ConFusion
(Redirected from
ConFusion (convention)
)- For the 2021 Eastercon called ConFusion see the 2021 Eastercon
| ConFusion | |
|---|---|
 Left to right: John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld and James Frenkel on a panel at ConFusion 2008 | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fandoms |
| Venue | 2016 - Present: Novi Sheraton, Michigan 2013–2015: Dearborn Doubletree, Michigan 2003–2012: Troy Marriott, Michigan |
| Location(s) |  Michigan |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1974 |
| Attendance | 800–1000 attendees annually |
| Organized by | Ann Arbor Science Fiction Association |
| Website | confusionsf |
ConFusion is an annual
roleplaying games
, KidFusion — a track of programming specifically for kids —and a masquerade or costume contest.
ConFusion has a consuite, as well as room parties hosted by other conventions,
WorldCon
bids, and local clubs.
History
The Ann Arbor Relax-i-con was founded in 1974. Based on its success, the Stilyagi Air Corps[4] named the new convention Condom as a takeoff of the word fandom. The chairman, Ro Nagey, was absent for the meeting about the name change and convinced them to use the name ConFusion instead. The name turned out to be prophetic as the first science Guest of Honor was the owner of local technology spin-off company KMS Fusion.
Because the first convention run by the organization was not actually named ConFusion, they are generally counted starting with ConFusion 13 in 1975 or with the A Squared Relax-I-Con (one of many intentionally confusing names voted on by the membership). The 1980 convention was aptly named Confusion 6 &/or 7, and ConFusion XXX in 2004 could be considered the 30th convention of that name, or 31st Stilyagi convention.
The Stilyagi Air Corps, named after a group in Robert A. Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, is a loose, informal group. Lifetime membership is free for anyone interested in science fiction who attends a single Stilyagi party, meeting, or event. The sponsoring organization, AASFA, is a Michigan nonprofit corporation board elected from Stilyagi who have volunteered to work on running ConFusion.
2024 Event
The 2024 event, titled Labyrinth of ConFusion was held on January 19 - 21 at the Novi Sheraton in Michigan. The notable panelists included Mark Oshiro, Kurt Erichsen BluRaven C. Houvener. Authors included Kelley Skovron, A. L. DeLeon, Marie Vibbert and Jordan Kurella.
Events included authors and experts in fields such as
Dungeons and Dragons, neurodiversity, climate change, and NASA's plans to visit asteroids. A panel on Artificial intelligence was held. There was a screening of a Sci-fi fan created film from 1978 called FAANs
. Many authors participated in book readings and book signings. Masquerade (pictured to the right) is always a popular event with judges naming the top three winners in each category. A flash fiction session was held where authors created short fiction stories in a limited time span, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour.
Steph C. was the Young Adult Guest of Honor.
2023 Event
The 2023 event titled Avatar: The Legend of ConFusion featured authors and speakers Chris Barkley, Kathe Koja, Jacob Pauwels, and Kat Malokofsky.
