Novacon

Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the British Midlands. Launched in 1971, it has been hosted by the Birmingham Science Fiction Group since 1972.

History

The first Novacon was organised by the University of Aston Science Fiction Group in November 1971, at a time when the Eastercon was the only regular annual sf convention in the UK. The first Novacon was judged a success and its members voted to make it an annual event. The organisation was passed to the recently formed Birmingham Science Fiction Group to ensure continuity from year to year. Since then, Novacon has developed into a fan-centred rather than academic convention, based around a single-stream, structured programme and intended to let its members network and socialise, as well as attend programme items; there are usually also several science-oriented items.

Nova Awards

The annual Nova Awards are presented at Novacon. These are given in the categories of Best Fanzine, Best Fan Writer and Best Fan Artist. In addition, the Novacon committee occasionally presents its own Nova, for Best Fan; historically, recipients have a history of service to Novacon and/or the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

List of Novacons

No Year Name Location Guests of Honour Attendance*
1 1971 NOVACON Imperial Centre, Birmingham James White 144
2 1972 NOVACON 2 Imperial Centre, Birmingham Doreen Rogers 144
3 1973 NOVACON 3 Imperial Centre, Birmingham Ken Bulmer 146
4 1974 NOVACON 4 Imperial Centre, Birmingham Ken Slater 211
5 1975 NOVACON 5 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Dan Morgan 272
6 1976 NOVACON 6 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham David Kyle 317
7 1977 NOVACON 7 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham John Brunner 278
8 1978 NOVACON 8 Holiday Inn, Birmingham Anne McCaffrey 309
9 1979 NOVACON 9 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Christopher Priest 290
10 1980 NOVACON 10 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Brian W. Aldiss 495
11 1981 NOVACON 11 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Bob Shaw 362
12 1982 NOVACON 12 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Harry Harrison 373
13 1983 NOVACON 13 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Lisa Tuttle 339
14 1984 NOVACON 14 Grand Hotel, Birmingham Robert Holdstock 333
15 1985 NOVACON 15 De Vere Hotel, Coventry James White, David Langford 340
16 1986 NOVACON 16 De Vere Hotel, Coventry E. C. Tubb, Chris Evans 257
17 1987 NOVACON 17 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Iain M. Banks 315
18 1988 NOVACON 18 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Garry Kilworth 336
19 1989 NOVACON 19 Excelsior, Solihull Geoff Ryman 303
20 1990 NOVACON 20 Excelsior, Solihull Jack Cohen 330
21 1991 NOVACON 21 Forte Poste House, Solihull Colin Greenland 200
22 1992 NOVACON 22 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Storm Constantine 300
23 1993 NOVACON 23 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Stephen Baxter 243
24 1994 NOVACON 24 Royal Angus Hotel, Birmingham Graham Joyce 214
25 1995 NOVACON 25 Chamberlain Hotel, Birmingham Brian Aldiss, Bob Shaw, Harry Harrison; Iain Banks (special guest) 338
26 1996 NOVACON 26 Hotel Ibis, Birmingham David Gemmell 281
27 1997 NOVACON 27 Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern Peter F. Hamilton 277
28 1998 NOVACON 28 Britannia Hotel, Birmingham Paul J. McAuley 265
29 1999 NOVACON 29 Britannia Hotel, Birmingham Ian Stewart 239
30 2000 NOVACON 30 Britannia Hotel, Birmingham Christopher Priest; Rog Peyton (special guest); David A. Hardy (guest artist) 224
31 2001 NOVACON 31 Quality Hotel, Bentley Gwyneth Jones 219
32 2002 NOVACON 32 Quality Hotel, Bentley Ian McDonald 252
33 2003 NOVACON 33 Quality Hotel, Bentley Jon Courtenay Grimwood 203
34 2004 NOVACON 34 Quality Hotel, Bentley Ian Watson 217
35 2005 NOVACON 35 Quality Hotel, Bentley Alastair Reynolds 216
36 2006 NOVACON 36 Quality Hotel, Bentley Ken MacLeod 212
37 2007 NOVACON 37 Quality Hotel, Bentley Charles Stross 208
38 2008 NOVACON 38 Quality Hotel, Bentley Ian R MacLeod; Vernon Brown (fan guest) 177
39 2009 NOVACON 39 Park Inn, Nottingham Justina Robson 210
40 2010 NOVACON 40 Park Inn, Nottingham Iain M Banks; Brian W. Aldiss (special guest) 262
41 2011 NOVACON 41 Park Inn, Nottingham John Meaney tbc
42 2012 NOVACON 42 Park Inn, Nottingham Jaine Fenn tbc
43 2013 NOVACON 42 Park Inn, Nottingham Jo Walton tbc
44 2014 NOVACON 44 Park Inn, Nottingham Kari Sperring; John Gribbin (science guest) tbc

(*Attendance figures taken from individual programme books and may not reflect the final figures; for instance, more than 500 people attended Novacon 14.)

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