| # | Date | Location (all in Mass.) | Chairman | Guests1 | Boskone Book | Size2 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The First Series: These conferences (or fan gatherings) were initially sponsored by The Stranger Club3, the first stf organization in the greater Boston area. More details about them can be found in All Our Yesterdays by Harry Warner, Jr. (Advent: Publishers) and in the Noreascon 3 Souvenir Book. Canonicity for the Boskone numbers is found in Warner and in Fantasy Fiction Field for November 8, 1941, which specifically mentions Boskones I and II. Boskone II had the fannish skit "Legions of Legions." Reference to the fourth Boskone (with attendance) is from Fanewscard #111, dated February 14, 1945. | |||||||
| I | late Feb 1941 | R. D. Swisher home, Winchester | Art Widner | 25 | (4) |
||
| II | 22 Feb 1942 | Ritz Plaza, Boston | Art Widner | 25 | |||
| III | 28 Feb 1943 | Ritz Plaza, Boston | Suddsy Schwartz | Claude Degler | 14 | ||
| IV | 3-4 Feb 1945 | R. D. Swisher home, Winchester | Milt Rothman, Jack Riggs, Art Widner, N. F. Stanley, R. D. Swisher | 5 | (5) |
||
| V | 2 Sep 1945 | Hotel Hawthorne, Salem | Doris Currier | 9 | (6) |
||
| Present Series: The current series of Boskones was started by the Boston Science Fiction Society (BoSFS) as part of its bidding strategy for "Boston in '67." BoSFS ran Boskones 1, 2, and 4. Boskone 3 was actually run by Erwin S[heehan] Strauss but, because of its venue, it was officially sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Fiction Club (MITSFS). The New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) has run all Boskones starting with Boskone 5. Each Boskone had a different Program Book cover. | |||||||
| 1 | 10-12 Sep 1965 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Dave Vanderwerf | Hal Clement, Dr. Robert Enzmann | 66 | (7,8) |
|
| 2 | 11-13 Mar 1966 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Dave Vanderwerf | Frederik Pohl, Dwight Wayne Batteau, Prof. Igor Paul, Prof. Oliver Selfridge | 71 | (8) |
|
| 3 | 1-3 Oct 1966 | MIT, Cambridge | Erwin Strauss | John W. Campbell, Oliver Selfridge | 68 | (9, 10) |
|
| 4 | 1-2 Apr 1967 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Paul Galvin | GoH: Damon Knight, Marvin Minsky | 72 | (8) |
|
| 5 | 23-24 Mar 1968 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Paul Galvin | GoH: Larry Niven, Warren McCulloch | 155 | (11) |
|
| 6 | 22-23 Mar 1969 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Leslie Turek | GoH: Jack Gaughan A: Stephen Fabian Louis Sutro |
262 | ||
| 7 | 27-29 Mar 1970 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Tony Lewis | GoH: Gordon R. Dickson A: George Barr SS: Donald Menzel |
383 | ||
| 8 | 12-14 Mar 1971 | Sheraton Rolling Green, Andover | Bill Desmond | GoH: Larry Niven | 211 | (12) |
|
| 9 | 14-16 Apr 1972 | Statler-Hilton, Boston | Fred Isaacs | GoH: L. Sprague de Camp A: Don Simpson SS: Richard Rosa |
Scribblings | 403 | |
| 10 | 9-11 Mar 1973 | Sheraton Boston | Suford Lewis | GoH: Robert A. W. Lowndes A: Frank Kelly Freas SS: Phyllis Brauner |
The Three Faces of Science Fiction | 405 | |
| 11 | 1-3 Mar 1974 | Sheraton Boston | Don & Jill Eastlake | GoH: Isaac Asimov OA: Eddie Jones SS: Dr. Isaac Asimov |
Have You Seen These? | 701 | (13) |
| 12 | 28 Feb-2 Mar 1975 | Sheraton Boston | Ann & Terry McCutchen | GoH: Anne McCaffrey OA: Bonnie Dalzell SS: Robert Enzmann |
