I was the Novacon Guest of Honour in 1997. I'm sorry? Did you just say 1997? Oh Lord, it really was that long ago.
It was held in Malvern for some reason, the only one to ever grace that town. From my dusty recollection the Abbey Hotel was an okay venue. Bizarrely my most vivid memory is dinner in a nearby restaurant that was a converted butchers, complete with meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. That was probably due to the late great Peter Weston recounting gossip from previous Novacons which, sadly, I can never repeat.
As always the con went smoothly, at least it seemed that way from the GoH point of view. But I know how hard everyone works behind the scenes to make it so.
I was a relatively new author at the time, so I was pleasantly surprised by how many people turned up to the GoH spot to hear me talk. That's the way it is with Novacon, a welcoming and sociable, and fun convention where authors don't come under pressure.
As always there was a limited edition (350 copies) chapbook, with my short story Softlight Sins - yes, I can do short stories. I still have it, along with the programme book, complete with page 17 printed twice.
Happy fiftieth birthday, Novacon.