Chapter Seven - conventions [working title]
science fiction conventions of the 1960s
Richard Lynch
P.O. Box 3120
Gaithersburg, MD 20885 USA
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PRELIMINARY OUTLINE FOR A PROPOSED FAN HISTORY BOOK OF THE 1960s
Comments on this outline-in-progress are requested!!!
(last modified on April 3, 2001)
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(historical overview)
The date and sponsor of the very first science fiction convention is a source
of controversy. It may have taken place on January 3, 1937, when members of
British fandom convened at Leeds, in an event hosted by the Leeds branch of
the Science Fiction League. There were 20 attendees, including Arthur C.
Clarke, Ted Carnell, Walter Gillings, and Eric Frank Russell. The event had
been planned and promoted, apparently, for several months prior to the meeting
date.
Another contender for the title of 'first convention' had occurred several
months earlier, in Philadelphia, on October 22, 1936. Members of one of New
York City's many fan clubs, the International Scientific Association, visited
Philadelphia fandom. In all, there were about 15 attendees, including such
later-day notables such as Don Wollheim, Bob Madle, Dave Kyle, and Fred Pohl.
Although this event was much less planned than the later Leeds convention, it
still could be considered as a convention, as one of the orders of business
was to elect a convention chairman (Milton Rothman, whose home was the
convention site) and a secretary (Pohl). There has been some speculation that
the actual purpose of the Philadelpia gathering was to upstage the forthcoming
Leeds event, though one of the participants, Madle, later claimed that most of
the attendees weren't even aware the British fans were even planning a
convention.
A third possibility for the title occurred even earlier, in late June of 1935,
when the Chicago chapter of the Science Fiction League sent a small delegation
of three fans to New York City for a meeting at the offices of WONDER STORIES,
which served, in effect, as SFL world headquarters. They were to be met by
15 members from some of the New York SFL chapters, but fate intervened. The
Chicago delegation was delayed, and arrived on June 29th, one day later than
planned. So instead of an inter-city convention, WONDER STORIES editor
Charles Hornig decided to hold the meeting on June 28th, as planned, with just
the New York fans, which included Wollheim, John Michel, Frank Belknap Long,
Julius Unger, and Julius Schwartz. When the three Chicago fans arrived on
June 29th, only Schwartz was present from the previous day, and the inter-city
meeting consisted of him, Hornig, Mort Weisinger, and the midwest visitors.
Still, there is cause for claiming that this meeting, or for that matter, the
previous day's meeting, was in fact a convention; there were a few conventions
in the 1960s that have had as low an attendance as these meetings and many
conventions in the history of fandom that have had as informal a program.
Whatever the claims for the first convention, there can be no doubt that these
get-togethers were a success, or that fans really liked having the opportunity
to meet with other fans. In 1938, Sam Moskowitz and Will Sykora held what was
billed as the first National Science Science Fiction Convention, in Newark,
New Jersey, that brought together an astronomical 125 fans and pros, including
the new editor of ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, John W. Campbell, Jr.
(a paragraph here about conventions of the 1940s and 1950s, including the
founding of the Midwestcon and Westercon)
It can perhaps be claimed that with the large increases of attendances that
occurred during the 1960s, science fiction conventions came of age in that
decade.
* Westercons
- (a bit of introductory info on Westercons of previous decades)
- 1960, Westercon XIII (Boise, Idaho) (July 3-5, 1960)
> convention was known as the "BoyCon"
> site was Owyhee Hotel in Boise, Idaho
> chairs were Guy and Diane Terwilliger
> GoH was Roger Phillips Graham (a.k.a. Rog Phillips)
- 1961, Westercon XIV (Oakland) (July 1-2, 1961)
> known as "BayCon"
> site was Hotel Leamington
-- three years later, would be the site of a Worldcon
> chair was Honey Woods
-- sponsoring organization was GGPS
> GoHs were Fritz Leiber (pro) and Jack Speer (fan)
- 1962, Westercon XV (Los Angeles) (June 30-July 1, 1962)
> site was Hotel Alexandria
> chair was Albert J. Lewis
-- sponsoring organization was LASFS
> GoHs were Jack Vance (pro) and Alva Rogers (fan)
- 1963, Westercon XVI (San Francisco) (July 4-7, 1963)
> site was Hyatt House Motel near San Francisco airport
> chairman was Ben Stark
-- sponsoring organizations were the GGPS and Little Men
> GoH was Kris Neville
-- gave a humorous and entertaining speech about his views of the
science fiction genre
> Fan GoH were F.M. and Elinor Busby
> programming
-- fan panel "Relation of Fandom to Science Fiction" featured F.M.