A Time When | 935 | (14,15) |
| 13 | 13-15 Feb 1976 | Sheraton Boston | Ellen Franklin & Jim Hudson | GoH: Poul Anderson OA: Rick Sternbach |
Homebrew | 900 | |
| 14 | 18-20 Feb 1977 | Sheraton Boston | Tony Lewis | GoH: Ben Bova OA: John Schoenherr |
Viewpoint | 1010 | |
| 15 | 17-19 Feb 1978 | Sheraton Boston | Jill Eastlake | GoH: John Brunner OA: Arthur Thomson (ATom) SS: Marvin Minsky |
Tomorrow May be Even Worse | 1454 | (16) |
| 16 | 16-18 Feb 1979 | Sheraton Boston | Don Eastlake | GoH: Frank Herbert OA: Mike Symes SS: Marc C. Chartrand |
Symes Art Portfolio | 1950 | |
| 17 | 15-17 Feb 1980 | Radisson Ferncroft, Danvers | Chip Hitchcock | GoH: Spider & Jeanne Robinson OA: Victoria Poyser |
(none) | 800 | (17) |
| 18 | 13-15 Feb 1981 | Sheraton Boston | Gail Hormats | GoH: Tanith Lee OA: Don Maitz |
Unsilent Night | 1609 | |
| 19 | 12-14 Feb 1982 | Boston Park Plaza | Rob Spence | GoH: Donald A. Wollheim OA: Michael Whelan |
The Men from Ariel | 2270 | |
| 20 | 18-20 Feb 1983 | Boston Park Plaza | Pat Vandenberg | GoH: Mack Reynolds* OA: Wendy Pini SS: Jeff Hecht |
Compounded Interests | 2420 | (27) |
| 21 | 17-19 Feb 1984 | Boston Park Plaza | Rick Katze | GoH: Gene Wolfe OA: Vincent Di Fate SG: David Hartwell |
Plan[e]t Engineering | 2718 | (18) |
| 22 | 15-17 Feb 1985 | Copley Marriott, Boston | Ann Broomhead | GoH: Kate Wilhelm & Damon Knight OA: Carl Lundgren SG: Shawna McCarthy |
Late Knight Edition | 3420 | (14, 19) |
| Pastiche (game) | |||||||
| 23 | 14-16 Feb 1986 | Sheraton Boston | Mark Olson | GoH: Robert Bloch OA: Bob Eggleton SG: Tom Doherty |
Out of My Head | 3919 | |
| 24 | 13-15 Feb 1987 | Sheraton Boston | Chip Hitchcock | GoH: C. J. Cherryh OA: Barclay Shaw SG: Tom Clareson |
Glass and Amber | 4200 | (20) |
| 25 | 29-31 Jan 1988 | Sheraton Tara Springfield, Springfield Marriott | Jim & Laurie Mann | GoH: Greg Bear OA: David Mattingly SG: Ellen Asher |
Early Harvest | 1327 | |
| 26 | 27-29 Jan 1989 | Sheraton Tara Springfield, Springfield Marriott | Claire & Dave Anderson | GoH: Tim Powers OA: James Gurney SG: Tom Whitmore |
An Epitaph in Rust | 1250 | |
| 27 | 16-18 Feb 1990 | Sheraton Tara Springfield, Springfield Marriott | Mike DiGenio | GoH: Glen Cook OA: David A. Cherry SG: Charles Ryan |
Sung in Blood | 970 | |
| 28 | 15-17 Feb 1991 | Sheraton Tara Springfield, Springfield Marriott | Rick Katze | GoH: Mike Resnick OA: Ed Emshwiller* SG: Brian Thomsen |
Stalking the Wild Resnick | 888 | (27) |
| 29 | 14-16 Feb 1992 | Sheraton Tara Springfield, Springfield Marriott | Priscilla Olson | GoH: Jane Yolen OA: Jody Lee SG: Dave Langford FF: Kathy Mar |
Storyteller | 840 | (21) |
| Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man | |||||||
| 30 | 19-21 Feb 1993 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Greg Thokar | GoH: Joe Haldeman OA: Tom Kidd SG: Beth Meacham FF: Duane Elms |
Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds | 851 | |
| 31 | 18-20 Feb 1994 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Ben Yalow | GoH: Emma Bull & Will Shetterly OA: Nicholas Jainschigg SG: Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden FF: Cecilia Eng |
Double Feature | 875 | |
| Making Book | |||||||
| 32 | 17-19 Feb 1995 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Gay Ellen Dennett | GoH: Diana Wynne Jones OA: Ruth Sanderson SG: Fred Lerner & Patricia Wrede FF: Talis Kimberley |
