69th World Science Fiction Convention


The 69th World Science Fiction Convention, also known as Renovation, was held in Reno, Nevada, August 17–21, 2011, at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. The Atlantis Casino Resort served as the headquarters/party hotel, with additional rooms supplied by the Peppermill Reno and Courtyard by Marriott. The convention committee was chaired by Patty Wells.

Programming

The Guests of Honor were Tim Powers, Ellen Asher, Boris Vallejo, and the late Charles N. Brown, whose contribution was still honored. Special Guests included Tricky Pixie and Bill Willingham. Other notabile guests included author George R. R. Martin, radio legend Dr. Demento, and artist Julie Bell. Special events include the Renovation Independent/Fan Film Festival 2011, Music Night on Wednesday, and an Art Night festival celebrating the visual arts in SF on Thursday. The Chesley Awards were presented on August 18 as part of Art Night, the Masquerade was held on Friday the 19th, and the 2011 Hugo Awards were presented on Saturday August 20, with the Masquerade and Hugo Awards both held at the Peppermill and most other events happening at the RSCC.
A pair of autographed shooting scripts for the HBO television series Game of Thrones were stolen in transit from Belfast to Reno. The theft of the scripts, donated by author George R. R. Martin whose books are the basis for the series and intended for sale at Renovation's charity auction, made international headlines. Shipped via registered mail, only the cover letter in a "battered" envelope arrived in Reno. The scripts were signed by executive producers Dan Weiss and David Benioff plus director Alan Taylor.

Site selection

Reno's bid to host the Worldcon was formally unopposed and won with 650 out of the 763 cast ballots at Anticipation in Montreal in 2009.

Awards presented

Hugo Awards

The results were based on the 2100 valid ballots submitted by current members of the World Science Fiction Society. The 2011 Hugo Award statue base was designed by Marina Gelineau.
In an uncontested election, the members of Renovation selected San Antonio, Texas, as the host city for the 71st World Science Fiction Convention, "LoneStarCon 3", to be held in 2013. With 760 valid ballots cast, Texas received 694 votes, 25 ballots expressed no preference, 14 votes were cast for none of the above, and write-in candidates included Xerpes with 6 votes, Minneapolis with 5, Denton with 5, Boston with 3, plus a number of single-vote entries.