The inaugural FIYAHCON took place online October 17-18, 2020, held via Zoom and Dacast, and hosted by FIYAH magazine. Guests of honor were Yasser Bahjatt, Cassie Hart, and Rebecca Roanhorse. According to convention director L.D. Lewis, the event was conceived mid-year, in the midst of protests, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend of conventions switching to virtual events; it was “formally launched” July 7, 2020, and the Ignyte awards were conceived following the 2020 Hugo Awards ceremony. In her retrospective on her site, Lewis said, “It would be virtual, it would be inclusive, and it would, as all things FIYAH, prove to the community that such a thing as an inclusive, accessible, diverse, dynamic convention where people and entities have their names properly announced and see more than one brown face on a panel at a time on anything other than a Diversity Panel, could exist.” There were 1,128 registered members and 978 active attendees. “I’d considered the event experimental, and so capped it initially at 500 tickets,” Lewis said.