OryCon: Oregon Convention for Creators features scifi and fantasy writing,
comics, illustration, crafting, and multimedia content creation, as
well as tracks for creative workshops, portfolio reviews, art lessons,
author readings, autographs, fanfic, fanfilk, concerts, video, dance,
live action roleplay, tabletop and board gaming, and more. This November
10-12, 2023, OryCon will be back for our 43rd year in Portland, Oregon
at the Holiday Inn Portland-Columbia Riverfront Hotel.
Our community of fellow fans and professional creators will offer
you opportunities to network with those who share your interests and
dreams. Whether you're here to socialize, learn, create, support local
creators, or explore, there's something to entertain you or spark your
creativity. We offer an expansive Merchants Market, consisting of Dealers
Den with a variety of merchandise, an Artists Alley with human created
art and handcrafts from local artists, and its Writers Block subsection
featuring local authors happy to sign your new book. Find plenty of
potential holiday gifts and browse like you're 10 at a book fair!
OryCon is a vibrant piece of Oregon history, with emotional and
occupational connections from fans and creators nurtured over decades,
and now we turn toward the next generation for the future of our creative
community. During the struggle of Covid-19, and its consequential tragic
effects, we've lost many of our long loyal, older attendees and staff. To
stabilize our currently precarious longevity, and stay relevant with
changing cultural atmospheres of younger generations, we're expanding our
content, working to ensure a more healthy, creative, and safe environment,
and rebranding as OryCon: Oregon Convention for Creators.
With our reincarnation, we hope to bring the curiosity and energy of
creators from Gen X through Gen Z, or even younger, to keep OryCon
thriving for future generations. Appropriately, our theme this year is
Phoenix Rising, with content geared toward returning from creative hiatus,
overcoming creative blocks, reviving abandoned projects, emotional and
creative recovery after illness and tragedy, and renewal of aspirations.
Our Guests of Honor are Janny Wurts (author of The Wars of Light and
Shadow, Master of Whitestorm, Sorcerer's Legacy, and The Cycle of Fire),
Jennifer Brozek (editor, publisher, podcaster, and author of Never Let
Me Sleep, and tie ins novels for BattleTech and Shadowrun), Christopher
Sebela (comics writer for Crowded, Test, Heartthrob, Dirtbag Rapture,
Foulbrood, and Shanghai Red), Steve Lieber (Eisner award winning comics
illustrator for Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen, Whiteout, and The Fix), Chuck
Lukacs (Magic: the Gathering trading card game illustrator and author of
Fantasy Genesis), Don Maitz, (Hugo award winning artist of covers for
Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Isaac Asimov), and Eric and Jen Distad
(performers behind The Faithful Sidekicks band, featured live in concert).
Preregistration for weekend passes is open at orycon.regfox.com/prereg
until November 5 at the rates of $60 for adults, $30 for youth ages 13-17,
and free to children 12 and under. At the door prices will change to
$75 for weekend adult passes, while youth rates remain the same as we
encourage the interest of budding creators.
