SMOFcon is an annual convention that focuses on the organisation of science fiction conventions. The first SMOFcon took place in 1984, and most have taken place in the USA.

SMOFcon typically attracts 100-150 attendees, and usually occurs in the first weekend of December, though other dates have been known. The content includes formal and informal sessions covering insights from events held in the previous year, information about the latest trends from the community and external experts, reviews of previous events and feedback to bidders for upcoming events, with a focus on learnings that can be widely shared.

A significant number of SMOFcon attendees are also Worldcon

Worldcon

Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...

 organisers and the programme usually includes sessions about the most recent Worldcon and on bids for future Worldcons.

The name of the convention is derived from the word SMOF

SMOF

SMOF is an acronym which stands for "Secret Master Of Fandom" and is a term used within the science fiction fan community. Its coining is generally attributed to science fiction author Jack L...

 (also spelled smof), which is an acronym which stands for "Secret Master(s) Of Fandom" and is a term used within the science fiction fan community. Its coining is generally attributed to science fiction author Jack L. Chalker

Jack L. Chalker

Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...

.

List of SMOFcons

	Year	Dates	City	Country	Web	Site/Facility	Chair/Sponsoring Org	Size
00th	1973/74		New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	USA		Sheraton	Stew Brownstein
01st	1984	Oct 12-14	Washington, DC	USA			Ben Yalow, Joe Siclari, Theresa Renner
02nd	1985	Nov	Oakland, CA	USA		CANCELLED	Tom Whitmore, Debbie Notkin + 3 others
03rd	1986	Dec 5-7	Lowell, MA	USA		Lowell Hilton	Mark Olson (MCFI)	137
04th	1987	Nov 20-22	Columbus, OH	USA			Bob Hillis
05th	1988	Dec 9-11	Phoenix, AZ	USA		Hyatt Regency Phoenix Hyatt Regency Phoenix The Hyatt Regency Phoenix is a convention hotel in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It is 317 feet tall and has 24 floors. It was completed in 1976. The top floor has a revolving restaurant. It was designed by Charles Luckman and Associates to complement the Phoenix Civic Plaza and Phoenix...	Bruce Farr (CASFS)	102
06th	1989	Dec 8-10	Toronto, ON	Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...		Holiday Inn Airport	Lloyd & Yvonne Penney
07th	1990	Dec 7-9	Ft. Lauderdale, FL	USA		Airport Hilton	Joe Siclari (SFSFS)
08th	1991	Dec 6-8	Portland, OR	USA		Shilo Inn Airport	John Lorentz (OSFCI)	128
09th	1992	Dec 11-13	New Orleans, LA	USA		Doubletree Hotel	Peggy Rae Pavlat	95
10th	1993	Apr 23-25	Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...	Channel Islands Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...		Hotel de France	Tim Illingworth
11th	1993	Dec 3-5	Lexington, KY	USA		Griffin Gate Marriott Resort	Scott & Jane Dennis	110
12th	1994	Dec 2-4	Burbank, CA	USA		Burbank Hilton	Chocolate Moose;Vice Chairs: Bruce Pelz & Ben Yalow (SCIFI)	175
13th	1995	Dec 1-3	Austin, TX	USA		Austin Red Lion	Fred Duarte, Jr. (FACT)	121
14th	1996	Dec 6-8	Seattle, WA	USA		Seattle Hilton	Richard Wright (NCL)
15th	1997	Dec 5-7	Boston, MA	USA	http://www.sflovers.org/smofcon15/	Doubletree Suites Hotel	Sharon Sbarsky (MCFI)	153
16th	1998	Dec 4-6	Colorado Springs, CO	USA	http://216.92.95.157/Smofcon/smofcon.html	Radisson Inn	Kent Bloom (FFF)	86
17th	1999	Dec 10-11	New Orleans, LA	USA	http://www.sfsfc.org/SMOFcon/index.htm		Michael Siladi (SFSFC)
18th	2000	Dec 1-3	Cocoa Beach, FL	USA			Joe Siclari (SFSFS)
19th	2001	Dec 7-9	York York York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...	UK			KIM Campbell
20th	2002	Dec 6-8	San Diego, CA	USA		Hacienda Hotel	Scott & Jane Dennis	125
21st	2003	Dec 5-7	Rosemont, IL	USA		Embassy Suites O'Hare	Erik V. Olson (Midfan)	123
22nd	2004	Dec 3-5	Washington, DC	USA	http://www.seahunt.org/smofcon22/		Peggy Rae Sapienza (WSFA)	123
23rd	2005	Dec 2-4	Portland, OR	USA	http://www.osfci.org/smofcon/	Red Lion Convention Center Hotel	David Schaber (OSFCI)	155
24th	2006	Dec 1-3	Kansas City, MO	USA	http://www.midamericon.org/smofcon/index.htm	Hotel Phillips Hotel Phillips The Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, Missouri is a building from 1929. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979....	Margene Bahm (MASFFC)
25th	2007	Dec 7-9	Boston, MA	USA	http://www.noreascon.org/smofcon/	Hilton Boston Logan Airport	Geri Sullivan (MCFI)	214
26th	2008	Dec 4-7	Columbus, OH	USA		Drury Inn & Suites	Kim Williams
27th	2009	Dec 4-6	Austin, TX	USA	http://alamo-sf.org/smofcon27	Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn is a chain of hotels trademarked by the Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Garden Inns are considered to be upscale mid-priced hotels that are designed for both business and leisure travelers. The hotel brand is similar to that of the Courtyard by Marriott brand, a key competitor...  Austin Downtown	Karen Meschke (ALAMO)
28th	2010	Dec 3-5	San Jose, CA	USA	http://www.smofcon28.org/	Larkspur Sainte Claire	Glenn Glazer (SFSFC)
29th	2011	Dec 2-4	Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...	Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	http://www.smofcon29.org/	Park Plaza Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts is a worldwide brand of 39 hotels operating in major markets of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Main markets include London , Amsterdam and Berlin . The hotels are either owned, managed, or franchised to independent operators by Park Plaza® Hotels & Resorts... Victoria Amsterdam	Vincent Docherty

External links

• SMOFcon homepage
• The Conrunner's Wiki
• OED Citations for SMOF