tracks of panel discussions * Readings * Gaming, formal and informal * The ''Bozo Bus Tribune'', convention newsletter * Art show * Dealers room * Kids' programming * Science room * Filk and folk music * Consuite and bar * Parties History The first Minicon was held on 6 January 1968 in Coffman Uni ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Lester Del Rey
Lester del Rey (June 2, 1915 – May 10, 1993) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the author of many books in the juvenile Winston Science Fiction series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction imprint of Ballantine Books, along with his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. Birth name Del Rey often told people his real name was Ramon Felipe Alvarez-del Rey (and sometimes even Ramon Felipe San Juan Mario Silvio Enrico Smith Heartcourt-Brace Sierra y Alvarez del Rey y de los Verdes Stableford, Brian and Clute, John.del Rey, Lester, '' Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. Retrieved September 9, 2020.). However, his sister has confirmed that his name was in fact Leonard Knapp. He also claimed that his family was killed in a car accident in 1935. In reality, the accident only killed his first wife. Career Writing career Del Rey first started publishing stories in pulp magazines in the late 1930s, at the dawn of the so-called ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Science Fiction Convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as films, television, comics, animation, and games. The format can vary but will tend to have a few similar features such as a guest of honour, discussion panels, readings and large special events such as opening/closing ceremonies and some form of party or entertainment. Science fiction conventions started off primarily in the UK and US but have now spread further and several countries have their own individual conventions as well as playing host to rotating international conventions. History The precise time and place of the first science fiction convention is a matter of some dispute. The idea and form was clearly anticipated in Robert Bloch's short story about a large convention of writers, "The Ultimate Ultimatum" (''Fantasy ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Arcana (convention)
Arcana is a long-running horror convention that bills itself as "a convention of the dark fantastic." Arcana is held annually in late September or early October in St. Paul, Minnesota and typically features a famous author or artist from the dark fantasy genre as its guest of honor. Arcana programming includes a variety of panels, talks, and films, plus an interview and reading with the Guest of Honor. Other programming includes a book and art auction and an "open" reading. The presentation of the Minnesota Fantasy Award is a key feature of each year's convention. History Arcana began in 1971, when two fans of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard and other writers of the pulp era discovered each other and began meeting regularly. John J. Koblas and Eric Carlson soon found others with similar interests, and the gatherings became known as MinnCon. By 1988, the group numbered in the dozens. The possibility of featuring professional guests by charging an ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Science Fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life, sentient artificial intelligence, cybernetics, certain forms of immortality (like mind uploading), and the singularity. Science fiction predicted several existing inventions, such as the atomic bomb, robots, and borazon, whose names entirely match their fictional predecessors. In addition, science fiction might serve as an outlet to facilitate future scientific and technological innovations. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is also related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Science fiction, in literature, film, television, and other media, ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Adam Stemple
Adam Stemple is a Celtic-influenced American folk rock musician, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also the author of several fantasy short stories and novels, including two series of novels co-written with his mother, writer Jane Yolen. Stemple also wrote a Push-Fold chart for poker with poker player Chris Wallace. Music Stemple played guitar and sang as a member of the folk rock "rock-and-reel" band Cats Laughing from 1988 to 1996. The band also included notable fantasy/science fiction authors Steven Brust and Emma Bull. For twelve years, he was lead singer/guitarist for the band Boiled in Lead. Stemple first appeared on Boiled in Lead's 1994 album '' Antler Dance''. He co-wrote nine songs with science fiction and fantasy author Steven Brust on the 1995 album '' Songs from The Gypsy'', released as an enhanced CD. The CD has the distinction of including the full text of the novel '' The Gypsy'', which Brust co-authored with Megan Lindholm and upon which the songs were base ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

University Of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The Twin Cities campus comprises locations in Minneapolis and Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul, approximately apart. The Twin Cities campus is the oldest and largest in the University of Minnesota system and has the ninth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,376 students at the start of the 2021–22 academic year. It is the flagship institution of the University of Minnesota System, and is organized into 19 colleges, schools, and other major academic units. The Minnesota Territorial Legislature drafted a charter for the U of M as a territorial university in 1851, seven years before Minnesota became a state. Today, the university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research acti ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


