----------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRELIMINARY OUTLINE FOR A PROPOSED FAN HISTORY BOOK OF THE 1960s Comments on this outline-in-progress are requested!!! (last modified on February 25, 2001) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- * British fandom - early British fandom > the Leeds Science Fiction League -- the first prominent fan group in the U.K. -- existed during the 1930s, but had passed from existence by (when?) -- most notable achievement, and it was a big one, was when it organized what some people claim was the very first science fiction convention, in Leeds in 1937 >> others claim, however, that the first convention was the much- less-organized Philadelphia convention of 1936; the controversy surrounding these competing claims lasted for decades afterwards, and this continuing controversy as much as anything has ensured the Leeds group its place in history > (other very early U.K. fan groups? London?) - London Circle > was the first prominent post-World War Two fan group in Britain > came into existance in 1947, meeting Thursday nights at a fabled meeting spot, the White Horse tavern -- for most of its existence, was a very casual, unorganized group, with its meetings always being at a pub, starting with the White Horse -- frequent attendees included Arthur C. Clarke, who immortalized the White Horse as the 'White Hart' in a series of stories > in 1953, meetings had moved to another famous meeting site, the Globe -- was a larger meeting spot than the White Horse, but turned out to be less of a favorite for fans > by late 1950s, waning interest was becoming evident, which continued to end of decade > in early 1960, controversy and personality clashes erupted when some members of the group, most notably Ted Tubb, wanted to organize for more stability -- for a short while, the London Circle actually decreed itself to be, according to Ron Ellik in FANAC, "a proper-type club, with membership cards and dues and an elected committee and everything", but this was not to last very long -- eventually, those who wanted no organization won out, but by then the seeds had been sewn for the club's eventual dissolution as the camaraderie that held the club together started to disappear >> an additional factor in the club's demise was the loss of its meeting spot at the Globe; the whole place was remodeled, and the saloon where they had met became a dining room > passed from existence in 1961, replaced in part by Science Fiction Club of London - Science Fiction Club of London > formed in 1960 by dissidents of the London Circle -- an invitational club -- earliest meetings were at Inchmery > Ella Parker ran club for a short while -- meetings at her apartment, "The Penitentiary", 151 Canterbury Road in London's West Kilburn -- Ella became known in fandom in the last half of 1950s, as a fan publisher, but more so for her socializing >> hosted Friday night fan meetings until late 1964 >> her fanzine ORION, that she inherited from Paul Enever, won SKYRACK poll for best British fanzine (1961) --- final issue (#29) published in 1962 -- she was popular enough that a special fan fund was created to bring her to the 1961 Seattle Worldcon -- went on the chair the 1965 Worldcon > club meetings moved to Ethel Lindsay's apartment at Surbiton in Surrey -- (short info/bio paragraph on Ethel Lindsay goes here) -- TAFF delegate to 1962 Worldcon in Chicago -- published fanzine SCOTTISHE in 1950s and 1960s -- published fanzine HAVERINGS in 1960s, devoted to fanzine reviews -- she later became secretary of BSFA and hosted Friday night open- house parties > series of open meetings begun in early 1966, continued for about a year -- featured talks by prominent SF pros and fans >> John Brunner's "The Fiction in SF" later reprinted in NEW WORLDS > published 'Combozines' that featured writings of the club's active members, excerpts from other fanzines -- second was at 1961 Eastercon, LXIcon > disbanded in 1968 -- decision to discontinue regular meetings in May 1968 >> ATom said that after 10 years of seeing the same people, everyone knew what the others were going to say before they said it >> had planned to hold annual meetings to keep the club alive at least in name, but it turned out not to be a workable idea -- last activity was a Minicon in November 1968 - BSFA > formed in 1958 -- origins can be traced back to a fanzine article written by Vincent Clarke in early 1958 -- club came officially into existance at the 1958 British Convention >> Clarke was unable to attend, sending a collection of reactions to his article instead >> series of meetings at the convention brought about creation of the club --- fans who were active in the formation process included Terry Jeeves, Archie Mercer, and Eric Bentcliffe -- club experienced a difficult first year, trying to rise from obscurity >> little publicity about the club was produced at first >> some of fans leading the club had to cut back activity for various reasons >> de-facto leadership assumed by Bentcliffe, with Jeeves editing the club's publication VECTOR -- club finally came of age in 1959, when British National Convention (in Birmingham) was run under BSFA sponsorship >> but by the end of 1950, both Jeeves and Bentcliffe had resigned, and their places were taken by Bobbie Wild (who married and became Bobbie Gray the next year) and Doc Weir -- ill health forced Weir to turn the BSFA Secretary position over to Sandra Hall after just a few months, however > Officers of BSFA -- usual complement of Treasurer, Secretary, etc. -- President of BSFA >> honorary figurehead, ceremonial in purpose >> presidents of BSFA in the 1960s included Brian Aldiss, Edmund Crispin -- Chairman of BSFA >> in early part of 1960s, was the person actually in charge of club >> by end of 1960s, this too had become a figurehead position >> chairmen of BSFA in the 1960s included Terry Jeeves, Ken Cheslin, Roy Kay, Ina Shorrock, Phil Rogers, Roger Gilbert -- Vice-Chairman of BSFA >> by end of 1960s, was the person actually in charge of the club > clubzine VECTOR edited at various times by Terry Jeeves, Michael Moorcock, Jimmy Groves, Archie Mercer, Darroll Pardoe, Steve Oakey, Ken Slater & Doreen Parker, and Rog Peyton -- during Peyton's tenure (1964-1966), VECTOR was upgraded into a professionaly-printed publication -- VECTOR 52 was special fiction issue, with stories by Robert Holdstock Michael G. Coney, among others > additional publications -- BSFA NEWSLETTER >> begun in late 1950s >> edited for a time by Ella Parker >> died in early 1960s (when?) -- BSFA BULLETIN >> begun in 1965 >> set up to carry news of BSFA, allowing VECTOR "to concentrate on wider aspects of the SF field." >> first editor was Archie Mercer, who stayed as editor for rest of 1960s > established a fanzine lending library in 1965 -- by Chris Priest -- companion to club's existing SF library > held "Annual General Meeting" at the Eastercon every year > sponsored British Fantasy Award -- presented at Eastercon -- Dave Kyle initially appointed to oversee award's administration -- became the British Science Fiction Award as of the 1970 Eastercon > controversy erupted in late 1960 over club's purpose -- stated purpose was 'furtherance of science fiction' -- actual purpose appeared to be bringing new people into fandom -- both sides of controversy has its supporters >> John Phillifent, who wrote science fiction, complained that BSFA was "being run by, and heavily slanted toward 'fandom'", a group that he felt negative toward >> Archie Mercer wrote that it was only the fannish fans who were interested in doing the work necessary to keep BSFA going -- ongoing dialog resulted that lasted for a number of months in letter column of VECTOR >> differing positions of both sides of the argument were summed up by Daphne Buckmaster in VECTOR 10: "The main problem seems to be the fact that you [the officials of BSFA] are trying to cater for two separate and differing bodies of people, fans and non-fans. I would suggest, with all modesty, that you cannot do both in one magazine. The editors and publishers in the professional SF field have never made any secret of the fact that they do not want or need any contact with fans, as such. It is my belief, therefore, that you will either have to decide that you are going to be a reputable organisation to encourage a serious and impersonal interest in the SF field *or* that you are an organisation for recruiting SF readers into the ranks of fandom. And if you want to do the first, you will need a more formal attitude if you want to be taken seriously." > in 1969, club's purpose again became point of discussion in Archie Mercer's fanzine PERTINENCE -- BSFA divorced itself from sponsorship of Eastercons in late 1960s >> many fans thought this a mistake, as Eastercon was the major annual event of British fandom -- suggestions put forth by Chris Priest and Bob Rickard on how to rejuvenate the club >> Priest suggested a strategy on how BSFA could expand membership sufficiently to have the resources to bring in a full-time secretary to actually run the club >> Rickard thought club's image was that of chaos and anarchy, and needed change before any improvements could happen -- unfortunately, discussions had no effect on BSFA, and club decline gradually continued until its collapse in the mid 1970s >> it was, however, successfully revived and continued as a centrex for British fandom for decades after that - late 1960s London fandom > by 1969, only activity was weekly meetings at The Globe - Young Science Fiction Readers Group (YSFRG) > formed in 1960 > for BSFA's under-25 members > club's stated purpose was to introduce new people into fandom > Jim Linwood founding member of this group > ads for group appeared in NEW WORLDS magazine > about 30 members > members from U.K. included Darroll Pardoe, Mary Munro, Brian Jordan > members from U.S. included Peggy Rae McKnight, Robert Lichtman, and Andy Main > published YSFRG NEWSLETTER (2 issues, last in 1961) > group died soon after appearance of last YSFRG NEWSLETTER - Cheltenham Circle > began in 1955 > passed from existence in 1963 -- 25th issue of VECTOR noted it's expiration > had organized the 1961 Eastercon > prominent members were Eric Jones, Bob Richardson, and Peter Mabey > perhaps best known as the organization that originated the Knights of St. Fantony - Bristol and District SF Club (BaD) > formed soon after Loncon II in 1965 -- first meeting, Sept. 1965, had 14 people show up > leading force behind the club was Tony Walsh -- apparently hosted many of the meetings, including the first > other prominent members included Peter Roberts and Graham Boak > comprised of some of the ex-Cheltenham Circle members > published a clubzine, BADINAGE, edited by Graham Boak -- first issue contained a letters column, from fans who had been persuaded to comment on the non-existent issue number zero -- five issues total, the last in July 1968 > club folded in mid-1968 -- Boak left Bristol University for job in aerospace industry >> moved to Hertfordshire -- Roberts left to go to Keele Univ. - Stourbridge and District Science Fiction Circle (SADO) > Stourbridge was a small town near Birmingham, which was the home of > prime mover for founding of the club was Ken Cheslin -- Cheslin had come into fandom in 1959 when attended that yeat's Eastercon [source: Hansen obit for Cheslin in Oct-Nov00 SF CHRONICLE] -- Cheslin almost immediately became hyperactive as a fan >> began publishing a fanzine for the british apa OMPA, and by 1962 had become the Official Editor >> later became active in Tolkien fandom, and was British representative to the U.S. Tolkien organization The Fellowship of the Ring, and was editor of the U.K.'s first Tolkien fanzine, NAZGUL'S BANE -- in mid 1960s, Cheslin was one of the U.K.'s most prominent fans >> was elected Chairman of BSFA in 1964 >> was Chairman, as well as Treasurer and Secretary, for the 1965 Eastercon >> perhaps the most impressive thing about Cheslin was his utter commitment to fandom; in mid 1960s suffered the horrible misfortune of losing a hand in an industrial accident, but he used part of the compensation he received to purchase a duplicator for his fanzine publishing > by early 1960, Cheslin and two others had formed the club, and were looking around for more members -- they placed an advert in NEW WORLDS to promote their club, and soon afterward were contacted by two notables, Dave Hale and Darroll Pardoe, who joined > the club didn't exist for very long; there soon would a larger, more active group that would form in nearby Birmingham > SADO and its successor, the Birmingham SF Group, was the source of several notable fanzines -- LES SPINGE, which began in September 1960, started as a clubzine and took life of its own as a fine general interest fanzine >> initially edited by Cheslin and Peter Davies --- later on, edited Cheslin and Hale >> it was notable because of its throwback style --- unline some of the newer 1960s fanzines, it, along with HYPHEN, kept alive the tradition of the old-style of British fanzine >> some of the issues were truly spectacular, in size as well as content --- 100-page 13th issue (May 1964) was so large that it had to be collated in two volumes; contributors included Willis, John Berry, Michael Moorcock --- 106-page 14th issue (January 1965) was assembled using a power drill and metal binding straps; it was tedious enough where they could only collate and mail a few issues each week >>> contributators to that monumental issue included such notables as Michael Moorcock, John Berry, Charles Platt, and George O. Smith >> unfortunately, there was relatively low reader response to these issues, and it caused the editors to become discouraged and quit --- the fanzine still survived, though; Darroll Pardoe edited slimmed-down subsequent issues --- it was never quite the same after that >> the fanzine continued publication through the decade of the 1970s, however, and its final issue (#36) was in December 1979 -- in 1964, Cheslin did a one-shot fanzine, titled A CHILD'S GARDEN OF OLAF, which was a more whimsical publication >> consisted of cartoons about a Viking named Olaf by Mike Higg to which Cheslin provided captions >> Cheslin revived the title in the 1980s for series of fanzines of a similar nature that continued irregularly through much of the 1990s - Birmingham Science Fiction Group > formed in 1961 -- did not contact rest of British fandom until 1963, when one of its members journeyed to Peterborough for the 1963 Eastercon > founded by Roger Peyton and Cliff Teague > other members included fan artist Mike Higgs > Ken Cheslin became early mentor to group > Tony Ventris-Field, a reporter from Erdington News, joined club in 1962 -- newspaper would give free publicity only to local organizations -- club became "The Erdington SF Circle" to con the paper's editor >> little paper slips advertizing the ESFC were put in SF books at Birmingham Rag Market: "Are you interested in SF? Join the Erdington SF Circle." -- Ventris-Field wrote article that appeared on paper's front page in January 1963 -- no indication that newspaper story had much of an effect on club's membership roster -- one of book inserts found by Peter Weston, then 19 years old >> had been solitary reader of SF for 6 years >> attended meeting two weeks after finding notice, became regular attendee >> would go on to publish one of Britain's best fanzines > peak of its existence was the 1965 Eastercon, which the club sponsored > there were several meeting sites for group during its history -- met at book store at first -- Sunday meetings then held at Victorian house where Teague lived -- later, met at home of Charlie Winstone, in Erdington >> Winstone had bad time at 1966 Eastercon, ejected the group soon after that -- after 1966 Eastercon, club meeting site became 'The Old Contemptibles' pub in Birmingham >> pub was not really suitable as a meeting site, however >> one of last few meetings had only 3 people > club passed from existence on Sept. 25, 1966 (H.G. Wells's birthday) -- Darroll Pardoe and Martin Pitt met to toast Wells, then declared the club dead -- Birmingham fandom would not organize again until the 1970s - Liverpool Group (LiG) > formerly Liverpool Science Fantasy Society (LaSFaS), founded in 1951 > prominent members included Norman and Ina Shorrock, John Roles, Eddie Jones, and Norman Weedall > published the fanzine BASTION -- edited by Eric Bentcliffe, published by Norman Shorrock, artwork by Eddie Jones -- three issues total, last in 1962 >> last issue contained article by Dick Lupoff describing formation of a new New York fan group, The Fanoclasts > 1962 visit by Dave and Ruth Kyle after 1962 Eastercon > 1964 trip to the German National Convention by group of British fans, many from Liverpool Group - Oxford University Science Fiction Club > formed in 1962 > founded by Chris Miller, Mark Wigan, and John Pewsay > outside guarantors were Brian Aldiss and C.S. Lewis -- Aldiss's house was center of activity for club > officially the O.U. Speculative Fiction Group, for purposes of respectability -- however, often met in pubs - Cambridge University Science Fiction Society > founded in 1963 by Charles Platt -- at the time, a student in economics at Cambridge's Churchill College - NotFans fan group of Nottingham University > some of fans in organization were Jim Linwood, Bob Parkinson, John Dyke, and Jacqui Bratton > held regular Wednesday night meetings > disbanded in mid-1962 after Parkinson and Dyke graduated and left Nottingham > club's fanzine, JETSTREAM, lasted just one issue -- Linwood published 2 more issues on his own, through the apa OMPA - A second Nottingham fan group, Forest Fields Science Fiction Society > formed in late 1962 > comprised of schoolboys > published short-lived fanzine, ICARUS, that ran for 7 issues > best-known fan in the group was Dave Wood, not the same Dave Wood who had been active in the 1950s - Sheffield University Union Science Fiction and Fantasy Association > existed for a few years in early 1960s > when it was formed, there were only a handful of members, hardly enough even to fill all the various offices and other club committee positions they had made up -- this led one of the founders, Brian Jordan, to write that the club had "a committee of eight and a membership of one" > there was a clubzine, ENTROPY, which seemed to have died of heat death after only a few issues > not long after its formation, the club merged with the University's astronomical society, and became the Sheffield University Science Fiction and Astronomical Society, or 'Astrosoc' for short - Herts Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan Group > formed in April 1969 > members included Graham Boak (elected as first chairman), Arthur Cruttenden, Keith & Jill Bridges, Mary Reed, Chaz Legg, Brian Hampton -- Gardner Dozois, who was visiting, listed as an honorary member > one of club's very first activities was to buy a duplicator - Northern Science Fiction and Fantasy Group > Manchester area group > formed in 1964 > chairman was Charles Partington > initial meetings held in a room overtop of a fish and chips store > showed silent 8mm movies at meetings, interested in films > Partington and some other club members also part of The Delta Group, which produced a number of SF-related amateur films in the 1960s - Faculty of Technology SF Society (TechSFSoc) of Manchester > a university group run by Martin Pitt > founded in 1967 > as many as 115 members, though there were no scheduled meetings; no > group apparently survived through end of decade - Leeds University Science Fiction Group > founded by Bill Burns in 1966 > lasted two years > was mostly a social group that had little contact with other fan groups - Leeds and District SF Group > organized by Barbara Mace in 1967 > met on altenate Monday evenings in Victoria pub behind Leeds Town Hall * Australia - the beginnings of science fiction fandom in Australia can be traced back as least as far as the 1930s > a Sydney chapter of the old Science Fiction League formed in 1935, and lasted about a year [source for this section except where noted: Warner AOY] > another chapter of the SFL was organized in Adelaide at about the end of the 1930s -- its most notable achievement was publication of a one-shot hectographed 16-page fanzine, SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW, in 1939, which was published by John Gregor [additional source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] >> there was never a second issue because Gregor joined the Australian Army soon after that [source: Veney "Prewar Fanzines in Australia"] > by the end of the 1930s, though, Sydney had established itself as the fan center of the country -- Bill Veney and about half a dozen other fans formed the Junior Australian Science Fiction correspondence club in 1938 >> they also did a one-shot, AUSTRALIAN FAN NEWS, a few months after the Adelaide fanzine had appeared >> Veney had previously, in 1937, been the co-editor of Australia's first science fiction fanzine, SPACEHOUNDS, while he was a student at Randwick School in Sydney; it was hand-written and had a circulation of 1, and was handed around and read under the watchful eye of the editors [source: Veney "PFinA"] -- at same time, a rival club, the Junior Science Correspondence Club had formed, which had as many as 14 members at its peak and lasted for just a few months >> in its brief existence, managed to publish two issues of a newsletter >> the most notable member was Vol Molesworth --- (info about Molesworth here) --- he was described by Veney as "a ball of energy" who "couldn't quite see the reason for our slowness in many matters" [source: Veney "PFinA"] -- but by far the most important fan organization, not only in Sydney but in all of Australia, came into existence in November 1939: the Sydney Futurians >> originally, the group was to be called the Sydney Science Fiction League, but when word spread about the group, surprisingly as far as New York City, Don Wollheim persuaded them, via corespondence, to take the name of the legendary New York fan group instead >> initial meeting was at Veney's parents' house >> the group managed something the previous groups could not: longevity; it survived, with periods of non-activity, for many decades --- it was the first fan organization to revive after the end of World War Two >> but back in 1930s and 1940s, it was the vehicle that brought some new people into fandom, most notably