Kinna the same problem with a con I'm attending soon. To me, if you're going to make someone GOH, you better make it worth their time to get there. In my opinion, that should include room, table in your dealers den, and a gift basket or something... Just seems like the sort of thing you'd do for someone you'd make the GOH at a convention.

Now I'm thinking of that 'Be our Guest' scene from Beauty and the Beast... THAT'S HOW IT SHOULD BE THOUGH, DAMMAT! e.O

^ This so much. If you're not really going to do anything for the GOH or make it worth their time, then they're not really treating them like a GOH. :|

Definitely agree here. Unless you *really* want to go, I'd turn them down. It sounds like this con thinks GOH means getting an artist to do stuff for the price of a con entrance fee.

Oh, and if you do turn them down, be sure to send them a copy of this: http://ursulav.livejournal.com/1504559.html :)

That is an EXCELLENT link.

Dear Kat,
This is Keefur, the con chair. When you were approached a year ago to be the artist Guest of Honor, you were living in Nashville and were told that we were a first year con and that one of the reasons you were chosen, besides your talent, was the fact that since you were local, we would not be burdened with the cost of travel and hotel expenses. You were offered all the amenities usually associated with being a GoH at any furry convention, including free admittance, table space, meals, etc. You have since moved to Ohio, and have requested assistance for travel and room expenses. We have been in private communication with you concerning this, including your biography and the supplying of the promised art which has not yet been received. You were offered an "out" if you could not afford to get here. You were told that because we have a tight first year budget, and most of the expenses are coming from my own pocket, these expenses could not be done. I felt it should have fallen to you to let me know much sooner what was going on so that if you could not get here, other arrangements could have been made. I was most unpleasently surprised when I heard about your posts here dealing with these private negotiation issues. We look forward to having you as our Guest of Honor if you can work out your travel issues and wish to move forward on a positive note.

best thing to do is ask for keys to the car and drive there on your own if yu have a license

and check in at a motel near the con

I do but my parent's car is expensive and I do NOT trust myself driving it.

oh then i got nothing then


wait use the traveling bus like greyhound or sthing

I just noticed something. If they can't afford to give their GOH their own room and transportation then, what else could they not afford?

Wait a minute, don't GOH have to do some artwork for the convention? And they won't give you a room or transportation? I don't mean any disrespect, but doesn't that seem like they're taking advantage of you? Is there anything that you're getting out of this at all? (meaning, you should probably weigh what you're giving them in relation to what you're getting in return before you give them all this money and time of yours).

(Btw, not trying to be a jerk here, but I am a little suspicious of this wouldn't want you being taken advantage of).

of this AND wouldn't want you being...

^I Agree with this. Something doesn't seem right.

I just went on the site for Fangcon and was looking a the GOH list and noticed that you were on the bottom of the page with little info about you. That alone doesn't seem right.

agreed, even the voice actor for edward in FMA had a room a food service at EXP con. GOH are usually given a room, hell atleast free food for the whole con

(I've been poked in your direction by Jadedfox.)

As a former GoH (of the very first Anthrocon and of Eurofurence 14), this seems... flaky. Both AC and EF paid for my hotel room. AC didn't pay for travel, and I'm not sure how many cons can actually afford to. (EF actually did pay to fly me from the US to Germany, which is nothing short of astounding.)

I appreciate that a convention that's just getting going probably doesn't have a lot of resources, but they should be compensating you in some fashion. I presume you're at least getting your con membership for free. Personally, I think unless there's an extraordinary reason why they can't do it they should at least be comping you your hotel room.

Anthrocon covers travel costs nowadays. Smaller, especially first-year cons I imagine are a lot less likely to put forth travel expenses. I personally believe that any Guest Of Honor should have hotel room comped; if you cannot afford that for all your Guests of Honor, you have too any Guests of Honor.

--Chiaroscuro

I would skip that. if they can't even provide you a room at a nearby hotel/motel and care for your food/drink they somehow misunderstood what a GoH actually is: a GUEST.

if you go, good luck with con and your arrangements. :)

yeah this is sounding sketchier and sketchier... and it's sounds like they are taking advantage of you instead of actually trying to make you feel welcomed and important. I don't know much of cons persay but i've been to dance competitions/ conventions like Show Stoppers and they did all sorts for their GOH. (we had the man who played Blue power ranger from the original movie along with several other awesome people) if they can't even cater to the smaller details then it won't be worth it and will just leave you massively stressed out and unhappy and nobody wants that.

