A relaxacon (sometimes relaxicon) is a

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 ...

which has little programming, and is unlikely to have a dealer's room, as the point of a relaxacon is the organizers can ''relax'' during the convention. It usually does not have a Guest of Honor, though often, especially when held in conjunction with a related convention, it may share a guest with the main convention. Informal in nature, relaxacons are generally small, ranging from 50 to 200 attendees. They are often invitation or word-of-mouth only. Frequently, they are a chance for the organizers of a large convention to get together with the other organizers and relax once the convention is over, and are held a month or more after the regular convention. Some large conventions use relaxacons as a reward for volunteers, and as a way of using up leftover supplies (similar to a dead dog party). This can be seen as contributing to

SMOF SMOF (also spelled smof) is an acronym which stands for "Secret Master(s) Of Fandom" and is a term used within the science fiction fan community. Its coining is generally attributed to long-time science fiction fan and author Jack L. Chalker. Cap ...

-ish behaviours, which some members of the

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

can find off-putting. The first convention that was labelled as relaxacon was

Midwestcon Midwestcon is a science fiction convention held annually in the Cincinnati, Ohio area by the Cincinnati Fantasy Group. Midwestcon is an informal type of convention known as a "relaxacon," which means that it has no programming. Instead it is not ...

(started in 1950). However, the organizers first applied the term to the convention in 1966, according to

Jack Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a m ...

, and the term had been used in the ''

Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiva ...

'' in 1957.

Sercon

Relaxacons are often contrasted with Sercon conventions, ones (purportedly) devoted solely to serious constructive discussion of science fiction topics. Organizers of most of those conventions sometimes described as "sercon" tend to be uncomfortable with the label, since the term originally implied a highly unfannish lack of a sense of fun and self-perspective.

Sercon

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