| Discworld Convention | |
| Status: | Active |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| First: | 1996 |
| Website: | http://www.dwcon.org/ |
The International Discworld Convention, also known as DWCon, is a biennial science fiction convention held in the United Kingdom on even-numbered years. DWCon was first held in 1996 by members of the Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.pratchett.[1] [2]
The DWCon is a fan-run convention focussing on the Discworld novels and other works by Terry Pratchett. The programme has several events that appear each time such as the Gala Dinner, Maskerade (spelled in this manner due to Pratchett's novel of the same name), Charity Auction, Guest of Honour Interview, and "Terry's Bedtime Stories". The conventions regularly feature large attendee-run groups that have been known variously as Guilds and Sects. There are also smaller events such as interviews, games and competitions, guest klatches, and other activities.[3]
The convention has been held in the UK since 1996.[2] The conventions have been held at various different hotels. A planned convention in 2000 (Titled 'MilleniCon Hand and Shrimp') had to be cancelled for financial reasons, but the conventions have been run every two years since.
While Sir Terry once made a point of attending every UK-based Discworld Convention (and many of the non-UK conventions) as guest of honour, the Convention announced on 1 July 2014 that he would be unable to attend in person for health reasons, but that he would appear in an on-camera Q&A session from his home instead.[4]
| Year | Dates | City | Title | Guest of Honour | Other Guests | Size | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1996 | 28–30 June | Manchester, UK | The Discworld Convention | Josh Kirby, Stephen Briggs | |||
| 2nd | 1998 | 18-21 Sept | Liverpool, UK | The Second Discworld Convention | ||||
| 3rd | 2002 | 16–19 August | Hinckley, UK | Discworld Convention | ||||
| 4th | 2004 | 20–23 August | Hinckley, UK | Discworld Convention | ||||
| 5th | 2006 | 18–21 August | Hinckley, UK | |||||
| 6th | 2008 | August | Birmingham, UK | |||||
| 7th | 2010 | August | Birmingham, UK | |||||
| 8th | 2012 | 24–27 August | Birmingham, UK | The Eighnnnnnnn Discworld Convention | Colin Smythe, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen, Rob Wilkins, Lionel Fanthorpe, Stephen Baxter, Bernard Pearson, Jaqueline Simpson, Stephen Briggs, Ian Mitchell | 950 | ||
| 9th | 2014 | 8–11 August | Manchester, UK | The Ankh-Morpork Grand Exhibition | The Black Hat "to represent Terry in absentia" (Sir Terry Pratchett attending by video link) | |||
| 10th | 2016 | 26–29 August | Warwick, UK | The Band with Rocks In | Rob Wilkins, Bernard Pearson, Colin Smythe, Daniel Knight, Ian Mitchell, Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen, Jacqueline Simpson, Ray Friesen, Reb Voyce, Stephen Briggs, David Brashaw, Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, Mark Oshiro[5] | |||
| 11th | 2018 | 03–6 August | Kenilworth, Warwick, UK | Guards! Guards | Rob Wilkins, Bernard Pearson, Colin Smythe, Ian Mitchell, Reb Voyce, Stephen Briggs | |||
| 12th | 2022 | 19–22 August | Birmingham, UK | Lancre | Colin Smythe, Stephen Briggs, Ian Mitchell, Pat Harkin, Reb Voyce, Phil Masters, Ben Aaronovitch, Jodi Taylor, Marc Burrows[6] | |||
| 13th | 2024 | 2-6 August | Birmingham, UK | TBA | TBA | TBA |