Don Tuck and Graham Stone, though Stone left the organization for a while in the 1950s as the result of a feud >> in the 1950s, the Sydney Futurians had grown large enough where it was meeting three times per week in its own clubroom, with attendances of as many as 40 fans on occasions when there was a party [additional source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] --- it could not stand all the prosperity, though; there were feuds and schisms with splinter groups forming >>> one of them, the so-called 'Thursday Night Group' or more descriptively, the 'Bridge Club Rebels', consisted of people expelled from the Sydney Futurians for seemingly minor infractions; Dave Cohen, who spoke for the group, said he would pay for meeting space in the Sydney Bridge Club clubrooms, and anyone except Graham Stone would be welcome [source: Nicholson 16Dec91 letter; Foyster 14Nov00 email] >>> another of them (name?) had enough stability to last until about 1960 and even host a visit by Robert A. Heinlein during his trip to Australia in 1954 --- it was the independence of some of these splinter groups that caused some friction with some fans, notably Stone, who believed that Sydney fandom was better served by a single monolithic organization [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] -- but in 1951, Stone himself had started what could be regarded as a splinter group, the Australian Science Fiction Society [source: Warner AWoF] >> the organization was a bit different than most, as it had no rules, no constitution, and except for Stone (who served as secretary), no officers >> its purpose seemed to be to keep all fans in the country informed on what other fans were doing, which it accomplished via its newszine STOPGAP >> membership soon grew to about 150, but it soon became embroiled in a series of feuds, mostly between Stone and some factions of the Sydney Futurians -- another subset of 1950s Sydney fandom was the Australian Fantasy Foundation, which was most noted for its publication FORERUNNER, one issue of which was so slickly produced and with such high-quality fiction that it was comparable to the prozines > by the mid 1950s, there was enough division and dissention in Sydney fandom that it couldn't really be called 'organized' any more -- at the business meeting of 1955 National Convention, there was much acrimony involving the Bridge Club Rebels and what remained of the Sydney Futurians [source: "Sea Green Sunday"] >> this led to the 48th issue of the Melbourne clubzine ETHERLINE carrying an 'In Memoriam' page that read "Sacred to the memory of organised Sydney fandom, which passed away after a lingering attack of schizophrenia April 1st 1955. Resting in the hope of a Glorious Resurrection." [source: Foyster 2May99 email] -- if there was one fan who was nearest the center of all the dissension, it was Graham Stone; he had become involved in an escalating row about who had control over the Sydney Futurians sf library that was the source of much of the unpleasantness at the 1955 Natcon business meeting [sources: MSFC web site; "Sea Green Sunday"] -- there was also dissension over who would sponsor any future Australian National Convention, there were enough hard feelings that Graham Stone never again supported another Australian convention >> however, by then, it was apparent that none of the Sydney splinter groups were capable of hosting another convention in the forseeable future [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email] -- another Sydney club appeared almost immediately, and it assumed the name of the Sydney Futurian Society >> some of the prominent members were Molesworth, Doug Nicholson, Arthur Haddon, and Dave Cohen --- Haddon, a tattooed ex-sailor, was one of the mainstays of the club; according to Nicholson, "he brought perhaps somewhat deficient literacy but enormous vigour to the pursuit of fannish activities." [source: Nicholson 16Dec91 letter] --- Cohen, who had been involved in prior Sydney fandom schisms, (describe him briefly) --- Nicholson (brief description) > but as the 1960s began, the Sydney Futurians seemed in decline -- the meeting sites were a succession of ever-smaller rooms [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] >> in effect, Stone was running the club as a one-man show, handling all the activities associated witht he club's library with occasional help from Alan South and Kevin Dillon [source: RClarke 24Nov00 email] -- some of the Sydney fans, most notably Doug Nicholson, started spending much of their time in a intellectual/Bohemian group called the 'Sydney Push' [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] >> Mike Baldwin, another of the fans in that group, gained some unwanted visibility when a story of his titled "God in the Marijuana Patch", which had been published in a University magazine, got that magazine banned and himself prosecuted for blasphemy [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] -- at the end of 1963, Stone took a job in Canberra, and Vol Molesworth's health started a rapid decline that ended with his death in the middle of 1964 [source: RClarke 24Nov00 email] >> it was clear that change was needed if the club were to last much longer > but the change did come, and Sydney fandom became revitalized by an influx of new faces -- Ron Smith, who had won a Hugo Award for his fanzine INSIDE, moved to Australia from the United States in 1963 [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email] >> he had become unnerved by the Cold War escalations in the United States, which was one of the reasons for the move to a subjectively safer part of the world >> once he relocated to Sydney, he leveraged his small press publication skills and became employed by the publisher Horwitz [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email] --- by the late 1960s, found that he could make more money working for a publisher of soft-core pornography >> after arriving in Australia, almost immediately he located Sydney fandom and became a part of it --- (more details needed) -- in August 1964, Ron Clarke and some of his friends at Normanhurst Boys High School in Sydney published the first issue of a new fanzine, THE MENTOR [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] >> Clarke had discovered fandom in 1963, after seeing a notice about an upcoming meeting of the Sydney Futurians in an issue of the British prozine NEW WORLDS [source: RClarke 24Nov00 email] -- on the night of the meeting, as he later remembered, "I ventured into Sydney to 96 Phillip Street, up the dark and musty stairs to the room on the 2nd floor where dwelt the Futurian Society of Sydney library. There I met Graham Stone, Kevin Dillon, and Alan South, as well as coffee whose taste and odour I can still taste and smell to this day." >> soon afterwards he became a member of the Sydney Futurians [source: Clarke 22Nov00 email] --- he quickly obtained the address of an active fanzine publisher in Melbourne, John Foyster, who sent him a copy of his fanzine SATURA --- Clarke soon experienced the urge to 'pub his ish', so Foyster got him in contact with another active fan, John Baxter, who lived in Sydney --- Baxter provided him copies of his fanzine, SOUFFLE, but more importantly, helped him select a manual typewriter --- Clarke, who was in his last year in high school, then founded the sf club there that would publish the first few issues of THE MENTOR >> the first issues were not very memorable, published initially for the pupils at the school, and were dismissed by Clarke himself as little more than crudzines [source: Clarke 22Nov00 email] >> after graduating from high school in 1966, Clarke continued THE MENTOR as his own fanzine --- by the seventh issue, the editorship had been reduced to Clarke himself, and the only reason it as published, according to Clarke, was to "show the flag" at the Melbourne Conference of May 1968 [source: Clarke 22Nov00 email] --- but things improved after that, with monthly issues over the next four months in quality and size, that established THE MENTOR as one of Australia's best fanzines --- Clarke's philosophy with THE MENTOR was to publish a mix, from fiction to poetry to articles of fanhistorical interest; he later wrote that "One of the main reasons I publish TM is to give stf fans the opportunity to see their stories in print and to hear what other people, stf readers like themselves, think of them." [source: Clarke 22Nov00 email] --- Clarke continued to publish the fanzine, with minor interruptions, until the late 1990s >> Clarke himself, perhaps because of THE MENTOR, later became of one Sydney's most prominent fans --- he attended first convention in 1966 --- one of founders of Sydney Science Fiction Foundation and ANZAPA --- in the 1970s, besides continuing to publish TM, he was active in helping to revive the Sydney Futurians from yet another moribund period, and even chaired one of the Australian National Conventions in that decade (in 1974) [source: Foyster 2Apr99 email] > one of the more important events in Sydney fandom in the 1960s was the visit, in (when?), of famous writers Leigh Brackett and Edmond Hamilton -- John Bangsund, a Melbourne fan of whom more will be mentioned shortly, wanted to make sure Brackett and Hamilton would meet some fans while they were in Australia, and contacted two people he knew in Sydney to organize the event: Betsy (lastname?) and John Danza [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] >> little was heard of the organizers after that hurriedly-arranged event, but the event itself was so successful that it gave organized fandom in Sydney a needed boost >> an organization of fans came together as a result of the event, and became known as the Sydney Science Fiction Foundation > Sydney Science Fiction Foundation -- pretentious-sounding name aside, it was a science fiction club similar in intent and style to other Sydney sf clubs [source: Foyster 8Nov00 email] -- (details? purpose? prominent fans? activities?) -- the prime mover-and-shaker of the organization was Gary Mason >> Mason considered himself more of a comics fan than a science fiction fan, but he was the organizational force that kept the SSFF active in its early years [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] -- other members included Ron & Sue Clarke, Shayne McCormack, Kevin Dillon [source: Foyster 8Nov00 email] >> there were crossovers from other Sydney fan groups, including even the local STAR TREK club -- in the end, the organization proved to be somewhat long-lived, but not with permanency; it survived well into the 1970s, but passed from existence by the time the 1980s had arrived [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] - Melbourne fandom > got its start in May 1952, with the formation of the Melbourne Science Fiction Group [source: Warner, corrected by MSFC web site and various Foyster emails] -- founders included Race Mathews and Bob McCubbin, who met each other in August 1951 at Franklin's Lending Library in the Eastern Market of central Melbourne [sources: MSFC web site, Mathews 7Nov00 email] -- other founders of the club were Leo "Lee" Harding, Merv Binns, and Ditmar "Dick" Jenssen >> Binns had worked in a bookstore near where Mathews and McCubbin had met, and took it upon himself to make sure there was science fiction for sale there --- McGills was a dark, narrow store about 3 blocks from the Eastern Market; it specialized in technical books, but had a sf section of both books and magazines near the front of the store [source: Foyster 14Nov00 email] >>> both McCubbin and Mathews frequented McGills as well as Franklin's, so it wasn't long before they connected up with Binns --- Binns became, in effect, the Group's promotion and publicity director, as he inserted sheets of paper promoting upcoming Group meetings into magazines sold at the store [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] --- Bruce Gillespie later described another benefit of Binn's employment at McGill's: "In his role as Secretary/Everything Else of the Melbourne Science Fiction Club, he was able to import American books, quite illegally (at that time), and sell them on club nights to members." [source: Gillespie 24Nov00 email] --- Binns eventually opened his own bookstore, Space Age Books, at the beginning of the 1970s, which was the first science fiction bookstore in Australia >> Jenssen was a classmate of Mathews --- (brief bio) --- the annual Australian science fiction awards are nicknamed the 'Ditmars' >>> during the second half of the 1960s he had noticed that the amount of science fiction produced by Australian writers had been steadily increasing, and merited some attention >>> so, in 1969, he funded creation of a new award for, as he stated at that year's NatCon, "excellence in various fields of science fiction" which included both pro and fan activities [source: Foyster 2Nov00 and 2Nov00 emails] >>> Ditmars have been since given out each year at the Australian National Convention --- Jenssen became mostly inactive about (when?) >>> in the 1970s(?) he became Head of the Department of Meteorology at the University of Melbourne [source: Gillespie 8Nov00 email] >> Harding was a member of Stone's ASFS, and had been given Jenssen's address by Stone [source: MSFC web site] --- Harding became known as a prolific fan publisher, one who, according to Doug Nicholson, "did not accept criticism easily" [source: Nicholson 16Dec91 letter] --- however, Harding and Stone did not get along very well, not an unusual circumstance for Stone and most Melbourne fans at that time --- Harding dropped out of fandom about 1955, in part to pursue outside interests as a professional photographer, but reappeared with renewed vigor at the start of the 1960s [sources: Foyster 5Nov00 and 8Nov00 emails] --- he later became a successful writer of both science fiction and childrens stories, winning the Australian Children's Book Award in 1982 [source: Gillespie 8Nov00 email] -- first official meeting wasn't until May 9, 1952, at the home of Mathews [sources: MSFC web site and Foyster 31Oct00 email] >> it took the better part of a year before Mathews' parents would allow it; their first impression of McCubbin had not been very favorable [sources: Mathews 7Nov00 and 8Nov00 emails] --- it took a bit of time for them to figure out that McCubbin was harmless; by the time Leo Harding appeared on the scene in early 1952, they had relented --- Harding may well have been the necessary ingredient that allowed the organization not only to form, but to succeed; Mathews later wrote that "Lee's arrival interjected a lot of additional energy to the local sf scene, and it may well be that without him the Group would either not have been established or, more likely, would have been short-lived." [source: Mathews 8Nov00 email] >> early meetings featured lots of talk and moderate amounts of chess- playing >> there wasn't much of a formal organization; McCubbin was the self- elected Chairman, for what it was worth [source: MSFC web site] -- at first, meetings were in members' homes, or in a convenient coffee lounge just across from McGills, but by 1952 the group had grown too large to continue with those [sources: Warner AWoF and Foyster 31Oct00 and 14Nov00 emails] >> the meeting site shifted to the Oddfellows Hall on Latrobe Street in Melbourne [sources: Foyster 2May99 email and MSFC web site] --- the Group was provided, for the princely sum of 12/6 per meeting, a basement room for the meeting and use of a cupboard for the Group's library --- usually about 10-20 people attending >> after that, they started meeting in an office on Lennox Street in Richmond, one of Melbourne's suburbs >> by end of 1950s the meeting site was a place on Little Collins Street in Melbourne's Central Business District, a site that was in a not very friendly-looking part of the CBD [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] -- the MSFG became known to the outside fan world via its clubzine ETHERLINE, which was edited by Ian J. Crozier [source: Foyster 2May99 email] >> it replaced a short newsletter that McCubbin had been publishing since soon after the Group formed [source: Foyster 1Nov00 email] >> first issue edited by Harding, thereafter by Crozier [source: Foyster 1Nov00 email] --- (need a very brief, 1-2 sentence description of Crozier here) >> started out as a one-sheet in early 1950s, lasted until about 1958 --- Binns would put out the current issue in McGills, right next to the sf books and magazines there [source: Foyster 14Nov00 email] >> the peak of its existence was from 1955, when twenty issues were published, through 1958, when its largest issues were published [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] > the MSFG became the Melbourne Science Fiction Club by May 1957 [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] -- the end of the 1950s was a time of transition for the club, with departure of some of the older members such as McCubbin and Ian Crozier and change-over from a committee-run structure to something a lot less formal >> McCubbin had begun to have more responsibilities in his high-school teaching career [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] >> Crozier's gafiation was perhaps the most significant, because with Crozier's departure came the end of ETHERLINE; the fanzine had been perhaps the Group's most demanding activity, and after Crozier's departure nobody else felt they could take it on [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] >> another of the founders, Harding, was long gone by then, having started a career as a professional photographer; a contributing factor to his departure had been a personality clash with Crozier [source: Foyster 8Nov00 email] -- Race Mathews had departed the scene, too; though he had met his wife at one of the Group's meetings, he had sold much of his sf collection at Group meetings to finance his courtship of her [source: MSFC web site] >> his involvement with the Group ceased about 1956; he eventually became interested in politics, and eventually was elected first, in the early 1970s, to the Federal Parliament, and later saw regional public service as Minister of the Arts and Police in the Victoria State Government [sources: Foyster 8Nov00 email; Gillespie 8Nov00 email] -- about this time, Merv Binns arranged for the club to start meeting at a site on McKillop Street, but to secure the location, he had to provide the organization's name [source: Foyster 23Oct00 email] >> the previous site, at Little Collins Street, besides being in a gloomy area of the city, was also a bit pricy for the Group's treasury [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] >> Binns, who had undertaken the search for a friendlier and less costly site, had fallen into the habit of referring to the club as the 'Melbourne Science Fiction Club', so that's the name he gave to the new meeting place's owner >> Binns also thought it would be easier to secure a rental agreement if the organization was a 'Club'; the word 'Group' implied a looser organization to the meeting site owner, one that might not pay its monthly fee! -- the McKillop Street site, for all that, wasn't used for very long as the Club's home; it lasted just a couple of years before a more permanent place was found at the end of 1961 >> the big problem was that the place was just too small; John Foyster characterized the McKillop Street meeting place as being "crowded as soon as two members sat down to play chess" [source: Foyster 16Nov00 email] -- for the remainder of the 1960s, the meeting site was at 19 Somerset Place in central Melbourne, not far from McGills [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] >> this was really the 3rd floor of McGills warehouse; Binns had discovered it wasn't being used for anything [source: Foyster 16Nov00 email] --- it was easily large enough for the club's library and its members; there was even a row of seats rescued from from an old movie theater that led to the formation of an offshoot club, the Melbourne Fantasy Film Group --- there was even enough room for a table tennis table, which was one of the club's main interests; on many nights it was not easy to get a turn at the table >> to get to the 3rd floor, there was an open-air water-powered lift that most members used instead of the stairs [source: Foyster 16Nov00 email] --- one of the members, Don Latimer, got the idea that newcomers to the club should get a special greeting, so when the lift was summoned down to the ground floor to get them, he rode it half way down and grabbed a handhold on the outside wall, then as the lift with the newcomers came back up, jumped back into it as it reached him to welcome the visitors. This was especially effective at night when there wasn't much light. -- to offset the departure at the end of the 1950s of some of the older members there was an influx of newer ones, such as John Foyster and John Baxter, of which more will be written shortly >> with these newer fans came a revolutionary change in Australian fandom; these newer fans had a much different idea about what the MSFC should be --- instead of an almost reverential respect for science fiction as a literature form as well as the space travel and other speculative sciences that went into it, the newer fans made the partying and socializing that fans often did into the number one activity [source: Foyster 3Nov00 email] -- (early to mid 1960s stuff here... include some anecdotal material if possible about events, people, etc.) -- by the mid 1960s, attendance at MSFC meetings had risen to the point where the idea of holding a National Convention resurfaced >> the large clubroom where MSFC meetings were held, or others like it that wouldn't require much money to rent, made the idea attractive financially >> and expected attendance would only be about double what MSFC meetings were then running [source: Foyster 4May99 email] -- (need much more 1960s info) -- other prominent fans in the MSFC during the 1960s included Merv Barrett, Latimer, Santos, McLelland ... (need first names) >> (some details, including any anecdotes) > The Nova Mob -- the beginnings of this organization may have been with a club called the Melbourne Science Fiction Society [source: Foyster 5Nov00 and 23Nov00 emails] >> the MSFS was formed at about the end of 1968 by Foyster and John Bangsund because the MSFC seemed too much involved in socializing to the point where there weren't any new fans coming in from the sf reading