Norwescon is one of the largest regional

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

conventions in the United States. Located in SeaTac in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state, Norwescon has been running continuously since 1978. "Norwescon" was also the name of the

8th World Science Fiction Convention The 8th World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon), also known as NorWesCon, was held on 1–4 September 1950 at the Multnomah Hotel in Portland, Oregon, United States. The supporting organization was the Portland Science-Fantasy Society. Th ...

, held in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, in 1950.

History

Norwescon grew out of the desire of its founders to host a

Worldcon 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, durin ...

in Seattle in 1981. However, there was one major issue — at the time, most of

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

fandom had little or no experience in running cons. Norwescon was therefore originally formed as an effort to get some practice for Worldcon. Realizing they would need a large group of people from which to draw volunteers, the founders also started the Northwest Science Fiction Society or NWSFS. The first Norwescon was held in a then-unincorporated area now known as the city of

SeaTac, Washington SeaTac is a city in southern King County, Washington, United States. The city is an inner-ring suburb of Seattle and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The name "SeaTac" is derived from the Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, itself a ...

. It featured

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 ...

as its Guest of Honor (GoH) and drew just over 400 attendees. The next year, Norwescon moved up the street to the Hyatt Hotel, the site of the only Seattle-sponsored

. The Hyatt was the site of Norwescons II through VII, at which point the convention began feeling the pressures of growth; it was then moved to SeaTac's Red Lion Inn. With growth came associated problems, and after two years at the Red Lion, Norwescon was forced to find a new location on short notice. The convention moved back to the Hyatt for a convention called Alternacon. The next year brought a big move to the city of Tacoma, where the Sheraton hosted Norwescon for five years. 1993 brought the convention to the Bellevue area, and in 1994 Norwescon returned to the site of the old Red Lion Inn, now known as the DoubleTree Hotel SeaTac. Norwescon's Guest of Honor list has grown over the years, starting with a list of three: Writer Guest of Honor, Fan Guest of Honor, and Toastmaster. The list now includes artists, scientists, volunteers and special guests as well as many other professionals. Norwescon has always made an effort to invite guests who are deserving of the honor, and has thus had a prestigious line of guests. Norwescon also hosts the

Philip K. Dick Award The Philip K. Dick Award is an American science fiction award given annually at Norwescon and sponsored by the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society and (since 2005) the Philip K. Dick Trust. Named after science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, ...

, given to the author of the best original novel appearing in the previous year in paperback form without prior publication as a hardback. The first recipient of the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award was

Rudy Rucker Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known ...

for his novel, ''

Software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

''.

Past conventions

# Norwescon I - March 25–26, 1978; GoH:

; FGoH John D. Berry; TM Alan E. Nourse; Attendance 415 # Norwescon II - March 23–25, 1979; GoH: Philip José Farmer; FGoH Loren MacGregor; TM Elizabeth A. Lynn; Attendance 725 # Norwescon III - March 28–30, 1980; GoH: Alfred Bester; FGoH

Fred Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellit ...

; TM

; Attendance 732 # Norwescon IV - March 27–29, 1981; GoH: Samuel R. Delany; FGoH Jack Palmer, Pauline Palmer, and Tilda Palmer; TM Philip Klass (

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass ...

); Attendance 1410 # Norwescon V - March 18–21, 1982; GoH: Thomas Disch; AGoH

Michael Whelan Michael Whelan (born 29 June 1950) is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has pursued a fine art career ...

; FGoH

Bob Shaw Robert Shaw (31 December 1931 – 11 February 1996) was a science fiction writer and fan from Northern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. His short story "Light of Other Days" ...

; TM Richard A. Lupoff; Attendance 1371 # Norwescon VI - March 17–20, 1983; GoH:

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term ''genet ...

; AGoH Richard Powers; FGoH

Art Widner Art Widner (1917 or 1918-2015) was a longtime science fiction fan and fanzine A fanzine ( blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomen ...

; TM

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), John ...

; Attendance ? # Norwescon VII - March 22–25, 1984; GoH: L. Sprague & Catherine Crook de Camp; AGoH

Don Maitz Don Maitz (born June 10, 1953) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and commercial artist. He has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, science fiction's highest honor for an artist. His peers in the Association of Science ...

; FGoH

Jack Speer John Bristol Speer (August 9, 1920 – June 28, 2008) was an attorney, practicing law for over 60 years; a judge; and a member of the Washington House of Representatives. Also a long-time science fiction fan and important early historian of scie ...

