Many of the people reading this page will have been to conventions before, possibly many times. However, many of you will not; perhaps Illustrious will be your first convention, or at least your first large-scale one. To give you an idea of what to expect, some sections of this site explain the convention concepts in general, as opposed to the specifics of our own. In this section:
What exactly is a Guest of Honour?
Guests of Honour are selected from those who have made a major contribution to the world of SF fandom. Usually they are writers, artists and (at larger conventions) famous fans. (Actors are much more rare, being usually invited only to the inaccurately-labelled "media" conventions which focus on the series they starred in.) Whether they have impacted that world through their books, their images, or their assistance, they are people that the convention committee wish to honour, and people who will provide an entertaining experience for the convention members.
Guests are often chosen because their works fit a particular theme that the convention is based on. This is the case with our two author guests, David Weber and Peter F. Hamilton: many of their novels are military in nature, and as outstanding examples of the sub-genre we are honoured to have them.
The 'theme' reasoning also applies somewhat to our artist guest, David A. Hardy, whose long-running career is in itself a measure of SF Through the Ages, but he is being honoured more for his work's own sake, and the massive impact it has had, both on our genre and the world at large. This is also the reason for our fan guest, Vince Docherty, whose efforts as a conrunner over the last four decades have brought him recognition across the fandom of four continents.
Having been invited, a Guest can be expected to give talks on their favourite subjects, sign their books or pictures, engage in panel discussions with other congoers, and in general entertain the fans with their presence. The best guests will achieve this by being sociable.
You shouldn't expect Guests of Honour to be unapproachable icons, grandly signing a series of books or photographs before vanishing to some five-star ivory tower. They will ideally become involved in most aspects of convention life; including, of course, sitting in the bar or at a room party, having a conversation with the other fans — I say other, because the best Guests are fans themselves at heart.
So don't be afraid of them; don't be star-struck. If you want to spend some time with this author or that artist, look for a time when they are at ease, talking with other fans, and politely insinuate yourself into the conversation, just as you would with anyone else. Having a normal conversation with a guest is far more fulfilling (on both sides) than gushing about how much you love their work before running off in embarrassment.
If you want to learn more about our Guests of Honour, use the navigation bar at the left and take a look at their individual pages. If you want to find out more about guests in general, try this page at the excellent Eastercon wiki. Or try here for a guest's-eye view of the whole thing, written by one of fandom's most approachable guests, the late and much-missed John Brunner.