Bubonicon brings mages, mad scientists and more to ABQ

The sci-fi and fantasy worlds of “Mages & Mad Scientists” are ready to converge at Bubonicon 56.

The convention originated in the 1969 and eventually got the name Bubonicon from participant Robert E. Vardeman.

Bubonicon will run Friday, Aug. 22, through Sunday, Aug. 24.

“(In the 1970s) the country of Egypt was not allowing anybody from New Mexico in because we had bubonic plague here,” Craig Chrissinger, Bubonicon 56 chair, said. “And they went that’s noteworthy ... ‘We’re going to call it Bubonicon, and then we have a rat as our mascot.’”

Chrissinger has been involved in the convention for years, first as an attendee and now as a chair, and he has seen it change over the years.

“They didn’t have gaming really, they didn’t really do a costume contest, because costumes were more like, oh, you know, that’s for the kids,” Chrissinger said.

“Now we have a costume contest Saturday evening. We have a gaming room.”

Bubonicon also has several panels led by sci-fi and fantasy authors.

“It seems like a really fun and well-thought-out con with a lot of really interesting panels,” Delilah S. Dawson, Bubonicon co-guest of honor and sci-fi/fantasy author, said. “I really like this year’s topic on wizards and magic, it’s definitely in my wheelhouse.”

Jeffe Kennedy, a fantasy author who lives in Santa Fe and is the convention’s toastmaster, said being on panels and having very directed conversations with other creators can be really fun.

“It can be really enlightening and exciting for the panelists as well as for the audience,” Kennedy said.

There are a number of local authors attending Bubonicon, including George R.R. Martin, Arkady Martine and Vivian Shaw.

“The number of authors in New Mexico between science fiction, mystery, romance and the other genres is just incredible,” Chrissinger said.

Kennedy has been attending Bubonicon for nearly a decade and said it is a symbiotic relationship of support.

“There’s always that thing for writers that your local con is special. It’s kind of like old home week, and you generally go, if you can,” Kennedy said. “It’s partly because you see a lot of the local people that you don’t otherwise see, but also to support your local con.”

Dawson said it’s important to celebrate authors who bring local color to their books.

“We write in the cities that we know best,” Dawson said, “so that we will get it correct and be able to put in all of the sights and sounds and smells.”

Kennedy has found New Mexico a source of inspiration for stories.

“We even had a panel on why there’s so many science fiction and fantasy writers living in the desert Southwest, and we didn’t come to a conclusive consensus. It’s a great place for creative people,” Kennedy said.

“This is a wonderful place for being creative. I’m a huge fan of New Mexico. I don’t plan to ever leave,” she said.

Dawson, on the other hand, will be visiting New Mexico for the first time and is excited to explore the state.

“I’ve never visited a place where everything is orange. I went out in the deserts outside of Phoenix once (and) saw a coyote. Very exciting,” Dawson said. “But I’ve just never been in this particular biome before. So I’m really excited to get out and get some local color.”

She is also looking forward to seeing the state bird, the greater roadrunner, for the first time.

“I’m a big bird person, so this would be very exciting,” Dawson said. “I can put that in my little bird book I’ve had since I was eight, and put a little check mark by it because I’ve never seen one in the wild before.”

Chrissinger said Bubonicon gives authors a chance to promote themselves and also to meet their readers.

“For the readers, it’s a chance to meet their favorite authors,” he said.

Kennedy finds that conventions give a much-needed community to those who might not otherwise seek it out.

“I think one of the great lessons of the pandemic was that even for blazing introverts, like many readers and writers are, that there’s no substitute for that human interaction with our tribe,” Kennedy said.