; TM

Marta Randall Marta Randall (born 1948 in Mexico City) is an American science fiction writer. In addition to writing numerous science fiction novels and short fiction, Marta Randall has edited the '' New Dimensions'' science fiction anthology series, and '' Th ...

; Attendance ~1700 # Norwescon VIII - March 14–17, 1985; GoH:

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...

; AGoH

Jack Gaughan John Brian Francis "Jack" Gaughan, pronounced like 'gone' (September 24, 1930 – July 21, 1985) was an American science fiction artist and illustrator who won the Hugo Award several times. Working primarily with Donald A. Wollheim at Ace Books, ...

(did not attend); FGoH Rich Brown; TM

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Gran ...

; Science GoH

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reas ...

; Attendance ? # Norwescon IX - March 20–23, 1986; GoH:

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

; AGoH

Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the second artist inducted b ...

; FGoH Greg Bennett; TM

Spider Robinson Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-a ...

; Science GoH

James Oberg James Edward Oberg (born November 7, 1944) is an American space journalist and historian, regarded as an expert on the Russian and Chinese space programs. He had a 22-year career as a space engineer in NASA specializing in orbital rendezvous. O ...

; Attendance "HUGE" (estimates top 3000) # Norwescons's Alternacon - March 26–29, 1987; AGoH Dan Reeder; GoH:

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

; FGoH Marty & Robbie Cantor; TM

David Hartwell David Geddes Hartwell (July 10, 1941 – January 20, 2016) was an American critic, publisher, and editor of thousands of science fiction and fantasy novels. He was best known for work with Signet, Pocket, and Tor Books publishers. He was also ...

; Attendance <1700 # Norwescon X - March 24–27, 1988; GoH:

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...

; AGoH

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 ...

; FGoH Jon Gustafson; TM

David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fic ...

; Special GoH Avram Davidson; Attendance 2032 # Norwescon XI - March 23–26, 1989; GoH:

; AGoH David Mattingly; FGoH

Mike Glyer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

; TM

Steven Barnes Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He has written novels, short fiction, screen plays for television, scripts for comic books, animation, newspaper copy, and magazine articles. Car ...

; Science GoH Dr. Alan E. Nourse; Special GoH Avram Davidson; Attendance 2292 # Norwescon XII - March 29-April 1, 1990; GoH:

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

; AGoH David Cherry; FGoH Pat Mueller; TM Dan Reeder; Science GoH Dr.

John G. Cramer John Gleason Cramer, Jr. (born October 24, 1934) is a Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, known for his development of the Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. He has been an activ ...

; Volunteer GoH Joe Wheeler Attendance 2274 # Norwescon XIV - March 28–31, 1991; GoH:

Stanley Schmidt Stanley Albert Schmidt (born March 7, 1944) is an American science fiction author and editor. Between 1978 and 2012 he served as editor of ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' magazine. Biography Schmidt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduate ...

; AGoH

James Warhola James Warhola (born March 16, 1955) is an American artist who has illustrated more than two dozen children's picture books since 1987. Early life A native of Smock, a coal-mining region in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and of ...

; FGoH Becky Thomson; TM

Edward Bryant Edward Winslow Bryant Jr. (August 27, 1945 – February 10, 2017) was an American science fiction and horror writer sometimes associated with the Dangerous Visions series of anthologies that bolstered The New Wave. At the time of his death, ...

; Special GoH

Forrest J. Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a pr ...

; Volunteer GoH Joe Laybourn; Attendance 2320 # Norwescon XV - March 26–29, 1992; GoH:

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...

; AGoh

Alan Gutierrez Alan Gutierrez (born 1958 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an artist and illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Gutierrez grew up in southern California, and he received his BFA in illustration from the Art Center Colle ...

; FGoH Willie Siros; TM J. Steven York; Volunteer GoH Celia Smith; Attendance ~2400 # Norwescon XVI - March 25–28, 1993; GoH:

Betty Ballantine Betty Ballantine (born Elizabeth Jones; September 25, 1919 – February 12, 2019) was an American publisher, editor, and writer. She was born during the Raj to a British colonial family. After her marriage to Ian Ballantine in 1939, she moved ...

(did not attend); AGoH

Janny Wurts Janny Wurts (born December 10, 1953) is an American fantasy novelist and illustrator. She has written several standalone novels and series, including the '' Wars of Light and Shadow'', ''The Cycle of Fire'' trilogy and the internationally best- ...

