Lunacon was an annual science fiction and fantasy convention organized by the New York Science Fiction Society - The Lunarians, Inc. Held from 1957 to 2017, it was the oldest science fiction convention in (usually) New York State, and was generally held on the third weekend of March. The programming was a typical

fannish Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

convention, including panel discussions on a variety of topics,

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

filk music Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

, crafts workshops, an art show and auction, a games room, and a large masquerade. The logo commonly used for Lunacon is actually the logo of the New York Science Fiction Society - the Lunarians, Inc. and was illustrated by

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

. It is the third, and most well known, version of the logo and is affectionately known as "The Loonie". Most years, one of the guest artists created his or her own variation on the logo for the convention. In 1983 Lunacon was the first science fiction convention to feature an

room, which was called the "Starblazers Video Room" and, according to the program book, was run by Michael Pinto, Moya Price, and Robert Fenelon.

2018

Lunacon was not held in 2018. The

HELIOsphere The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun. It takes the shape of a vast, bubble-like region of space. In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstell ...

science fiction convention was held in the same town with some of the same staff. "Lunacon has been a part of the New York area fannish community for over 60 years, but times have changed, fandom has changed and is more diverse, and, unlike years ago, there are many other events and conventions for our target audience to go to", said Stuart C. Hellinger, Lunarians (2) President.

Lunacon 2017

Lunacon 2017, was held at the Westchester Marriott Hotel in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North ...

on the weekend of April 7 - 9, 2017. Guests of Honor were writer

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of '' Analog Science Fiction and F ...

, 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 Be ...

, fan

Roberta Rogow Roberta Rogow (born March 7, 1942; ) is an American writer of speculative fiction and fan fiction, and a filk singer-songwriter. SHe graduated with a BA from Queens CUNY in 1962 and Columbia University with an MLS in 1971. Career Rogow is a c ...

, plus Musical Guests Boogie Knights (filk group) and Special Guest Artist Marianne Plumridge.

Lunacon 2016

Lunacon 2016, the 58th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Westchester, in the New York City suburb of

Rye Brook, New York Rye Brook is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the town of Rye. The population was 9,347 at the 2010 census. Rye Brook has been designated as a Tree City USA for 14 years. History Rye Brook is located in sout ...

on March 18–20, 2016. The Guests of Honor were

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 ...

Rick Sternbach Richard Michael Sternbach (born 1951 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the ''Star Trek'' television series. Early years Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1969 Sternbac ...

, and

Naomi Novik Naomi Novik (born April 30, 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her ''Scholomance'' fantasy series (2020 ...

, with Musical Guests Murder Ballads. This year's convention featured the World Premiere of Mission to Mongo (a

fan edit A fan edit is a version of a film Film editing, modified by a viewer, that removes, reorders, or adds material in order to create a new interpretation of the source material. This includes the removal of scenes or dialogue, replacement of audio an ...

of the 1940 serial

Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe ''Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe'' is a 1940 American black-and-white science fiction 12-chapter movie serial from Universal Pictures, produced by Henry MacRae and co-directed by Ford Beebe and Ray Taylor. The serial stars Buster Crabbe, Ca ...

), a Leonard Nimoy Memorial Video Tribute, and the Books and More Exhibit to benefit the Donald A. and Elsie B. Wollheim Scholarship Fund.

2015

Lunacon was not held in 2015.

Lunacon 2014

Lunacon 2014, the 57th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Westchester, in the New York City suburb of

on March 18–20, 2016. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor: Ryk Spoor *Artist Guest of Honor:

Randy Gallegos Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of the ...

*Special Guest:

Michael F. Flynn Michael Francis Flynn (born 1947) is an American science fiction author. Nearly all of Flynn's work falls under the category of hard science fiction, although his treatment of it can be unusual since he has applied the rigor of hard science fi ...