public [source: Foyster 14Nov00 email] >> the meeting site was at the Victorian Railway Institute, where Bangsund was employed at the time; Foyster felt that "the Somerset place clubrooms, while just fine for members, did not necessarily constitute the ideal place to make one's first contact with fandom" [source: Foyster 8Nov00] >> unfortunately, the MSFS proved to be short-lived, lasting but two meetings --- both meetings were so poorly-attended, it seemed useless to continue --- but Foyster saw this as instructional, from a point of view of avoiding unsuitable meeting sites: "What that meant, in terms of the founding of the Nova Mob, was that we knew one method that definitely didn't work." [source: Foyster 8Nov00] -- as a result, and unlike the MSFC, which always had a public meeting site, Nova Mob meetings were always in members' homes [source: Foyster 8Nov00 email] >> (specifics?) -- (need lots more info about this club) > other Melbourne fan groups of the 1960s -- the Melbourne Fantasy Film Group (I may move this to Chapter 6, where other similar organizations are described) -- science fiction clubs also existed at two Melbourne universities: Monash University and the University of Melbourne >> (brief details, if any are known) - Queensland fandom > first organized fandom in that part of the country began in Brisbane in 1951 as the Brisbane Science Fiction Group -- founders were Charles Mustchin, Frank Bryning, and Bill Veney >> Bryning was was one of those rarities of the time, someone who was equal parts fan and professional writer [source: Nicholson 16Dec91 letter] >> Mustchin, who lived in Coolangatta, had a science fiction collection of impressive proportions, and was regarded both as Queensland's #1 fan and #1 sf collector [source: Bryning 29Aug91 letter] >> Veney had moved to Queensland from Sydney at the start of the 1950s -- club grew to about 40 members at its peak [source: Warner AWoF] -- big event of its early history was hosting a visit by Arthur C. Clarke in 1955 [source: Foyster 2May99 email] > whereas other Australian SF clubs were active in many areas, the BSFG became known mostly as a Group for collectors [source: Foyster 31Oct00 email] -- (details) > in the 1960s, the club wasn't very active, but because its base was collectors, it didn't exactly die out, either; instead, it continued at a very low level of activity, mostly with informal meetings at members houses at irregular intervals > it wasn't until November 1969 that a more active organization was formed, when Dennis Stocks started the Brisbane Fantasy and Science Fiction Association -- (details? happenings?) - other parts of Australia > in Tasmania, the leading fan in the 1950s was Don Tuck -- Tuck first came into fandom in the pre-War 1940s, where he had gotten the reputation as an enthusiastic collector of science fiction [source: Veney "PFinA"] >> he was also a fan publisher; his first fanzine, in 1941, was called PROFAN, which lasted three issues and included the usual mix of articles and fiction -- (brief bio, include any 1960s activities) -- Tuck became best known for his HANDBOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, first published in 1954, that collected biographical information on science fiction and fantasy writers of that era, as well as their pen names, story listings and related information >>> it was subsequently expanded and reprinted, with a U.S. edition published in (when?) by Advent -- Tuck, however, was a quirky character who for the most part shunned fan gatherings and anything else that very much raised his profile >>> this was most evident in 1975, where after he agreed to be the Fan Guest of Honor at Australia's first worldcon, he then failed to show up for the convention > other notable Tasman fans in the 1960s were Michael O'Brien and Paul Novitski -- (brief bios and other details here) > in Adelaide, the South Australia Science Fiction Society had come into existence in 1953 -- the club did not make it to the 1960s, and organized fandom didn't reappear until the early 1970s [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] > Canberra's science fiction club, the Futurian Society of Canberra, was meeting once a month in the 1950s, at members' homes [source: Foyster 2May99 email] -- like in Adelaide, the club did not survive into the 1960s, however, and it wasn't until the 1970s that signs of fandom returned there [source: Foyster 5Nov00 email] > Western Australia -- in the 1950s, Roger Dard, of Perth, was the most prominent fan from that area >> Dard had contacted fandom on a trip to Sydney, happening to come there right in the middle of one of the many fan feuds [source: Dard 7March92 letter] >> after that, Dard's fan activities were mostly through correspondence and as a contributor to fanzines,due to his distance from other fan communities >> Dard's main contribution to Australia fandom was his leading of the successful fight, in the early 1950s, to get the import ban lifted on WEIRD TALES, but the indifference from fandom he perceived for this left a sour taste in his mouth, and he was little heard from after that -- in fact, not much was heard of any fans whatsoever during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s in Australia; what fans there were there chose not to for any sf clubs [source: Foyster 8Nov00 email] - in the 1960s, several important sercon fanzines started publication > AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW -- edited by John Bangsund between 1966 and 1969 >> (basic info here, born when? etc.) --- (need a little about being a theology student for a time) >> Bangsund first contacted fandom in 1963 --- prior to that he had been employed as a bookseller, clerk-typist, librarian, publishers' representative, and journalist in the Melbourne area [source except where noted: Bangsund's web site] --- he was an avid reader, but until 1963 had never bothered with science fiction; when Queen Elizabeth had visited Melbourne in 1962, Bangsund went out of town where he "stayed in a cheap pub and read nothing but Shakespeare for three or four days." >> that all changed in 1963, when at a party, he met Lee Harding, who by then was a published writer of science fiction --- became friends almost immediately, and when Harding learned of Bangsund's background as a theological student, he gave him a copy of a book containing the Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Nine Billion Names of God" and invited him to comment on it --- the Law of Unintended Consequences took hold at that point: "The hell with theology!" Bangsund later wrote. "I was suddenly and most unexpectedly hooked on science fiction." --- on Bangsund's next out-of-town trip, he read nothing but science fiction >> Harding also introduced Bangsund to fandom --- within a short time, he had met John Baxter, then John Foyster --- (did he join MSFC?) >> Bangsund, from his background, seemed ideally suited to be a fanzine editor, and it wasn't long until his first issues appeared --- he had been keeping a personal diary for a number of years, and after he had met Harding he decided that "I desperately wanted to convince Lee that I had at least the makings of a real writer, the sort of writer who could be published, perhaps even for money." --- his first published fan writing was a letter that appeared in 1963, in Foyster's SATURA [source: Bangsund web site] --- his first notable piece of fan writing was an account of his trip to the 1964 Adelaide Music Festival, which appeared in Lee Harding's CANTO --- during the mid 1960s, Bangsund was also acquiring the skills necessary to be a good editor >>> he was employed by the Victorian Railways Institute, eventually being promoted to head librarian >>> he wrote book columns for the VRI monthly newsletter and program notes for various library events, and became very proactive in organizing and expanding the library's holdings and functions >>> by late 1965, he had decided he wanted to be an editor --- it was at the 1966 Australian National Convention, when some of the attendees had decided that a focal point fanzine was needed to keep up the momentum from that successful event, that Bangsund was elected by acclaim, after nomination by Harding, to be its editor/publisher; the fanzine, when it appeared not long afterward, was the first issue of ASFR -- ASFR was a sercon-oriented fanzine, quite international in scope >> first issue, in June 1966, was 32 pages, and featured articles by Brian Aldiss and Michael Moorcock --- the issue was reproduced using the MSFC Roneo duplicator >> by the end of 1966, Bangsund had managed to publish 5 issues; in 1967, he published the fanzine 8 times, an impressive feat for the total number of pages in that series [source: FANAC web site] --- the first anniversary issue, in June 1967, had 94 pages, and he followed it up in August with a 62-page issue >> peak of the fanzines existence was a Hugo Award nomination in 1968 that honored is phenominal year of activity in 1967; it also received another nomination thein 1969 >> however, after 1967, the issues started being published less regularly --- in 1968, was published five times; in 1969, only twice --- final issue, in June 1969, was a turning point, with a title change to SCTHROP and the dropping of most of the sf content >> contents of some of the issues from the late 1960s included a biography of Paul Linebarger (a.k.a. Cordwainer Smith), a review of Michael Joseph's sf novel THE HOLE IN THE ZERO followed by a letter from Dr. Joseph (Assoc. Prof. of English at Univ. Of Auckland in New Zealand) who discussed his book as well as his long-time enthusiasm for sf, an examination of the New Wave movement as displayed in Michael Moorcock's NEW WORLDS, Swedish and Spanish reviewers of SF in their countries, and Australian author Lee Harding's essay on "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer" about the difficulties of being a successful writer when isolated by half a world from the earth's publishing centers >> the fanzine lived up to its name with plenty of thoughtful and insightful reviews of current science fiction >> there also was very active reader feedback, with letters from professional authors as well as fans -- ASFR was the origin for a new generation of Australian fans in the 1960s >> Bangsund was a traveling salesman for a publisher during the second half of the 1960s, and would leave copies of ASFR at bookstores and news agents wherever he went [source: Gillespie 17Jun98 email] >> copies were picked up by people who then reestablished Sydney fandom, set up a new Brisbane fandom, resurrected Adelaide fandom, and brought together what western Australia fans there were into a confederation of sorts >> Bruce Gillespie considered Bangsund's ASFR (along with Peter Weston's SPECULATION) as his greatest influence for starting his own sercon fanzine -- more importantly, though, ASFR provided a means for some of Australia's fans to display their writing talents >> John Baxter --- came on the scene in the late 1950s; one of his first fan activities was publishing a fanzine titled QUANTUM [source: Foyster 3Apr99 email] >>> it was different from many other Australian fanzines of that time, in that there were many articles about a wide range of subjects, not just science and science fiction, and there was also a large letters column with many comments on previous issues >>> QUANTUM had been modeled somewhat after YANDRO, no surprise since Buck Coulson had been one of Baxter's early contacts in fandom --- at beginning of 1960s, he was working as a clerk in the New South Wales Railways Department; John Foyster remembered that "he remarked to me that he could usually finish all the work he was expected to do by the middle of the day, leaving the afternoon free for science fiction and films" [source: Foyster 3Apr99 email] --- it turned out to be prophetic; eventually Baxter drifted away from science fiction toward the movies >>> he soon became employed by the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a book reviewer, and later a writer and commentator on films --- transitioned into a pro writer; his novel THE GODKILLERS appeared in NEW WORLDS in 1966 [source: Foyster 4May99 email] >> Lee Harding (continue from earlier mention, in Melbourne fandom) --- contributed many book reviews to ASFR >> John Foyster --- born in 1941 in rural Victoria, his father was a Minister in the Presbyterian Church [source: Rousseau 18Feb01 email] >>> in 1950, his parents moved the family to a suburb of Melbourne >>> in his early years, John distinguished himself both as a promising student of high intelligence, and a talented rugby player --- Foyster discovered science fiction in 1956, during a two-month stay in the hospital after contracting polio [source: Rousseau 18Feb01 email] --- first contacts with fandom were with Ken Slater's FANTAST (MEDWAY) LTD in 1956 (info needed on how Foyster made that connection) >>> met Merv Binns in 1956, at McGill's Bookstore (how about some details, John?) [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email] >>> it wasn't until 1958, at the 6th Australian National Convention, that he first made face-to-face contacts with any other fans [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email] --- Foyster's fan publishing career began in early 1961: in February 1961, he published his first fanzine, EMANATION (details? page count?) and not long after that he became a member of the U.S. amateur press association, SAPS [source: Rousseau 18Feb01 email] >>> his first fanzine of any significance was titled both SATURA and THE GRYPHON, and appeared twice monthly starting in February 1964 --- by 1966, Foyster had become such a well-respected and influential fan, he was able to take on a challenge that hadn't been done in nearly a decade: organizing and chairing an Australian National Convention >>> details about that convention will be reported in a later chapter, but one of the things that occurred at that convention was the proposal, by Lee Harding, of a new sercon fanzine to be titled AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW, and Bangsund was maneuvered into becoming its editor --- Foyster contributed many book reviews to ASFR, some serious, some less so >>> the latter were usually written under the pen name of 'Kelvin Widdershins' --- in later years, subsequent to the 1960s, Foyster stayed continuously active in fandom variously as fanzine publisher and fan writer, convention chairman, fan historian, and, in 1971, founder of the Down Under Fan Fund, set up similar in function to the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (whose 1960s activities will be described shortly) >>> (need a pithy quote from Foyster here summing up his 1960s activities) >> George Turner --- Turner, like Frank Bryning, was another example of a fan who had first been successful as a pro author >>> was born in 1916 in Melbourne but his parents soon moved to the Western Australia gold mining town of Kalgoorlie during the gold rush [source for this bio: Buckrich bio for Aussiecon3] >>> had formed an attachment to science fiction and fantasy when was very young, after his father read ALICE IN WONDERLAND to him when he was 3 years old >>> had also decided he wanted to be a writer at a very early age; by age 10 was writing creatively; but it wasn't until he was 40 years old, in 1956 that he felt comfortable to send anything to a publisher >>> his first published fiction was a mainstream novel, YOUNG MAN OF TALENT, which appeared in 1959; he had written 5 other mainstream novels by the mid 1960s, one of which shared an award, the Miles Franklin Prize --- he might well have gone on writing mainstream books and stories indefinitely except for a meeting in 1967, set up by a mutual friend, with John Bangsund [additional source: Bangsund's web site] >>> it didn't take long for Bangsund to discover that Turner liked science fiction, and not much longer than that for him to get Turner to agree to write something for him --- Turner came on the fan scene in 1967, with a book review in ASFR that demolished Bester's THE DEMOLISHED MAN [sources: Gillespie 8Jul00 email; Bangsund 14Nov00 email] --- continued to write reviews for ASFR, and then for Bruce Gillespie's SF COMMENTARY after that fanzine began in 1969 >>> by the early 1970s, Turner had acquired the reputation as one of the better critics of written science fiction --- by the 1970s, Turner's fiction output had become entirely science fiction, after which he mostly transitioned back into being a pro writer again >>> his novel BELOVED SON was published in 1978; after that he began to write more and more fiction, and less and less sf criticism [source: Gillespie 8Jul00 email] >>> in the 1980s, his book THE SEA AND SUMMER won both the Arthur C. Clarke Prize and the Commonwealth Literary Prize for the Southeast Asia Region --- Turner had been selected to be the Guest of Honor at the 1999 Worldcon, but died prior to the convention and was instead honored posthumously -- also brought writing of notable outsiders to Australia, including Brian Aldiss, Harry Harrison, and Franz Rottensteiner [source: Middlemiss 20Aug96 email] > SF COMMENTARY -- edited by Bruce Gillespie >> Gillespie was born in 1947, near Melbourne, and led an unremarkable childhood with no outward indications of an interest in science fiction --- (note: Gillespie was not an outgoing person, so there needs to be at least something in this section that indicates that... see his summary below, for instance) >> his first signs of interest in fandom was in 1966, when he bought a copy of the first issue of ASFR at the McGills; Binns had been prominently displaying them there in hopes of snagging a few new fans [source: Gillespie 15Nov00 email] --- it made an immediate impression; "After I bought Issue No. 2, I was hooked." --- he also managed to acquire some copies of IF magazine, and became enthused about fandom as a global organization after reading Lin Carter's columns [source: Gillespie 15Nov00 email] >> it took a couple of years more before he started regularly attending MSFC; by then he had finished college, gaining a Diploma in Education, and was steeling himself for an attempt at a career as a teacher [source: autobio outline for Aussiecon3] --- that would not work out well; Gillespie later described the experience as the worst two years of his life --- he escaped, as he later wrote, "by a weird series of accidents" into a position as an editor/writer in the publications office for the school where he was employed --- it turned out to be job that he not only liked, but also one he was greatly suited for, and, as he later wrote, "It proved to be an extraordinary training course in every aspect of editing and publishing." [source: Gillespie 15Nov00 email] >> by 1969, the combination of his ability as an editor and his interest as a science fiction fan led him to want to be a fan publisher --- by then ASFR had ended publication under that title, and he felt there was a void that needed to be filled by a similar type of fanzine --- first issue of SF COMMENTARY appeared that year, followed by 17 more before two more years had passed >> in 1972, fanzine was awarded its first Ditmar Award, and also received its first Hugo Award nomination; in 1973, Gillespie was elected the DUFF representative, and came to North America to meet regional fandoms and to attend the 1973 Worldcon >> in later decades, he became at various times a small press publisher, a freelance editor, and even unemployed, but he never lost his interest in or ability for publishing fanzines --- in 1999 he was the Fan Guest of Honor at Aussiecon 3, that year's worldcon --- as he summed up his life: "My story is that of a very shy lad who happened to find science fiction fans, the one group of people who could (partially) socialise me and give me a place to exist. Fandom has been very kind to me." -- (perhaps something about the fanzine itself might be in order here) - Oz fandom establishes international outlook and links - Other notable fans (NOTE: THESE WILL BE WORKED INTO OVERALL DESCRIPTIONS OF AUSTRALIAN FANDOM AND AUSTRALIAN CONVENTIONS, IF POSSIBLE) > Leigh Edmonds -- one of founders of ANZAPA -- in 1970s, was first Australian DUFF winner > Margaret Duce (a.k.a. Helena Roberts in the 1970s) -- fan artist -- (need more info) -- she eventually married Merv Binns > Robin Johnson -- was living in England in 1968 >> had attended a few conventions and London fan gatherings -- on way to visit relatives in Tasmania (when?), changed planes in Melbourne >> happened across McGills, where Merv Binns worked (how?) >> was given Ron Clarke's address by Binns -- in early 1968, on way to visit relatives in Tasmania and Sydney, met at airport by Ron Clarke >> taken to fan party, met some SSFF people -- in 1969, decided to move to Australia, attended 1969 Natcon (in Melbourne) -- became active in fandom starting in 1970, went on to be chairman of first Australian Worldcon >> replaced John Foyster as bid chairman in 1972 - later, in 1970, committee forms to bid for 1975 worldcon > Robin Johnson later attended the 1970 Worldcon in Heidelberg, representing the A-in-75 bid * New Zealand - New Zealand fandom first became visible to the outside world in the 1950s, mostly via fanzines and correspondence > prominent fans of that era were Toni Vondruska, Merv Barrett, Mike Hinge -- Hinge emigrated to the United States and became a prominent professional artist and illustrator in the science fiction field -- Vondruska's main fame was from a one-shot fanzine he did on his wedding night with his bride, proving that there are some limits to fanac -- Barrett (need bio and other info on him) >> actually lived in Australia for the first half of the 1960s - prominent fan Bruce Burn emigrated to U.K. in 1960 > was greeted by members of the Science Fiction Club of London, twice, since his ship was a day late > returned to New Zealand in 1963 - (what else happened in the 1960s?) * Canada - (short summary of pre-1960s fandom) - decade of 1960s saw a resurgence in Canadian fandom that would lead to its hosting of a second worldcon, in the early 1970s - only isolated areas of fandom in the 1940s and 1950s > Leslie A. Croutch (of Parry Sound, Ontario) -- a well-known Canadian fan in the 1940s and 1950s >> was Canada's first Big Name Fan, and a member of FAPA >> (brief bio here) --- John Robert Colombo's book YEARS OF LIGHT, published (when?), was mainly about Croutch > John Millard and Ned McKeown became Canada's