2005 Prometheus Awards

The 63rd World Science Fiction Convention was held August 4 through 8, 2005 in Glasgow Scotland. The events were held in the Moat Hotel, the SECC (Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre) and the Clyde Auditorium.

The second story of each of the three sites are connected via an enclosed walkway, however walking directly was faster in most cases unless it was raining. However they were somewhat further from the other hotels and downtown Glasgow than many fans expected.

Weather was somewhat variable; I was rained on Wednesday evening when I went to pre-registration. That was the first and only time I walked from my hotel to the SECC. The Moat Hotel next to the SECC was full and so most attendees stayed in other hotels. Some by choice stayed in the Hilton which was the evening party hotel. The Hilton also filled up and I was able to get a room in the Holiday Inn near the Hilton.

The geography of area and the layout of streets and structures meant that walking to the Hilton was not easy from a lot of the hotels. Thursday evening on two occasions I helped someone lost find their hotel. By Friday most people had the layout figured out. Also on Saturday after the Masquerade and Sunday after the Hugo Awards ceremony the con provided buses to transport persons back to the Hilton. However, during the day most people chose to trade money for time and pay the £3.60 for a cab in order to save time. The schedule was packed and after the late night parties time became a valued commodity.

The Libertarian Futurist Society’s Prometheus Awards slot was Friday 3:30 PM to 4:00 PM in the Moat House Jura Room. Steve Gaalema took photos for us. I began the meeting by acknowledging the attendance of author Elizabeth Moon who was a finalist for the Prometheus Best Novel award. I then announced that Neal Stephenson won the award for his novel The System of the World. Publishers representative Diana Gill was very gracious in thanking us for the award and read the acceptance statement which Neal Stephenson had sent.

Next I announced the Special Award for the anthologies Give Me Liberty and Visions of Liberty edited by Mark Tier and Martin Greenberg and published by Baen Books. Former Prometheus Award-winner James P. Hogan (The Multiplex Man and Voyage From Yesteryear) spoke, representing the publisher Baen Books and also as a contributor with a story in one of the anthologies. I read the statement from Mark Tier and James Hogan read the statement from Martin Greenberg.

Fran Van Cleave then announced the next Special Award winner: The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel written by L. Neil Smith and illustrated by Scott Bieser. Fran read the statement from L. Neil Smith and I read the statement from Scott Bieser.

Finally I announced the Hall of Fame award winner A. E. van Vogt for The Weapon Shops of Isher. I read a statement from Lydia van Vogt, widow of A. E. van Vogt. Then I adjourned the Prometheus Awards session so that that Sidewise Awards could begin their session. Function space was at a premium so the Prometheus Awards, the Sidewise and the Golden Duck awards were each given a 30 minute portion of a 90 minute program slot. For those who do not know, the Sidewise awards are for Alternate History SF and the Golden Duck awards are for Children’s and Young Adult SF.

On Friday evening a small group gathered for a “libertarians and friends of libertarians get together” for drinks and dinner at the lobby bar of the Holiday Inn. Several authors were invited but none were able to attend due to meetings with publishers and agents.

Overall the con went well, there were a couple of minor glitches but nothing major. My friend Kevin Standlee, a fan in the SF Bay Area, was Division Head of Events and did a good job with the Masquerade and Hugo awards ceremony. Both started on time and ran on schedule. In fact the rumor is that a new time record was set for a modern Hugo ceremony. This allowed everyone to enjoy the event without getting tired and then to get to the parties sooner.

Cheryl Morgan has collected a lot of links to con reports and photos at http://www.emcit.com/wordpress

Finally, a big Thank You to Steve and Fran for helping with the Awards Ceremony, and to Diana Gill and James Hogan for being representatives for the award recipients.