Everard's Ride | 902 / 1037 | |
| A Bookman's Fantasy | |||||||
| 33 | 16-18 Feb 1996 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Tim Szczesuil & Ann Broomhead | GoH: Lois McMaster Bujold OA: Gary Rudell SG: Bob Madle FF: Musical Chairs |
Dreamweaver's Dilemma | 829 / 983 | (22) |
| 34 | 14-16 Feb 1997 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Davey Snyder | GoH: John M. Ford OA: Ron Walotsky SG: Jerry Kaufman & Suzanne Tompkins FF: Tom Smith |
From the End of the Twentieth Century | ~800 / 991 | (23) |
| 35 | 13-15 Feb 1998 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Bonnie & Ted Atwood | GoH: Walter Jon Williams OA: Omar Rayyan SG: Stanley Schmidt FF: Joe Ellis |
Frankensteins and Foreign Devils | ~800 / 991 | (24) |
| 36 | 12-14 Feb 1999 | Sheraton Tara, Framingham | Deb Geisler | GoH: Connie Willis OA: Stephen Youll SG: Teddy Harvia & Diana Thayer FF: Ed Stauff and Mary Ellen Wessels |
(none) | 759 / 986 | |
| 37 | 18-20 Feb 2000 | Sheraton, Framingham | Claire & Dave Anderson | GoH: Michael Swanwick OA: Rick Berry SG: Peter Weston FF: Jordin Kare |
Moon Dogs | 790 / 960 | (25, 26) |
| 38 | 16-18 Feb 2001 | Sheraton, Framingham | Priscilla Olson | GoH: George R. R. Martin OA: Charles Vess SG: Jack Cohen FF: Juanita Coulson |
Quartet | 933/1093 | |
| 39 | 15-17 Feb 2002 | Sheraton, Framingham | Pam Fremon | GoH: Neil Gaiman OA: Steve Hickman SG: Marv Wolfman FF: Tom Holt* |
Adventures in the Dream Trade | 1108/1266 | (28) |
| Expecting Beowulf | |||||||
| 40 | 14-16 Feb 2003 | Sheraton Boston | Sharon Sbarsky | GoH: David Brin OA: Jim Burns SG: Charles N. Brown FF: Clam Chowder |
Tomorrow Happens | 1154/1320 | (29) |
| 41 | 13-15 Feb 2004 | Sheraton Boston | Rick Katze | GoH: Stephen Baxter OA: Richard Hescox SG: Betsy Mitchell FF: Brenda & Bill Sutton |
The Hunters of Pangaea | 982/1145 | |
| 42 | 18-20 Feb 2005 | Sheraton Boston | Priscilla Olson | GoH: Orson Scott Card OA: Alan Pollack SG: Mike Glyer FF: Urban Tapestry |
(none) | 1014/1186 | |
| 43 | 17-19 Feb 2006 | Sheraton Boston | Pam Fremon | GoH: Ken MacLeod OA: Donato Giancola SG: Cory Doctorow FF: Steve Macdonald |
Giant Lizards from Another Star | 1104/1284 | |
| 44 | 16-18 Feb 2007 | Westin Waterfront | Tony & Suford Lewis | GoH: David Gerrold OA: Gary A. Lippincott SG: Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ FF: Lee & Barry Gold |
The Involuntary Human | 1057/1268 | |
| 45 | 15-17 Feb 2008 | Westin Waterfront | Gay Ellen Dennett | GoH: David Weber OA: Dean Morrissey SG: Bruce Coville FF: Sean McGuire |
The One Right Thing (Bruce Coville) | 1056/1263 | |
| 46 | 13-15 Feb 2009 | Westin Waterfront | Lis Carey | GoH: Jo Walton OA: Stephan Martiniere SG: Irene Gallo FF: Dr. H. Paul Shuch (Dr. SETI) |
Lifelode | 959/1139 | |
| Sibyls & Spaceships | |||||||
| 47 | 12-14 Feb 2010 | Westin Waterfront | Jim Mann | GoH: Alastair Reynolds OA: John Picacio SG: Tom Shippey FF: Mary Crowell |
Deep Navigation | ||
| 48 | Feb 2011 | Westin Waterfront | Priscilla Olson | GoH: Charles Stross OA: Gregory Manchess SG: Charlene Harris FF: Erica Neely |
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Notes:
(1) Abbreviations: A: Artist, GoH: Guest of Honor, OA: Official Artist, SS: Science Speaker, SG: Special Guest, FF: Featured Filker (not a GoH).
