RavenCon is an annual American

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 expres ...

founded in 2006 and held in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. The name "RavenCon" was chosen as a tribute to author

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

, who lived in Richmond for a time. The convention runs over 300 hours of programming and activities featuring authors and panelists across genres, including horror, sci-fi, fantasy, military fiction, and other areas of fan cultures. RavenCon 17 will be held April 26-28, 2024 at Virginia Crossings with editor guest of honor

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and author guest of honor Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher.

The Webster Award

In 2018, RavenCon launched The Clarence Howard “Bud” Webster Award in memory of friend of the convention, Bud Webster, who passed away in 2016. The award is to recognize outstanding achievements in writing by Virginia writers. Past Winners * 2022 R.R. Virdi for The First Binding * 2021 R.S. Belcher for The Ghost Dance Judgement * 2019 Cass Morris for From Unseen Fire * 2018 Chris Kennedy for The Golden Horde

Scheduled events

Programming

As of 2023 RavenCon has over 12 different tracks of programming featuring author book readings, animation, art/artists, costuming, current events, science/technology, writing, gaming and literature among them. JM200074

Book Launches

Over the years the convention has hosted numerous book launches. In 2023 they hosted the launch party for Murderbirds: An Avian Anthology, edited by Mike Jack Stombous.

Music and Media

The convention runs multiple musical panels and concerts with a focus on filking acts and filk writing workshops.

Gaming

The convention runs a 24/3 gaming room which includes

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a comp ...

miniature games Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming in which military units are represented by miniature physical models on a model battlefield. The use of physical models to represent military units is in contrast to other tabletop wargames that use ...

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...

role playing games A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

and more. Events are run by seasoned game masters to just pick up and go.

Masquerade

RavenCon hosts an open to all cosplay contest the Saturday night of the convention. They also have a hall cosplay contest for those not wanting to brave the stage.

Themed Events

Starting in 2019 RavenCon started running themed Escape Room's for the guests, like Vampire Masquerade and Multiversal Mayhem. In 2022 they started a 2nd Escape Room. JM200412

RavenCon 17 also saw the introduction of The Gothic Wonderland Tea Party.

Past events

RavenCon 2006 was held April 21–23, 2006, with

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...

as author guest of honor, Tom Kidd as artist guest of honor, and Lee & Alexis Gilliland as fan guests of honor. The convention took place at the Doubletree Inn at the Richmond Airport in

Sandston, Virginia Sandston is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henrico County, Virginia, Henrico County, Virginia, United States, just outside the state capital of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond. The population as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Census wa ...

. RavenCon 2007 was held April 27–29, 2007, with

Robert J. Sawyer Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...

as author guest of honor,

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 ...

as artist guest of honor, and Jan Howard Finder as fan guest of honor. The convention took place at the Doubletree Inn at the Richmond Airport in Sandston, Virginia. RavenCon 2008 was held April 25–27, 2008, with C.S. Friedman as author guest of honor and

Stephen Hickman Stephen Hickman (April 9, 1949 – July 16, 2021) was an American artist, illustrator, sculptor, and author. Biography Hickman's professional career was launched in 1972 when he got a job creating T-shirt designs for Shirt Explosion in Lanham, ...

as artist guest of honor. RavenCon 2009 was held April 24–26, 2009, with

Jack McDevitt Jack McDevitt (born April 14, 1935) is an American science fiction author whose novels frequently deal with attempts to make contact with alien races, and with archaeology or xenoarchaeology. Most of his books follow either superluminal pilot Pri ...

as author guest of honor and Alan F. Beck as artist guest of honor. RavenCon 2010 was held April 9–11, 2010, with

Rachel Caine Rachel Caine was the pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad (April 27, 1962 – November 1, 2020) who was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and horror novels. Personal life Conrad grew up in West Texas and gradu ...