; FGoH Pat Mueller; TM Bonnie Baker; Science GoH Chris Jonientz-Trisler (Sunday only); Special GoH

(did not attend); surprise GoH

Mike Jittlov Mike Jittlov (born June 8, 1948) is an American animator and the creator of short films and one feature-length film using forms of special effects animation, including stop-motion animation, rotoscoping, and pixilation. He is best known for the 1 ...

; Volunteer GoH Teresa Janssen; Attendance ~2430 # Norwescon XVII - March 31-April 3, 1994; GoH: Kurtz & Scott MacMillan; AGoH Darrell K. Sweet; FGoH Peggy Rae Pavlat; TM Janna Silverstein; Attendance ~2680 # Norwescon XVIII - April 6–9, 1995; GoH:

; AGoH

James Gurney James Gurney (born June 14, 1958) is an American artist and author known for his illustrated book series '' Dinotopia'', which is presented in the form of a 19th-century explorer's journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs ...

; TM Dragon Dronet; Science GoH Dr. Jane Robinson; Volunteer GoH Danny Rudesill; Attendance ~2675 # Norwescon XIX - April 4–7, 1996; GoH: A.C. Crispin; AGoH Tom Kidd; FGoH Kitty Canterbury; TM Janna Silverstein; Volunteer GoH David Valentine; Attendance ~2590 # Norwescon XX - March 27–30, 1997; GoH:

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

, A. E. van Vogt; AGoH

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 ...

; FGoH Brad Foster; Science GoH Dr. Robert L. Forward; Volunteer GoH Glenda Hedden; Attendance ? # Norwescon XXI - April 9–12, 1998; GoH:

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, gra ...

; AGoH

Brian Froud Brian Froud (born 1947) is an English fantasy illustrator and conceptual designer. He is most widely known for his 1978 book ''Faeries'' with Alan Lee, and as the conceptual designer of the Jim Henson films '' The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ' ...

; FGoH John Lorentz, Ruth Sachter; Science GoH Patricia MacEwen; Volunteer GoH

Anthony Ward Anthony Ward (born 1957) is a British theatre designer specializing in set and costume design. He studied theatre design at Wimbledon School of Art. He has designed productions for the Royal National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Donm ...

; Attendance ? # Norwescon XXII - April 1–4, 1999; GoH:

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed hi ...

; AGoH Richard Hescox; FGoH

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 ...

, Eva Whitley; Science GoH Jack Horner; Volunteer GoH Susan Allen; Spotlighted Publisher Ministry of Whimsy; Attendance # Norwescon XXIII - April 20–23, 2000; GoH:

David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and author of science fiction. He has won the Hugo,Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reas ...

; AGoH Barclay Shaw; FGoH Bjo and John Trimble; Spotlighted Publisher

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...

and Eos represented by

Jennifer Brehl Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and tele ...

; Attendance 2765 # Norwescon XXIV - April 12–15, 2001; GoH:

Connie Willis Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis (born December 31, 1945), commonly known as Connie Willis, is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards for particular works—more major SF awards tha ...

; AGoH

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 ...

; FGoH

Charles N. Brown Charles Nikki Brown (June 24, 1937 – July 12, 2009) was an American publishing editor, the co-founder and editor of ''Locus'', the long-running news and reviews magazine covering the genres of science fiction and fantasy literature. Brown was b ...

; Special GoH James P. Hogan; Special GoH Dragon Dronet; Spotlighted Publisher Bantam Dell Publishing Group represented by Anne Lesley Groell; Attendance 3054 # Norwescon XXV - March 28–31, 2002; GoH:

Jack Vance John Holbrook Vance (August 28, 1916 – May 26, 2013) was an American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer. Though most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance, he also wrote several mystery novels under pen names. ...

; AGoH Brom; FGoH

Andrew I. Porter Andrew Ian Porter (born March 24, 1946) is an American editor, publisher and active science fiction fan. Background Born Andrew Ian Silverberg on March 24, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan, he moved to New York City with his mother and brother ...

; Spotlighted Publisher WOTC Publishing; Attendance 2787 # Norwescon XXVI - April 17–20, 2003; GoH:

Jane Yolen Jane Hyatt Yolen (born February 11, 1939) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, and children's books. She is the author or editor of more than 350 books, of which the best known is '' The Devil's Arithmetic'', a Holocaust novella. H ...

