Not too terribly long ago, QSF’ers on the Facebook page were asking for a list of queer friendly conventions. We thought that was a fabulous idea. This first stab at a list is by no means complete. It’s far too US-centric, for one thing, and is most likely missing some great local cons that don’t make the national press.
Criteria for inclusion on the list were: A) queer focused or queer friendly B) some flavor of spec fic focused or friendly C) event where authors have opportunity (large or small) to promote
Now we need you guys. Using the criteria above, let us know what to add, conventions huge or cozy. This is the time of year to start planning for 2016. Where are you going to pop up?
| Con | Dates | Location | Attendance | Focus |
| Coastal Magic | February | Daytona Beach | 300 | Urban Fantasy, Paranormal. Romance |
| C2E2 | March | Chicago | 62,000 | Comic book and pop culture |
| Rainbow Book Fair | Early April | Midtown Manhattan | 1500 | LGBTQ book fair |
| RT Romantic Times | April | Travels | 3000 | Fan focused romance convention |
| Haven Con | Late April | Austin | ? | LGBTQ Geek and Gaming Con |
| WisCon | May | Madison | 1000 | Feminist and LGBT SF con for writers |
| Outlantacon | May | Atlanta | 200 | Queer Geek fandoms |
| Yaoi/Yuri North | Late May | Toronto | 28,000 | Yaoi/Yuri |
| Rainbow Con | July | Tampa | 300 | LGBTQ fiction/ media |
| San Diego Comic | Late July | San Diego | 130,000 | Multigenre entertainment/ comic |
| Outwrite Book Fair | Late July | Washington DC | ? | LGBTQ themed books |
| World Con | August | Travels | 4-5,000 | World Science Fiction Convention |
| Flame Con | Late August | Brooklyn | 2,500 | Comic book and pop culture |
| Yaoi Con | September | Burlingame (San Francisco area) | ? | Yaoi |
| Dragon Con | September | Atlanta | 63,000 | Multigenre entertainment/ comic |
| Baltimore Comic Con | September | Baltimore | 15,000 | Comic book and fan culture |
| WinCon | October | Pittsburgh | 300 | Multimedia Fandom |
| Gaylaxicon | October | Travels (2016 in Minneapolis) | 400 | LGBTQ SF, Fantasy and Horror |
| GRL 2016 | Mid-October | Travels | 400 | Gay Romance/related fiction |
| Bent Con | November | Burbank (Los Angeles area) | 3800 | LGBTQ pop culture/ geekdom |
| Chessiecon | November | Timonium (Baltimore area) | 600 | SFF and Steampunk |
UK Meet just announced its dates and location — September 2-4, 2016, Grand Harbour Hotel, Southampton. It’s limited to 150 attendees. Focus is the full spectrum of queer fiction.