45th World Science Fiction Convention

The 45th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Conspiracy '87, was held on 27 August–1 September 1987 at the Metropole Hotel and The Brighton Centre in Brighton, United Kingdom.

The initial chairman was Malcolm Edwards, who had to scale back his involvement several months before the con, and was succeeded by Paul Oldroyd with the title of "coordinator", later recognised as chairman.

Participants
Attendance was 4,009, out of 5,425 paid memberships.

Guests of Honour

 * Doris Lessing (UK)
 * Alfred Bester (US) (did not attend, due to poor health)
 * Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky (USSR)
 * Jim Burns (artist)
 * Ray Harryhausen (film)
 * Joyce Slater & Ken Slater (fan)
 * David Langford (special fan)
 * Brian W. Aldiss (toastmaster)

1987 Hugo Awards

 * Best Novel: Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
 * Best Novella: "Gilgamesh in the Outback" by Robert Silverberg
 * Best Novelette: "Permafrost" by Roger Zelazny
 * Best Short Story: "Tangents" by Greg Bear
 * Best Non-Fiction Book: Trillion Year Spree by Brian Aldiss with David Wingrove
 * Best Dramatic Presentation: Aliens
 * Best Semiprozine: Locus, edited by Charles N. Brown
 * Best Professional Editor: Terry Carr
 * Best Professional Artist: Jim Burns
 * Best Fanzine: Ansible, edited by Dave Langford
 * Best Fan Writer: Dave Langford
 * Best Fan Artist: Brad Foster

Other awards

 * John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer: Karen Joy Fowler