Unicon was an annual

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 expre ...

held in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and at least once in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

from 1975 through 1989. Unicon was born in the early 1970s on the second floor of the

Stamp Student Union The Adele H. Stamp Student Union, commonly referred to as "Stamp", is the student activity center on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. First constructed in 1954 (with additions in 1962 and 1971), the building was renamed ...

building at the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

. Unicon stood for University Convention. The University of Maryland Science Fiction Club was the organizing body. The club originally began as an open university course on science fiction with Stephen Rynas, a university junior, as the instructor. Unicon I was held at the Interstate Inn on Route 1 in College Park. The Guest of Honor was Frederik Pohl. Unicon outgrew any facilities in College Park and moved to the Silver Spring Sheraton (now a Hilton, where four

Capclave The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) is the oldest science fiction club in the Washington, D.C. area. It is also one of the oldest science fiction clubs, founded in 1947 by seven fans who met at that year's Worldcon in Philadelphia, th ...

s were held) for a successful run into the 1980s.

List of Unicons

{, class="wikitable" !Number!!Year-Mo-Days!!Site!!Featured Guests!!Chair(s) , - , 1, , 1975, , College Park Interstate Inn, , Frederik Pohl , Natalie Paymer , - , 2B, , 1976, , University of Maryland Student Union, ,

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, Ted White , Natalie Paymer , - , 3, , 1977 7 8-10, , Silver Spring Sheraton, ,

Clifford D. Simak Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror W ...

, Natalie Paymer , - , 4, , 1978 7 7-9, , Silver Spring Sheraton, ,

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

, , Theodore L. Manekin, Randy Brunk Natalie Paymer , - , 5, , 1979 7 20-22, , Shoreham Americana,
Washington, D.C., , Ron Cobb, Dan O’Bannon, . , , Natalie Paymer, Theodore L. Manekin, Sue Ruth , - , 6, , 1980 7 18-20, , Silver Spring Sheraton, , James P. Hogan, , Clinton Winchester, Theodore L. Manekin , - , , , 1981, , none , - , 82, , 1982 7 16-18, , Silver Spring Sheraton, ,

Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under ...

, Robert A. Madle, Karl Kofoed, , Clinton Winchester, Jim Williams , - , 8, , 1983 7 15-17, , Silver Spring Sheraton, ,

Joan D. Vinge Joan D. Vinge (; born April 2, 1948 as Joan Carol Dennison) is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award–winning novel ''The Snow Queen'' and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and ...

, Michael J. Walsh, Teanna Lee Byerts, Jim Frenkel, , Clinton Winchester , - , 84, , 1984 7 20-22, , Silver Spring Sheraton, ,

Gene Wolfe Gene Rodman Wolfe (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith. He was a prolific short story writer and nove ...

, Dawn Wilson, Peggy Rae Pavlat, , Clinton Winchester , - , 10, , 1985 7 19-21, , Silver Spring Sheraton, , Michael Shea, Val Lakey Lindahn, Arthur W. Saha, , Paul Parsons , - , UniContinuity Party, , 1986 7 26, , Church of the Ascension,
Silver Spring , - , 87, , 1987 7 17-19, , Annapolis Holiday Inn, ,

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,David Mattingly, Marty Gear, , Clinton Winchester , - , 12, , 1988 7 22-24, , Annapolis Holiday Inn, ,

Vernor Vinge Vernor Steffen Vinge (; born October 2, 1944) is an American science fiction author and retired professor. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. He is the first wide-scale popularizer of the technological singu ...

Ned Dameron Ned Dameron is a science fiction and fantasy artist. Influences His mother had a gallery in New Orleans, where she mainly dealt with contemporary European paintings originating from a fantastic school, which decisively influenced him to turn in th ...

, , Clinton Winchester , - , 13, , 1989 7 14-16, , College Park Holiday Inn, ,

Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels '' Last Call'' and ''Declare''. His 1987 novel ''On Stranger Tide ...

Debbie Hughes Debbie Hughes (born May 14, 1958 in Lexington, Kentucky) is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy illustration. Her work has appeared in over 150 publications. Early career Hughes is the granddaughter of Hildegarde Hamil ...

, Mark Maxwell, , Paul Parsons

References

Don Sakers Don Sakers (June 16, 1958 – May 17, 2021) was an American science fiction writer and fan who lived in Maryland, and wrote several novels and edited a short story collection. In 2009 he succeeded Thomas Easton as book reviewer for Analog Scienc ...

' con reports a

* Various

WSFA Journal The ''WSFA Journal'' is a science fiction fanzine that has been published approximately once a month since 1965 by the Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA). (Update: In 2010, only six issues were published, and in the first half of 2011, ...

s, all available online a

* Personal communication from

Erwin Strauss Erwin S. Strauss is an American author, science fiction fan, noted member of the MITSFS, and filk musician, born in Washington, D.C. He frequently is known by the nickname "Filthy Pierre". Science fiction and writing Strauss has been chairman ...

, Simcha Kuritzky, Don Sakers, and Fred Blonder * "Science Fiction Topic of Two-Day Conference," " Baltimore Sun", July 5, 1976, p. B2 * "The Falcon, Chewbacca and 1,202 Humanoids", by Joseph McLellan, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'', Monday, July 10, 1978, p. B1, B9 Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1975 Recurring events disestablished in 1989 1975 establishments in Maryland 1989 disestablishments in Maryland