FAQ

The word “ConSuite” is a contraction of “convention hospitality suite.” It is a space where Penguicon attendees can grab hot and cold beverages, light snacks, and good conversation. It is not intended as a replacement for a full meal, but is a great quick stop to refuel between panels.

A featured guest is someone who is a standout in their area of knowledge and who is invited to bring something special to Penguicon. Featured Guests receive a free registration, are listed in the program book, and are expected to contribute to the convention experience.

A GoH Emeritus is a past Guest of Honor. We extend an invitation to our past GoHs each year, and they receive a free badge when they attend.

Our Guests of Honor (or GoHs) are often authors, scientists, hackers, coders, game creators, musicians, and other luminaries who make the convention exciting by giving us a chance to learn from the masters. Guests of Honor are given free travel and accommodations as thanks for their participation in the convention. You will find profiles of them in the program book and they are featured in various panels and events throughout the weekend.

As a non-profit all-volunteer charity, we do not pay our Guest of Honor, and they often spend their weekends sharing their knowledge with us when they could be making a lot of money at a for-profit convention or tech conference. We are deeply honored that they come to participate in this experience with us.

We welcome suggestions for future Guests of Honor, who are chosen by that year’s Convention Chair. You can reach out to this year’s Chair, or if you have ideas for future years, contact the Board of Directors who will pass that forward.

Anyone who presents programming at Penguicon is a panelist. Thank you for contributing to the wealth of knowledge and experience that is shared every year at Penguicon!

Panelists can receive a discount on their registration by presenting at least three hours of programming.

Many conventions have a Dealer Room or Artist Alley. Penguicon’s community has many makers, artists, and inventors, and we have asked them to set up tables in our Maker Market so our attendees can support that work by buying art, crafts, games, and electronics projects from their own community during Penguicon.

Makers are carefully selected based on quality, variety, type of merchandise, relevance to the Penguicon, and whatever adds the most to the Penguicon experience. Makers offer their own work; we ask resellers to reach out to us about our Sponsor tables.

When available, the Writer’s Block is a bookstore and author’s corner that is run either by volunteers or by the authors themselves. We provide space for creators to display their written works and make them available to purchase without (generally) having to be their for every minute, allowing those creators more time to participate in the rest of the convention and still have a home for signings and readings.

This part of our programming is highly dependent on having volunteer staff to arrange and run it – please reach out to the ConChair if you’d like to contribute your time, with thanks from us and all the authors who attend Penguicon.

Many conventions have a Dealer Room or Artist Alley. Penguicon’s community has many makers, artists, and inventors, and we have asked them to set up tables in our Maker Market so our attendees can support that work by buying art, crafts, games, and electronics projects from their own community during Penguicon.

Makers are carefully selected based on quality, variety, type of merchandise, relevance to the Penguicon, and whatever adds the most to the Penguicon experience. Makers offer their own work; we ask resellers to reach out to us about our Sponsor tables.