CONvergence (convention)
Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Weirdoverse titles in 1997 **A 2015 crossover storyline spanning the DC Comics Multiverse * ''Convergence'' (journal), an academic journal that covers the fields of communications and media * ''Convergence'' (novel), by Charles Sheffield * ''Convergence'' (Cherryh novel), by C. J. Cherryh Music * ''Convergence'' (Front Line Assembly album), 1988 * ''Convergence'' (David Arkenstone and David Lanz album), 1996 * ''Convergence'' (Dave Douglas album), 1999 * ''Convergence'' (Warren Wolf album), 2016 Other media * ''Convergence'' (2015 film), an American horror-thriller film * ''Convergence'' (2019 film), a British drama film *''Convergence'', a 2021 Netflix film by Orlando von Einsiedel * ''Convergence'' (Pollock), a 1952 oil painting by Jacks ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




MarsCon (Bloomington, Minnesota)
MarsCon is a science fiction convention held in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. It was first held in February 1999 with the goal of appealing to a diverse audience of fans in Minnesota and the vicinity. It is a mid-sized convention with a wide variety of events including panel discussions, guest of honor presentations, music of many kinds, art show, film room (including anime), science room, dealers room, charity auction, and a masquerade. Past guests have included actors, authors, artists, scientists, musicians, producers, and even the occasional pooka. The ''Minneapolis Star-Tribune'' describes MarsCon as "for the sci-fi serious nerds". Since 2003, MarsCon Minnesota has also included a strong presence of the "Dementia" (comedy/novelty/filk) music genre, making the convention one of the largest events in the country to showcase such music. Conventions Past MarsCon 1999: Celebrating 60 Years of Fandom :Where: Radisson South Hotel :When: February 26-28, 1999 :Guests of H ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Transformers (toyline)
The is a line of mecha toys produced by Japanese company Takara (now known as Takara Tomy) and American toy company Hasbro. Initially a line of transforming mecha toys rebranded from Takara's '' Diaclone'' and ''Micro Change'' toy lines, it spawned the ''Transformers'' media franchise. The premise behind the ''Transformers'' toy line is that an individual toy's parts can be shifted about to change it from a vehicle, a device, or an animal, to a robot action figure and back again. The franchise's taglines, "More Than Meets the Eye" and "Robots in Disguise", reflect this ability. The ''Transformers'' toy-line is typically divided into two main factions: the heroic Autobots and their opponents, the evil Decepticons. They are known in Japan as the Cybertrons and Destrons, respectively, although more recent releases often use the English terms. Many spin-offs are based on the toys including a comic book series, an animated television series, and the feature-length animated '' T ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jane Yolen
Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is ''The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. Her other works include the Nebula Award−winning short story "Sister Emily's Lightship", the novelette "Lost Girls", ''Owl Moon'', '' The Emperor and the Kite'', the ''Commander Toad'' series and ''How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight''. She has collaborated on works with all three of her children, most extensively with Adam Stemple. Yolen gave the lecture for the 1989 Alice G. Smith Lecture, the inaugural year for the series. This lecture series is held at the University of South Florida School of Information "to honor the memory of its first director, Alice Gullen Smith, known for her work with youth and bibliotherapy." In 2012 she became the first woman to give the Andrew Lang lecture.Adams, John Joseph; Barr Kirtley, David (January 23, 201 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the ''Mistborn'' series and ''The Stormlight Archive'', are set. Outside of the Cosmere, he has written several young adult and juvenile series including ''The Reckoners'', the ''Skyward'' series, and the ''Alcatraz'' series. He is also known for finishing Robert Jordan's high fantasy series ''The Wheel of Time'' and has created several graphic novel fantasy series including ''White Sand'' and ''Dark One''. He created Sanderson's Laws of Magic and popularized the idea of "hard magic" and "soft magic" systems. In 2008, Sanderson started a podcast with author Dan Wells and cartoonist Howard Tayler called ''Writing Excuses'', involving topics about creating genre writing and webcomics. In 2016, the American media company DMG Entertainment licensed the movie rights to San ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]