Busby, James Blish, Dick Ellington, Karen Anderson, Ron Ellik, and
Leland Sapiro
>> Sapiro took control of panel with what was described by Ron Ellik
as "a bombastic tirade" where he criticized gab-fests that clutter
up apas and denounced the current state and paucity of critical sf
reviews in fandom
> Bjo's Project Art Show made its second appearance at Westercon
-- featured drawings and paintings by Karen Anderson, George Barr,
Cynthia Goldstone, and Don Simpson
-- included an art auction and art show awards (10 categories)
> costume contest top award went to Bruce Pelz, as a trooper from Jack
Vance's "Dragon Masters"
-- Bruce's costume featured four feet of real broadsword
-- other winners included Bjo Trimble, Bill Roberts, and Karen Anderson
> convention also featured poker games that lasted through the nights and
well into the days
-- Anthony Boucher and Barney Bernard befuddled other participants with
their combination of luck and skill with the cards
-- the second day of the convention, a scurrilous but entertaining rumor
started up that Fred Pohl lost GALAXY to Bernard in a game of
showdown, but it proved to be false to the disappointment of many
- 1964, Westercon XVII
> combined with the 1964 Worldcon, in Oakland
> chairs were Ben Stark and Al haLevy
> GoHs were Edmond Hamilton & Leigh Brackett (pro) and Forry Ackerman (fan),
same as the Worldcon
- 1965, Westercon XVIII (Long Beach, CA) (July 3-5)
> site was Edgewater Inn
-- for a change, there were very few complaints about the hotel, mostly
slow service in coffee shop and an atrocious musical group in the
dining room
> chairs were Steve Tolliver and John Trimble
> Pro GoH was Frank Herbert
-- spoke on writing novels from haiku and the possibility of reducing
all novels to haiku
> Fan GoH was Tony Boucher
> other notables attending included Hal Clement, Lester del Rey, Sam
Moskowitz, Ray Bradbury, Fritz Leiber, Harlan Ellison
> attendance?
-- was augmented by several fans from New York's Fanoclast club, who
drove out to promote their bid for a Worldcon in New York in 1967
>> included Ted White, Rich Brown, Mike McInerney, Dave Van Arnam,
and Arnie Katz
>> came by way of Midwestcon, where a few other Fanoclasts as well
had been in attendance
> program
-- speeches by Bradbury and Leiber
-- panel on "1964: Science Fiction in Retrospect"
-- panel of pro authors titled "There I Stood in My Sense of Wonder"
>> panel turned into Harlan Ellison vs. Ace Books
> Art Show judging featured two innovations
-- panel of judges included two local art instructors
-- each of five judges selected his own Judges Choice award, instead
of trying to all agree on one choice
> auctions
-- $400 in sales achieved by second day of convention
>> all auction material disposed of, so on Monday some material from
Art Show auctioned
-- special auction featuring Harlan Ellison netted $35
>> he wrote a short story using the name of the winner (Larry Niven)
as protagonist, and used three words supplied by the Niven in the
text
>> Niven was to get 10% of proceedings of any sale of the story
> site selection
-- San Diego beat Burlingame by 4 votes
-- other bidders, real and hoax, included Lake Tahoe and New York
(presumably the west side of New York)
- 1966, Westercon XIX (San Diego)
> chair was Dennis Smith
> site was Stardust Motor Hotel & Country Club, and it was a bad choice
-- difficulties began almost immediately, when someone wearing hobnail
boots broke in to the hotel's golf course the night before the
convention and caused some damage
>> although no evidence ever turned up who the culprit was, the hotel
manager seemed convinced it was a Westercon attendee, and started
a jihad against everybody there for the convention
>> there was also a report that the hotel manager seemed disgruntled
that fans provided their own entertainment, rather than utilizing
the services of the young ladies who appeared around the pool
every evening
-- fans and pros overcharged on rooms
>> the hotel tried to charge Norman Spinrad three different rates for
the three days he stayed there
>> this backfired on the hotel in a surrealistic manner: one fan who
was complaining longer and louder than the others caused the hotel
management to call the police, but by the time they arrived there
was a protest stand-in of about fifteen fans in progress in the
lobby, led by Harlan Ellison and John Trimble. After some
investigation, the policemen came over to the protesters' side of
the dispute and the hotel backed down
-- incompetence was also active; the motel had failed to block the
convention rooms, resulting in noise problems with other guests at
the motel
-- coffee shop had bad prices, food, and service
>> however, it did provide one memorable moment, when William Rotsler
drew a face on Harlan Ellison's sunny-side-up fried egg. The
hookers were amused.
