Alright, I didn't write the announcement (obviously) but it got sent to me through the convention committee lists I'm on and considering how popular the subject is, I figured I'd share the info. I'm putting this under 'art shows' because they mention that they will have an art show, but as of yet haven't put any information about it on their web site. Keep tabs if you're interested. They'll probably update and announce the artshow a little later in the year.

~ Jess

The First North American Discworld Convention will be held September
4-7, 2009 (Labor Day weekend which includes a Monday holiday) at the
Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in downtown Tempe, Arizona (near Phoenix).
It will be a celebration of the Discworld universe created by our
Guest of Honor Terry Pratchett. Other guests will include Diane Duane,
Peter Morwood, and Esther Friesner, with more to be announced.

During the weekend we will have many panels, presentations, readings
and other activities for Discworld fans. We are also planning to have
a Maskerade, a Banquet, a Marketplace (dealer's room/art show), a
Charity Auction to benefit the Orangutan Foundation, a Hospitality
Suite, and other activities for attendees. The North American
Discworld Convention is being sponsored by Leprecon, Inc., an Arizona
non-profit volunteer corporation.

Our Guest of Honor, Terry Pratchett, is the international
best-selling author of the Discworld novel series, which began in
1983 with The Colour of Magic and most recently continued in Making
Money. His young adult and children's books, including the Johnny
Maxwell series and the Tiffany Aching Discworld YA books, have been
well received, and he was awarded the 2001 Carnegie Medal for The
Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. He also co-wrote Good Omens
with Neil Gaiman.

Our additional guests are fans of Terry's work and good friends of
Terry's. They are also excellent convention guests in their own right
and we're looking forward to having them join us.

Diane Duane and Peter Morwood have written many novels, comics, and
screenplays, both singly and as collaborations. They co-wrote The Ring
of the Nibelungs miniseries (aired in the U.S. on SciFi as Dark
Kingdom: The Dragon King), and each has several new novels and
projects in the works.

Esther Friesner is a science fiction and fantasy writer best known
for her humorous stories and anthologies (such as Alien Pregnant by
Elvis and the Chicks in Chainmail series) and her fantasy novel series
(Majyk, Demons, New York by Knight, and Gnome Man's Land). She's
recently embarked on a young adult series featuring a young Helen of
Troy with Nobody's Princess and the upcoming Nobody's Prize.

We will be hosting other guests with connections to Terry and
Discworld in addition to those above and will announce them as they
are confirmed.

The convention will run from early afternoon on Friday, September 4th
to late afternoon on Monday, September 7th. There may be some limited
activities available for pre-registered members on Thursday night,
September 3rd, depending on the travel schedule of our guests.
Tentative plans for major events include a special event on Friday
night, the Maskerade on Saturday night, and a Banquet in the early
evening on Sunday.

We will have special panels with our guests including a spotlight
talk/interview with Terry Pratchett, probably on Saturday afternoon.
Outside of the major panels and events we plan to have more
discussion panels, presentations, readings, demonstrations, games, and
other activities that will make this a fun and memorable weekend for
everyone.

The Charity Auction will benefit Terry Pratchett's favorite charity,
the Orangutan Foundation, and will likely be held on Sunday
afternoon. There may be some additional fund-raising activities during
the weekend as well.

Our venue is the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, Arizona.
Leprecon, Inc. has recently hosted the 2004 World Fantasy Convention
and the 2006 Nebula Awards weekend at the Tempe Mission Palms and it
has received acclaim from fans and pros at those events. The hotel
is located in the heart of downtown Tempe with a varied selection of
restaurants, shopping and nightlife nearby.

It is a short distance from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
and is accessible via the Phoenix Light Rail system, which will be
opening in late 2008. Our room rates are US $119 per night S/D, US
$129 T, and US $139 Q with a US $9.75 per night hospitality fee that
includes airport shuttle, valet and self parking, internet access, a
fitness center, and more. The online booking code and the reservation
phone number will soon be available on our website.

The initial membership rate will be US $60 for a full weekend
membership, or US $30 for a supporting membership. Children 6-11 will
pay US $30 with kids 5 and under free with an adult membership. These
rates will be in effect until March 31, 2008. This rate includes all
regular convention events, panels and presentations.

The Banquet and a possible VIP event/charityevent will cost extra and
will be announced when details are finalized. Payments can be made
via the mail or online via Paypal. Full details are on our website. We
are planning to cap membership in the 900 attendee range to ensure
that all attendees will be able to be seated at
the major functions in our ballroom.

For those wanting to mix in some tourism around the convention we
will be looking into making arrangements with local touring companies
for trips before and/or after the convention with the possibility for
some special excursions being arranged for attendees. Keep an eye on
our website for details.

We're looking forward to hosting a fun weekend for all of our
attendees and our guests. Please be sure to visit our website at
[link] and join in the discussions on our message
board and livejournal community.

Lee Whiteside
2009 North American Discworld Chair
[link]