Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches

Edited by Mike Resnick & Joe Siclari

Cover by Bob Eggleton

"Fellow Science Fiction Fans: I am mighty glad to be here among as fine a crowd of live-wires and go-getters that has ever assembled under one roof. I always pictured you Science Fans just as you are. Always ready for any adventure and argue any question at the drop of a hat."

—Frank R. Paul

Guest of Honor, Frank R. Paul said that in 1939 addressing a group of 200 science fiction fans in New York for the first World Science Fiction Convention. And here's the book that proves his case with 31 Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches.

Mike Resnick and Joe Siclari have rescued many of these from oblivion. Speeches only preserved on tape or printed in obscure, hard-to-find fanzines, are now collected in this fine hard cover edition. These speeches are treasure troves of ideas, quotes and insightful commentary by some of the greatest writers in the science fiction field: Robert A. Heinlein, Fritz Leiber, Kate Wilhelm, Theodore Sturgeon, and so many more. Starting with Paul's first Worldcon speech all the way through Christopher Priest's 2005 speech at Interaction in Glasgow, each speech presents a snapshot of the concerns of authors and fans within the genre and the world at large.

In these pages, we learn that, indeed, the best of the field have been more than willing to "be ready for any adventure"' and especially willing to "'argue any question at the drop of a hat." We invite you to read and enjoy the words spoken at Worldcon by E.E. "Doc" Smith, Hugo Gernsback, John W. Campbel, Ben Bova, etc. Worldcon Guest of Honor Speeches is a history of the field by its leading authors and editors, and a long overdue addition to the library of SF.

Download Errata and Index

For the first time anywhere, the Worldcon Guest Of Honor Speeches by:

• 1939:  Frank R. Paul
• 1940:  E.E. "Doc" Smith
• 1941:  Robert A. Heinlein
• 1946:  A.E. van Vogt
• 1948:  Robert Bloch
• 1949:  Lloyd A. Eshbach
• 1951:  Fritz Leiber
• 1952:  Hugo Gernsback
• 1954:  John W. Campbell
• 1958:  Richard Matheson
• 1962:  Theodore Sturgeon
• 1963:  Murray Leinster
• 1965:  Brian W. Aldiss.....Hear an excerpt....     4 min., 29 sec.
• 1968:  Philip José Farmer
• 1970:  Robert Silverberg.....Hear an excerpt....      5 min., 37 sec.
• 1971:  Clifford D. Simak
• 1973:  Robert Bloch
• 1978:  Harlan Ellison
• 1980:  Kate Wilhelm
• 1985:  Gene Wolfe
• 1987:  Doris Lessing (Recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature)
• 1987:  Boris & Arkady Strugatsky.....Hear an excerpt....      7 min., 04 sec.
• 1988:  Donald Wollheim
• 1990:  Joe Haldeman
• 2000:  Ben Bova.....Hear an excerpt....      6 min., 24 sec.
• 2001:  Greg Bear
• 2001:  Gardner Dozois
• 2002:  Vernor Vinge
• 2003:  George R.R. Martin
• 2004:  Terry Pratchett.....Hear an excerpt....      8 min., 34 sec.
• 2005:  Christopher Priest

Mike Resnick is the winner of five Hugos, plus many other major awards in the United States, France, Japan, Spain, Croatia, and Poland. He is the author of more than 50 novels, close to 200 stories, 14 collections, and two screenplays, and has edited over 40 anthologies. He currently ranks 4^th on the Locus list of the most-honored science fiction writers in history.

(November 2006)

Joe Siclari is a fanhistorian, fanzine fan, archivist, collector, indexer, convention-club fan. He published A Wealth of Fable by Harry Warner, Jr., the history of 1950's SF Fandom; The Complete Quandry (reprints from and bibliographical info on Lee Hoffman's legendary fanzine); and Walt Willis's The Enchantment. He was also publisher of Unterhelios, Fanhistorica, SFSFS Shuttle, over 100 other fanzines, a filk book, many convention pubs, apazines, and compiled the SMOFcon Convention Manual.

(November 2006)

Bob Eggleton has won the Hugo Award for Best Artist eight times. His artwork has been featured on the covers of books from every major science fiction and fantasy publisher. With John Grant, he created Dragonhedge. Eggleton's books also include Alien Horizons, Greetings from Earth, and The Book of Sea Monsters. Eggleton was the Artist Guest of Honor at Chicon 2000, the 58^th World Science Fiction Convention.

(November 2006)