Lunacon 2013

Lunacon 2013, the 56th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Westchester, in the New York City suburb of

on March 15–17, 2013. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor:

*Artist Guest of Honor:

William O'Connor (artist) William Matthew O'Connor (September 22, 1970 – January 31, 2018) was an American artist whose work appeared in role-playing games, books, video games and concept art. Early life and education William O'Connor was born on Long Island, New ...

*Filk Guest of Honor:

Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recording, ''Solar S ...

Lunacon 2012

Lunacon 2012, the 55th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Rye Town, in the New York City suburb of

on March 16–18, 2012. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor:

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 ...

*Artist Guest of Honor: Howard Tayler *YA Writer Guest of Honor:

Tamora Pierce Tamora Pierce (born December 13, 1954) is an American writer of fantasy fiction for teenagers, known best for stories featuring young heroines. She made a name for herself with her first book series, '' The Song of the Lioness'' (1983–1988), wh ...

Lunacon 2011

Lunacon 2011, the 54th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Rye Town, on March 18–20, 2011. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor: Lawrence M. Schoen *Artist Guest of Honor: Rachael Mayo *Special Guest: Eric "in the Elevator" Zuckerman *Gaming Guests of Honor: Kristin and Andrew Looney

Lunacon 2010

Lunacon 2010, the 53rd science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Rye Town, on March 19–21, 2010. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor:

Tanya Huff Tanya Sue Huff (born 1957) is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science fiction series. One of these, her '' Blood Books'' series, featuring detective Vicki Ne ...

*Artist Guest of Honor: Theresa Mather *Musical Guest of Honor: Allison Lonsdale *Special Guest:

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 ...

*Fan Guest of Honor: Dominick Corrado

Lunacon 2009

Lunacon 2009,Lunacon 2009
/ref> the 52nd science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Rye Town, on March 20–22, 2009. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor: Dave Freer *Artist Guest of Honor: Larry Dixon *Special Guest:

*Toastmaster:

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. His works have been listed ...

*Fan Guest of Honor: Leigh Ronald Grossman – Erstwhile Lunacon Co-Programming Head

Lunacon 2008

Lunacon 2008, the 51st science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians, took place at the Hilton Rye Town, on March 14–16, 2008. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor:

Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline A. Carey (born October 9, 1964)"Jacqueline Carey – Summary Bib ...

, author of the Kushiel series *Artist Guest of Honor: Johnna Y. Klukas, sculptor extraordinaire *Fan Guest of Honor: Joseph D. Siclari, preserver and archivist of fannish history *Special Guest of Honor: Winston A. Howlett, author and costumer

Lunacon 2007

Lunacon 2007, a.k.a. Lunacon 50, held on March 16–18, 2007, was the 50th science fiction and fantasy convention held by the Lunarians. (1964 was skipped, so not numbered.) After two years in New Jersey, 2007 also marked the return to its long-time venue at the Hilton Rye Town, referred to by fans as "The Escher Hilton" due to its construction which includes the infamous "Transdimensional Warp Corridor" that allows attendees to walk from the fourth floor to the function areas on the seventh floor without using any stairs or elevators. The Guests-of-Honor were: *Writer Guest of Honor: Christopher Moore *Artist Guest of Honor: Dave Seeley *Fan Guest of Honor: Frank Dietz

Lunacon 2006

Lunacon 2006 occurred March 17–20, 2006 in the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights/Meadowlands, in

Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey Hasbrouck Heights (pronounced HAZ-brook /ˈhæz.bɹʊk/) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,842,Jim Butcher Jim Butcher (born October 26, 1971) is an American author., He has written the contemporary fantasy ''The Dresden Files'', ''Codex Alera'', and ''Cinder Spires'' book series. Personal life Butcher was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1971. He ...

*Artist GoH: David B. Mattingly *Fan GoH: Byron Connell *Costuming Guest of Honor: Lisa Ashton

References

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External links

Lunacon official siteLunacon - Fancyclopedia 3
Defunct science fiction conventions in the United States Festivals in New York (state) Recurring events established in 1957