Editorial overview
Concom is fannish shorthand for convention committee: the group of volunteers responsible for planning and running a science fiction convention.
Table of Contents
The term matters because conventions are not spontaneous gatherings. They are temporary institutions built by departments, meetings, budgets, deadlines, and many people doing work attendees may never see.
Context and significance
A concom may include chair, treasurer, programming, registration, publications, hotel liaison, art show, dealers, operations, hospitality, accessibility, tech, and volunteer coordination. Each area has its own problems and vocabulary.
The committee structure allows a fan-run event to divide responsibility. It also creates the internal politics familiar to anyone who has organized with volunteers: strong opinions, burnout, heroics, mistakes, and last-minute improvisation.
Understanding concoms helps explain why convention history is also labor history. The visible weekend rests on months or years of planning.
A good concom makes the convention feel effortless. That illusion is usually the result of a great deal of effort.
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