Every convention has its "GoHs" that serve as masters of ceremony, reigning experts, objects of obsession and symbols. Chicago, which has hosted six Worldcons, more than any other city, has pulled together some good ones for 2000.
Author Guest of Honor: Ben Bova
Ben Bova is a writer from the old guard of science fiction tradition. He is a real space nut, the President Emeritus of the National Space Society, a former aerospace executive, and the author of the popular novel Mars, an account of the first landing on the Red Planet. Like Heinlein, Asimov, and other seemingly omniscient writers of that era, Bova has predicted many things that have come true since he started writing in the 1940s -- selling stories about virtual reality and space-based lasers when computers took up entire rooms and the space race was just starting.
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Artist Guest of Honor: Bob Eggleton
A five-time
Hugo winner and the winner of ten Chelsey awards, Eggleton has been working as a science-fiction artist since 1984. He did conceptualization work on the recently released Godzilla 2000, a dream project for the self-confessed lover of monster movies and B-flicks.
Editor Guest of Honor: Jim Baen
Ever read a paperback that says "Baen Books" on the side? Those are his. Jim Baen has been an editor and publisher of science fiction since 1974. In 1977 he became the science fiction editor at Ace, which remained a top SF imprint even after a series of mergers that drove Baen out. He started his own company in 1984, and Baen Books has gone on to publish some of the industry’s top authors, including Gregory Benford, David Drake, and Larry Niven.
Toastmaster: Harry Turtledove
Well known for his alternate-history novels, Harry Turtledove has been a regular fixture at Worldcon for several years. He won the 1994 Hugo for Best Novella with "Down in the Bottomlands," and he has another novella nominated this year. His bestselling novel Guns of the South posited an alternate history with advanced weaponry being delivered to the Confederates via time travel. Often considered the top writer in this subgenre of science fiction, Turtledove is also very prolific, having released four novels in the last year.
Fan Guests of Honor: Bob and Anne Passovoy
According to a Chicon bio, the Passovoys have been active in Midwestern fandom for about 30 years. They pioneered what is now called the Chicago school of art auctioning, which treats the auction as an opportunity to entertain the bidders while also taking their money. They are also renowned as excellent "filkers," a con tradition of singing humorous original folk songs about science fiction topics and celebrities.
What are SPACE.com's guests of honor (other than the
board of directors)? Let us know.
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