History of Iowa's ICON Science Fiction Convention
Looking for the upcoming Iowa's ICON SFCon? Go to http://iowa-icon.com/index.html
1 -
1975 October 31-November 2 -SkinnyCon - Iowa City, Iowa
2 -
1976 November 5–7 -Destructocon - Coralville, Iowa
3 -
1977 October 28–30 - - Coralville, Iowa
- Joe Haldeman -
author guest of honor and ICON founder
- Gay Haldeman -
guest of honor
- ConCom: Bill Johnson, Jolund Luther, Mike Miller
4 -
1979 November 9–11 -DisasterCon - Coralville, Iowa
- Gene Wolfe -
author guest of honor
- Rusty Hevelin -
guest of honor
- Moebius Theatre - guest of honor
- ConCom: Charles Ulysses Farley, Esquire
5 -
1980 November 7–9 - - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Gordon R. Dickson -
author guest of honor
- Bob and Anne Passavoy - guest of honor
- ConCom: Emily Epstein,Brandon Ray, Sue Weinberg
6 -
1981 October 30-November 1 -first appearance of Trans Iowa Canal Company -
Coralville, Iowa
- Phyllis Eisenstein -
author guest of honor
- Dave Martin - guest of honor
- ConCom: Lynette Lehman, Jim Hess, Brandon Ray
7 -
1982 November 5–7 - - Coralville, Iowa
8 -
1983 October 21–23 -L-Con - Coralville, Iowa
- C. J. Cherryh -
author guest of honor
- Rob Chilson -
author guest of honor
- ConCom: Lynette Lehman, Lydia Nickerson, Less Roth
9 -
1984 October 26–28 - - Coralville, Iowa
10 -
1985 October 25–27 -SFLIS Family Reunion - Coralville, Iowa
11 -
1986 October 24–26 -Habittrail Con - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
12 -
1987 October 16–18 -Money-Grubbing Capitalist Con - Coralville,
Iowa
- Glen Cook -
author guest of honor
- Dick Spelman - guest of honor
- ConCom: Mark Moore, Leslie Roth, Mitch Thompson
13 -
1989 January 20–22 -Beauty and the Beast Con-within-a-Con -
Coralville, Iowa
14 -
1989 October 13–15 - - Coralville, Iowa
- Frederik Pohl -
author guest of honor
- P. D. Breeding-Black - artist guest of honor
- Lucy Synk - artist guest of honor
- Elizabeth Anne Hull - guest of honor
- ConCom: Ted Meyer, Mike Miller, Eleanor Ray, Laura Runkle
15 -
1990 September 28–30 - - Coralville, Iowa
16 -
1991 October 12–14 -GinCon aka BlondeCon - Coralville, Iowa
- Steven Brust -
author guest of honor
- Bob and Nonie Quinlan - fan guests of honor
- ConCom: Linnea Caldeen, Laura Runkle, Mary Schneider, Susan West
17 -
1992 October 7–9 -Escape the Mundane CruiseCon, StressCon -
Coralville, Iowa
- Mercedes Lackey -
author guest of honor
- Larry Dixon -
artist guest of honor
- Rex Bryant - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Michelle Clark, John Stitely
18 -
1993 October 8–10 -Pirats of Phenzance, BarneyCon - Coralville,
Iowa
- Suzette Haden Elgin -
author guest of honor
- Jody Lee - artist guest of honor
- Nancy and Martin McClure - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Michelle Clark, Brian Hurt, Kris Spiesz
19 -
1994 October 14–16 -One Last Teen Fling - Coralville, Iowa
- Gregory Frost -
author guest of honor
- Robert Daniels Jr. - artist guest of honor
- Joe Haldeman -
guest of honor
- ConCom: John Johnson, Steven Tait, Alex Tschampl
20 -
1995 October 6–8 -ICON Goes Platinum - Coralville, Iowa
- Steven Barnes -
author guest of honor
- Phil Hester -
author/artist guest of honor
- Myrna Logan - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Christina Fiscus, Mary Schneider
21 -
1996 October 11–13 -ICON Comes of Age - Coralville, Iowa
22 -
1997 October 10–12 -Catch 22 - Coralville, Iowa
- John M. Ford -
author guest of honor
- Kaja Foglio -
artist guest of honor
- William "Bear" Reed - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Mick Hitch, Gregg Parmentier, Lynda Sherman
23 -
1998 October 16–18 -"Working Today For A Better Tomorrow, Fnord" -
Coralville, Iowa
- Charles de Lint -
author guest of honor
- Forrest Ackerman -
author guest of honor
- Ed Heil - artist guest of honor
- ConCom: Dave Benhart, Susan West, Andy Wheeler
24 -
1999 October 29–31 -efiL fO gninaeM ehT, The Return of HabitrailCon, Seat of
Our Pants Con - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Peter Beagle -
author guest of honor
- Bill Johnson -
guest of honor
- Charles Piehl - guest of honor
- Tyler Walpole - artist guest of honor
- ConCom: Alex Cochran, Tracie Michlin, Jennifer Myers, Andy Wheeler
25 -
2000 October 13–15 -Prodigal Son - Coralville, Iowa
- Harry Turtledove -
author guest of honor
- "Orange Mike" Lowrey - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Dennis Kitzman, Tracie Michlin, Andy Wheeler
26 -
2001 October 12–14 -Hey, nice hotel! - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- L. E. Modesitt, Jr. -
author guest of honor
- Denise Garner - artist guest of honor
- Dennis Lynch - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Dennis Kitzman, Tracie Michlin, Andy Wheeler
27 -
2002 October 18–20 -Carrot Juice - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Jennifer Roberson -
author guest of honor
- John Garner - artist guest of honor
