As the end of August approaches, Duncan’s Books and More has the latest on our next event, CokoCon 2023. Set on Labor Day weekend, September 1st through the 4th, CokoCon is a local science fiction convention that promotes literacy and builds the local community. Sponsored by WesternSFA and CASFS, the event has a lot to offer. Not only will the event promote science fiction but we also are raising money to support the Animal Defense League of Arizona and Joshua Tree. 

Some of the special activities that will be held over the weekend include A Sketch Off and Charity Auction. We also will have a Drag show that is open to the public for a five dollar donation that will help support Joshua Tree. There will be guest spotlights, concerts, and author panels. Among the offerings will be workshops and children’s activities. We will have an Ice Cream Social and gaming. We will have the Apocalypse Later Roadshow, 90 minutes of short SF films. At the Movies will give participants a sneak peak at upcoming movies. There will also be Mike’s Book Club run by Michael Senft who runs the book club at Poisoned Pen on Sci-Fi Fridays. This year’s club will focus on a discussion of A Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. 

Are you here for our guests?  We have a fantastic lineup this year. We have the amazing Seanan McGuire author of the October Daye series by DAW, the Incryptid series and the Wayward Children series. Seanan also writes as Mira Grant. She is a Hugo award winner and a prolific writer. To me, Seanan McGuire is not to be missed. For our local community, we have our local guest of honor, Bruce Davis, who writes science fiction and fantasy. He is also a trauma surgeon and brings a wealth of authentic detail to his novels. Our artist guest of honor is mixed media artist Andy Van Overberghe who specializes in traditional high-detailed illustration working with organic materials and other found objects. Music is always a popular offering at our convention so we also have Filk guests of honor, Margaret Davis and Kristoph Klover. They perform original arrangements of Celtic music from the British Isles, Medieval and Renaissance music, filk and songs of Tolkien and more. Margaret will be offering a recorder workshop for beginners as well.

As in previous years, Duncan’s Books and More will be in the dealers room, with books by some of our local author participants and a selection of guests’ books, Seanan McGuire and Bruce Davis. We will have Duncan’s art, both sculptures and new designs as well as jewelry by Rhea. We will also have other amazing dealers to check out. 

If you haven’t booked your tickets yet, there is still time. Tickets will remain on sale for $50. The price goes up at the door to $60 so if you’re waiting, I would recommend purchasing now. CokoCon 2023 will be held at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Tempe at 2100 S Priest Drive, Tempe, AZ 85282.  Please join us for a fun filled weekend of science fiction, books, authors, workshops, gaming, and children’s activities. We have a little bit for everyone!