as author guest of honor, R. Cat Conrad as artist guest of honor, and

Steve Long "Big" Steve Long (died October 28, 1868) was an American law enforcement officer and outlaw, achieving notoriety in the Wyoming Territory during the late 1860s. He was one of the earliest examples of an Old West gunman. Because of their lawles ...

as gaming guest of honor. The convention was held at the Holiday Inn Koger Center in Richmond, Virginia. RavenCon 2011 was held April 8–10, 2011, with

John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times'' best sellers. His books range from straightforward science fiction to a mix of military and political thrillers ...

as author guest of honor, and

Kurt Miller Kurt Everett Miller (born August 24, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), between 1994 and 1999, for the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins. He also played in two ...

as artist guest of honor. The convention was held at the Holiday Inn Koger Center in Richmond, Virginia. RavenCon 2012 was held April 13–15, 2012, with

Glen Cook Glen Charles Cook (born July 9, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction, known for ''The Black Company'' and ''Garrett P.I.'' fantasy series. Biography Cook was born in New York City.Kevin J. Anderson Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...

and

Rebecca Moesta Rebecca Moesta Anderson (born November 17, 1956) is an American writer and the author of several science fiction books. Early life Rebecca Moesta Anderson was born in Germany to American parents, and raised in Pasadena, California, where she li ...

as author guests of honor. The convention was held at the Holiday Inn Koger Center in Richmond, Virginia. RavenCon 2014 was held April 25–27, 2014, with

Elizabeth Bear Sarah Bear Elizabeth Wishnevsky (born September 22, 1971) is an American author who works primarily in speculative fiction genres, writing under the name Elizabeth Bear. She won the 2005 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2008 Hugo A ...

as author guest of honor. The convention was held at the

DoubleTree by Hilton DoubleTree by Hilton is an American hotel chain managed by Hilton Worldwide. DoubleTree has been the fastest growing Hilton brand by number of properties since 2007, and by number of rooms from 2007 to 2015. As of December 31, 2019, it has 587 p ...

Richmond-Midlothian (formerly the Holiday Inn Koger Center) in North Chesterfield, Virginia. RavenCon 2015 was held April 24–26, 2015, with

Allen Steele Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. (born January 19, 1958) is an American journalist and science fiction author. Background Steele was born in Nashville, Tennessee on January 19, 1958. He was introduced to science fiction fandom attending meetings o ...

as author guest of honor. Other GoHs were Frank Wu and his wife

Brianna Wu Brianna Wu (born July 6, 1977) is an American video game developer and computer programmer. She co-founded Giant Spacekat, an independent video game development studio, with Amanda Warner in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also a blogger and pod ...

. The latter attracted some brief controversy when

Gamergate Gamergate may refer to: * Gamergate (ant), a worker ant that can store sperm and reproduce sexually * Gamergate (harassment campaign), targeting women in the video game industry * Lt. Gamergate, a character in the ''Adventure Time'' episode " Den ...

supporters attempted to cause trouble at the convention. The convention was held at the

Following RavenCon 2015, the convention began to identify by the number of years operating rather than the current year. RavenCon 11 was held April 29–May 1, 2016, with Sharon Lee and Steve Miller as author guests of honor,

Vincent Di Fate Vincent Di Fate (born November 21, 1945) is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and realistic space art (hardware art) illustration. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame on June 25, 2011. Di Fate was bor ...

as artist guest of honor, Ted White as a special guest of honor, and Jason Whitt as fan guest of honor. That year, RavenCon also hosted FanHistoricon 13, with a track of panels and guests that focused exclusively on the history of fandom. RavenCon 12 was held April 28–30, 2017, with

Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar. Her Valdemar novels include i ...

as author guest of honor, Larry Dixon as artist guest of honor, Chuck Gannon and Ed Beard Jr. as special guests of honor, Professor Sparks as science guest of honor, and Chris AdottaSmith as fan guest of honor. RavenCon 13 was held April 20–22, 2018, with