; AGoH Jim Burns; Science GoH Geoffrey Landis; Special GoH

; Spotlighted Publisher

Del Rey Books Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...

; Attendance 2718 # Norwescon XXVII - April 8–11, 2004; GoH

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ma ...

; AGoH Don Dixon; Special GoH

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have ...

; Science GoH

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 Fac ...

; Spotlighted Publisher

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

represented by

Jim Baen James Patrick Baen (, beɪn , ; October 22, 1943 – June 28, 2006) was a U.S. science fiction publisher and editor. In 1983, he founded his own publishing house, Baen Books, specializing in the adventure, fantasy, military science fiction, ...

; Attendance 2610 # Norwescon XXVIII - March 24–27, 2005; GoH Michael Bishop; AGoH

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, ...

; Special GoH

Alan Dean Foster Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts. Career ''Star Wars'' Foster was the ghost ...

; Science GoH Suzette Haden Elgin; Spotlighted Publisher

TOR Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scienc ...

represented by

Tom Doherty Tom Doherty (born April 23, 1935) is an American publisher and the founder of the science fiction and fantasy book publisher Tor Books. He started as a salesman for Pocket Books and rose to be Division Sales Manager. From there, he went to Simo ...

; Attendance 2603 # Norwescon XXIX - April 13–16, 2006; GoH

Lois McMaster Bujold Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is an acclaimed writer, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her n ...

; AGoH

Donato Giancola Donato Giancola is an American artist specializing in narrative realism with science fiction and fantasy content. Biography Donato Giancola was born and raised in Colchester, near Burlington, in the state of Vermont. He currently resides in Bro ...

; TM Robert J. Sawyer; Spotlighted Publisher DAW Books represented by Betsy Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert; Attendance 2758 # Norwescon XXX - April 5–8, 2007; GoH

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

; AGoH Luis Royo; Science GoH

Donna Shirley Donna Lee Shirley ( Donna Lee Pivorotta; born 1941) is a former manager of Mars Exploration at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She is the author of the book ''Managing Martians: The Extraordinary Story of a Woman's Lifelong Quest to Get to ...

; Spotlighted Publisher

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

represented by

Gordon Van Gelder Gordon Van Gelder (born 1966) is an American science fiction editor. From 1997 until 2014, Van Gelder was editor and later publisher of '' The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Sho ...

; Attendance 3024 # Norwescon XXXI - March 20–24, 2008; GoH Dan Simmons; AGoH Ciruelo; Special GoH

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 ...

; Attendance 3030 # Norwescon XXXII - April 9–12, 2009; GoH

R.A. Salvatore Robert Anthony Salvatore (born January 20, 1959) is an American author best known for '' The Legend of Drizzt'', a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written '' ...

; AGoH

Todd Lockwood Todd Wills Lockwood, (born July 9, 1957 in Boulder, Colorado, United States) is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and for his ...

; Special GoH Geno Salvatore; Spotlighted Publisher

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

; Attendance 3115 # Norwescon XXXIII - April 1–4, 2010; GoH

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 ...

; AGoH

John Jude Palencar John Jude Palencar (born February 26, 1957) is an American illustrator and fine artist, who specializes in works of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. In 2010, he was given the Hamilton King Award. His highly detailed work is described as co ...

; Science Guest

; Special GoH

Cory Doctorow Cory Efram Doctorow (; born July 17, 1971) is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who served as co-editor of the blog '' Boing Boing''. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of ...

; Spotlighted Publisher

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scienc ...

; Attendance 3349 # Norwescon 34 - April 21–24, 2011; GoH Patricia McKillip; AGoH Kinuko Craft; PSIence Guest Marie D. Jones; Special Guest

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. H ...

; Special Guest Shannon Butcher; Spotlight Publisher PYR; Attendance ~3500 # Norwescon 35 - April 5–8, 2012; GoH Stephen Baxter; AGoH John Picacio; Science Guest Bridget Landry; Spotlight Publisher DAW Books; Attendance ~3100 # Norwescon 36 - March 28–31, 2013; Writer GoH

Catherine Asaro Catherine Ann Asaro (born November 6, 1955) is an American science fiction and fantasy author, singer and teacher. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire. Biography Catherine Asaro was b ...

