Editing Worldcon (section)

==Guests of Honor==
{{main|List of Worldcon Guests of Honor}}
Each Worldcon committee selects a number of guests of honor (or "GoHs") for the convention. Typically there is an author (aka "Writer" or  "Pro") and a [[Science fiction fandom|fan]] guest of honor. Many conventions also have artist, editor, and science guests, and most have a [[toastmaster]] for major events, such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the Hugo award ceremony. A few conventions have had two or even three author guests.<ref name="longlist" />

While other conventions may select guests on the basis of current popularity, Worldcons typically select guests of honor as an acknowledgement of significant lifetime contribution to the field; while these are often well-known figures, some committees choose lesser-known figures precisely because the committee feels the guest's accomplishments deserve more recognition from the community. Selection is treated by authors, fans, and others as a recognition of lifetime achievement. As such, the tradition is to award it only to those who have been making significant contributions for at least 20 years.{{Citation needed|date=March 2015}} Guests of honor generally receive travel expenses, membership, and a small ''[[per diem]]'' from the convention, but no speaking fees.

In order to announce guests immediately after [[site selection]], Worldcon bid committees select one or more guests ''before'' the site selection vote. Fans consider it inappropriate for bids to compete on the basis of their chosen guests (so as to avoid having someone chosen by a losing bid feeling that fandom had voted against them personally), so bids do not reveal who their guests are until after the vote, and losing bids generally never reveal who they invited. This is usually treated with the same discretion as the Hugo Awards, where only a few people might know in advance who the guests will be.