best known fans in the late 1940s -- McKeown chaired Canada's first worldcon, the Torcon of 1948 > between 1948 and 1953, the sercon-oriented Canadian Science Fiction Association existed -- a pan-Canadian organization, whose members took interest in written science fiction, but almost no interest in fanzines and conventions >> about ten branches of this organization existed by the end of the 1940s, including member clubs in Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax, and London >> by the early 1950s, the organization became mostly lifeless --- a Windsor branch club abandoned the organization, merging instead with the remnants of the Michigan SF Society to form the Detroit SF League --- the Winnipeg SF Society was formed in 1950 under the auspices of Chester Cuthbert, apparently in an attempt to revive the CSFA, but with little success, and both organizations soon disappeared -- the CSFA's biggest claim to recognition was the 52-page booklet it published that described a system for classifying fantasy fiction by theme > Derelicts (a.k.a. Toronto Derelicts) -- active in the 1950s >> an outgrowth of the old Toronto Science Fiction Society, which had been in existance at end of 1940s as part of the CSFA, and which included notable fans Ned McKeown and Beak Taylor as members -- new group included McKeown, Boyd Raeburn, P. Howard Lyons, Pat Patterson, and Gerald Stewart (whose last name may have also been spelled as 'Steward' by fans) >> group was mostly a clique of like-minded fans who behaved in light-hearted, non-serious manner >> members interests included jazz and sports cars -- by 1960s, they had all dropped out of fandom >> Lyons became involved with the International Brotherhood of Magicians and published a magazine devoted to stage music --- he had also married Patterson >> McKeown started a professional career as an educator --- went on to become President of the Metro Toronto Board of Education >> (what became of Raeburn and Stewart?) > Norman Browne was active in early part of 1950s -- attended some worldcons -- published fanzines -- was part of Ellison's "Seventh Fandom" -- (any idea what became of him?) - Georgina Ellis (of Calgary) > fanzine editor and fan artist in late 1950s and early 1960s > (brief bio here) > married Norm Clarke in 1965 -- before her marriage, she was known in fandom as "Dutch" Ellis (why?) > in 1970s, became known as the "Duchess of Canadian Fandom" after being referred to as that in a fanzine (which one?) - Norm Clarke > (brief bio here) > jazz and rock music musician > after marrying Gina Ellis, they moved to Aylmer, Quebec, eventually settled down in Ottawa > both remained active in FAPA into the 1970s -- co-published the fanzine DESCANT into the early 1970s - release of the movie 2001 stirred interest in SF in Canada in the late 1960s > transitory clubs formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Ottawa > permanent ones in Toronto and Vancouver - Ontario Science Fiction Club (OSFiC) > formed in 1966 by Toronto fans Peter Gill, Mike Glicksohn, John Mansfield, Ken Smookler, and Maureen Bournes; Smookler was the club's first president -- club formed after they met each other at 1966 Worldcon >> Mansfield had decided to go to the worldcon after reading a series of articles on fandom, written by Lin Carter, that had appeared in F&SF -- Mike Glicksohn >> (brief bio of Glicksohn here) >> Glicksohn had discovered ad for 1966 Worldcon in FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine >> he was dubbed the "Boy Wonder of Canadian Fandom" by Dave Burton, an Indianapolis fan (need confirmation on this!) (why?) >> his fanzine ENERGUMEN, which began publication in 1970(?), won the Hugo Award at 1973 Worldcon --- ENERGUMEN became notable as much for its appearance as its content; it was mimeoed on heavy bond paper, and had such an impeccable appearance that it inspired other fan editors to emulate it --- Glicksohn therefore became the first of a new breed of fanzine publishers, who thought the appearance of a fanzine meant as much as its content -- meetings initially held at Memory Lane, "Capt'n George" Henderson's nostalgia store for second-hand memorabilia and books >> actual meetings held in The Whizzbang Gallery, a basement that Henderson rented next door as a show room for comics art -- meetings subsequently held at a variety of sites -- in a year, meetings had grown from 4 to 40 members >> eventually topped out at about 80 members (when?) -- prominent members at first included Henderson, John Mansfield, Ken Smookler -- Derek Carter, Susan Wood, and Alicia Austin joined later in the decade >> Carter an artist, came over from England >> Susan Wood --- had been introduced to fandom by Richard Labonte', when they were students at Carleton Univ. in Ottawa (when?) --- (mini-bio here) --- met Mike Glicksohn at Boskone VI in 1969; they were married in 1970 --- went on to win Hugo Awards in 1970s for fan writing and as co-editor of ENERGUMEN >> Alicia Austin --- a college student from Texas, in Toronto in late 1960s --- left Canada for Los Angeles in 1970 --- went on to win Fan Artist Hugo in 1971 > chapters of club popped up in several cities in Ontario (more than just Ottawa? need confirmation) -- Ottawa chapter (is this the same as the Queens SF Club?) >> formed (when?) >> prominent members included (who?) >> folded in 1969 > sponsored OSFIC MAGAZINE (a.k.a. OSFIC NEWSLETTER ??) -- title and editors changed almost every issue >> OSFiC MAGAZINE began in 1968 --- title almost immediately changed to OSFiC QUARTERLY, then to OSFiC SUPPLEMENT --- edited by Peter Gill, described (in 1971) as "almost annual" >> succeeded by OSFiComm, edited by Gar Stevens --- about 40 different issues were published, some under the title of OSFiNotes --- lasted about three years, fading from view about 1973 -- contributors included Roger Zelazny (what did he write?) - other Ontario fans and fan activities > a science fiction club formed at Queen's University in Ottawa in the late 1960s (is this same as Ottawa chapter of OSFiC?) -- published a fanzine, BOLLIX, which was mostly notable for its editor's rabid anti-Vietnam War writings > Comics-oriented group formed by students at York University in Toronto -- formed in 1969 (??) -- members included Vaughn Fraser, Ron Sutton, Dean Motter, and Ron Kasman >> Sutton and Kasman became known as fan artists >> Sutton later became a professional graphic artist in Ottawa --- later co-wrote and drew a comic strip which ran in the Ottawa CITIZEN for a time -- group lasted for (how long?) (reason for disbanding?) > Les Nirenberg's fanzine QUE PASADO (later VAHANA) became a newsstand humor magazine titled PANIC BUTTON -- Nirenberg came into fandom in 1960, and attended the 1960 worldcon where he met enough fans so that it was confirmed that he was not a hoax -- not known how he discovered fandom, but it was plain that he had talent as a fanzine publisher >> he had emerged so full-blown and polished onto the fan publishing scene, without going through an early crudzine stage, that some of his readers had suspected he might be another fan hoax of the type that "Carl Brandon" had been only two years earlier >> his fan publishing career began in 1960, lasted to 1964 -- PANIC BUTTON was characterized by Jim Linwood as "a strange hybrid of fandom and the 1960s Toronto hipster scene" [source: TWhite 7Feb99 email] -- contributors included F.M. Busby, Colin Freeman, and Dick Schultz -- later in 1964, Nirenberg transformed his magazine into "The Panic Button Review" comedy nightclub act in Toronto, and received good reviews from the TORONTO TELEGRAM >> later on, he advanced to being a performer for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (need details) -- Ted White later remembered Nirenberg as "fannish and a neat guy. I think he became a fan by accident and fandom was a minor detour on his road to success." - Atlantic Science Fiction Society (of New Brunswick) > "John Mansfield is the guiding light of this group" according to INSTANT MESSAGE > formed (when?) (1969?) -- in 1970, changed its name to the Base Gagetown Science Fiction Society >> Mansfield had been stationed at Base Gagetown, just outside Oromocto, New Brunswick; that military base was one of the main military training bases in eastern Canada > most significant activity was joint meeting with NESFA in the summer of 1970, which attracted about 30 fans > the club died in the early 1970s after Mansfield was posted in a different part of Canada - Vancouver fandom > in the 1950s, a short-lived Vancouver SF Society was started by Norman Browne, who edited the club's fanzine, VANATIONS -- Browne's interest was soon directed southward to U.S. fandom, and he became hooked up with Harlan Ellison's Seventh Fandom movement before eventually dropping from sight by the mid 1950s > not much else happened in terms of organized fan activities in British Columbia through the remainder of the 1950s and most of the 1960s, until a university organization came into being late in the 1960s -- that organization, known as SFFEN started at University of British Columbia camous in the Autumn of 1968, at first being known as UBC SFFEN -- founders were Claire Toynbee and Maynard Hogg >> they had placed an ad in student newspaper announcing the club's formation and invited any interested people to join >> it turned out that there were a number of fans already on campus who had been unaware of each other -- among people who showed up at first meeting were Mike Bailey, Daniel Say, and Brent Maclean >> Bailey would go on, in the next decade, to found a monthly newszine for the club that succeeded SFFEN >> Say would later be the driving force for the first in a long series of regional conventions --- was described as "unquestionably, the most energetic, the most vocal, and the most enthusiastic" member of the club -- initial officers of club were Hogg as President, Toynbee as Vice President, and Bailey as Information Officer -- other prominent members included Norma & Ed Beauregard, who had met at a club gathering -- club didn't gather momentum until it obtained an office at Student Union Building, where collection of books and tapes was kept >> at first, met only infrequently --- lacked an office on campus --- occasionally was able to reserve a meeting room for parties --- most parties were held at members homes -- at 1969 Clubs Day, recruited about 40-50 new members, largely through the efforts of Daniel Say >> added influx of new members allowed club to acquire a permanent office in university's Student Union building --- served as a more permanent meeting place --- housed lending library of SF books and magazines -- received yearly money allocation from University's Alma Mater Society >> club had to use all its money each year, or have remainder absorbed back into Alma Mater Society funds >> to raise additional money for fanzine, showed a film ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., which netted $140 profit for club >> to protect club's funding, a dummy front organization was formed in 1970, British Columbia Science Fiction Society --- outside incomes protected with off-campus bank account --- fans paid dues to new Society instead of University club --- later in 1970, new Society became independent of Univ. club. became stable club for B.C. fans for many decades afterwards - Saskatchewan Sasquatch Seekers Society > Leland Sapiro -- (brief bio goes here) -- published RIVERSIDE QUARTERLY while teaching at Univ. of Regina >> mid 1960s (64 or 65) through early 1970s (1974) >> previously had been a member of Los Angeles fandom, while an instructor at the University of Southern California --- it was there that he had started RIVERSIDE QUARTERLY, which was really a continuation of the 1950s fanzine INSIDE --- there were actually two different "first" issues of RQ, a result of a mix-up between Sapiro and his then co-editor Jon White >>> a breakdown in communications caused Sapiro to go ahead and publish an issue, after tiring on waiting for White ---- featured illustrations by Charles Schneeman >>> the very next day, White, on the other side of the snafu, published his own version of their "first" issue ---- his issue featured illos by ATom >>> there was some material duplicated between the two versions, but much was not -- anyway, while in Canada, Sapiro also published SASKATCHEWAN SASQUATCHIAN, the club's official organ * Germany - the beginnings of modern-day German fandom, or 'Gerfandom' as it is sometimes known, dates back to the 1950s > one of its formative events took place when a British fan, Julian Parr, became employed by the British consulate in Dusseldorf -- Parr's contribution to Gerfandom's formation was of two parts: he was instrumental in convincing the publisher of the sf periodical UTOPIA-MAGAZIN to include a letters column, which served as a focal Point for fans learning about other fans; he also managed to locate some of the German science fiction enthusiasts of that time, and brought them news of fandoms that existed outside of Germany > one of these German sf enthusiasts was a young man named Walter Ernsting, who was the editor of UTOPIA-MAGAZIN and also a sister series of sf publications appearing under the name of UTOPIA-GROSSBAND that weren't quite magazines and weren't quite softcover books -- Ernsting's readers' column, "Meteoriten", was modeled after similar columns that had appeared in Hugo Gernsback's magazines of the 1930s >> his intent was to use the column as a focal point on which to build an organized fandom in Germany -- Ernsting was one of those rarities in the world of science fiction, someone who was both the leading fan and the leading professional writer & editor >> professionally, Ernsting was a talented writer as well as a knowledgeable editor, winning the German equivalent of a Hugo Award in 1957 and 1958 for his fiction >> (some bio info about Ernsting here) -- Ernsting's intent all along had been to leverage his editorial position to promote the formation of organized fandom in Germany, and by 1955, there were a sufficient number of fans to allow it to happen - Science Fiction Club Deutschland (SFCD) > founded on August 4, 1955 by Walter Ernsting, Forrest J Ackerman, Raymond Z. Gallun, Hugo Gernsback, Walter Spiegl, and Julian Parr, with Ernsting the prime mover; Ackerman, Gallun, and Gernsback were mostly interested bystanders, but their names gave credibility to the new organization > the club greatest visibility was in its fanzine ANDROMEDA, which was initially edited by Ernsting -- Ernsting was gone from the editorship by the start of the 1960s, but turned out to have a longer editorial tenure than any of his 1960s successors; there followed twelve different editorial changes dueing the decade of the 1960s -- the fanzine brought news, general interest articles, and some fiction to its members > the early years of the club were not without controversy -- in 1957, a book club founded by SFCD was split off from the club by Heinz Bingenheimer into a for-profit enterprise, Transgalaxis >> this apparently did not set well with many members of SFCD, who felt they should have had a stake in the enterprise, and as a result, Bingenheimer and the SFCD parted ways by mutual agreement -- in 1958, Ernsting and Wolf Detlef Rohr managed a coup of their own, when they transformed ANDROMEDA into a more commercial publication called BLICK DIE ZUKUNFT, which seemed to contain more advertising than fan news >> this de-stabilizing act resulted in a schism, with the SFCD being renamed by Ernsting as the Science Fiction Club Europa (SFCE), with a new SF club, the Stellaris SF-Interessengemeinschaft (SSFI), being founded by Karl-Herbert Scheer as a place of refuge for disenchanted fans >> a further schism then occurred within SFCE, with Ernsting and Rohr going their own ways, and it wasn't until 1960 that some normalcy began to return -- an outsider could look at the machinations going on within the SFCD as a parallel, in microcosmic form, to the birth and death of the Science Fiction League, with the subsequent fracturing of whatever organized fandom existed; however, this time there was a difference because SFCD did in fact, re-form at the end of 1959 under an umbrella organization called Eurotopia, though SSFI continued to exist >> much damage had been done, however; and the early 1960s were characterized by incessant quarreling, much of it involving Ernsting, that was becoming more and more personal in nature; interestingly enough, Scheer, the leader of the rival SSFI club, was not carried into the fracas, and in fact became co-creator with Ernsting (under the pseudonym of Clark Darlton) of the super-successful Perry Rhodan series of adventure science fiction > by 1962, it seemed that German fandom was doomed disintegrate under a barrage of increasingly nasty feuds, but there then appeared a unifying force by the name of Waldemar Kumming -- (bio info on Waldemar Kumming here) >> Kumming seemed to be above all the feuding that was going on -- within the span of three months in the summer of 1962, Kumming became the president of first the SSFI and then the SFCD, and even succeeded in drawing back fans who were so disenchanted that they had abandoned affiliation with any fan group >> within a year, Kumming had succeeded in merging the SSFI and SFCD back into a single organization again, the new SFCD > there followed about three years of relative calm, but later in the decade more discontent surfaced within SFCD -- about the beginning of 1966, political divisions started to form within the club, which once again involved Ernsting, though only peripherally this time >> by 1966, the Vietnam War had started to escalate, and this was beginning to polarize not only the mundane world, but science fiction fandom as well >> fans of the Ernsting's and Scheer's Perry Rhodan series of books consisted largely of conservatives, who were in support of American involvement in the Vietnam War >> they were often denounced as fascists or 'reactionaries' by the anti-war fans, who were in themselves labelled as 'lefties' --- the 'lefties' became reactionary in their own right, some of whom began to consider anything from the U.S.A. to be worthy of suspicion or even scorn, including its fandom >> unpleasantness escalated, with the result that the SFCD suffered a rapid decrease in membership, and a destruction of some of its contacts to the science fiction publishing world -- by 1967, things had deteriorated further, with the anti-war faction metamorphosizing its displeasure toward the so-called 'SFCD Establishment', which it scorned for 'bourgeois narrow-mindedness' >> (would like a little more detail on how this SFCD Establishment manifested itself in the eyes of its dissenters) >> this went so far as to embody itself in an Opposition Convention or 'OP-CON' >> by October 1968, the anti-SCFD Establishment had condensed into two opposition groups: the Innerclubliche ("Inside the club") Opposition (ICO) and the Ausserclubliche ("Outside the club") Opposition (ACO) > Kumming, who has looked on helplessly as politics threatened to destroy the German fandom he had helped to save some five years earlier, was so disheartened that he did not stand for relection, and so in 1968 the leadership of the SFCD passed to Gert Zech -- however, by then, things had deteriorated so much that the new SFCD chairman could do little to reverse things; some more fundamental reform seemed called for > the dissention came to a peak at the 1969 Dusseldorf convention, DUCON, where, at the annual general meeting of the SFCD, the entire SFCD board of directors and officers, including Zech, were swept from office -- the new SFCD chairman was Heinz-Juergen Ehrig, who was identified with the anti-establishment faction, though he was far from being a radical -- amazingly, this seemed to tear down much of the wall that existed between the two factions; the victory of the ICO in turning out the establishment was seen as removing a power structure that had been in place far too long within the club, and with that goal removed from their agenda, the ICO rapidly faded away > more happened in the SFCD, however, than just fan feuds -- ANDROMEDA had resumed publication in October 1959, and continued through the 1960s (reaching issue #74 in September 1969) as the voice of Gerfandom, undergoing 13 editorial changes in the process >> featured news, articles, and fiction >> continued to be published for decades afterward as the official organ of the SFCD -- the Heidelberg Worldcon bid >> (details needed on how it came to be, etc.) - Other German fan clubs > Science Fiction Club Berlin -- a West Berlin fan club, too isolated from the rest of West German fandom to belong to the SFCD -- formed (when?); became a member organization of Eurotopia -- left the Eurotopia umbrella in 1965 -- the club sponsored a (German language) fanzine, ANAbis, which was edited by Horst Christiani >> seemed to have themes of poetry and horror >> had an amazing copy count per issue, with the last four issues of the its existence having press runs of over 1000 >> ceased publication after issue 25, in late 1970 > Fellowship of the Lords of the Lands of Wonder (FOLLOW) -- founded in August 1966 by Hubert Strassl and Eduard Lukschandl -- was regarded as one of the 'reactionary' factions of German fandom > Frankfurt SF Group -- (activities? other info?) -- correspondent to the English-speaking world was Hans-Werner Heinrichs - source of German fan news to the outside world was STREIFLICHTER, an English-language German newszine edited by Alfred Beha - another window to the outside world was Manfred Kage's fanzine HECK MECK, whose even-numbered issues were in English - one other German fanzine that had English-language editions was THE BUG EYE, which was exclusively English language [source: Brooks 16Mar00 email] > was edited by Rolf Gindorf and Helmutt Klemm, who actually started the fanzine in the late 1950s > at the time it was published, it was the first of the English-language fanzines from Germany > it lasted a total of 13 issues, the last dated April 1964 - (in 1969, won bid for 1970 Worldcon) - in the decade of the 1960s, there were two Germanies, separated by politics and an Iron Curtain; East Germany, the so-called German Democratic Republic, had a repressive society compared to its western neighbor, but that didn't stop fandom from forming there [source for this section, unless otherwise indicated, Recktenwald 5Apr99 email] > the first hints of organized fandom