A few years ago, when I was starting out in this genre, finding safe convention space for LGBTQ+ fiction was difficult. Sure, there were cons who said we could play, there were even some who welcomed us, but it still had that feeling of being the odd man ou
t, the oh, and also those part of the weekend.
Now we’re trying to decide which conventions to attend next year, and we’re finding we have to choose, that we can no longer attend all the LGBTQ specific events out there. The last convention I’ll be attending this year was one we discovered recently, practically in my backyard. (Imagine my absolute delight!) Nijicon, outside Philadelphia in late October, is a Yaoi/Yuri inspired event, but they welcome all LGBTQ vendors – artists, artisans, and publishers.
Let’s get a list going. What LGBTQ fiction specific and/or friendly cons/meetings/retreats have you come across in your area?