Chuck Wendig Charles David Wendig (born April 22, 1976) is an American author, comic book writer, screenwriter, and blogger. He is best known for his online blog Terribleminds, for his 2015 ''Star Wars'' novel trilogy ''Aftermath'', the first book of which d ...

as author guest of honor,

Mark Cline Mark Cline is an American artist and entertainer. Inspired by monster and science fiction films. He produces foam and fiberglass figures and fantasy characters for attractions and cities. Cline has described ''Foamhenge'' as his greatest achieveme ...

as artist guest of honor, and The Vailix as music guests of honor. RavenCon 14 was held April 5–7, 2019, with

Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass is a science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fan ...

as author guest of honor, Nikole McDonald-Jones as artist guest of honor, and the Library Bards as music guests of honor. RavenCon 15 was held April 29–May 1, 2022, with Terry Brooks as author guest of honor, and Rhiannon's Lark as music guest of honor. JM200941

RavenCon 16 was held April 21-23, 2023 at Virginia Crossings with author guests of honor,

Esther Friesner Esther Mona Friesner-Stutzman, née Friesner (born July 16, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is also a poet and playwright. She is best known for her humorous style of writing, both in the titles and the works themsel ...

and

Charles Pellegrino Charles R. Pellegrino (born 1953) is an American writer, the author of several books related to science and archaeology, including ''Return to Sodom and Gomorrah'', ''Ghosts of the Titanic'', ''Unearthing Atlantis'', and ''Ghosts of Vesuvius.'' ...

with special media guest of honor Count Gore de Vol.https://www.wric.com/community/ravencon-returns-for-16th-annual-sci-fi-fantasy-event-in-richmond-area/

Move from Richmond to Williamsburg

RavenCon 2015 was the last time that RavenCon would be held at the

Richmond-Midlothian in North Chesterfield, Virginia, when the owner of the hotel, Shamin hotels of Chester, Virginia, asked for a 600 percent increase in rates. Following this, RavenCon moved from Richmond and later events would be held in Williamsburg, Virginia at the

Williamsburg.

Concert Events/RavenConcert

In addition to its annual spring author-focused convention, RavenCon has experimented with music-focused events later in the year. RavenCon 13.5 was held September 21–23, 2018 at the Four Points Sheraton Richmond, off of Midlothian Turnpike. This was a much smaller convention, with a primary focus on music. R.S. Belcher was author guest of honor, and the music guests of honor were

MC Lars Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American record producer, rapper, cartoonist, podcaster and educator. Lars is one of the self-proclaimed originators of "lit-hop", and is the founder and CEO of ...

George Hrab George Joseph Hrab is a drummer, guitarist, composer and podcaster known for performing rock, funk and jazz and for exploring atheist, skeptic and science themes in his work. He has released six albums as a solo artist. Hrab was born in Bell ...

, Reverend Billy C. Wirtz, and Misbehavin' Maidens. RavenCon 14.5 was a one-day outdoor concert held on August 8, 2021 at Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center in Glen Allen, Virginia. Mikey Mason, Dimensional Riffs, Chuck Parker, Dirty Metal Lefty, and Dr. Shock and the Electrodes were the performers.

COVID-19

RavenCon 15 had been scheduled to take place in April 2020 and was cancelled a few weeks before the convention. It was rescheduled for April 2021 and then cancelled again. To raise money for refunds and to keep the convention operating during the two years of cancellations, authors donated stories for an anthology with the proceeds going to the convention. The fundraiser was successful, and the convention produced ''CORVID-19: A RavenCon Anthology'', edited by Michael D. Pederson.

Return to Richmond

RavenCon's concert events marked a brief return to Richmond which was made permanent when they signed a contract with Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center in Glen Allen, Virginia. After RavenCon 14.5, all future events would be held in Richmond.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.ravencon.com/ 2006 establishments in Virginia Science fiction conventions in the United States Culture of Richmond, Virginia Festivals in Virginia Tourist attractions in Richmond, Virginia Recurring events established in 2006