The 74th World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon), also known as MidAmeriCon II, was held on 17–21 August 2016 at the Bartle Hall Convention Center in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States. The convention's name, by established Worldcon tradition, follows after the first MidAmeriCon, the 34th

World Science Fiction Convention 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 ...

, held in Kansas City in 1976. The convention was organized by Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, Inc., and was chaired by Ruth Lichtwardt and co-chaired by Diane Lacey.

Participants

Guests of Honor

* artist

Kinuko Y. Craft Kinuko Yamabe Craft (born January 3, 1940) is a Japanese-born American painter, illustrator and fantasy artist. Biography Kinuko Yamabe Craft was born in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan on January 3, 1940. She graduated with a Bachelor of ...

* author Tamora Pierce * author Michael Swanwick * editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden * editor

Teresa Nielsen Hayden Teresa Nielsen Hayden (born March 21, 1956) is an American science fiction editor, fanzine writer, essayist, and workshop instructor. She is a consulting editor for Tor Books and is well known for her weblog, ''Making Light''. She has also work ...

* Pat Cadigan (toastmaster)

Programming and events

Masquerade

The MidAmeriCon II

masquerade Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

was held on Friday, 19 August, with 34 entrants. Gregory de Danann was the Masquerade Director and the master of ceremonies was John Hertz. The judges were Tanglewyst de Holloway, Karen Schnaubelt, and Kathy Pepmiller for performance, and Jill Eastlake and Aurora Celeste for workmanship. The winners, across four experience-based categories, were:

Young Fan division

* Most Adorable: "Young Sherlock" by Zachary Rohwer * More Most Adorable: "Ding" (''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'') by Grayson Rohwer

Novice division

Workmanship awards: * Honorable Mention for Carving: "Mystogan" ('' Fairy Tail'') by Jacob Lemon-Rogers, Jonathan Kunkee, Loren Kunkee, and Lyndsey Luther * Honorable Mention for Puff Patterns: "Rambo Brite" by Gene Bennett * Honorable Mention for Puppetry: "Sarabi, the Gryphon" by Ashley Bilke. ** Ashley Bilke was also awarded the Silicon Web Costumers Guild Dreamcatcher Award at this event. * It Lights up and Spins Award: "Raymond J. Stanz, Apparition Eliminator" (

Steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

Ghostbuster ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, t ...

) by Zachary Miles * Best Fur Work: "Pooch" by Kathy Hinkle * Best in Class: "Mythological Loki" by Sarah Sanders Performance awards: * Best Novice Humor: "Rambo Brite" by Gene Bennett * Best in Class: "Victorian Twilight Sparkle" (''

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ''My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' is an animated children's television series based on the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's ''My Little Pony'' franchise. The series follows a studious unicorn (later an alicorn) pony named Twilight Spark ...

'') Rosemary Williams

Journeyman division

Workmanship awards: * Painting the Roses Red Award: "When Queens Collide" (The Red Queen from ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' and the Queen of the Night from Mozart's '' The Magic Flute'') by Janine Wardale, Theresa Halbert and Thor Halbert * Best in Class: "Cinderella" (based on artwork by Kinuko Y. Craft) by Sheryl Nance-Durst Performance awards: * Best Humor: "Flight of the Valkyries" by Sharon Bass, Christine Brockway, Chris O'Halloran and Sara Vanderbroek (singing). * Best in Class: "When Queens Collide" by Janine Wardale and Theresa Halbert

Master division

Workmanship awards: * Honorable Mention for Beadwork: "A Paid Political Announcement" (

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

for President) by Kevin Hewett and Rebecca Hewett * Best Execution of Concept: "Boots Upgraded" ( Cyberman) by Jennifer Skwarski * Best in Class: "Tri Morrignae" (Irish mythology) by Jennifer Old-d'Entremont, Bethany Padron and Megan McQueen Performance awards: * Best Master Humor: " Sharknado" by Amanda Arthur-Struss and Joe Struss * Honored for Excellence in Presentation: "Tri Morrignae" (Irish mythology) by Jennifer Old-d'Entremont, Bethany Padron and Megan McQueen * Best in Class: "Flights of Fantasy" (history of flight in SF literature) by Tim Morgan, Lorretta Morgan, Iain Miller, Meredith Hines and Russ Miller

Overall

* Judges' Choice Award: "Spirits of the Tea" (based on artwork by Kinuko Y. Craft) by Sallie Abba, Greg Abba, Robert A. Cook, Rachelle Hrubetz, Leslie Roth and Tal Roth * Best in Show: "Troll Bridge" by Susan Eisenhour, Joyce Blakesley, Isabell Robinson, Quincy Robinson, Paul Elmer, Kate Elmer, Freya Elmer, Juliet Elmer, Darrin Blom, Richard Blom and Margaret Blom

Awards

MidAmeriCon II also presented Retro-Hugos for the calendar year 1940, on the 75th anniversary of the

3rd World Science Fiction Convention The 3rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Denvention I, was held on 4–6 July 1941 at the Shirley-Savoy Hotel in Denver, Colorado, United States. Guest of Honor * Robert A. Heinlein, who gave a speech entitled "The ...

held in Denver because, having not yet been established, no Hugo Awards were presented in 1941.