-
ConFusion Panel 2023 -
Catherine Stein -
Storm Humbert -
Patrick Tomlinson
Years of ConFusion
ConFusion has been active from 1974 until present. The table below lists the year, name and Guests of Honor (GOHs) for each convention. [5][6]
| Year | Name | Pro | Fan | Artist | Scientist | Wild Card | Special Guest | Chair | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | A2 Relax-I-Con | Lloyd Biggle Jr. | Howard DeVore | Ro Nagey | ||||||||||||
| 1975 | ConFusion 13 [7][8] | Frederik Pohl | Mike Glicksohn | Ro Nagey | ||||||||||||
| 1976 | ConFusion 12 | Lloyd Biggle Jr. | Bill Bowers | Ro Nagey | ||||||||||||
| 1977 | ConFusion 14 | Poul Anderson | Ro Nagey |
| ||||||||||||
| 1978 | ConFusion π [9] | Kate Wilhelm | Jackie Causgrove | Larry Tucker | ||||||||||||
| 1979 |
|
|
Scott Imes |
| ||||||||||||
| 1980 | ConFusion 6 and/or 7 [12][13] | Stanley Schmidt | Elliott Shorter |
| ||||||||||||
| 1981 | Nine Billion Names of ConFusion [14] | Barry B. Longyear | Dave Innes | Nancy Tucker | ||||||||||||
| 1982 | ConFusion 11 | Phyllis Eisenstein | Neil Rest | Nancy Tucker | ||||||||||||
| 1983 | ConFusion 101 [15] | C. J. Cherryh | Bill Cavin | Tara Edwards | ||||||||||||
| 1984 | Genuine ConFusion [16] | Mike Resnick | Martha Beck | Nancy Tucker | ||||||||||||
| 1985 | Decadent ConFusion | Alan Dean Foster | Julia Ecklar | Michelle Smith-Moore | ||||||||||||
| 1986 | Perpetual ConFusion | Somtow Sucharitkul | Bill Roper | Frank Kelly Freas | Tom Barber | |||||||||||
| 1987 | Stark Raving ConFusion [17] | Katherine Kurtz | Elizabeth 'Liz' Pearce | Erin McKee | Nancy Farmer | |||||||||||
| 1988 | Ambulatory ConFusion | Joe Haldeman | Larry Tucker | David Cherry | Nancy Farmer | |||||||||||
| 1989 | ConFusion 102 | Barbara Hambly | Ted Reynolds | Linda Michaels | Tara Barber | |||||||||||
| 1990 | State of ConFusion | Hal Clement |
|
Kevin Davies | Erik Kauppi | |||||||||||
| 1991 | Immaculate ConFusion | Esther Friesner | Somtow Sucharitkul | Robin Wood | Erik Kauppi | |||||||||||
| 1992 | Hardwired ConFusion | Walter Jon Williams | Rusty Hevelin | Rick Lieder |
| |||||||||||
| 1993 | Transcendental ConFusion | Fred Saberhagen |
|
Randy Asplund | Greg Cronau | |||||||||||
| 1994 | ConFusion XX | Joan D. Vinge | Leah Zeldes Smith | Erin McKee |
| |||||||||||
| 1995 | ConFusion 10101 | Pamela Sargent | Wilson "Bob" Tucker | Laura Butler | Geoffrey A. Landis |
| ||||||||||
| 1996 | Deviant ConFusion | Tim Powers | Melody Faith | Bob Eggleton | Geoffrey A. Landis |
| ||||||||||
| 1997 | ConFusion-17 | Samuel R. Delany | Joey Shoji | Susan Van Camp | Mark Shappirio | Katherine Becker | ||||||||||
| 1998 | ConFusion of the Winnebagos | Connie Willis | Mary Ellen Wessels | Jane Irwin | Marvin Minsky |
| ||||||||||
| 1999 | Vintage ConFusion | Lois McMaster Bujold | Nancy Tucker Shaw | Douglas Chaffee | Carl Djerassi | Katherine Becker | ||||||||||
| 2000 | ConFusion 19100 | Maureen F. McHugh | Dennis Tabaczewski | Frank Hayes | Eric S. Raymond | Tracy Worcester | ||||||||||
| 2001 | Mystery God ConFusion | Sarah Zettel | Tom Barber | Carla Speed McNeil | Bruce Schneier | Tammy Coxen | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Astronomical ConFusion | George R. R. Martin | Heather Alexander | Pete Abrams | Br. Guy Consolmagno | Tammy Coxen | ||||||||||
| 2003 | ConFusion and Her Friends | Melissa Scott | Roberta Kennedy | Alan M. Clark | Jack Cohen | Tammy Coxen | ||||||||||
| 2004 | ConFusion XXX | Bruce Sterling | Geri Sullivan | Julie Bell | Ron Westrum | Anne Murphy | ||||||||||
| 2005 | 31 Flavors of ConFusion[18] |
|
|
Derek Grime | Christian Ready |
|
Anne Gray | |||||||||
| 2006 | Synthetic ConFusion | Vernor Vinge | Chuck Firment | Steven Stiles | Mitchell Burnside Clapp | Krysta December | ||||||||||
