The year’s last big weekend for steampunk events is approaching, especially in the U.S. with TeslaCon, Steampunk November, the Vermont Steampunk Expo, and three gatherings in California. Also happening this weekend is Steampunk the Thames in New Zealand. We’ve posted a preview, but here’s a quick look.
TeslaCon, billed as “the largest immersion steampunk convention in North America,” returns Nov. 7-10 to Madison, Wisconsin. Each convention features performers who act out a steampunk drama, and this time the event will take to the seas with a story entitled “The Mystery of Kraken Island.” Celtic rock group Wakefire will perform at a ball on Friday night.
Steampunk November, described as “the longest running steampunk music and arts festival in Texas,” returns Nov. 9-10 to the Amber Inn Academy of Arts in Mansfield, Texas, near Dallas. The program features music, dance, comedy, circus acts, slam poetry, teapot racing, tea dueling, and more.
The Vermont Steampunk Expo takes place Nov. 9-10 at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vermont. Activities include workshops, panels, tea dueling, a magic show, and Celtic folk-rock music by O’hAnleigh. Guest speakers include authors Leanna Renee Hieber and Renee Fleury.
The Sacramento Steampunk Society will present Top Brass: China, the latest edition of the group’s annual formal dinner. Each year’s event is “hosted” by a different country or region, and this time it’s China, with a Year of the Dragon theme. The gathering is set for Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Yue Huang Restaurant in Sacramento.
More info: Facebook
The inaugural Lost Coast Steampunk Convivial is happening Nov. 9 in Eureka, California, with workshops, tea dueling, a teapot parade, and scavenger hunt. It will take place at the Inn at 2nd & C - Historic Eagle House, a Victorian-era hotel.
Steampunk authors Drake & McTrowell will present Duel at Dusk, a steampunk gathering with vendors, Nerf dueling, teapot racing, tea dueling, and a picnic basket competition. It’s set for Saturday, Nov. 10, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Team Touché Fencing Center in San Diego.
Maker Faire Orlando returns Nov. 9-10 to the Central Florida Fairgrounds & Expo Halls. Several steampunk-related exhibitors will be there, along with Daleks of Florida.
More info: Website
Steampunk the Thames returns Nov. 7-10 to the town of Thames in New Zealand’s North Island. This year’s theme is “Down the Rabbit Hole,” alluding to Alice in Wonderland.
Activities, which take place at multiple locations, will include a parade, fashion show, dance ball, teapot racing, and music performances. In addition, the organizers will present the “Punk My Ride” competition on Saturday and “Punk My Pet” fashion show on Sunday.
Read the full story: This Weekend: TeslaCon, Vermont Expo, Steampunk November, More
One event originally scheduled for this weekend, the autumn edition of the Surrey Steampunk Convivial in Epsom, Surrey, U.K., was cancelled as the venue is undergoing renovation. However, the organizers announced dates for 2025: Feb. 22-23, May 24-25, Aug. 2-3, and Oct. 25-26. See the website for more info.
The organizers of the Jewelry City Steampunk Festival announced a new date for the event, which was originally scheduled for Oct. 5-6. Now it’s set for Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at an indoor venue: The Ezekiel Bates A.F. & A.M. Lodge, at 71 N Main Street, Attleboro, Massachusetts. Admission is free.
The entertainment lineup will feature Frenchy and the Punk, the Nathaniel Johnstone Band, Steamcordia, Haunted by Possums, Danny Drake, La Loopna Hoops, Nagashri Dancers, and Theodore Rorsharch.
Other special guests include steampunk artist Bruce Rosenbaum. The program will also feature a children’s activities area presented by the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum.
Vendor spots are still available. See the website for more info.
Readers may recall that the Birmingham Public Library (BPL) in Alabama has its own Steampunk Librarian. Her name is Mary Anne Ellis, and she was at it again this year as the library celebrated Halloween.
She began the tradition in 2011, in part due to her fondness for vintage apparel.
You can see more photos in this BPL blog post and in our previous coverage from 2021.
Steampunk fans gathered in Scottsboro, Alabama, on Oct. 26 for Steamers and Dreamers, a steampunk festival with costumes, games, contests, artisan merchants, and more. Lead organizer Byron Lauderdale sent along some photos, which we’ve posted in a gallery.
See the photos: Steamers and Dreamers
See our website for comprehensive event listings, including steampunk events and regional fandom events in Canada, the U.K., Australia/New Zealand, and the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, South Central, Mountain, and Pacific regions of the U.S.
New Fiction
eSpec Books released Aéros & Héroes, the second novel in the steampunk fantasy series The Twins of Bellesfées by Ef Deal. The series tells the story of twin sisters Jacqueline Duval and Angélique Laforge in an alt-history France.
In this book, Jacqueline “struggles with feelings of weakness and failure when a private celebration for her twin sister’s marriage turns fraught with peril. Beset by vampires and insurrectionists and rogue monarchs, how is Jacqueline to keep her invited-and uninvited-guests safe, and the King of the French on the right side of the grave?”
It’s available in digital, paperback, and e-book formats from the publisher and from Amazon.
Crowdfunding
Crits & Crafts of Amsterdam, Netherlands launched a Kickstarter campaign for Murder on the Aurora Dawn, a steampunk murder mystery RPG compatible with D&D 5e. It’s designed for four to six players.
“Board the Aurora Dawn, the most luxurious cruise zeppelin in existence,” the creator writes. “Uncover the secrets of this majestic aircraft as you race against time to stop a deadly saboteur.”
Pledges begin at €1 (USD$2) for a digital edition and €23 (US$25) for a softcover version. The creator estimates delivery in December. The book includes AI-generated imagery.
The campaign launched Nov. 1 and is well past its €30 (US$21) funding goal. It runs through Nov. 30. Learn more on the Kickstarter page.
Ongoing campaigns:
Days of Heaven – A gothic horror fantasy comic from Abigail Jill Harding and Richard Starkings. The campaign reached its US$12,000 funding goal over the weekend. It runs through Nov. 20.
Guts & Gears: Tales of the Weird West – A story collection by Jonathan Fesmire, set in a steampunk Wild West populated by zombies. The book’s cover uses AI-generated images. The campaign quickly reached its US$300 funding goal. It runs through Nov. 14.
Elsewhere in the Aether
Asylum festival to stay in Lincoln despite anger over hotel price hikes (Lincolnshire Live)
Steampunk festival confirmed for Lincoln in 2025 (BBC)
Burning Man CEO addresses $20M budget pinch (SFGate)
Paul Spooner’s latest automaton takes on Manifest Destiny (Boing Boing)
Whoever Steals This Book Volume 3 Review (Anime UK News)
Comics: Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theatre #2 Advance Review: Delightfully Unhinged (Comic Book Club)
Movie Review: Steampunk anime “The Glassworker” is Pakistan’s Best International Feature submission (Movie Nation)
‘Time After Time’: The Jack the Ripper movie that inspired two very different songs (Far Out Magazine)
This BBC Series Proves the True Crime Obsession Dates Back to Jack the Ripper (MovieWeb)
Margaret Qualley to Star in Horror Movie “Victorian Psycho” (ScreenRant)
What Makes the Dark, Whimsical World of Tim Burton So Compelling? (Smithsonian Magazine)
Romford in the Victorian era captured in ‘rare’ photos (This Is Local London)
One of America’s First Spectator Sports Was Professional Walking (Smithsonian Magazine)