in post-WW2 East Germany were evident in the mid-1960s -- prior to that there was a fandom of sorts, but it mostly consisted of individual fans and collectors, many of whom were able to find ways of contacting the SFCD -- in 1957, a few East German fans had been able to secure permission to go to West Germany to attend the first SFCD convention -- by 1958, an fan club called 'Stellaris' had organized in Karl-Marx-Stadt, but the next year the authorities cracked down, accusing the club of distributing "trash and filth literature"; one member was sentenced to jail for five months -- science fiction, or at least any information about western fan organizations such as the SFCD, apparently fell into the classification of forbidden literature >> SFCD's only East German member, Kurt Hertwig, was sent to jail for four months when authorities discovered his fan activities -- as a result of all the repression, fandom in East Germany became, in effect, an underground activity; only those thought trustworthy and with an interest in the genre became part of the fan network >> this is what led East Germany's most prominent fan, Herbert Haeusler, to mention, in his 1961 letter to an American fan, that no organized fandom existed in the GDR > sometime in the early 1960s, the political climate in East Germany towards science fiction mellowed a bit, and science fiction was recognized as a 'utopian literature' that aligned with the tenets of communism -- in 1963, the state set up a new publication, TECHNIKUS, that was intended as a youth-oriented literary stage for science fiction stories -- it fell to one forward-thinking writer, Carlos Rasch, to set the stage for the resumption of fandom in East Germany, by making contact via correspondence with many of his readers; soon afterward, he outwardly proposed the creation of a more formalized science fiction fan network, much like Gernsback had done in the United States several decades earlier > one of the first fans to take up the challenge to make this a reality was Wolfgang Siegmund, in East Berlin, who in 1966 started a letterzine titled PHANTOPIA, which was reproduced by carbon paper and had a circulation of less than ten copies -- other fan publications soon followed, with much better distribution, and eventually some of the copies escaped to the west -- by 1967, during the SFCD InselCon in West Berlin, a meeting was arranged between East German and West German fans, and the outcome was publication of a 'western edition' of an East German fanzine CASSIOPEIA; a total of two issues appeared > meanwhile, Rasch had gotten hold of several hundred addresses of science fiction readers who had participated in a state-sponsored poll to determine everybody's favorite utopia-themed books -- he wrote the poll participants, and encouraged them to look for like- minded people and to organize into 'Utopia Clubs' -- the first of these formed in 1967, and by the end of the year there were 15 different Utopia Clubs in existence, though many of them had only a few members > GDR fandom didn't exactly thrive after that, but during the decades of the 1970s and 1980s but the number of fans did continue to increase -- the last major event in its history was the first (and last) GDR convention that was held in 1990, a few days after the reunification of Germany * Austria - Austrian fandom is usually thought of as a subset of German fandom > as the 1960s progressed, independent Austrian fandom faded, becoming absorbed into the neighboring German fandom by the mid 1960s > many if not most Austrian fans became members of German fan clubs, such as the SFCD and FOLLOW - at beginning of the 1960s, the most important fan group in Austria was the International SF Society, a 1950s pan-European fan organization that had its 'headquarters' in Vienna > chairman of the organization was Erwin Scudla > the organization was set up with, in effect, branch offices, and its goal was to organize fandom worldwide -- at one point in 1960, ISFS claimed 3,000 members, and had 19 branch offices in 16 countries > the organization's fanzine was called SIRIUS, which was published in several languages > (what eventually became of the organization? when did it disband?) - the other major Austrian sf club of the 1960s was Austrotopia, a branch of the Eurotopia fan organization described earlier > Austrotopia had a relatively brief existence, forming in June 1960 and formally merging into SFCD three years later and becoming the Vienna chapter of the SFCD - Vienna Chapter of SFCD > seemed to be a very literary-oriented club -- members were almost all fans who wanted to become professional writers -- as a result, club meetings tended to be very sercon and educational > (need details about activities, etc.) > sponsored a fanzine, PIOneer -- was the first German language fanzine that included sword-and-sorcery themes, eventually separating itself from science fiction entirely -- was the conduit to prodom of a number of Austrian fans, such as Helmuth Mommers, Hubert Strassl, and Ernst Vlcek, who had their stories published in it -- became caught up in all the Insurgent vs. Establishment feuds that were disrupting German fandom in the late 1960s >> after its 25th issue, its name changged to PIONEER OF WONDER, and it became the club publication of the FOLLOW club - SF Group Linz > founded in 1962 by Hubert Strassl > (other details?) - notable Austrian fans > probably the most notable Austrian fan of the 1960s was Franz Rottensteiner -- (details?) > Helmuth Mommers -- born in Vienna in 1943 -- had a mercurial career in science fiction; in the span of six years he entered fandom, became a fan artist and fanzine editor, opened a literary agency, became an profesional editor and translator, and finally turned into a professional writer -- after all that, in 1967 he came full cycle and left the science fiction field fully and completely > Ernst Vlcek -- born in 1941 in Vienna -- was a member of Austrotopia -- by 1963 had started writing professionally, collaborating with Mommers on several novels >> in the late 1960s became one of the Perry Rhodan writing team * Sweden - perhaps the most notable fan in Sweden prior to 1960 was Sam J. Lundwall > born in 1941, grew up in the Stockholm area > he came to prominence in Swedish fandom in the mid 1950s -- by then, he had quit school and was trying to make a living as a draughtsman -- not exactly known what drew him into fandom, but soon after he did, he became leader of the small and youthful Cosmos Club in the Stockholm suburb Hagersten, where he lived >> also edited club's fanzine ANDROMEDA -- wrote fiction and published fanzines -- in 1958, started Sweden's first sf newsletter SF-NYTT (SF-NEWS), however it appeared so infrequently the contents couldn't really be called news >> was published irregularly through 1964; 4 issues in 1958, 3 in 1959, 8 in 1960, 4 in 1961, 2 in 1962, 2 in 1963, 1 in 1964 >> appeared even more infrequently after that > in 1960s, became a troubadour of some renown within the closely-knit Stockholm chanson subculture of that time -- recorded two singles and an LP >> LP released in late 1965 -- unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for the sf world), however, he never made a breakthrough, and eventually went on to a profession in science fiction publishing > in mid 1960s, published a bibliography of all sf and fantasy published in Sweden since 1779 -- was a handsome publication, 70 pages, photo-offset, in both hardbound and "stitched" editions > for one year, in 1968, was involved as producer for a TV series called SCIENCE FICTION, for the newly-started Swedish channel 2 -- program interviewed, among others, Brian Aldiss and John Brunner >> Lundwall himself conducted most of the interviews >> at least one other was done by a local film critic and TV personality, Torsten Jugstedt --- in the 1950s, Jugstedt had produced several successful series of radio dramatizations of science fiction and horror stories -- other programs in series were panel discussion format like you would find at a convention, including one program about fandom -- produced a dramatization of a Frank Robinson story, "Hunting Season", but it was never aired -- in 1969, a publishing house owned by the Swedish TV corporation published a book by Lundwall in connection with the TV series >> was a softcover, 188 page publication titled SCIENCE FICTION--FRAN BEGYNNELSEN TILL VARA DAGAR (English translation: SCIENCE FICTION--WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?) --- was the first book-length work on science fiction ever published in Sweden --- the book didn't have anything to do with the TV series; instead, it was an informal history of the science fiction field >> the book was roundly criticized by the fanzine SCIENCE FICTION FORUM; reviewers found it full of errors and misconceptions, and even misspelling of some authors' names --- one review, by Goran Bengtson, was 17 pages long; according to John-Henri Holmberg, who wrote another of the critical reviews, Bengtson (who was a television producer with a literary background) wrote his review "in despair at the abysmal quality of the first Swedish book on his own favorite entertainment literature" >> however, the book was a moderate success, and an English language edition was published by Ace Books in 1973, although it was a completely rewritten and quite different version of the original Swedish book > by the late 1960s, Lundwall had also become a published author -- two novels (names?) saw print in English-language editions from Ace Books > starting in 1972, Lundwall became editor of JULES VERNE-MAGASINET -- original version, which had been published weekly since 1941, had died in 1947 -- relaunched in 1969 by journalist Bertil Falk as a semi-pro quarterly >> after 2 years, published Askild & Karnekull bought the magazine and installed Lundwall as editor -- magazine was eventually taken over in 1973 by Delta Publishing, a specialty sf publishing house started by Lundwall and literary agent Gunnar Dahl -- Lundwall eventually incorporated SF-NYTT into JVM > later in the 1970s, Lundwall arranged several bi-annual sf conventions in Stockholm, but these were to be his last significant fan activities -- after that, he concentrated instead on his professional activities, including a wholly-owned small publishing house, Sam J Lundwall Fakta & Fantasi, which he started in the 1980s as a successor to Delta Publishing - Bo Stenfors > born in 1928, received a law degree from Stockholm University -- worked as a government official for the Department of Social Services -- eventually rose to Assistant Secretary of State before his retirement in early 1990s > Stenfors a fan who had also been active in 1950s -- published bilingual English/Swedish fanzines with provocative titles like SEXY VENUS which ran for 9 issues between 1957-59, and CANDY FANTASY which was published 1960-61 >> the last issues of CANDY FANTASY were entirely in English > in 1959, was one of founders of SFSF (see below), which officially came into being on January 1, 1960 > in 1962, published first (short) Swedish fan history -- titled THREE FANDOMS--AND A FOURTH (TRE FANDOMS--OCH EN FJARDE) -- was only 12 pages long > in 1966, ran unsuccessfully for TAFF -- he was one of the few Swedish fans who often published English- language fanzines, and this had brought him visibility in the international fandom community -- he had been persuaded to run against his better judgement, as he was mostly gafiated from mainstream fandom by then >> was devoting almost all his spare time to Serieframjandet, an organization he helped found that was promoting attention to comics > it wasn't until the 1980s that Stenfors would resume science fiction fan activities, when he began publishing fanzines again - Swedish fanzines and magazines from the 1950s > HAPNA! (English translation: BE AMAZED!) -- begun in 1954 -- published by Kurt and KG Kindberg -- was sold at newsstands >> a normal digest-size prozine that contained translations from U.S. and U.K. prozines of 1950s --- some of its material originally appeared in ASTOUNDING (in the first part of its run) and later from F&SF -- contained regular column about sf clubs in Sweden >> promoted the formation of SF clubs in Sweden -- contents included reviews of books and films, a science fact column, occasional editorials, and a letters column -- officially a monthly publication, usually came out 10-11 times a year >> most years there was a 'double summer issue' which combined two months into one issue -- there was often the tendency to "borrow" material from other publications >> some covers taken from the British magazines NEW WORLDS and SCIENCE FICTION ADVENTURES [source: Holmberg 13Jun98 email] >> for some issues in early 1960s, every story had been first published in F&SF [same source] --- some fans were not very much impressed; John-Henri Holmberg remarked that "HAPNA! managed somehow to pick mainly the weak stories, then weaken them further by rotten translations." -- was embroiled in a controversy in 1965, when it was accused of pirating two stories by Terry Carr >> led to copyright infringement lawsuit from F&SF which may have contributed to HAPNA!'s eventual demise -- discontinued in early 1966 >> magazine had been losing money, according to KG Kindberg >> Kurt Kindberg was injured in an auto accident, which resulted in a long hospital stay for him --- KG had less interest in doing magazine by himself > SF-FRONTEN -- a newsletter, renamed as SF-TIMES -- published by Sture Sedolin >> had permission of James Taurasi to use title of the Hugo Award winning U.S. fanzine >> begun just a few weeks after SF-NYTT >> Sedolin and Lundwall were fan rivals --- rivalry started in late 1950s, when they were both in CLUB COSMOS --- feud escalated in 1961 when Sedolin claimed Lundwall "stole" the chairmanship of that year's Stockon >>> however, "stole" was probably not the right word, since Sedolin had just been drafted into Sweden's army and was unable to be an effective chairman -- at any rate, newsletter survived the feud, and lasted until mid 1960s >> in its last few years, was edited by John-Henri Holmberg - John-Henri Holmberg > born in 1949, college degree in literature, worked professionally as an editor, translator, copywriter, and literary/film critic -- subsequent to 1960s, also became active in politics, eventually becoming deputy information officer of Sweden's second-largest political party, the Moderate Party > in late 1962, published his first fanzine, ZLEWWY, before he had ever met anyone else who read sf > by late 1963, was publishing Swedish newszine FANAC, modeled after and named after U.S. newszine FANAC -- began appearing near the end of the run of SF-TIMES, maintaining a source of news for Swedish fans throughout the decade -- he used pseudonym "Carl Brandon, Jr." in early issues, after hoax fan invented by FANAC co-editor Terry Carr (and others) in the mid 1950s >> as Holmberg later remembered, "I wasn't particularly inspired by Willis or Irish Fandom, but instead was totally fascinated by the fannish Berkeley and later New York group, including Terry Carr, Ted White, Ron Ellik, Dave Rike, Boob Stewart, and Carl Brandon, Sr." -- the Swedish version of FANAC lasted until 1982, a total of 117 issues >> Holmberg much later re-launched it, in mid-1990s, but it went dormant after only two issues > can be credited for the introduction to Swedish fandom of the fannish fanzine -- GAFIAC, which started in 1965 and ran for 50 issues into the late 1980s, was another example >> was mostly a personalzine, with lots of editorial chatter about fandom and things that happened to Holmberg >> larger issues typically had a fan historical essay, and perhaps a translation of piece of faan fiction by the "real" Carl Brandon, Harry Warner, Jr., Charles Burbee, or other prominent U.S. fans >> according to Holmberg, GAFIAC was modeled more-or-less after two U.S. fanzines, INNUENDO and VOID -- looking back to that time, Holmberg recalled "In the 1960s, all this was totally unknown to Swedish fandom, where the word 'fannish' generally was used when the so-called 'fannish war' was discussed." >> Swedish fandom's 'fannish war' had actually been a non-serious role-playing event, conducted through fanzines and correspondence > Holmberg's activity in sf field continued into the 1970s and beyond -- replaced Lundwall as 'sf expert' for publishers Askild & Karnekull in early 1970s -- in mid 1970s, published an overview history of science fiction titled DROMMAR OM EVIGHETEN: SCIENCE FICTIONS HISTORIA (DREAMS OF ETERNITY: THE HISTORY OF SF) and two monographs, on themes in sf and a bibliography of and guide to women writing sf -- like Lundwall, successfully made transition to sf professional; but unlike Lundwall, remained intensely active as a fan for decades afterward - Swedish fan clubs from the 1950s > Stockholm club Futura -- most prominent fan was Sture Lonnerstrand, who was its leader -- founded in 1950 -- started as a literary discussion group, after a few years began publishing fanzines and organizing conventions >> clubzine FUTURA, chronologically Sweden's third fanzine, published from 1954-1956 -- lasted into the 1960s, but was never formally dissolved >> reports occasionally surfaced about informal, small meetings that were held from time to time during the 1960s and in later decades by various onetime members > Malmo club Meteor -- founded in 1952 as a singles meeting club >> member Denis Lindbohm quickly took over entirely, and transformed it into an sf club -- most prominent fan was Denis Lindbohm -- club produced the first amateur sf movie ever made in Sweden, DEN STORA NATTENS VALNAD (GHOST OF THE HUGE NIGHT), which premiered at Sweden's first sf convention, the 1956 Luncon -- club also published Sweden's fourth fanzine, CLLOEV, a non-word that phonetically sounds like the Swedish word for 'cloven hoof' >> this may have been a reflection of what Lindbohm referred to as his "satanic sense of humor" -- club remained active into the early 1960s, then faded from sight >> the club officially still existed into the 1990s, but no meetings or other official activities were ever reported > Gothenburg club Cosmos -- founded in 1954, not long after the first issue of HAPNA! appeared -- published Sweden's first fanzine, COSMOS NEWS, which was edited by Lars-Erik Helin >> Helin was one of the three founding members -- club was in a state of decline through the late 1950s and early 1960s >> was revived in 1965 by a new generation of fans, including Inge Larsson, Ingemar Nilsson, Soren Cardfelt, and Kjell Rynefors --- Nilsson, who was born in 1950, became active in Gothenburg fandom in 1965 >>> he attempted to form a chapter of SFSF there, not realizing that Cosmos had been active for over a decade >>> he stayed in fandom only a short time; by 1969 his interests had shifted, and he began devoting time to girls and to Amnesty International >>> however, his four years of fanac were hyperactive; he published many different fanzine titles, some lasted only one issue while a monthly newszine, WONDERAMA, lasted nine issues; in the end, he may have been a burn-out victim, similar to Joel Nydahl and some other notable U.S. fanzine fans of the 1950s -- (any notable or memorable fan activities to highlight?) >> COSMOS NEWS was revived in 1967 (as COSMOS BULLETIN) by Larsson, and became a leading Swedish fanzine through the mid 1970s -- in late 1960s, resurgence of club was great enough to warrant renting a hall for its meetings >> it became the first Swedish sf club to do this, a prestigious feat that many well-established North American sf clubs had not managed >> for this reason, club has been considered by some Swedish fans as the LASFS of Swedish fandom --- meetings in the 1960s attracted as many as 60 fans -- club also had a large enough fan base where fan marriages occurred, and there was even a report of a slan shack > Alvar Appeltofft -- Swedish fan of the 1950s whose goal was to form multinational union of fans and sf clubs in Scandinavia: SF Union Scandinavia -- was born in 1942; was active from mid-1950s when he published a fanzine KOMET and participated in the first (1956) Swedish sf convention -- Appeltofft had absorbed the idea of a super-confederation of fan clubs from Carl-Heinz Bierbaum, a German fan who had previously been active in the SF Club Deutschland in the 1950s, and who had emigrated to Sweden in the late 1950s >> Bierbaum was active in SFCD when another pan-European fan group existed, the International SF Society, which was an organization somewhat similar in design to what SF Union Scandinavia was intended to be -- Appletofft's efforts to form a pan-Scandinavian fan organization lasted through much of 1950s >> Union's fanzine, edited by Appeltofft, was UNION SF --- contents were a typical clubzine hodgepodge: contained info on the SFUS, appeals to readers to proselytize sf among non- readers, amateur fiction, and even an occasional article about flying saucers, Dean Drives and other pseudoscience >> organization ultimately failed because, in the end, it was looked on as merely an attempt to create a bureaucracy --- fans asked themselves, why set up an unwieldy structure to organize fanzine fandom, for instance, when fans who were interested in publishing fanzines were already doing it? --- a few prominent fans, notably Denis Lindbohm, had spoken out strongly against the over-organizing of fandom; many other fans obviously felt the same --- organization was considered extinct by the end of the 1950s; it emerged again, very briefly, in the early 1960s as a sponsor of the Swedish apa, SAPA, but then it consisted of just Sture Sedolin and John-Henri Holmberg -- Appeltofft was one of Sweden's most enthusiastic fans of his time, but had unhappy fate of mental illness, which kept him hospitalized for much of the 1960s and eventually resulted in his suicide in 1976 -- the next year later a Swedish fan award was created in his memory >> some years after that, money bequeathed from Appeltofft's parents brought into existence the Alvar Appeltofft Memorial Foundation --- formation of organization instigated by John-Henri Holmberg, in 1977, at request of Appeltofft's parents --- organization later owned a fanzine library in Stockholm, and planned to publish semi-professional works pertaining to Swedish fandom - Until the late 1950s, fan activity in Sweden consisted mostly of isolated individuals and small clubs, with clubs struggling to survive > however, at end of