Unlike the other three Nova Awards, the Nova for “best fan” is an occasional award presented by the Novacon committee in order to honour fans who have made outstanding contributions to this event, but are not necessarily fanzine producers, writers or artists.
It was created in 1995 and presented to veteran fan Brian Burgess, who was unable to attend Novacon 25 due to ill health. When Bob Shaw died, we felt we had to acknowledge his special contributions over the years; even though Bob was a "filthy pro", he was also a true fan and easily worthy of 1996’s award.
Ken Slater was the recipient in 1997, celebrating not only his many years in fandom but also his 80th birthday. No nominations were made in 1998 or 1999, but 2000’s award went to Vernon Brown for not only creating Novacon but for his continuing contribution through the GCSfE. There was no award for the next two years, then in 2003 we recognised the contribution to Novacon of Ina Shorrock who for many years has staffed our Registration Desk. Novacon 34 made an award to Ray Bradbury in 2004. Ray has made many Nova awards but this year he got to take one home.
This is an occasional honour and is not awarded every year, but we are always open to nominations from fellow fans. Remember, recipients can be sf professionals - that's no problem - but first and foremost, they must be a fan.