2016 Hugo Awards

The 74th World Science Fiction Convention, MidAmeriCon II, announced the winners of the 2016 Hugo Awards at a ceremony on the evening of Saturday, 20 August 2016. The ceremony was hosted by Toastmaster, Pat Cadigan, assisted by Jan Siegel. 3,130 valid final ballots were received and counted. The 2016 Hugo Award trophy base was designed by Sara Felix. * Best Novel: '' The Fifth Season'', by

N. K. Jemisin Nora Keita Jemisin (born September 19, 1972) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, better known as N. K. Jemisin. Her fiction includes a wide range of themes, notably cultural conflict and oppression. Her debut novel, ''The Hundre ...

(Orbit) * Best Novella: " Binti", by Nnedi Okorafor (Tor.com) * Best Novelette: "

Folding Beijing ''Folding Beijing'' () is a science fiction novelette by the Chinese writer Hao Jingfang. This work was originally posted on newsmth.net, the BBS of Tsinghua University, in December 2012. It took the author around 1 month to plan, and 3 days t ...

", by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu ('' Uncanny Magazine'', Jan-Feb 2015) * Best Short Story: "

Cat Pictures Please "Cat Pictures Please" is a 2015 science fiction short story by American writer Naomi Kritzer. It was first published in '' Clarkesworld''. Synopsis When an artificial intelligence spontaneously emerges from the systems that run a search engine, i ...

", by

Naomi Kritzer Naomi Kritzer is an American speculative fiction writer and blogger. Her 2015 short story " Cat Pictures Please" was a Locus Award and Hugo Award winner and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Her novel, ''Catfishing on CatNet'' won the 2020 Lod ...

('' Clarkesworld'', January 2015) * Best Related Work: no award * Best Graphic Story: '' The Sandman: Overture'', written by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

, art by

J.H. Williams III James H. Williams III (born 1965), usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is an American comics artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as ''Chase (comics), Chase'', ''Promethea'', ''Desolation Jones,'' ''Batwoman'', and ' ...

(Vertigo) *

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

: '' The Martian'', screenplay by Drew Goddard, directed by

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...

(Scott Free Productions; Kinberg Genre; TSG Entertainment;

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

) *

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

: ''

Jessica Jones Jessica Campbell Jones Cage is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos and first appeared in ''Alias'' #1 (November 2001) ...

'': "AKA Smile", written by Scott Reynolds, Melissa Rosenberg, and Jamie King, directed by Michael Rymer (Marvel Television; ABC Studios; Tall Girls Productions; Netflix) * Best Professional Editor, Short Form: Ellen Datlow * Best Professional Editor, Long Form: Sheila E. Gilbert * Best Professional Artist: Abigail Larson * Best Semiprozine: '' Uncanny Magazine'', edited by Lynne M. Thomas & Michael Damian Thomas, Michi Trota, and Erika Ensign & Steven Schapansky * Best Fanzine: '' File 770'', edited by Mike Glyer * Best Fancast: no award * Best Fan Writer: Mike Glyer * Best Fan Artist:

Steve Stiles Stephen Willis Stiles (July 16, 1943 – January 11, 2020) was an American cartoonist and writer, coming out of the science fiction fanzine tradition. He won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist. Early life and education Steven Willis Stil ...

Other awards

* John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer: Andy Weir

Site selection

The location was selected on 17 August 2014 by the members of the

72nd World Science Fiction Convention The 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Loncon 3, was held on 14–18 August 2014 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom. The convention committee was co-chaired by Alice Lawson and Steve Cooper and organized ...

in London. By the February 2014 deadline, only two committees had announced bids to host the 74th World Science Fiction Convention: "KC in 2016" for 17–21 August 2016, at the Bartle Hall Convention Center in downtown

, and "Beijing in 2016" for 14–19 August 2016, at the China National Convention Center. Kansas City bid co-chairs Diane Lacey, Ruth Lichtwardt, and Jeff Orth represented the non-profit Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions, Inc. Of the 758 votes cast by Loncon 3 members, Kansas City won the contest with 651 votes over Beijing with 70 votes. "None of the above" received 4 votes while other sites, including Minneapolis, Boston, Norway, Helsinki, and

Sitka, Alaska russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

, received 1 or 2 votes each. If Beijing had been selected, this would have been the first Worldcon in China and the first in mainland Asia.

References

External links

MidAmericon II official website
*
"KC in 2016" bid site
*
"Beijing in 2016" bid site

Worldcon official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Science Fiction Convention 074 2016 conferences 2016 in Missouri 2016 in the United States Culture of Kansas City, Missouri Science fiction conventions in the United States Worldcon