Boskone is an annual science fiction convention

Science fiction convention

Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...

 run by NESFA in Boston, Massachusetts. In the words of the convention organizers, "Boskone is a regional Science Fiction convention focusing on literature, art, music, and gaming (with just a dash of whimsy)". It is held over President's Day weekend every February, in the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The name is a reference to the classic Lensman

Lensman

The Lensman series is a serial science fiction space opera by Edward Elmer "Doc" Smith. It was a runner-up for the Hugo award for best All-Time Series ....

 series by E. E. Smith

E. E. Smith

Edward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and Ted was a food engineer and early science fiction author who wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series, among others...

, in which "Boskone" is a council of villains, and also a name for their civilization. The obvious name for a con in Boston would, of course, be "Boscon"; the similarity was noticed and embraced. Continuing the trend, when a new Boston-area convention was formed, the organizers of that event named it "Arisia

Arisia

Arisia is a Boston-area science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen as an homage to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a convention—con—and then altered the spelling to match the name of an...

".

Boskone I was held in 1941 under the auspices of The Stranger Club, an earlier Boston-based SF club. Four more were held annually, ending with Boskone V in 1945. The current series of Boskones started in 1965 with Boskone I again (still using Roman numerals

Roman numerals

The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...

 until Boskone XXVIII and then using Arabic numerals

Arabic numerals

Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...

 beginning with Boskone 29) and continued without interruption to the present. Boskone 1, 2, and 4 were run by BosSFS, the now-defunct Boston Science Fiction Society. The then-newly-formed NESFA took over with Boskone 5. The tradition of holding Boskone in February started in 1976.

Boskone typically features a guest of honor, an official artist, a science speaker, a featured filker, and a special guest. Boskone 48, held February 18–20, 2011, at the Westin Waterfront featured Charles Stross

Charles Stross

Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...

 as guest of honor, Gregory Manchess

Gregory Manchess

Gregory Manchess is American illustrator from Kentucky. His illustrations have appeared in magazines, digital murals, illustrated movie posters, advertising campaigns and book covers including sixty covers for Louis L’Amour. His work had appeared on Major League Baseball World Series Programs,...

 as official artist, Erica Neely as featured filker, and Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing mysteries for over twenty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area of the United States. She now lives in southern Arkansas with her husband and three children...

 as special guest. NESFA guests include Karen Anderson and Joan Slonczewski as the Hal Clement Science Speaker. The Higgins Armory Museum

Higgins Armory Museum

Higgins Armory Museum, located in Worcester, Massachusetts, housed in a steel Art Deco Building, is one of the few museums in the Western Hemisphere devoted to arms and armour. The museum is a public, non-profit museum specializing in the history of arms and armor...

 and other Historical European Martial Arts

Historical European martial arts

Historical European martial arts is a neologism describing martial arts of European origin, used particularly to refer to arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms...

groups also usually hold demonstrations and classes.