decade of 1950s, Swedish fans finally succeeded in forming a larger organization that succeeded in filling some of the aims of Appeltofft - Scandinavian SF Association (Skandinavisk Forening for Science Fiction) > known as SFSF > formed in late 1959, when Appeltofft's SF Union Scandinavia foundered -- officially began activities as of Jan. 1, 1960 > SFUS was a separate organization, not a confederation of other organizations -- but in some ways, still the end result of efforts of Appeltofft (though he was not involved in its founding) > founders included Lars-Olov Strandberg, Bo Stenfors, and George Sjoberg -- Sjoberg became organization's first chairman >> Sjoberg born in 1930, and was one of the very early Swedish fans >> in 1954, had started a fanzine STAR SF FANZINE, which benefited from his skills in layout and as an artist, and won praise as the most aesthetic Swedish fanzine of the 1950s >> Sjoberg's fannish career ended quite suddenly in 1962, however, when he was expelled from the new organization, reportedly for his alleged national-socialist political leanings --- although the expulsion was hotly debated by many fans who felt he was unfairly treated, he soon dropped from sight and had no further known contacts with fandom > held regular meetings in Stockholm during the 1960s -- chapter organizations existed in other cities, including Uppsala and Linkoping > published the sercon fanzine SF-FORUM -- initially edited by Sjoberg and Sture Hallstrom -- was later edited at various times in 1960s by Bo Stenfors, John-Henri Holmberg, Mats D. Linder, and Bertil Martensson >> Martensson, born in 1945, became active in fandom in 1962, when he began publishing a fanzine, OGRE --- his main form of fanac was fanzines during the 1960s, both as a fan editor and a contributor of reviews, essays, and fiction --- in the late 1960s, he made it into the ranks of professional writers, when his novel DETTA AR VERKLIGHETEN (THIS IS REALITY) was published in Denmark and Sweden --- in later years, his fan career subsided as his writing career expanded, but he elected to retain contact with fandom --- he also obtained a Professorship in Philosophy at the University of Lund, where he became a noted lecturer >> Linder, also born in 1945, became active in fandom a little later, in 1964, when he published the first and only issue of his fanzine GANDAL --- this gave him enough visibility, however, where he was almost immediately recruited to take over editorship of SF-FORUM, which was his main fanac (either as editor or a contributor) throughout much of the remainder of the 1960s --- later, in the 1970s, he began another fanzine, SUMMA, which abandoned fannishness in favor of a more sercon approach, in some ways similar to Richard Geis's SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW of that same period --- eventually began a professional career a technical translator, and worked for a time for the International Bureau of Standardisation in Brussels, but retained his participation in Swedish fandom -- 44 issues of SF-FORUM were published in the 1960s >> the 40th issue, in 1968, was over 250 pages --- contained over 175,000 words of text, including 45 pages of book reviews --- featured interviews with J. G. Ballard, Brian Aldiss, and Bertil Martensson, the latter having had his first novel published not long before then --- to that time, it was the largest single issue of a fanzine ever published -- contents was uniformly of high quality >> typical issue contained one or two essays on science fiction or writers of science fiction, reviews of new books, and fiction >> there was also a great amount of fannishness --- there were detailed convention reports published in its pages --- the 21st and 22nd issues, in 1965, contained the Swedish translation of "The Enchanted Duplicator" --- Bo Stenfors had a fanzine review column that continued until the late 1960s -- was the backbone of Swedish fandom of the 1960s and early 1970s > in the 1970s, total membership was as many as 800 -- club later founded a sf bookstore in Stockholm, in 1977 -- also bought out book club of Askild & Karnekull, about that same time, after A&K stopped publishing science fiction - other Swedish fanzines of the 1960s > CACTUS -- published 1959-1961, lasting for a total of six issues -- edited by Sture Sedolin >> was born in 1942 >> came into fandom in his teens, like so many other Swedish fans of that era >> by his early 20s he had acquired an outside interest that took advantage of his interest in publishing; he began publishing traditional jazz phonograph records under his own imprint --- Sedolin's fan career lasted until the late 1970s; his interest in jazz continued after that, however, and made him an expert in the field of popular music of the 1920s, 30s, and 40s >> Sedolin had one, and possibly two, aliases in fandom --- one of them, "Sture Hallstrom" came into being when Sedolin came back to fandom after gafiating for a time in the early 1960s due to military service --- the other, "Carl Ake Hallstrom" was a contributor to Sedolin's fanzines of the 1950s -- CACTUS was characterized by John-Henri Holmberg as "a fairly impressive fanzine for its day" -- at the time, was the country's major English-language fanzine -- content leaned heavily toward fannishness, and featured contributions from prominent fans like John Berry > MACROMEGAS -- published 1963-1967 -- edited by Sven Eklund -- was a wide-open genzine; according to Holmberg, "it would publish anything about anything, and had an immensely lively letters column" > COSMOS BULLETIN -- as mentioned earlier, was begun in 1954 by Lars-Erik Helin under the title COSMOS NEWS >> title became COSMOS BULLETIN with its third issue, in 1957 when fanzine was briefly taken over by a Scottish fan, Gavin Brown >> after another title change, to COSMOS EXPLORER, with its 4th issue later that year, the fanzine (and Brown) disappeared from view -- revived in the mid 1960s by the Cosmos Club, back under the title of COSMOS BULLETIN >> its second life saw publication from mid 1960s through late 1970s -- edited at first by Arne Sjogren and Ingemar Nilsson; later by Kjell Rynefors and Inge R L Larsson >> Larsson, born in 1944, had become active in Gothenburg fandom in the late 1960s --- besides being an editor of COSMOS BULLETIN for a decade, also founded the Gothenburg Tolkien Society --- in the 1970s, he gained prominence as an organizer of the Gothenburg sf conventions -- featured, in large part, amateur sf stories, many of pretty high quality >> Rynefors eventually became a Pofessor at Chalmers Institute of Technology in Gothenburg, but he never lost his interest in writing; he was just beginning what looked like a promising career as a professional writer at the time of his death in 1986 in a house fire --- he had gone back into the burning building in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue two of his daughters > MENTAT -- published for five years between 1967 and 1972 -- edited by Ulf Westblom, who was an active fan publisher in Sweden during that time, and who later emigrated to the U.S. to become Professor of Internal Medicine at the Texas A&M University School of Medicine -- following the lead of fanzines by Stenfors and Sedolin, parts of MENTAT were printed in English to attract the interet of British and North American fans -- featured (what kinds of material?) >> its claim to fame was the publication of a short story titled "The Flames of Fire" --- the story itself has faded into obscurity, but not its author: it was by Dean R. Koontz, who went on to become a superstar mainstream novelist > SKANDIFANDOM -- perhaps the most remarkable publication to come out of Swedish fandom in the 1960s >> was a 154-page encyclopedia of Scandinavian fandom, that was published in 1964 >> was actually more than that, even; besides listings of fans, fanzines, clubs, fannish terms and the like, it included an index of all issues of every Scandinavian fanzine published through 1963, plus listings of fan clubs and fan pen-names, bibliographies of fiction and other material published in fanzines, and even a statistical analysis of Scandinavian fanac from 1954 to 1963 --- fandom had never seen anything like it, and never would again -- the fan responsible for this amazing feat was Ingvar Svensson >> Svensson, a research biochemist by profession, was born in 1931, and began publishing fanzines in 1958 --- before SKANDIFANDOM was published, he had become known for his fanzine SERIA MARZIANA, which introduced a "Martian" artificial language, complete with glossaries, grammar, and teaching examples >> Svensson's other major accomplishment in the science fiction field was the founding, in 1963, of the Swedish SF Academy --- this organization gained visibility through its sponsorship of an annual award to a deserving Scandinavian sf writer or fan >>> the first winner, in 1963, was Sam Lundwall >>> other winners in the 1960s included Denis Lindbohm, Jannick Storm, John-Henri Holmberg, Bertil Martensson, and Mats Linder --- in the 1970s, SSFA also published an index to the Swedish language version of Tolkien's LORD OF THE RINGS -- an 86-page second-volume addendum to SKANDIFANDOM was subsequently published in 1966 >> after the 1966 addendum, Svennson's interest in science fiction and fandom seems to have peaked, and he gradually faded from view --- at the time of his death in the 1980s, he had had no contacts with fans for several years - other notable fans of the 1960s > Leif Andersson -- born in 1944, began publishing a hectographed fanzine, GALAXY, in 1957 before he knew there was science fiction fandom, and thus became the latest in a long series of times this has happened throughout the years -- later during the 1960s, after entering the University of Lund, he formed a club there, the Lund Fantasy Fan Forening (LF3) (note: 'Forening' means 'Society') -- he was also chairman of the 1966 Swedish national sf convention, Malcon 2 -- became a celebrity when he became the first person in Sweden ever to twice win the grand prize in TIOTUSENKRONORSFRAGAN ("THE 10,000 CROWN QUESTION"), the first time at age 16 >> at the exchange rate then in effect, of 5 Swedish crowns to the U.S. dollar, that made it "The $2,000 Question", which was what Andersson actually won >> his specialty subject was Astronomy, which became a career interest -- became professional astronomer, after which his fan activities greatly subsided >> left Sweden in 1968 on a research grant for an observatory in Sicily; soon after he emigrated to U.S., to complete his doctorate at the University of Indiana, and then to work at Kitt Peak Observatory in Arizona >> one of his last appearances in fandom was at the 1978 Worldcon, where he was part of the science track of programming -- died in 1979 of cancer >> following his death, a crater on far side of moon was named in his honor > Lars-Olov Strandberg -- born in 1929, became active in fandom in 1956, when he attended the first Swedish convention, the Luncon -- besides being one of the founders of the SFSF, served on the organization's board of directors for decades afterward >> also served as chairman of the Alvar Appeltofft Memorial Foundation after it came into being in the late 1970s -- a very active convention fan >> served as treasurer for most Stockholm conventions, starting with the 1965 Stockon, and throughout the decades of the 1970s and 1980s afterwards >> became known internationally, from his travels to worldcons, British Eastercons, and continental European sf conventions --- this was facilitated by Strandberg's profession, as head of life insurance investment training with Sweden's largest insurance corporation -- assumed the unofficial title as the elder statesman of Swedish fandom >> according to John-Henri Holmberg, Strandberg was "Sweden's combination of E. E. Evans, Howard DeVore, and Forry Ackerman: a soft-spoken, self-effacing man whose devotion without any doubt guaranteed the survival of the SFSF" > Kjell Borgstrom -- born in 1929, and was an avid sf reader before entering fandom in 1965 -- his most notable form of fanac was his free-form sf poetry >> published hundreds of items of verse in fanzines, some of which were later sold to professional magazines >> a collection of his poetry, DEN SUCKANDE TUNGAN ("The Sighing Tongue") was fan-published in 1969 -- remained active in fandom until his early fifties, when he developed diabetes and lost most of his eyesight >> according to John-Henri Holmberg, "Whether Borgstrom was an actual poetic genius or just poking fun at fandom, poetry, and science fiction was a question which split Swedish fandom for over twenty years, but gradually the former point of view became dominant." - finally, there was The Witty Society Your Friend Fandom (Witterhetssallskapet Din Ven Fandom) > an un-serious organization started by Holmberg, Martensson, and Linder, though they continued to remain active in SFSF > formed in mid 1967, and used mainly as a collective pseudonym on a series of very fannish satirical and humorous one-shot fanzines > other doings included presentation of an annual (intended as satirical) award "for indispensible fan activities" -- award existed for three years, then, after each of the presenters had received it, was disbanded, the three unable to find any other 'worthy' recipients > organization was itself caracturized by other fans -- Bitterhtssellskapet Din Fan Vand Om (which roughly translated to "The Bitterness Society Turn Back You Fiend") was created by Gothenberg fans Inge Larssen, KG Lofwander, and Kjell Rynefors -- at same time, Stockholm fans Ulf Westblom, Per Insulander, and Torkel Franzen claimed to have formed an organization called Sixth Fandom, which mainly engaged in claiming that Their Time to Take Over Fandom would come soon -- both of these "organizations" existed merely as humourous spoofs > organization really only existed sporadically, then went dormant in early 1970 - in summary, Swedish fandom of the 1960s can perhaps be characterized as a fandom in change: it was growing larger and had a very active core group of fans, while many of the dominant influences from the 1950s such as Sam Lundwall went on to other interests > as Holmberg later remembered, "Swedish fandom of the 1960s was very small, very closely knit, and very active. Feuds never got personal; everyone had a peculiar sense of accomplishment, and we still believed in fandom, the future, science fiction, and ourselves. I suspect that most fans kept so active that we never really noticed how few and how insignificant we were, filling theimmense silence with the incessant patter of typewriter arms against stencils. It was a fun time, and I'd gladly do it over." * Norway - fandom in Norway fandom dates back to December 1954, when Roar O. Ringdahl and Cato Lindberg published the first Norwegian fanzine, FANTASI > Ringdahl, who was born in 1935, was actually more of a cinema devotee, and would later mostly drop out of fandom and become involved with publishing the magazine of the Norwegian Film Collector's Club > Lindberg, two years younger, had a technical background which would take him into a variety of jobs, including that of a radio operator in the merchant marine, where he met several American fans [source: MIMOSA] -- Lindberg had first learned of the existence of science fiction fandom in the pages of AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION magazine, and after contacted Charles Lee Riddle and receiving a copy of Riddle's fanzine PEON, became interested in fanzine publishing [source: Lindberg 20Jun96 email] > FANTASI was mostly a Norwegian language fanzine, but it did include English-language sections, which brought Norwegian fandom to the attention of fans in the U.K. and U.S. --- Ringdahl took over as sole editor in 1956, when Lindberg went off to radio school --- the fanzine actually had only a handful of Norwegian readers, with more of an audience in Sweden, so after 11 issues it was combined in 1958 with Sture Sedolin's SUPER FANZINE, after which two more issues were published under the name SUPER FANTASI before it ceased publication entirely - in the early 1960s, Norway was in a fannish dark ages that lasted until mid-decade, and the founding of Aniara > when the International Science Fiction Society founded its Norwegian branch in 1958, Ringdahl was given charge of the club -- he published the club's fanzine, SIRIUS, but it and the club seem to have disappeared by about the beginning of the 1960s > Ray Nelson lived in the Oslo area, in the small town of Ulvcya, for a time in the early 1960s, but did not seem to have any lasting influence on fandom there -- his most notable achievement while he was there was a short black & white amateur film, MONSTER ON THE LOOSE, which he and Ringdahl co- produced -- if anything, Norwegian fandom in the form of Ringdahl seemed to have had more of an effect on Nelson; in Nelson's novel collaboration with Philip K. Dick, THE GANYMEDE TAKEOVER, one of the characters is described as "the sadistic Major Ringdahl of Ulvcya Prison" - Aniara > a SF club formed at the University of Oslo > name derived from a Swedish SF-verse-epic/opera by Martinson and Blomdahl > founded in late 1965 by Oddvar Foss and Jon Bing (students at the time) -- Foss had been sent by his parents to Bergen to study business administration, but once he was out of range from his parents, decided instead to go to Oslo to study psychology [source: Vermo remembrance] -- not known where he picked up his interest in science fiction, but one slow afternoon he posted a note on a bulletin board at the university >> Bing answered it, found they had a common interest in the science fiction genre, and decided to see if there were any others on campus >> not long afterwards a small gathering of science fiction fans came together; it was the first meeting of the club > club was an immediate success; within one year, it had grown to 20 steady members -- club meetings often attended by as many as 70 people -- initial correspondence indicated the club was interested in contacting foreign fans and organizations > in summer of 1966, published an SF year review titled FENOMEN 66 -- a mostly sercon publication edited by Bing -- was published in both Norwegian/Swedish and English editions -- lead article was discussion of the opera that gave name to the club -- more significantly, discussed climate for SF in Norway, and may have set the stage for beginning of Norwegian SF > club members Bing and Tor-Age Bringsvaerd produced first all-SF radio program broadcast in Norway, which aired on May 26, 1966 -- Bringsvaerd later went on to become one of Norway's leading authors > at first, the fare for club meetings ran to the sercon: discussions of science fiction and readings of some translated sf from the English -- this was enough to keep fans interested, however, because at the time there was very little sf translated into English, and not too many fans were fluent in English > soon afterward, however, the club was full of newly-discovered fannishness -- one of its members, Bjorn Vermo, remembered that "After a while, it became apparent who were true fans and who were only curious passers-by or more casual readers of SF." -- but it was also a bit different than other fan groups: Vermo remembered that "It was a different kind of fandom, with few fannish pranks and no feuds." -- Roar Ringdahl re-surfaced, and showed some of his amateur movies, though his narrations of the misadventures he had while making them were more entertaining than the films themselves > about a year after it formed, the burst of enthusiasm by its members started to wear off, and there were some lean times -- some of its members became otherwise engaged in other activist endeavors, and club attendance began to drop off -- the most committed members began meeting off-campus, at the apartment of Tom Irgens at Frydenlundsgt. 