Guests of Honour

International

Cecilia Eng

Cecilia Eng wandered into filking — literally — in 1984 when she got bored with the gaming one night at a large convention and heard music coming from down the hall. She's been writing and performing filk ever since, from the silly (want a real good deal on an asteroid? and how much DOES Mr. Sulu love his orchids?) to the sublime (like the C.J. Cherryh-based "Morgaine at Ivrel" and the Firefly-inspired "Earth That Was"), with lots of stops in between.

Cecilia has also recorded two albums and created arrangements for other performers' recordings, and she's the driving force behind Friends of Filk, a group that has raised money to bring filk guests to conventions in the northwestern U.S. for decades. That's a big part of why she was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2013.

Mostly, though, Cecilia loves singing filk of all kinds, as well as sea chanteys and traditional folksongs. She's an engaging performer, either alone or backing up anyone who needs a guitar line — and she's one of the friendliest and most welcoming filkers in any circle.

...with thanks to Frank Hayes

U.K.

Jackie Mitchell

Jackie describes her introduction to filk thus:

We were at the pub for a post-rehearsal drink following a Chapel End Savoy Players rehearsal (Gilbert and Sullivan), and if I recall correctly, Hitch, Debbie, Mich and Marilisa were there, and chatting about a choir they were involved in, that seemed to also have something to do with the kind of SF/Fantasy books/films etc. I like. Now I am a naturally nosy individual (and possibly just the slightest bit of a diva!), so after a few weeks of this, I could contain myself no longer, and so piped up with something along the lines of "What is this choir of which you speak, and why aren't I involved in it?" Before I knew it, Hitch had spoken to Valerie, and persuaded me to come along to the next rehearsal. Feeling somewhat pushy now, I duly went along, and attended probably 3 or 4 rehearsals before I realised we actually had a concrete gig we were rehearsing for, that I couldn't actually make (the 22nd UK con I believe)! I was able to mark my diary for the next year however, and since Marilisa also asked me to help out with her GoH set (Cre2c3ndo), I was committed, and there's been no escaping since!