The stars are right again. This August marks the return of NecronomiCon Providence to Rhode Island. The four-day biennial event centered in the city’s Biltmore and Omni hotels, NecronomiCon is a conference focused on a genre of creative arts that lurks within the lines between horror, science fiction, and fantasy—a genre known as “the weird.”
The classic author H. P. Lovecraft (himself a native of Providence) has influenced and inspired a host of creative minds, including Stephen King, Guillermo del Toro, and Neil Gaiman. And although Lovecraft’s influence plays a big part of NecronomiCon’s overall focus (its name is taken directly from The Necronomicon, a fictional book of arcane knowledge that appears in a number of Lovecraft’s stories), the conference is far more than a series of discussions and lectures on Lovecraft’s works and worlds. It is a celebration of the weird as a whole, from Lovecraft’s contemporaries and predecessors and on up through modern scholars, authors, poets, artists, filmmakers, and musicians.
There will be academic talks, panel discussions, and author readings. “Ars Necronomica,” the convention’s art exhibit, will be held this year in the Rhode Island School of Design’s Woods-Gerry gallery on Prospect Street. There will be walking and bus tours of Lovecraft’s Providence, as well as film screenings, gaming, vendors, concerts, and an assortment of other activities.
This year’s Guests of Honor include renowned editor Ellen Datlow, filmmaker Richard Stanley, artist John Jude Palencar, poet Donald Sidney-Fryer, Lovecraft scholar Steve Mariconda, and authors Kij Johnson, Stephen Graham Jones, Nnedi Okorafor, and Peter Straub, as well as a host of other guest authors, poets, artists, filmmakers, and scholars.
To view the full schedule and lineup of special guests, and to purchase convention passes via credit card or PayPal, visit www.necronomicon-providence.co
NecronomiCon Providence is presented by the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council, an educational nonprofit organization that serves as a networking center for scholars, writers, and fans of weird fiction. Along with academics and enthusiasts, the council upholds a critical review of related research, literature, art, and the cultural impact of weird fiction. The Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council operates a bookstore and information bureau of the same name, located in the historic Arcade in downtown Providence at 130 Westminster Street. Visit www.weirdprovidence.org for more information.
DIRECT CONTACT
Niels Hobbs, Director of NecronomiCon Providence
keeper@necronomicon-providence
Tel. 401.743.3250
Lovecraft Arts & Sciences Council
P.O. Box 100123
Cranston, RI 02910