19 in Oslo. Vermo remembered that "Every Thursday we met there, drinking his beer and cleaning out the refrigerator." >> Irgens's hospitality may have saved the club; eventually, fannish activities began to increase again -- after Irgens got married, Foss took his place as proprietor of the apartment >> he and another member, Per G. Olsen, took over reins of the club >> meeting attendance started to increase again and the crisis was past > Aniara not only survived the 1960s, it also survived the next decade and ones after that -- in the late 1970s, they sent their first contingent to a Worldcon, of all places the 1978 Iguanacon in Phoenix -- in 1980, they had evolved to the point where they organized the first sf convention in Norway, the Norcon - outside of Aniara, there was not much fan activity in Norway in the 1960s > by the end of the 1960s, this started to change, as the growth of fandom in neighboring Sweden began to have an effect > the most prominent non-Aniara fan in the late 1960s was Oyvind Myhre, who was also an author of libertarian-leaning novels -- later, Myhre became involved in a rather violent feud with Aniara, but that's a story for a future book about the 1970s * Denmark - there were rumors of a proto-fandom in Denmark in the 1950s, but nothing seems to have crystallized before the end of that decade > two names often mentioned in connection with this proto-fandom were Niels E. Nielsen and Edmund W. Hansen, both of whom were professional sf writers - real fan activities in Denmark started in mid 1960s > literary meetings at a cafe in Copenhagen -- (details?) > Jannick Storm, who turned up in 1965, came into fandom with the idea of turning Denmark into a hotbead of New Wave sf activities -- he followed up this idea by publishing what was Denmark's first-ever fanzine, LIMBO, which John-Henri Holmberg described as "very much a literary, avant-gardistic, and psychedelic kind of fanzine" -- he also convincing one of Denmark's leading book publishers to let him edit a line of sf novels by the likes of Philip K. Dick, J. G. Ballard, and Brian Aldiss >> he later became close friends with Aldiss, who later dedicated his book BILLION YEAR SPREE to Storm - Science Fiction Cirklen fan club > (details?) > went on to sponsor a highly-promoted convention, Fabula, in 1976, which resulted in attracting an attendance of almost 2,000 > encouraged by this success, the club tried for an even bigger convention spectacular the next year and lost an enormous amount of money, but that too, is a story for a future book about the 1970s * other Europe - Italy (Gian Paolo Cossato could be a source for Italian fandom) - France > fandom in France dayes back at least as far as the 1940s, when its most prominent fan was Georges Gallet -- (very slight amount of detail here) > French fandom of the 1950s was visible outside the country, mostly because it centered around two active fans, Jean and Annee Linard -- (a bit of detail here) -- when their activity subsided at the end of the 1950s, fandom in France faded back toward obscurity > there are not very many activities to report in the 1960s -- SF Club de Paris >> existed in the early 1960s >> became visible briefly when it ran afoul of the French government, which banned the mailing of its dual French-English language fanzine, SCIENCE-FICTION INTERNATIONALE, outside of France --- when he heard of this, Ray Nelson immediately began offering a two dollar bounty for copies of this instant rarity - Switzerland - Belgium > in the 1950s, Belgium had one of the leading European fans in Jan Jansen -- however, by 1960, he had totally dropped from sight, not to return for over a decade > in the 1960s, Belgium was kind of a fannish wasteland, with very little in the way of visible activities to outsiders -- there were some younger fans, but they were mostly slanted towards comics; TIN-TIN, in particular, was very popular [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] > Michel Feron, from Hannut, Belgium, was probably the leading and most active Belgian fan of that decade -- in 1966 was publishing EARLY BIRD, a monthly newsletter of SF, horror, fantasy, and comics -- by the end of the decade, he was publishing two other fanzines, both French-language, that provided some international fan news and fanzine reviews - Netherlands > (1950s summary/condensation from AWoF goes here) > in the 1960s, one of the most prominent Dutch fans was Leo Kindt [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] -- publisher of several fanzines during that decade, including the clubzine HOLLAND SF > an American fan, Billy Pettit, lived in The Hague for a while near the end of the decade -- (info on Pettit here) -- he published several fanzines from there, including AMPHIPOXI, which was also published in the U.S. and (where?) during its brief existence [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] - Spain > no real signs of fandom in Spain before 1966 > perhaps the founding fathers of Spanish fandom were two Barcelona fans, Luis Garcia and Jose' Anselmo Clave, who in April 1966 published an English-language fanzine, A SPANIARD AT THE (SF) WORKS, that alerted the rest of the world about the beginning of fandom in Spain -- earlier that year, Garcia had published two Spanish-language fanzines - Hungary > Hungary and other eastern European countries were shrouded by the Iron Curtain, so any news of science fiction and fan activities usually followed a convoluted route to reach other fan groups -- fans from Hungary didn't often turn up in western Europe, but Billy Pettit met a couple of fans from Hungary at one of the British Eastercons during the 1960s [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] >> (any details? any memories?) > in 1969, reports surfaced about a fanzine from Hungary, published by high school students, reportedly with the help of a local writer, Peter Kuczka -- the Hungarian fanzines that managed to find their way westward seemed to have been published by very dedicated enthusiasts; Billy Pettit received one that looked like it had been printed on an offset press, and whose content was mostly sercon articles and fiction [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] - Czechoslovakia > there is only anecdotal evidence of Czechoslovak fandom prior to 1969, though undoubtedly there were many science fiction readers there during the 1960s and prior decades -- the world of science fiction, in fact, owes much to writer Karol Capek, who in 1921 in his play R.U.R. gave us the word 'robot' (which comes from the Czech word 'robotnik', which means 'worker') -- lack of organized fandom in the earlier part of the decade was a bit surprising; a driving force toward science fiction fandom might have existed from the sense of wonder imparted by manned space programs of Soviet Union and United States, or from a need for escapism from the real world's Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 -- it may be that fandom was regarded as a subversive activity, and was thus an underground movement >> in the late 1960s, British fans Jean Muggoch and Daphne Seawell, who kept a large correspondence file with various fans in different parts of Europe, began corresponding with a few Czech fans [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] >> somehow, a few of them managed to obtain permission to travel, and visited Muggoch and Seawell; they brought with them examples of some of the fanzines that were published, which had very small print runs and mostly sercon contents with some amateur fiction > near the end of the 1960s, Billy Pettit had taught some computer science classes in Frankfurt, Germany; instructors from the University of Prague were among those in attendance [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] -- in 1969, Pettit came to Prague to install a computer at the University and learned that there were some fans in that group -- however, they seemed afraid of him, possibly because there were also political officers present in the group as well > anyway, despite lack of very much information about Czech fandom, we do know that in 1969, a group of university students in Prague formed "The Club of Jules Verne's Friends" -- this club didn't last very long, however, and Czech fandom returned to its dark ages for another few years -- was not until 1972 that a lasting fandom finally began to form in Czechoslovakia, but that will be a topic for a future history book - Soviet Union > Besides eastern Europe, fandom in Russia itself also existed, though once again, news of it rarely reached western ears and eyes > in 1969, Ed Reed made contact with Professor Kagarlitski of the USSR Writers Union, who mentioned the existence of "a great club in Khazov"; the contact for the club was a Professor Kaganov, which leads one to believe that sercon was dominant in whatever fandom existed there * South America - Argentina > the leading fan in Argentina during the 1960s was Mae Strelkov -- she was born in 1917 in China to missionary parents >> raised in Shanghai; moved to South America in 1936 after marrying her Russian-born husband, Vadim Strelkov --- settled first in Chile, eventually moving to Argentina in 1939 where she found work as a multi-lingual stenographer in Buenos Aires -- had become a science fiction reader while in grade school in China, after finding books by H.G. Wells in her school library >> after arriving in Argentina, she bought all the new sf paperbacks she could find at the local newsstand >> by the late 1950s, she thought that she, too, could write saleable science fiction, and in 1960 she sent off the manuscript of a fantasy novel to Ace Books >> the manuscript was rejected, but the rejection letter, written by Don Wollheim, brought her into contact with fandom -- she became known in fandom as a letter of comment writer >> following rejection of her manuscript, she and Wollheim became correspondents and good friends; he introduced her to fanzines --- first fanzine she received was a 1961 issue of CRY --- her letter of comment to that issue was published, which brought her other fanzines from fan publishers eager to have a South American correspondent >> she responded to nearly all fanzines she received, which, combined with her geographical location, made her somewhat of a celebrity in fandom --- however, she never thought of herself as a celebrity: "I saw myself as an obstreperous neo who often needed taking down a peg." -- in little more than a decade, she had become a fan prominent enough to become the subject of a special fan fund to bring her to a worldcon, which was accomplished in 1974 -- paradoxically, however, in spite of Mae Strelkov's prominence outside of South America, she had very little impact on fandom in South America >> she was mostly unable to find other fans on her own: "I hunted high and low for them, I visited publishing houses who were trying out a line of reprints of science fiction translated from the English." >> Wollheim got her in contact with another prominent Argentine fan, Hector Pessina, but a correspondence exchange got nowhere: "He found me nuts, and rightly so. I'm too crazy for typical intellectual Latin Americans; I like to have fun and break taboos. They like to be proper and highly respected." >> to find the roots of organized Argentine fandom, we have to look toward a different person > Hector Raul Pessina was Argentina's other internationally-known fan during the 1960s -- (mini-bio of Hector here) -- he might be deserving of the title 'Father of Argentine Fandom', when in 1960, he began publishing a mostly English-language fanzine THE ARGENTINE SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW >> he thus became the international spokesman for organized Argentine fandom; through that fanzine, the outside world learned about fan activities in Argentina >> the fanzine itself contained fiction, fanzine & sf reviews, in both Spanish and English -- by the beginning of the 1970s, Pessina's interests had expanded >> he began a bilingual Spanish-English fanzine, EL ALIENIGENA SOLITARIO (THE LONELY ALIEN) >> another Pessina publication, OMICRON, which appeared only once, was more oriented to science fiction and fantasy in the movies --- in 1973, he founded a movie club, Metropolis 3000, which specialized in science fiction films > Buenos Aires SF Society -- organized (when?) -- as of early 1964 was reported to have about 30 members > La Plata Science Fiction Society -- organized in March 1964 >> became second organized SF club in Argentina -- was much smaller than Buenos Aires club, withonly about 5 members in 1964 -- president and corresponding secretary was Osvaldo Ellieff >> letter to Bob Lichtman requested that fans send his club any books and magazines they were willing to part with --- said that his club was very small and was "short of money as a logical consequence of any underdeveloped country" > another small club existed in Mar Del Plata in the late 1960s -- was known as the Antelae SF Club -- President was Fernando Pujadas -- main claim to fame was as sponsor for one of the rare sf conventions in South America, the Mardelcon of July 1968 >> during the convention, the Antelae Club used the occasion to debut the first, and possibly only, issue of their fanzine, ANTELAS - Uruguay > this unlikely spot for fandom did manage to produce one fan that became internationally visible for a short time at the end of the 1960s, Marcial Souto -- by the time he became known in fandom, he had moved to Argentina -- during the 1960 Mardelcon, when it became known he would be moving to the U.S. for a stay of several years, he was acclaimed as 'Argentine Fandom's Plenipotentiary Ambassador' to that year's Worldcon - Brazil > Brazilian First Fandom - appeared in the 1960s, mainly because of the boom in published science fiction that was occuring in Brazil at the time > Gumercindo Rocha Dorea was editor of Ficcao Centifica GRD, a SF line of books - first important fan in Brazil was Jeronymo Monteiro, who was also a published sf writer and also wrote detective and adventure stories > he founded the Clube de Ficcao Cientifica, known to outsiders as the Brazilian Society of Science Fiction, in 1964 -- meetings were held at Monteiro's house, and were frequented by Brazilian writers such as Ney Moraes and Andre Carneiroy -- no fanzines or other fan publications seem to have emanated from the club; Brazilian fandom did not seem to discover fanzines for another decade > Monteiro went on to edit the Magazine de Ficcao Cientifica, the Brazilian version of the magazine F&SF, before his death in 1970 > after Monteiro's death, the Society and the magazine both went into limbo -- organized fandom would not become highly visible in Brazil after that for about another decade > only other event of note from Brazil in 1960s was the 1969 SF Symposium -- was held in Rio de Janeiro in March of 1969 >> was one of the events at a two-week international film festival -- not a fan convention; was an international meeting on science fiction >> among attendees were Fred Pohl, Harlan Ellison, Forrest J Ackerman, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, J.G. Ballard, Damon Knight, Kate Wilhelm, A.E. Van Vogt, Robert Sheckley, and Brian Aldiss -- some classic SF films were shown, including METROPOLIS, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, AND KING KONG >> an award was presented to Clarke and Stanley Kubrick for the movie 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY * Africa and Asia (except Japan) - South Africa > fandom in South Africa got its start in 1969 [source for this section except where noted: PROBE 100] -- in early 1969, Rita Cooper, of Pretoria, began exchanging audio tapes with a friend in California, Dorothy Jones -- Jones happened to be a member of the NFFF, and mentioned the fact in passing, one one of the tapes she sent off to Cooper -- when Rita Cooper's husband, Tex Cooper, heard that section of the tape, he found the idea of belonging to organized sf club so appealing that he expressed an interest in joining the NFFF on the next tape that crossed back to the United States -- Jones's next tape had an even better suggestion: why not start a South African science fiction fan club instead? -- after hearing that and at Rita's urging, Tex sat down and wrote a letter to the Sunday Pretoria TIMES, which was published on April 13, 1969 >> the letter offered that a science fiction club was possible, if there was enough interest >> there was; response was almost immediate with 37 replies ultimately received > the first meeting of South African fandom occured at the Cooper's home on a bitterly cold winter day: June 6, 1969 -- nine other people attended, and the result of the meeting was a unanimous consensus that a national sf club should be formed > the Coopers wrote a thank you letter to the TIMES, which was published on June 29th, and the result was another 25 letters of interest > after some further planning, the first official meeting of Science Fiction South Africa took place on October 3, 1969, in Johannesburg, at the home of Mary and Simon Scott, two of the original respondents -- membership fees were set at 2 rand per year -- the club was optimistic about its future, and set life membership fee at 20 rand (in an era where a month's salary was about 400 rand for a computer programmer) > club immediately started a lending library, with about 200 books that were donated by members, and a newsletter, PROBE, was also authorized > meetings were held in homes of the members, alternating between the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and East Rand > there wasn't too much personal contacts with fans outside of South Africa -- in 1969, Billy Pettit went to Johannesburg and met some of the club members [source: Pettit 2Nov00 email] > the club did indeed proved to have staying power, and managed to survive the inevitable Crisis of Apathy that hits most clubs a few years after they are born -- annual conventions were sponsored by the club starting in the 1970s -- annual short story contest also inaugurated in 1970s > SFSA has survived for decades afterward - Other Africa > no indigenous fandoms are known > nearest thing to fanac from elsewhere in Africa involve non-Africans -- British fan George Locke was posted by the British Army to Kenya in the early 1960s and published a fanzine from there that was titled THE PROSE OF KILIMANJARO [source: Locke 5Nov00 email] >> it was not a work of literature, however; Locke described it as "awful rubbish! But doing it was sort of fun, and it was on the Army's time, equipment, and stationery -- no wonder we lost our Empire!" * Japan - pre-1960s fandom > the first well-known Japanese fan outside of Japan was Tetsu Yano -- was befriended in 1953 by an Australian fan, Harry Brook, who was stationed in Japan while serving in the Australian army -- Yano acquired many fan contacts through Brook, including Forry Ackerman -- Ackerman soon after arranged for a visit to U.S. by Yano, including a trip to the 1953 Worldcon (in Philadelphia) >> Yano stayed in U.S. for over six months as the guest of Ackerman -- Yano remained active in fandom throughout the 1960s in Japan, becoming an 'elder statesman' while only in his 40s >> after that, he transitioned into pro-dom, being successful as a writer, translator, and critic > organized Japanese fandom's beginnings in the 1950s was the Uchujin Club which was based in Tokyo -- was founded in May 1957, which can be considered the birth date of organized fandom in Japan >> original name was Kagaku-Sosaku Club, which translates roughly to 'science fiction club' >> club was founded by a small group of people who were members of the Japan Flying Saucer Research Association, who had more of an interest in science fiction than in pseudoscience >> was immediately popular with sf-readers in Japan, and experienced rapid growth; later in 1957 was reported to have about 80 members --- club served as a springboard to pro-dom; by the early 1960s, at least six Uchujin members had stories or non-fiction articles published professionally -- Tetsu Yano was initially the leader of the new club; however, the most prominent member, and another of the founders, was Takumi Shibano >> Shibano was born in 1927 at Kanazawa in Ishikawa-ken, the son of an Army officer --- while in primary school, became a fan of scientific adventure stories by the Japanese writers Yamanaka and Unno --- in 1939, came across a copy of H.G. Wells's WAR OF THE WORLDS, which had a profound impact on him: he later remembered that "At that moment, I felt the direction of my life was mostly set" >> Shibano's interest in science fiction was a driving force for him throughout high school and college; in 1950, he graduated from Tokyo Institute of Technology with an engineering degree, and that same year he also sold his first science fiction story, under pseudonym of 'Rei Kozumi'; he later wrote two novels under that pseudonym that were published in 1969 --- while in college, he discovered he had a knack for explaining things, so soon afterward, he became a mathematics teacher at Koyamadai High School in Tokyo, which also allowed him to nurture an interest in science fiction in many of his students >> eventually, he looked outside the school for people with interest in science fiction, and took on the task of locating fans in other parts of Japan --- became known as the 'Japanese Forry' for these activities -- another member of the club was Sachiko Shibano, whom Takumi had met not long after he had graduated from college >> (need some info on Sachiko's fan activities of the late 1950s and early 1960s) > Takumi Shibano became editor of the club's fanzine, UCHUJIN (translation: 'cosmic dust') -- begun in 1957, published monthly >> immediately popular with Japanese fans; by the end of the 1950s, the circulation was up over 100 >> continued through the 1960s -- published mostly fiction >> issue 100, in 1966, featured contributions from big-name SF writers >> can also be credited as the pathway for several Japanese writers, including Shin-ichi Hoshi, into the ranks of the professionals > visited U.S. in 1968 as recipient of special 'Trans-Oceanic Fan Fund', with his wife Sachiko -- fan fund was perhaps shortest duration of any ever help; it only took a single auction at 1967 Worldcon to raise sufficient funds >> Bjo and John Trimble handled auctioneering duties >> John was able to telephone the Shibanos that same day, telling them they had better start making travel plans -- they attended 1968 Worldcon -- visited Roy Tackett in New Mexico -- went to other parts of the U.S. (Need some details here) -- at the conclusion of the trip Takumi realized he could not think about science fiction and fandom the same way as before: "Before this visit, I had persuaded myself to think of SF as just a hobby, because I thought I should be faithful to my main job as a math teacher. But after then, I could not treat SF the same way anymore. I was captured by a sort of fantasy that SF fan activity can become one of the best ways to lead to peace in the world." >> to follow up on this, he wrote an article about science fiction fandom in Japan that was published in IF magazine >> eventually, his love of science fiction and his dedication to the globality of the genre started to win out over teaching, and by the 1970s was a full-time translator of science fiction in the days, and a part time teacher at Koyamadai High School in the evenings -- their 1968 visit to the U.S. was the first of many, which culminated in their being fan guests of honor at the 1996 Worldcon, the first fans from Japan so honored - SF MAGAZINE ((note: I have Japanese translation)) > first successful prozine in Japan -- previous attempt had been SEIUN (translation: "Nebula") magazine, which lasted only a single issue, in 1954 > began publication with its February 1960 issue, which appeared in bookshops at the end of 1959 > first editor was Masami Fukushima -- remained as editor for nearly a full decade, being succeeded by Masaru Mori in 1969 > published translations of English-language stories at first, some of which had appeared in F&SF > eventually began publishing original fiction by Japanese authors -- occasionally had story contests, which served to encourage the growth of science fiction in Japan -- often featured polished-up stories that had seen first publication in UCHUJIN > although SF MAGAZINE served as a focus for science fiction in Japan in the 1960s, it wasn't actually the focus of science fiction fandom there -- by the 1960s, additional fan clubs had started to emerge - SFM Fan Club ((note: I have Japanese translation)) > second fan group in Japan -- originally named the SF-Magazine Fan Club > organized in 1962 by Shiro Shima and Jun'ichiro Kida, though both soon faded from sight -- Kida went on to become a popular literary critic, while Shima just disappeared from fandom > club was nominally headquartered in Tokyo, but members were from all over Japan > published a clubzine UCHU-KIRYU ("Space Current"), which lasted for 85 issues, through the early 1970s -- the longest