The 56th 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 as BucConeer, was held on 5–9 August 1998 at the

Baltimore Convention Center The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The center is a municipal building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore. The facility was constructed in two separate phases: th ...

, the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor, the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor, the Omni Inner Harbor Baltimore (now the Wyndham), and the Baltimore Hilton and Towers in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States. The convention was chaired by Peggy Rae Pavlat.

Participants

Guests of Honor

C. J. Cherryh Carolyn Janice Cherry (born September 1, 1942), better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award-winning novels '' Downbelo ...

, author * Milt Rothman, fan *

Stanley Schmidt Stanley Albert Schmidt (born March 7, 1944) is an American science fiction author and editor. Between 1978 and 2012 he served as editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazine. Biography Schmidt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduate ...

, editor *

Michael Whelan Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career, ...

, artist *

Charles Sheffield Charles Sheffield (25 June 1935 – 2 November 2002), an English-born mathematician, physicist and science-fiction writer, served as a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society. ...

, toastmaster

Special Guest

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

Program participants

Site selection

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

won the vote for the 59th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in 2001.

Awards

1998 Hugo Awards

The winners were: * Best Novel: '' Forever Peace, by

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel ''The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including ''The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have wo ...

* Best Novella: "…Where Angels Fear to Tread", by Allen Steele ('' Asimov's'', October/November 1997) * Best Novelette: "We Will Drink a Fish Together…", by Bill Johnson ('' Asimov's'', May 1997) * Best Short Story: "The 43 Antarean Dynasties", by Mike Resnick ('' Asimov's'', December 1997) * Best Related Book:

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work concerning fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael Scott R ...

, by

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part o ...

and John Grant * Best Dramatic Presentation: ''

Contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * ...

'' * Best Professional Editor:

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American people, American science fiction author and editing, editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of ...

* Best Professional Artist:

Bob Eggleton Bob Eggleton (born September 13, 1960) is an American science fiction, fantasy and horror artist. Eggleton is a nine-time Hugo Award–winner for Best Pro Artist in science fiction and fantasy, first winning in 1994. He won the Hugo Award for ...

* Best Semiprozine: ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'', edited by Charles N. Brown * Best Fanzine: ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...

'', edited by Nicki Lynch and

Richard Lynch Richard Lynch (February 12, 1940 – June 19, 2012) was an American actor best known for portraying villains in films and television. His film credits included ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', '' Invasion USA'', ''The Seven-Ups'', ''Scarecr ...

* Best Fan Writer:

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for mos ...

* Best Fan Artist: Joe Mayhew

Other awards

John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer The ''Astounding'' Award for Best New Writer (formerly the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer) is given annually to the best new writer whose first professional work of science fiction or fantasy was published within the two previous ...

Mary Doria Russell Mary Doria Russell (born August 19, 1950) is an American novelist. Early life and education Russell was born in Elmhurst, Illinois She graduated from Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, which has registered its chapter of the Nati ...

Committee

* Convention Chair: Peggy Rae Pavlat

Division heads

* Member Services: Michelle Smith-Moore * Facilities: Marty Gear * Programming: John Pomeranz * Events: Kent Bloom * Operations: Tom Veal * "Contents of Tables": Kathryn Daugherty * Exhibits: Barbara Lynn Higgins * Public Relations: Sam Lubell * "Strange Fannish Stuff": Marc Gordon

Bid

* Chair: Hal Haag (1990–1991), Lance Oszko (1991–1993), Covert Beach (1993–1995)

Corporation

* President: Covert Beach * Vice-Presidents: Lance Oszko, Marty Gear * Comptroller: Bob Macintosh * Treasurer: Thomas Horman * Recording Secretary: Thomas McMullan * Corresponding Secretary: Jul Owings

References

External links

*
Convention site (not maintained)
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Science Fiction Convention 056 1998 conferences 1998 in Maryland 1998 in the United States Conventions in Baltimore Conventions in Maryland Science fiction conventions in the United States Worldcon