Dear Necon Campers,
With profound sadness, we have decided to postpone Necon 40 until 2021.
This decision was made in coordination with our hosts at Salem State University for the health and safety of us all (including their staff), and our excitement about relocating to their university remains unchanged,. But in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we simply cannot ask our Campers to choose between staying home or risking your well-being by attending Necon during these uncertain times. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts remains under lockdown at the time of this writing, and we recognize that many of our attendees fall into the “highly at risk” category. To quote an esteemed Necon-Lifer who expressed concern about holding the convention this summer, if one person gets sick at Necon that’s one person too many.
The details of this postponement are simple — Necon 40 will now take place July 15th through 18th, 2021, and our announced dais of Guests have all confirmed they will join us next summer. All registrations and deposits will automatically be rolled forward, with July 1st, 2021 the new due date for balances to be paid in full. If this date change means you cannot attend Necon 40, please email me at matt@campnecon.com and we’ll work with you towards facilitating a refund; however, as we have already paid Salem State and our payment to them is being rolled forward, we humbly ask all Campers to please roll forward with us and only request a refund if you know you will not be able to attend in 2021.
And now for the “lemonade out of lemons” portion of this announcement — while we are still figuring out the logistics, we plan to produce online content over the coming fifteen months, access to which will be exclusive to registered Necon 40 Campers. We’re thinking readings, webinars, discussion groups, games, contests, etc. While nothing can replace sharing Saugies on the quad, we feel anything we can do to stay connected as a community right now is well worth the effort. Please watch your inbox and all Necon social media accounts for updates and announcements.
Thank you all so much again for your understanding and cooperation. Most importantly, please stay safe and well; I look forward to seeing you all next summer.
All the best,
– Matt Bechtel
Chairperson, Necon 40
P.S. — This probably goes without saying, but seeing as it celebrates the con’s 40th anniversary, the Necon XL anthology will be delayed until 2021 as well. All registered Campers will still receive a special limited edition, to be exclusively distributed at Necon 40 … and the editors plan to expand the project between now and then. Again, please keep an eye on all of our standard communication channels for updates.