tenure of editorship was held by Mitsuo Makimura - Null Fan Club of Osaka > existed in early 1960s > president was Yasutaka Tsutsui > was smaller than the Uchujin club, and its activities were not reported on as widely as the Uchujin club -- best known activities were a series of annual joint meetings with its neighbor, the Uchujin club >> these were reported on in a U.S. fanzine, DYNATRON >> were almost a mini-convention: the second one, in 1962, went for seven hours, with speeches and discussions - regional fan groups > started up in middle of 1960s; by 1965 there were 14 different fan groups in Japan > Federation of Fangroups formed in 1965 as a super-organization of fandom in Japan -- Takumi Shibano was instrumental in its founding; he was elected as its chairman in 1966 and continued in that post until 1970 - there were other fan publications in Japan besides UCHUJIN and UCHU-KIRYU in the 1960s > the most prominent was NULL ((note: Japanese translation is the same)), published by the Osaka fan group of the same name -- this was Japan's second amateur sf magazine, though it was not really a fanzine -- editor/publisher was Yasutaka Tsutsui >> much of material was by Tsutsui and his brothers -- began publication in 1960 >> typical pagecount was 40 to 50 pages, with the 10th issue nearly 100 pages -- perhaps the 10th issue caused a burnout, because the magazine ended publication soon afterwards, in 1964, after its 11th issue - even though Tetsu Yano brought fandom to the attention of the English- speaking world in the early 1950s, interactions with fandom outside of Japan were very infrequent until the 1960s > in 1960, Roy Tackett was stationed in Japan during his military service with the U.S. Marines -- after seeing a copy of SF MAGAZINE, the Japanese version of F&SF in a bookstore in Iwakuni, he wrote a letter to the editor explaining that he was an American fan stationed in Japan, and hoping he could be put in contact with Japanese fans -- letter was published, and soon after, Tackett received letter from Takumi Shibano (although Shibano claimed it was the other way around), followed by letters from other Japanese fans -- as Tackett later remembered, "Takumi lived in Tokyo, which was some distance from Iwakuni, so we never met, but we did carry on a lively letter exchange. He told me about Japanese fandom and I told him about U.S. fandom." -- Tackett published much material about Japanese fandom in his fanzine DYNATRON >> in his first report, in DYNATRON's sixth issue, in July 1961, Tackett was able to document the progress of Japanese fandom, as seen through the eyes of Takumi Shibano: "As editor of UCHUJIN, I have been troubled lately by club members who have been arguing two different principles. One group says that we should continue our policy of serving as a showcase for developing writers and presenting material for later commercial publication, while the other group says we should devote more interest and space to fandom itself." --- Tackett's succinct comment to this for his readers was, "Sounds familiar, doesn't it?" -- Tackett later wrote an article about U.S. science fiction and fandom that was translated by Tetsu Yano and published in SF MAGAZINE > there were other North American fans to visit Japan in the 1960s -- Steve Schulteis and his wife visited the Uchujin club in January 1965 -- Leon Stover, who belonged to New York's Hydra Club, was a visiting Professor at Tokyo University during the 1960s >> didn't take part in any fan activities during his stay in Japan, but he did take part in a round of correspondence with Takumi Shibano about, among other things, plans for publication of Japanese science fiction in English - Japanese Science Fiction Fandom Awards > inaugurated by Takumi Shibani in 1965 to recognize contributions to the science fiction field in Japan > five people were recipients when the award debuted in 1965 -- Roy Tackett received the award for his activities in forming bridges between Japanese and North American fandom -- another was presented to Tetsu Yano, who by that time had become a successful writer -- Shibano himself received one of the awards (was he surprised? Or did he know about it beforehand?) -- others went to a short story writer, M. Fukushima, and an editor, S. Sitoshi > the next year, the award was given to Forry Ackerman for his many activities in nurturing international fandoms > the awards continued annually through 1970, when they were replaced by the Seiun Awards Fan Funds As long as there have been widely separated fan communities, there have been fans who have wanted to bring these communities closer together. One manifestation of this has been the creation of fan-supported funds to honor notable fans by covering the expenses of a long-distance visit. The Trans- Oceanic Fan Fund described previously is a case in point, but it was by no means either the first or the best known of these Funds. The concept of Fan Funds probably originated in British fandom during the second World War. The fans there who had found a way to stay active during wartime came up with the idea of raising money to bring Forry Ackerman, who at that time was the most popular and well-known American fan, to Britain for a kind of fannish cultural exchange visit. There was one problem, however -- Ackerman vetoed the plan. It turned out that Ackerman had his own ideas about funding a visit by a well- known fan. In 1946, not long after the Los Angeles Worldcon of that year, he observed that in the four World Science Fiction Conventions held to date, there had not been even a single attendee from outside North America, in spite of the existence of a very active and thriving British fandom. This, to him, was a travesty, and he proposed to do something about it. As he later remembered, "I proposed creating what I called the 'Big Pond Fund'. It was evident who the greatest fan in England was at the time -- it was Ted Carnell. It was also evident that it would be a good idea to find a way to bring him to the next Worldcon." It proved much more difficult that Ackerman had imagined. A fund was in fact created, with Philadelphia fan Milton Rothman heading it up and Ackerman serving as Treasurer. Carnell wasn't the only Britfan considered, but he was selected as the proposed honoree. All seemed well at first, but monetary support from North American fans was slow in coming. By the summer of 1947 there weren't nearly enough funds collected for a trip to the that year's Philcon, so the trip was postponed. A year later, there still weren't sufficient funds collected to sponsor a trip. It took one more year of collecting funds, a significant portion of which Ackerman donated out of his own pocket, to make the trip happen. In 1949, Carnell made his long-delayed trip to North America, and by attending the 1949 Cinvention, became the first British fan to attend a North American science fiction convention. Orchestrating that first fan fund had proven so difficult that it took three more years before there was another. By the early 1950s, the most active and popular fan was Walter A. Willis, who lived in Northern Ireland. In 1951, Florida fan Shelby Vick came up with a campaign to bring Willis to that year's New Orleans Worldcon. When it was realized that there just wasn't enough time to conduct an effective money-raising campaign, Vick shifted his target to the 1952 Chicon, and the campaign came to be called "WAW with the Crew in '52." This time, there wasn't a problem in raising enough money for financing a trip, and Willis arrived in the United States for an extended trip that not only took in the Worldcon, but also brought him to fan centers from New York to Los Angeles and back. The result was the classic Willis trip report THE HARP STATESIDE, which has come to be regarded as the best fan trip report ever written. The Willis trip had been so successful that ideas for future funds soon began to surface. The year after the Willis trip, Don Ford of the Cincinnati Fan Group started a fund to bring British fan Norm Ashfield to the 1953 Worldcon, but it soon turned out that he was unable to make the trip. Some money had already been collected, so this was offered at Coronacon, the 1953 British National Convention, to any fan that Anglofandom might elect. At the Coronacon, Walt Willis convened an informal braintrust of British fandom which came to the conclusion there just wasn't enough time to finish fundraising in time for an election for someone to go to the 1953 Philcon. Instead, they decided that "a permanent Two-Way Transatlantic Fan Fund be set up to help both British and American fans to attend each other's conventions." Willis set up the basic voting procedures, which allowed both American and British fans to vote, provided they had been active in fandom for at least a year. There was also a voting fee to help raise money for the winner's expenses. Thus was the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund born. There were six TAFF elections during the 1950s. The fund got off to a bad start when the winner of the very first election (in 1954), Vincent Clarke, lost his job and was unable to make the trip. Two years later, another TAFF winner, Lee Hoffman, declined for personal reasons to accept any TAFF money. The other four elections produced very worthy delegates: Ken Bulmer in 1955, Bob Madle in 1957, Ron Bennett in 1958, and Don Ford in 1959. Ford was the first TAFF winner not to have a Worldcon as part of his itinerary, instead attending the 1960 British National Convention. * TAFF in the 1960s - 1960: > Don Ford U.S. TAFF delegate (selected in 1959) -- Bjo Wells (later Trimble) and Terry Carr other candidates >> no second or third place votes, only first place >> some British fans (Chuck Harris especially) were dismayed at the result >> however, voting breakdown showed Ford won by large margin in U.S., by narrow margin in U.K. -- attended the 1960 Eastercon > Eric Bentcliffe selected as delegate to attend Pittcon -- got 377 votes, to 277 for Mal Ashworth, to 261 for Sandy Sanderson >> Sanderson came in 1st in U.S., last in U.K. >> high number of votes an artifact of the preferential voting system that was in use at the time -- EPITAFF trip report published in March 1961 - 1961 > Ron Ellik selected as delegate to travel to U.K. -- got 145 votes, to 62 for Dick Eney -- attended 1962 Eastercon > THE SQUIRREL'S TALE trip report published posthumously (by Bruce Pelz) in 1968 (?) -- Ellik had finalized his report text before he died - 1962 > Ethel Lindsay selected as delegate to attend Chicon III -- defeated Eddie Jones, 122 votes to 64 (41 to 29 in the U.K.) > trip report THE LINDSAY REPORT published in April 1963 - 1963 > Wally Weber elected as TAFF delegate -- (mini bio on Wally goes here) -- defeated Marion Zimmer Bradley and Bruce Pelz, 203 votes to 165 to 129 >> came in last in U.K. voting, however -- attended the 1964 Eastercon, in Peterborough -- traveled the country afterwards, meeting up with different fans and fan groups >> one-shot fanzine by Peter Weston, THE KENCON, commemorated a weekend stay by Weber in Worcester -- however, never published a TAFF trip report >> was reported that he had discarded a first draft "because of dissatisfaction with its quality" (Carr/Schluck TAFF PROGRESS REPORT #9) >> if there was a subsequent draft, never saw the light of day - 1964 > Arthur Thomson defeated Phil Rogers in TAFF election -- Rogers was current BSFA chairman, and a founding member -- Terry Jeeves also briefly a candidate, but was forced to withdraw because of continuing problems with Asthma -- Thomson a well-known fan artist and fan writer >> had come into fandom in mid 1950s, gaining popularity with his cartoons in HYPHEN >> was ambidextrous, drawing with whichever hand was closest to the paper --- Willis insisted that Thomson could write with one hand while simultaneously drawing with the other >> what perhaps made him most suited as a TAFF candidate was his ability to be amusing at parties and conventions --- Willis had earlier written of him: "Art has given us more than prolificacy without lowering of standards, he's given us humor without cruelty, satire without malice, wisdom without arrogance, and good taste without ostentation." > ATom's travels across North America -- flew into New York, was welcomed by fans at JFKennedy Airport on Saturday, August 22 >> stayed in New York only one day >> Terry Carr acted as host -- early Sunday, got on Greyhound to Cleveland >> was met by Nick Falasca -- rode with Nick Falasca out to Los Angeles >> stopped in Indiana to visit the Coulsons, where he also met Marion Zimmer Bradley and Walter Breen; stopped in Illinois to see Bob Tucker -- spent a week of partying in Los Angeles with fans >> stayed with Bruce Pelz, who took him to Disneyland and to a LASFS meeting --- was accompanied to Disneyland by "a great mob of people" -- rode up to Oakland with the Pelzes for Pacificon >> committee provided him a free room at the Hotel Leamington -- after the convention, went on to Seattle to visit the Busbys and other Seattle fans >> driven there by Wally Gonser >> lost $100 in cash and his wristwatch, stolen from his room in a motel on the way between Oakland and Seattle --- went to sleep with wallet and wristwatch under his pillow, and awoke to find them gone --- money lost included $90 in sales from Pacificon art show --- eventually, after he had returned to England, most of his loss was covered by a travelers insurance policy he had bought prior to the trip >> Gonser also was robbed, losing about $25 -- then took Greyhound back east, stopping to visit fans along the way -- arrived back in New York, staying there about a week >> was taken to World's Fair by Charlie & Marsha Brown -- left back for England on September 20th > trip report: ATOM ABROAD -- report appeared in 1965 >> took longer to finish than expected because of time limitations on ATom's typing --- his apartment not well soundproofed, so he could not use his typewriter in the days or late at night -- 94 pages -- was last TAFF trip report to be published until Len Moffatt's trip of 1973 - 1965 > Terry Carr selected as delegate to attend Loncon II -- won over Jock Root and Bill Donaho, 207 votes to 114 to 89 -- gave speech at Loncon banquet explaining workings of TAFF > summit of many of past TAFF winners held at Loncon to discuss fund's future -- Willis proposes "hold over funds" as a voters option; approved -- adopted preferential ballot system of determining winner > never published a TAFF report -- was reported in RATATOSK that he intended to publish his report in three parts, in his FAPAzine LIGHTHOUSE >> then was to be published separately in one volume for sale to raise funds for TAFF -- had selected a title: "Last Year at the Mount Royal" -- much later, in the mid 1980s, a very condensed report, "Beyond the Mnemonic Statute of Limitations" appeared in the fanzine RAFFLES >> Carr described the article: "It's the only TAFF report of my trip that I'm ever likely to write." - 1966 > Tom Schluck (from Germany) selected as delegate to Tricon -- Schluck was one of Germany's most internationally-known fans in the 1960s >> came into fandom in the early 1960s, as part of a fan group in Hannover --- was editor of that group's fanzine, SOL >> began attending sf conventions in Germany, but by 1962, he started looking outward from Germany; he attended the 1962 Eastercon, at Harrogate, where he met Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss --- he also became interested in U.S. fandom about then (details?) -- defeated Eric Jones, Peter Weston, and Bo Stenfors, by vote totals of 83 to 39 to 20 to 5 -- became first non-British European TAFF delegate > was welcomed to New York on Aug. 29 by welcoming committee consisting of Ted White, Terry Carr, Andy Porter, and Mike McInerney -- at same time, was welcomed to Los Angeles by Bruce Pelz who was apparently confused by all the New York smog -- that night, was Guest of Honor at party thrown by Terry and Carol Carr >> treated people present with samples of German fan drink Vurguzz, a 180-proof drink bottled by German fans --- had gotten the booze into the U.S. in a bottle labeled as lemonade > stayed with the Carrs while in New York, traveled with them to the worldcon in Cleveland > after the Tricon, went to west coast > never published a TAFF report -- part of report was published in German fanzines, however - 1967: no TAFF trip (see Carr/Schluck 11/66 TAFF PROGRESS REPORT) > fund was very low on money -- longer campaign deemed necessary to allow fund to raise needed money > also, Schluck had not yet fully assumed administration from Thomson - 1968 > Steve Stiles ties with Ted Johnstone on first ballot -- Stiles wins when 3rd place votes for Ed Cox are redistributed >> final voting totals: Stiles wins 61 to 58 >> first time the so-called Australian ballot system needed to determine the TAFF election winner >> only 15 European voters -- Stiles attends the 1968 Eastercon > never published a trip report -- snippets of a trip report, ubder overall title of "Harrison Country" appeared in Arnie Katz's QUIP in 1968, and then in the mid 1980s in a Baltimore clubzine that Stiles was co-editing - 1969 > Eddie Jones beats out Bob Shaw -- becomes Fan GoH at St. Louiscon when Ted White vacated in order to publicize TAFF >> this event will be reported on in a later chapter -- arrived in North America (when?) >> first stop was in Potsdam, New York, for a visit with Dave and Ruth Kyle >> followed that with a trip to New York City for visits with the various New York fan groups --- (anything notable happen there?) -- (St. Louiscon activities) >> he gave a short, humorous speech about fandom (anything more specific?) -- after the Worldcon, traveled to the West Coast >> visited L.A. fandom (details?) * there were other fan funds in the 1960s besides TAFF, an example being the 1968 fund mentioned earlier that brought Japanese fans Takumi and Sachiko Shibano to the United States -- in fact, TAFF seemed to co-exist quite nicely with other one-shot fan funds that appeared from time to time, which speaks volumes about the generosity of fans >> from a historical perspective, special funds seemed to appear about every two or three years >> this trend began in 1959, when a special fund was created to bring Irish fan John Berry to the 1959 Worldcon, where he was further honored as the Fan Guest of Honor * the first of these special funds in the 1960s was the Parker Pond Fund of 1961 - to send Ella Parker to 1961 Worldcon - resulted from comment by Wally Weber in 1960 - Ella originally wanted to save for trip herself > confided in only a few people, including Ron Bennett - hoax cover for Bennett's SKYRACK 29 with headline "Ella Parker for Seacon" > Ella wrote Bennett angry letter for breaking her trust > however, her copy was *only* one with that cover > after realizing what had happened, Ella sent Bennett a telegram: "BENNETT, YOU BASTARD!" - fund becomes public at 1961 Eastercon > administered by Don Ford and Betty Kujawa in U.S., Ted Forsyth in U.K. - Ella left for U.S. on Aug. 22, 1961 > seen off by group of male fans including Arthur Thomson -- car bedecked with farewell slogans: "Gararin, Titov, and now Parker" -- ATom told bewildered officials that "they were all Ella's husbands and had come to say good-bye to her, and also that she had a three week burlesque engagement in Nevada." - Trip report resulted: PARKER'S PEREGRINATIONS (subtitled "The Harpy Stateside") * Tenth Annual Willis Fund (for 1962 worldcon) - for both Walt & Madeleine - originated by New York fans Ted White, Pete Graham, Greg Benford > originally announced in the fanzine VOID (Jan. 1961) - also announced in SKYRACK #32a (May 1961) - Larry and Noreen Shaw championed the cause in their fanzine AXE > put together special fan fund to raise money - Walt Willis trip report resulted: TWICE UPON A TIME - Madeleine wrote her own report as well > published in installments by Bruce Pelz * Colin Freeman Fund (a.k.a. "Operation Andy Capp") - purpose of fund was to get Freeman to the 1965 Loncon > Freeman was a handicapped fan (handicap = "Andy Capp") -- had severe bone disease that kept him in Scotton Banks Hospital in Knaresborough, near where Bennett lived in Harrogate -- Freeman was described by Bennett as being "extremely intelligent, with a good sharp sense of humour" > Bennett's mother met Freeman in late 1950s on a hospital visit, - fund was administered by Ron Bennett (U.K.) and Dave Hulan (U.S.) > took donations, held auctions > by early April 1965, had raised about $175 - proved to be a financial success but a practical failure > sufficient money was raised > however, Freeman was not well enough to travel to the convention > funds were eventually returned to the donors * Al Andrews Typewriter Fund - not really an international fan fund, though fund itself was publicized in international fan forums like the 1969 worldcon - Alfred McCoy Andrews was a middle-aged fan from Alabama, afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy > was one of early organizers of fandom in southern U.S. -- was Director of the Southern Fandom Group that had been formed by him and Lloyd D. Broyles > by 1969, the disease had progressed to the point where he could no longer publish his fanzines, and was forced to drop his one remaining fan activity, his membership in the apa SFPA -- the fan who had helped him by publishing all his fanzines had dropped from the apa [source: Moudry in SFPA 191] -- but it had also become too difficult to use the manual typewriter he owned - almost immediately the apa missed Al's friendly presence, and decided to do something about it > finding another publisher for his zines proved easy, but it took more extreme action to enable Andrews to more easily compose his fanac > the solution was to replace his manual typewriter with an easier-to-use electric typewriter, and a fan fund was decided on as the vehicle to procure the new typewriter - fund became active in 1969 > organized by Hank Reinhardt > money raising efforts conducted at 1969 DeepSouthCon, 1969 Worldcon, and through the mail - fund succeeded in its goal > approx. $250 raised, and Andrews presented with a new typewriter in the Autumn of 1969 > Andrews returned to activity with a fanzine "As I Was Saying..." in the November 1969 SFPA mailing > however, the irony was that was the final fan activity from Andrews - in early 1970, Andrews died when he slipped and fell down a flight of stairs at the nursing home where he was living