Unity Games 18

The next incarnation of Unity Games, a board and card gaming convention, will be held in Woburn, MA on February 4th, 2012. Learn more by visiting http://www.unitygames.org/ugxviii/ugxviii.htm.

Author Appearance: Joe Haldeman

Joe Haldeman, author of The Forever War, will sign his new novel Earthbound at Pandemonium Books and Games in Cambridge, MA on December 8th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. See http://www.pandemoniumbooks.com/index.php?cont=special_events&type=2&view=full for more information.

I-CON 31

I-CON will celebrate its 31st year the weekend of March 30th-April 1st, 2012 on the campus of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY. New guests are constantly being announced; so far they include author David Weber and actor Sylvester McCoy of “Doctor Who.”

Attended by over 6,000 people each year, I-CON is a three day festival, designed to encourage literacy, creativity and interest in science and technology through science fiction and its related genres. Programming at I-CON spans a wide range of topics and interests, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic books, Japanese animation (otherwise known as Anime), medieval reenactment, science and technology.

Guest speakers are invited from around the world to share their experiences in their fields, information about any new or upcoming projects and their insights into the genre with their fans. Over the course of the convention, guests typically will participate in panel discussions, give workshops and demonstrations, sign autographs, and interact with their fans on a one on one basis in such venues as the Award Banquet. With so much to offer, I-CON is able to appeal to a diverse audience, including college students, senior citizens and families with young children.

Watch http://iconsf.org/ for a complete guest list and more details about the event.

ConBust 2012

ConBust, a science fiction convention focusing on female fans, will return to Northampton, MA the weekend of March 30th to April 1st.

ConBust is a sci-fi/fantasy/anime/gaming convention put on each spring by students at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. This three-day event provides fans of various geekdoms the opportunity to gather and enjoy their interests as a whole. Panels and workshops, as well as movie and anime showings, can be found in great abundance throughout the weekend. And of course, we have a fabulous array of guests who will be showing.

What sets ConBust apart from most other sci-fi, fantasy, anime, and/or gaming conventions is its focus on the female members of the participating community. While the various realms of geekdom remain stereotypically male-dominated, ConBust is held to celebrate the work of women amongst these genres.

Learn more about this event at http://sophia.smith.edu/ssffs/conbust/.

Intercon L 2012

Intercon offers a weekend’s worth of live action roleplaying games. The 2012 event will be held March 2-4 in Chelmsford, MA. Note that you generally must sign up for games in advance. See http://www.interactiveliterature.org/L/ to learn more.

SnowConMaine 2012

SnowConMaine, the Central and Northern Maine Gaming Convention, will be held in Orono, ME the weekend of January 13th-15th, 2012. According to the organizers, “Our focus is on tabletop games of all types: board games, card games, roleplaying games, LARPs, miniatures, demo games, strategy games; as well as a packed game library, vendors, exhibitors, costume contests and more for gamers of all ages and experience levels.” Visit http://snowconmaine.com/main/ for more information.

[Tip via Con News]