(2) Where a single number is given, it is the warm-body count (actual attendance). Where two numbers are given, the first is the warm-body count, and the second is the total membership including no-shows. (No-shows include lifetime members who have gafiated and many former GOHs, who all receive lifetime memberships.)
(3) The Stranger Club was the Fan Guest of Honor at Noreascon 3, the 47th World Science Fiction Convention, in 1989.
(4) This first series of Boskones had been completely forgotten when the second series of Boskones was started.
(5) Actually, the Guests list is the entire membership of the con.
(6) Called the "Northeast SF Conference" [claimed to be the first post-war SF con]. Currier was the MC.
(7) Guests were typically Guest of Honor, Official Artist and Science Speaker.
(8) Run by the Boston Science Fiction Society (mostly Mike Ward, Dave Vanderwerf, and Erwin "Filthy Pierre" Strauss, other members included Leslie Turek, Alma Hill, Ed & Paul Galvin, Andrew A. "Drew" Whyte, Hal Clement, and Ben Bova).
(9) Under the official sponsorship of MITSFS.
(10) Campbell was called "Principal Speaker."
(11) From here on all Boskones were sponsored by NESFA.
(12) A deliberately scaled-down, suburban Boskone to allow the committee to prepare for Noreascon 1.
(13) The Artist guest is now called the Official Artist.
(14) Ann Broomhead is the same person as Ann McCutchen.
(15) A Time When is the first part of The White Dragon.
(16) First Boskone T-shirt done.
(17) A deliberately scaled-down, suburban Boskone to allow the committee to prepare for Noreascon 2. Also known as BoskLone.
(18) From this point on, guests were Guest of Honor (a writer), Official Artist, and Special Guest.
(19) Boskone was probably the biggest SF convention in the world in 1985.
(20) Boskone blows up and moves out of Boston.
(21) Starting with this Boskone, a Featured Filker was added. The Featured Filker is not officially a Guest of Honor, but travel and room costs are picked up by the convention. MASSFILC helped pay for the first Featured Filker.
(22) The Great Boskone Blizzard finally happens with major snowfalls on both Friday and Sunday.
(23) FanHistoricon (a traveling fan history convention) was co-located with Boskone.
(24) A horrible database crash made it impossible to get exact registration and attendance numbers, but an examination of the Treasury income data showed that paid memberships were essentially the same as the previous year. There is no reason to think that the proportion of warm bodies on site was significantly different, either.
(25) Yet another Boskone Blizzard — 8" of snow between 3 pm and midnight Friday.
(26) The hotel changed its name from Sheraton Tara to Sheraton Framingham.
(27) Guest * died prior to the convention.
(28) Guest * was unable to attend the convention.
(29) Still yet another Boskone Blizzard — 27" of snow on Monday stranding 50 members for Snokone.
Go to the current Boskone Information Center.
Go to the NESFA homepage.