Despite the issues, I hope after they are ironed out that you do have a good time. Being GOH must be a fantastic experience (away from all this), so I hope it works out for the best in the end. :)

From my point of view, in spite of what they call you, this con isn't treating you as a Guest of Honor. They're not honoring you to make you do free artwork for them (at the opportunity cost of other projects you might like to do, paid or not). They expect you to run workshops and panels. And in return, what are they offering, apart from the title? They're not providing a room or even partially covering your expenses to get there or to eat.

OK, so they're a first-year con and they don't have much money (but as one of my college professors liked to say, "that's an explanation, not an excuse"). Yet they give you a lousy two sentences at the bottom of the GoHs page on their web site, after lengthy bios about the other GoHs, without even any pictures of you or samples of your artwork or a link to your comic. That wouldn't cost them anything, apart from a little effort, and you're giving them far more effort than that would take!

I think you should seriously consider bringing it up (at least for advice) on the Artists Beware LJ community: http://artists-beware.livejournal.com/

You deserve better treatment than this. This con should be embarrassed.

Guests of Honor have comps that go beyond free attendance. Transportation, lodging, meals, or something (outside of attendance upgrades) that would make it worthwhile to be recognized at that event.

If all you're getting is a free pass to attend, you're just a Guest. But if you've contributed time/materials to the event, you're not even that: you're just Staff.

If the con can't do anything to move you from the latter paragraph above to the former one, then make sure that you're at least credited with the proper label.

I'm curious how they're "honouring" you here. It sounds like you'll be doing work for them gratis. Have they made even a token effort?

Wow, I'd like to direct everyone's attention back to Keefur's comment right here.

FangCon is a first-year con, and one of the reasons Kat was approached in the first place is because she was - at the time - a local artist to Nashville, and thus travel expenses wouldn't be an issue. Almost all of the startup income is coming directly out of Keefur's pocket - and as a first-year con, there's a lot of kinks that need ironed out. Such as website layout.

It's not 'sketchy'. It's just new.

Thank you for your kind post, Twistedspectrum. There are lots of things that go on at cons "behind the scenes". As far as the web site is concerned, I can only work with what I have available, so there may appear to be gaps that aren't filled at this time. We haven't been around long enough to have all the amenities that people take for granted in place, and the person who is doing our website has graciously donated their time and efforts to help us out.

I do want to correct a misconception that many of the posters here have. Being a Guest of Honor is a two way street, not an honorarium. Just being considered as a GoH is an honor to those considered, but as I said, it is yin and yang. What a Guest of Honor does for the convention is help generate interest and hopefully bring in fans of that particular guest to the convention. A GoH is usually expected to "chip in" in some meaningful way that will be beneficial to the con and make things more enjoyable for the attendees. Artists, for example are expected to donate art to showcase their work. Our other Guests of Honor, Calamity Cougar and Rhubarb the Bear are coordinating/hosting/performing in the variety show. Jugular Jaguar is the fursuiting GoH and is contributing also. GoHs also do panels at the con. What does the GoH get from being a GoH? These are negotiated things. It also depends on the caliber of the guest. Cons with high budgets like Anthrocon, Furry Weekend Atlanta, etc. could probably include travel, room, gifts, and a couple of food events for all their GoH people. I am on staff with several conventions, both large and small. Most of the smaller cons only offer a sales table and a room. Sometimes, depending upon the situation, the room has to be shared. Travel expenses are usually left to the GoH. This isn't because the cons don't care about their GoHs, it is just a cold hard fact of economics. However, Guests of Honor don't go to cons because they want everything comped. The MAIN benefit that a Guest of Honor receives from the title is the recognition and platform to showcase their talents, otherwise known as advertising. Everything the con does spreads the names of their GoHs. Being a GoH can't be purchased. It is the one advertising venue that is not selected, but given. That makes it the most valuable kind of advertising. This is especially true for artists who are selling commissions and gaining credibility in their resumes as this boosts their desirability and income.

That being said, I try to pick Guests of Honor that make the con a more fun experience for the attendees. Three of the Guests of Honor for Fangcon have never been so before. Draconis (Calamity Cougar) has been in the Fandom for many years and deserves recognition but has not received it, nor has Jugular Jaguar. Kat Miller, I felt would be a special treat for the attendees because of her talents, even though she, too, had not been a GoH before. Rhubarb, though relatively new to the Fandom, has had an enormous impact due to his entertainment talents and has been a GoH multiple times. It would not surprise me to see Rhubarb as a GoH at Anthrocon very soon. Anyway, the "safe" road for any convention is to choose Guests of Honor that have been so before. I fight for the under dogs, however, and realize there are many people within the Fandom that should be recognized for their talents and contributions and would dearly love the recognition.

Thanks for listening to this greymuzzle rant.