World Fantasy Convention

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

New this edition

• 1

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  The 2026 edition places panels, readings, the art show, the dealer room and the awards ceremony inside the Oakland Convention Center at 550 10th St, so attendees move between programme rooms and the sales floor without shuttling between hotels. Room allocation and floor plans are confirmed by the convention committee closer to the event.

• 2

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  Holding the convention in Oakland's City Center grid puts the 12th Street/Oakland City Center BART station, the Broadway hotel cluster and Jack London Square within a short walk or ride of the venue, which changes the calculus for attendees who normally budget for a rental car at suburban convention sites.

• 3

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  The World Fantasy Awards presentation remains the closing anchor of the convention, with the preceding banquet ticketed separately and limited in capacity. Attendees planning to attend the ceremony should watch the official site for banquet sales rather than assuming entry is included with membership.

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Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

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Frequently asked

Glossary

1

World Fantasy Convention (WFC)

The annual gathering of the fantasy and horror publishing community, combining a professional-level programme of panels and readings with an art show, a dealer room and the World Fantasy Awards. It is a membership-based literary convention, not a booth-rental trade expo.

2

Attending membership

The registration unit for the convention. A membership normally covers access to the programme, art show, dealer room and awards ceremony for the whole event; banquet seats and some add-on items are usually priced separately. Confirm the 2026 inclusions and rates on the official site.

3

World Fantasy Award

The genre award presented at the convention, with categories covering novel, novella, short fiction, anthology, collection and artist, plus a lifetime achievement recognition. Winners are decided by a panel of judges rather than a public popular vote, which is why the ceremony is a fixture of the convention weekend.

4

Dealer room

The sales floor where specialist booksellers, small presses, genre magazines and artists' tables sell new releases, limited editions, backlist titles and prints. For most attendees it is the main place to buy signed or small-press editions that rarely reach general bookshops.

5

Art show

An exhibition and sale of original fantasy and horror artwork by attending artists, hung according to the convention's published rules on space, pricing and sales handling. Artists apply for space in advance and pay for the hanging space they use.

6

Mass autographing

A scheduled session in which attending authors sit together in a shared hall and sign books for readers. It is the most efficient way to collect signatures from many authors in one pass; bring your own copies or buy them in the dealer room beforehand.

7

Programme item

A single scheduled slot on the convention timetable, such as a panel, a solo reading, an interview, a kaffeeklatsch or a workshop. Topics typically span craft, publishing economics, horror and fantasy criticism, and genre history.

8

Guest of Honour

Authors, artists or editors invited by the convention committee to be formally honoured, usually giving a talk, reading or interview during the weekend. The 2026 guest list is published on the official convention site.

9

Small press

An independent publisher producing limited print runs, novellas, collections and translated genre work. Small presses are a defining part of the dealer room and the place where much experimental fantasy and horror first appears.

10

Awards banquet

The ticketed meal that precedes the World Fantasy Awards ceremony. Seating is limited and usually sold separately from convention membership, so banquet tickets tend to sell out before the convention opens.

11

Advance vs. at-the-door registration

Advance membership is bought before the convention and is normally cheaper, while at-the-door membership is subject to remaining capacity. Rates, deadlines and refund rules are set by the convention committee and posted on worldfantasy.org.

12

Professional vs. fan attendance

Both audiences attend the same convention. Publishing professionals come for rights conversations, editor and agent meetings and award-season contact, while readers and collectors come for the programme, art show and signed editions.