Con Status Update, January 2021

What’s the latest news on WisCon 45 in 2021?
We’ve decided to not have an in-person WisCon in 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic. Some vaccines are starting to become available, but there will not be widespread distribution with enough lead time for us to reasonably plan a convention.

What about our Guests of Honor?
Zen Cho, Sheree Renée Thomas, Yoon Ha Lee, and Rebecca Roanhorse have agreed to be Guests of Honor in 2022.  We look forward to honoring them in person when we can finally all have a WisCon together again!

What will happen instead?
Firstly, we are in the process of planning a much smaller in-person event to occur at the Concourse Hotel in May in order to fulfill the contract we signed with them. This would look something like an intensive workshop event, rather than a convention, and the Workshops department has been looking into how it could work. The number of attendees would also be vastly reduced, in compliance with whatever guidance Public Health Madison & Dane County has in place at the time. We’ll be talking again with the Concourse Hotel this month and probably again later to revisit these plans.

If we can find current or former ConCom members to co-chair, we’d like to plan another WisCONline to occur in 2021. If you’re a current or former ConCom member with the time and energy to help us organize WisCONline, please contact the SF3 Board at board@sf3.org .

What about registrations?
If you registered to attend WisCon in 2021, you’ll receive an email in the near future regarding a refund. You can use this form to tell us whether you would like a refund or whether you would like to donate the money to WisCon; the form will be open until Monday, February 8, at 11:59pm US Central time. If you fill out the form, you can expect either a refund or a donation thanks email within 7-10 days after filling it out. If you don’t fill out the form, a refund will be issued 7-10 days after we close the form.

Registration for WisCONline and the small in-person May 2021 event at the Concourse are not open at this time. We’ll be in touch when they are.

2 thoughts on “Con Status Update, January 2021”

  1. Please add me to the mailing list of authors interested in attending the small in-person event in May. I write and have self-published feminist sci-fi and my small press was called, StereoAtypical with a mission to publish works focused on characters who defy bias, while my forthcoming novel specifically addresses our construct of gender.

    1. Hi Carole, thanks for your patience with my reply! Unfortunately, we won’t be hosting a Workshop event in May. If you’re still interested in visiting Madison and meeting up with other WisCon community members, the Concourse is offering us a special rate for that weekend. More info at https://wiscon.net/2021/04/09/concourse-memorial-day/ .

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