- Les & Jeannette Roth - fan guests of honor
- ConCom: Dan Chapman, Tracie Michlin, Jennifer Moody, Aaron Oehring
28 -
2003 October 10–12 -Cheesy Poofs - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- David Drake -
author guest of honor
- Lee Seed - artist guest of honor
- Gregg Parmentier - fan guest of honor
- ConCom: Aaron Oehring, Nigel Ray, Andy Wheeler
29 -
2004 October 8–10 - - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
30 -
2005 October 28–30 [6] -' - Cedar Rapids,
Iowa
- Sarah Zettel -
author guest of honor
- Jael - artist
guest of honor
- Arlene Martel -
media guest of honor
- ConCom: Troy Essmann, Aaron Oshring, Dan Wojcik
31 -
2006 October 13–15 -Gallium: The Other Soft Metal - Cedar Rapids,
Iowa
- C. S. Friedman -
author guest of honor
- Larry Price - artist guest of honor
- ConCom: Sheril Harper, Anthony Hendon, Josh Elliott, John Frick, Lindsay Jones, Galen Silversmith
32 -
2007 November 2–4 -Rise of the Phoenix - Coralville, Iowa
- Jack McDevitt -
author guest of honor
- Ralph J. Ryan - artist guest of honor
- Rusty Hevelin -
toastmaster
- ConCom: Gregg Parmentier, Anthony Hendon
33 -
2008 October 31-November 2 -Horror/Halloween - Coralville, Iowa
34 -
2009 October 23–25 -Adventures in the Secret Kingdom of Fandom -
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Jim C. Hines -
author guest of honor
- Heather Bruton - artist guest of honor
- Rusty Hevelin -
toastmaster
- ConCom: Josh Elliott, Lindsay Elliott, John Frick, Athena Foster, Galen Silversmith
35 -
2010 November 5–7 -A Steam-Powered Convention of the Future - Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
36 -
2011 October 28–30 -Genre Fusion: When Worlds Collide - Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
- Jane Yolen -
author guest of honor
- Steve Thomas - artist guest of honor
- Rusty Hevelin (in
absentia), Denny Lynch - toastmaster
- ConCom: Galen Brownsmith, Josh Elliott, Lindsay Elliott, Athena Foster
37 -
2012 November 2–4 -The Convention at the End of the Universe -
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Steven Erikson -
author guest of honor
- Mike Cole - artist guest of honor
- Jim C. Hines -
co-toastmaster
- Dennis Lynch - co-toastmaster
- ConCom: Josh Elliott, Lindsay Elliott, Athena Foster
38 -
2013 November 15–17 -Recalling 1013 - The Year When Nothing Happened -
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
39 - 2014 October 31 - November 2 -League of Extraordinary
Gentlefen - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
40 -
2015 October 16-18 -Con of Futures Past - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
41 - 2016 October 28-30 -Back to the ICON - Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
- Seanan McGuire -
author guest of honor
- Arden Ellen Nixon - artist guest of honor
- Laura J. Mixon -
special guest of honor
- Steven Gould -
special guest of honor
- Inger Myers - fan guest of honor
- Jim C. Hines -
Toastmaster
- ConCom: Jenny Carhoff, Megan Dean, Susan Leabhart
42 -
2017 September 29 - October 1 -Hitchhikers Guide to ICON42 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
43 -
2018 October 5-7 -Eruption - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
44 -
2019 November 1-3 -Unpacking Non-Binary Reality - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Pat Murphy - author guest of honor
- Mystie Hollaman - fan guest of honor
- Shawn Palek - artist guest of honor
- Misty Palek - artist guest of honor
- Kat Pepmiller - Costumer/Cosplay artist guest of honor
- Susan Leabhart - Toastmaster
- ConCom: Gregg Parmentier, John Frick, Shawn Johnson
45 -
2020 October 9 to 10 - V-ICON: The Year ICON Went Virtual - Online only
- Joe Haldeman - author and founder of ICON
- Gay Haldeman - editor and founder of ICON
- Catrina Taylor - author
- Alex Penland - author
- Erin Casey - author
- Tambo Jones - author
- Beth Hudson Wheeler - author
- Jim C. Hines -
Toastmaster
- ConCom: Betsy Casey, Pamela Webster, John Frick, Anthony Penticoff, Adam Brower, Brian Anderson, Sara Pitcher
46 -
2021 October 15 to 17 - Seeking Further Horizons - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- David Weber - Toastmaster and author
- Jim C. Hines - Toastmaster and author
- Joe Haldeman - author and founder of ICON
- Gay Haldeman - editor and founder of ICON
- ConCom: Betsy Casey, John Frick, Pamela Webster, Brian Anderson, Adam Brower
Additional Information
Other Midwestwestern SF conventions we love and support (an incomplete list)
- Gamicon is in Cedar Rapids Iowa in February
- AnimeIowa is in Coralville Iowa in late July
- Minicon is in Minneapolis Easter weekend
- Demicon is in Des Moines in early May
- ConQuesT is in Kansas City Memorial Day weekend
- Trekfest is in Riverside Iowa (home town of Captain James T. Kirk) the last Saturday of June
- Convergence is in Minneapolis around the Fourth of July
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