Guests of Honor FAQ
Who are your confirmed Guests of Honor for this year?
Who are your previous Guests of Honor?
Who are you trying to get?
I want to see (insert name here) at CONvergence. How do I make that happen?
How do you decide who the convention's Guests of Honor are?
Does CONvergence pay Guests of Honor to attend?
What does CONvergence do for Guests of Honor?
Can I be a Guest Liaison?
Q: Who are your confirmed Guests of Honor for this year?
A: Visit our Guests of Honor Page for a complete list of confirmed guests.
Q: Who are your previous Guests of Honor?
A: Scroll down our Guests of Honor Page for a listing by year of our Guests. CONvergence often invites one or two previous Guests back again to be repeat Guests of Honor because they were such great contributors to our convention in the past.
Q: Who are you trying to get?
A: We really can't mention the names of potential Guests. Why? Because until they are confirmed as planning to attend we don't want to spark any rumors that may cause confusion and lead to disappointment if someone does not appear at CONvergence.
Q: I want to see (insert name here) at CONvergence. How do I make that happen?
A: We're always interested in hearing who our members would like to see at the convention. Please fill out our online guest recommendation form.
If you do have an opportunity to speak to a potential Guest (at a signing or another convention) or otherwise have a means of contacting them, we would ask that you are careful not to mention CONvergence to them in such a way that it could be misconstrued as an official invitation from the convention. It may make later official contact with them more confusing. We would prefer that you provide CONvergence with a means of contacting them and let our Guests Department handle the official invitation, if the convention chooses to extend one.
Q: How do you decide who the convention's Guests of Honor are?
A: The CONvergence Board of Directors makes the final decisions on whom to invite as Guests of Honor. These decisions are based on a number of factors.
First, who would be a good fit for CONvergence? We look at potential Guests' bodies of work and feedback from con-goers who've met them. We also try to represent multiple genres, mediums, and creative fields as well as reflect the diversity of our community. Relevance to a given year's convention theme may also be a consideration, although we don't plan to have ALL Guests relate to a convention theme any more than ALL programming relates to a year's theme.
Second, do we have a direct line of contact? We have found that direct contact with a potential Guest is much more effective than going through an agent or booking service. We consider a direct line of contact to be a phone number or e-mail address. We're always interested to hear from anyone with a direct line of contact to a potential Guest of Honor.
Last, what is our budget? In an average year we have between six and eight Guests. Overseas and other airline travel makes up the bulk of our expenses for Guests and plays a factor in how many we may invite.
Q: Does CONvergence pay Guests of Honor to attend?
A: While we do cover the travel, lodging, and food expenses for Guests, in general CONvergence does not pay appearance fees. We want Guests who will come and fully participate in the convention because they enjoy it. Some Guests choose to sell books, photos or other merchandise as part of their time at the convention and we are happy to facilitate an opportunity for them to do that.
Q: What does CONvergence do for Guests of Honor?
A: CONvergence tries to treat Guests of Honor as... well... honored guests, and to be a good host to them. We assign staff members known as Guest Liaisons to work as personal assistants to our Guests prior to and at the convention itself.
We pay for their travel, lodging and food expenses. If we are arranging air travel for them, we try to arrange the timing of the flights for our Guests' maximum convenience. We guarantee our Guests transportation to and from the airport if they fly in to visit us.
We coordinate in advance which panels or events our Guests of Honor would like to be involved in at the convention, and take into account any special needs or requirements they may have while staying with us. Guests of Honor receive special membership badges which feature unique artwork personalized for each Guest. They are also given VIP seating for all events.
A staff-only Guest Reception prior to CONvergence allows Guests and Convention Committee (or concom) members to meet each other. The event welcomes Guests to the convention and provides concom members what may be their only opportunity to meet the Guests of Honor since many of them work through most of the convention weekend. It also gives Guests the opportunity to meet many of the people they'll be working with or otherwise relying on at the convention.
Guests of Honor receive lifetime memberships to the convention and will always have a badge waiting for them if they choose to visit again. Sometimes previous years' or "alumni" Guests of Honor return on their own dime so please extend them a heartfelt "thank you for visiting us again" if you see them at the convention!
Q: Can I be a Guest Liaison?
A: Liaisons become the "personal" face of the convention to our Guests and we look for people who are reliable, respectful, professional and good communicators. If you would like to be considered as a Liaison or to work with our Guest Support efforts, contact the Guest Department at guests@convergence-con.org.