| 2007 | MoonBase ConFusion | Elizabeth Moon | Bill Higgins | Steve MacDonald | Paul "PZ" Myers | Roxanne King | ||||||||||
| 2008 | High-Voltage ConFusion |
|
The Roving Pirate Party | Carl Lundgren | Kevin M. Dunn |
|
Brendan Durrett | |||||||||
| 2009 | Cryptic ConFusion | Cat Rambo | Freon Michael Andaluz | Diana Harlan Stein |
|
|
Anne Gray | |||||||||
| 2010 | I See By My ConFusion |
|
David Gibbs | Matt Busch | Steve Collins |
|
Robert R. McCammon | Jessica Zerwas | ||||||||
| 2011 | This ConFusion Is Not Yet Rated | Cherie Priest | Lisa Garrison | Aubrey de Grey |
|
Peter V. Brett | Brian Decker | |||||||||
| 2012 | Epic ConFusion | Patrick Rothfuss | Tom Smith | Harley Thronson |
|
|
Brian Decker | |||||||||
| 2013 | Immortal ConFusion | Charles Stross | James Davis Nicoll |
|
Jennifer Ouellette |
|
|
Lucy Kennedy | ||||||||
| 2014 | Legendary ConFusion | Mike Carey | Mark Bernstien | Rich Morris | Ian Tregillis |
|
Jacqueline Carey | Ryan Carey | ||||||||
| 2015 | Back to the ConFusion | Karen Lord | Aaron Thul |
|
Cynthia Chestek |
|
|
Dave Klecha | ||||||||
| 2016 | Life, the Universe, and ConFusion | Alaya Dawn Johnson | Jessica Drummer |
|
Kentaro Toyama |
|
Anna Carey | |||||||||
| 2017 | Friendship is ConFusion | Gail Carriger | Mark Oshiro | Jeffrey Alan Love | Karen Burnham |
|
|
Anna Carey | ||||||||
| 2018 | ConFusion Through the Looking Glass [19] | Kate Elliott | Nisi Shawl |
|
Annalee Newitz |
|
|
Amy Sexsmith | ||||||||
| 2019 | Storming the Confusion | Ada Palmer | David Stein | Dr. Jennifer Piatek |
|
Amy Sexsmith | ||||||||||
| 2020 | How to Train Your ConFusion | Kameron Hurley | Bogi Takacs |
|
Dr. Julie Lesnik |
|
Lithie Dubois | |||||||||
| 2021 | Event cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Rising Confusion | Jim C. Hines | Anna Carey | Rachel Quinlan (Artist) | Dr. Jordan Steckloff |
|
Lithie Dubois | |||||||||
| 2023 | Avatar: The Legend of ConFusion | Chris Barkley | Kathe Koja (Creative) | Jacob Pauwels (Media) | Kat Malokofsky | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Labyrinth of ConFusion | Mark Oshiro | Kurt Erichsen | BluRaven C. Houvener |
|
Chelle Green | ||||||||||
| Year | Name | Pro | Fan | Artist | Scientist | Wild Card | Special Guest | Chair | ||||||||
References
- ^ "Stilyagi Air Corps". www.stilyagi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ About AASFA
- ^ "1974 Michigan Sci-Fi Convention Schedule". FanCons.com. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ "Stilyagi Air Corps History | Stilyagi Air Corps". www.stilyagi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ "ConFusion Over the Years". archive.stilyagi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ "ConFusion Guest of Honor". Airtable. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ "The Michigan Daily: Sci fi Marathon". books.google.com. Front Cover. Jan 24, 1975. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 26, 1975, Front page Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 17, 1978 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 20, 1979 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 24, 1979, page 4 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 17, 1980 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 25, 1980 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Sep 26, 1981, page 4 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 28, 1983 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 27, 1984, Etc Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ The Michigan Daily Jan 23, 1987, page 8 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ Metrotimes article on ConFusion 31 Retrieved 2/24/2024.
- ^ 2018 confusionsf guests of honor Retrieved 2/24/2024.