Novacon
Novacon is organised by the Birmingham SF group, and held over a weekend in early November each year, somewhere in the West Midlands.
What To Expect
Attendance is usually over 200 people, with a single-stream programme which often features items about Fandom itself.
While I have a bit of a soft spot for Novacons (my first convention was Novacon 24, waaaay back in 1994) I also have a small warning for newbies. Novacons typically only have a fairly relaxed single-stream program, and there will often be at least two or three items over the weekend that may require knowledge of fan personalities, cliques, or traditions to be fully enjoyed. If you are gregarious and/or you know several attendees already (via fanzines or newsgroups, for example) this shouldn't be a problem. However, if you're shy and you want to spend the whole con being entertained by the programme, Novacon might not be your ideal con. On the upside, Novacon usually manages an excellent dealers' room, a good video program, and a respectable Art Show for a small con, which should help pass the time.
Guests Of Honour
Novacons typically have only one guest of honour, usually a British writer. Recent and forthcoming Guests include:
- 1998 - Paul (J) McAuley
- 1999 - Ian Stewart
- 2000 - Christopher Priest
- 2001 - Gwyneth Jones (also known as Ann Halam)
- 2002 - Ian McDonald
- 2003 - Jon Courtenay Grimwood
Having said that, the last two Novacons have seen the presence of an additional "science" guest:
- 2001 - Inge Heyer, a senior data analyst at the Space Telescope Science Institute (cue a slideshow with lots of pretty Hubble pictures)
- 2002 - Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University.
Art Show and Auction
Various works of art, ranging in size from small to large, by artists of varying fame. Unlike Eastercon, however, Novacon's art show rarely manages many works by world-famous artists, but there's still a good range of stuff.
Video Programme
Novacon usually manages a substantial video programme. Like Eastercon, the selection will vary wildly, and schedules will be posted on a board outside the room.
Links:
- Novacon 31 (2001), Quality Hotel, Walsall. Note: This con has already happened, so you can't join it.
- Novacon 32 (2002), Quality Hotel, Walsall. Do I really need to keep telling people?
- Novacon 33 (2003), Quality Hotel, Walsall. Hey, it's a good hotel.
Note: due to their historical nature, I can't make any guarantees about the longevity of the websites for past conventions.