; Artist GoH

Lee Moyer Lee Moyer is an American painter, illustrator, graphic designer, and web designer. Notable works include posters for musicians Tori Amos and Melissa Auf der Maur, as well as Laurel and Hardy paintings for the covers of their DVD box set colle ...

; Science GoH Edward Tenner; Special GoH

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fictio ...

; Norwescon 36 Grandmaster

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 ha ...

; Spotlight Publisher

; Attendance ~3200 # Norwescon 37 - April 17–20, 2014; Writer GoH

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...

; Artist GoH

Robert Gould Robert Gould (1660? – 1708/1709) was a significant voice in Restoration poetry in England. He was born in the lower classes and orphaned when he was thirteen. It is possible that he had a sister, but her name and fate are unknown. Gou ...

; Science GoH Catherine S. Plesko; Costuming GoH Anima! X; Special GoH

Seanan McGuire Seanan McGuire (pronounced SHAWN-in; born January 5, 1978 in Martinez, California) is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/ horror and the pseudo ...

; Spotlight Publisher

47North 47North is a publishing imprint of Amazon Publishing, the publishing company of Amazon. It is the seventh imprint begun under the parent company Amazon Publishing, and publishes speculative fiction under three main genres: fantasy, science fiction ...

# Norwescon 38 - April 2–5, 2015; Writer GoH George R. R. Martin; Artist GoH

Julie Dillon Julie Dillon (born in 1982) is an American artist specializing in science fiction and fantasy art.Amy Mainzer Amy Mainzer (born January 2, 1974) is an American astronomer, specializing in astrophysical instrumentation and infrared astronomy. She is the Deputy Project Scientist for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and the Principal Investigator f ...

; Spotlight Publisher

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

# Norwescon 39 - March 24–27, 2016; Writer GoH

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 GoH

; Science GoH Dr. William Hartmann; Spotlight Publisher DAW Books # Norwescon 40 - April 13–16, 2017; Writer GoH Ian McDonald; Artist GoH Cory & Catska Ench; Science GoH Ethan Siegel; Spotlight Publisher Angry Robot Books # Norwescon 41 - March 29-April 1, 2018; Writer GoH

Ken Liu Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic fantasy series ''The Dandelion Dynasty'', which he describes as silkpunk, is published by Simon & Schuster. Liu has won Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short fi ...

; Artist GoH Galen Dara; Science GoH Mathew Wedel; Spotlight Publisher

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games including ...

# Norwescon 42 - April 18–21, 2019; Writer GoH Mary Robinette Kowal; Artist GoH Tran Nguyen; Science GoH Dan Koboldt; Special Guest of Honor -

Nancy Pearl Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confi ...

; Spotlight Publisher - Subterranean Press # Norwescon 43 - April 1-4, 2021; Writer GoH Jacqueline Carey; Artist GoH

Sana Takeda Sana Takeda (born 1977) is a Japanese illustrator and comic book artist known for her work on the Hugo Award winning series '' Monstress''. Takeda was born in Niigata, and now resides in Tokyo, Japan. At age 20 Takeda started working as a 3D C ...

; Science GoH Dr. Susan Langley; Spotlight Publisher

# Norwescon 44 - April 14–17, 2022; Writer GoH

Cat Rambo Cat Rambo (born November 14, 1963) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer and editor. Rambo uses they/them pronouns. Rambo was co-editor of '' Fantasy Magazine'' from 2007 to 2011, which earned them a 2012 World Fantasy Special Awar ...

; Artist GoH Rob Carlos; Spotlight Publisher Fairwood Press; and Special Guests Connor Alexander and Lydia K. Valentine.

Upcoming conventions

# Norwescon 45 - April 6-9, 2023; guests of honor will include Writer GoH P. Djèlí Clark, Artist GoH

Eric Wilkerson Eric LaShawn Wilkerson (born December 19, 1966) is a former American football running back who played one season with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He played college football at Kent State University and attended Cleve ...

, and Spotlight Publisher ''

Uncanny Magazine ''Uncanny Magazine'' is an American science fiction and fantasy online magazine, edited and published by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas, based in Urbana, Illinois. Its mascot is a space unicorn. The editors-in-chief, who originall ...

.Norwescon 45 website
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References

External links

Official Site

The Philip K. Dick Award
{{Authority control Seattle Area conventions Science fiction conventions in the United States Fantasy conventions Recurring events established in 1978 Culture of Seattle 1978 establishments in Washington (state)