> fan GoHs were Bjo and John Trimble
> MC was Ted Sturgeon
> GoH was Harlan Ellison
-- gave one of his patented remarkable speeches at the Sunday banquet
>> Sturgeon, in his introduction, had predicted a "Harlan Ellison-
sized hole being blown through the Westercon membership", and he
was right
-- also came with a pilot film to show, which was fandom's first
exposure to STAR TREK
>> however, fans probably thought it was inspired by Magritte, as
it was shown backwards until the cameraman got things under
control
> (how many?) attended
-- for second year in a row, fans from the New York Fanoclasts club
drove out for the convention to support their 1967 Worldcon bid
>> included Ted White, Arnie Katz, Mike McInerney, and Dave Van Arnam
>> once again, came via the Midwestcon the weekend earlier
> inexperienced concom
-- had only scheduled Opening Ceremonies, Banquet, Ellison's "Dangerous
Visions" panel, and the masquerade
>> masquerade was totally unplanned in manner of judges & categories
-- Ed Wood helped organize some panels to help fill out the program
>> in effect, the fans attending ran the convention themselves
> masquerade featured a seven-fan "Wizard of Id" group, with Tom Gilbert
as Rodney, Jerry Jacks as the Wizard, Fred Patten as Bung, and Len
Bailes as the King
> poor banquet food resulted in a filk song
-- "Bouncing Potatoes" by Poul Anderson, sung to the tune of "Waltzing
Matilda"; nobody was able to make up one about the pot roast, which
had a sauce that was described by James Marshall as "residue from a
desalinization plant"
> at business meeting, Los Angeles/LASFS won rights to next Westercon
-- defeated bids by Burlingame, CA and Berkeley
-- Ted Johnstone gave the winning bid speech with an empty bourbon
bottle under his arm
> finally, there was some indication that the science fiction world was
indeed changing, at least as far as fandom was concerned: James Marshall
wrote of one of the more striking memories he came away with: "of A.E.
van Vogt looking pitifully out of place with the world he left behind
fifteen years ago"
- 1967, Westercon XX (July 1-4, 1967)
> site was Sheraton West hotel in Los Angeles
> chair was Brandon Lamont, who replaced Ted Johnston, due to perceived
malfeasance by Johnston
-- Johnstone was thrown ut of the chairmanship two days before the
convention began, along with another con committee member, Dwain Kaiser
[source: Kaiser 3Apr01 email]
-- however Lamont himself proved to be mostly a figurehead, and it was
Bill Ellern who did most of the work
> GoHs were Marion Zimmer Bradley (pro) and Lon Atkins (fan)
- 1968, Westercon XXI
> was combined with the 1968 Worldcon
> an unofficial substitute Westercon was held July 4th weekend in Los
Angeles
-- as Bruce Pelz later recalled, "When Donaho, Rogers, and Stark won the
Westercon for 1968, they said they would not combine Westercon with
the 1968 Worldcon, should they also win the latter. They were
underdogs for it, but the Trimbles, who were favored to win, spent
too much time at NYCon 3 on their own projects, and not enough time
on politicking. So DR&S won the 1968 Worldcon, and promptly combined
it with the Westercon anyway."
-- this left the west coast without a now-traditional 4th-of-July
weekend convention, but the vacuum was promptly filled thanks to L.A.
fan Chuck Crayne
>> came up with the idea for a substitute convention, and a group to
run it
-- new convention was called F-UNCon, after the newly-formed fan group
Future Unbounded
>> organization consisted of Crayne, Bruce and Dian Pelz, Thompson,
and Ken Rudolph
-- convention immediately received blessing by Donaho, Rogers, and Stark
>> they became first three members
>> however, Future Unbounded was not without future controversy
- Future Unbounded Science Fiction Show and Convention (July 4-7, 1968)
> became known as the F-UNcon
> chaired by Chuck Crayne, who had come up with the idea
-- later, Bruce Pelz became Assistant Chair
> attendance was (how many?)
> program book proclaimed the following: "Future Unbounded is an
autonomous organization and has no connection with any other science
fiction, fantasy, or similar convention." The proclamation went on to
say that the committee "has no interest, financial or otherwise, in any
other past, present or future convention or convention bidding group."
-- However, an advertisement in the program book announced that the
committee was bidding for the very next year's Westercon
> there was another bit of controversy: the existing Westercon/Worldcon
directorate of Donaho, Stark, and Rogers had given their blessing to
this non-Westercon, but the F-UNCon program book contained several small
advertisements from fans who used the space to complain about DR&S
-- Bjo's read: "I have NEVER been a member of the Baycon committee."
-- George Scithers had two adverts: "If it helps, I don't believe
ANYTHING they say, any more." and "The Baycon Committee is Ted White
in a clever plastic disguise." (reference?)
> the F-UNcon committee's intention was to prove that a bigger convention
could in fact be better
-- the site, the Statler Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, had a level of
luxury that fans were not used to in convention hotels
-- Chuck Crayne, in an editorial in the program booklet, wrote that
"Every F-UNcon attendee is participating in a unique experiment which
may help determine the future of science fiction fandom in general
and fannish conventions in particular. The F-UNcon is an attempt to
show that -- when properly planned -- the larger a convention, the
better the convention."
-- besides the much better-than-average hotel, there were other
innovations attempted
>> to raise money that would help keep costs to fans down,
advertisements were solicited from non-fannish sources
>> they published a "Fan Hunters Guide" that explained fandom's
in-group references and jargon to newcomers
>> the art show was expanded to include special exhibits
--- Walt Daugherty put together a photographic exhibit of the
science fiction genre and its personalities
--- Fred Patten asembled an exhibit of classic comic books
--- a third exhibit featured models and props used in the filming
of the TV series STAR TREK
> GoH was Harry Harrison
-- Harrison's Guest of Honor speech dealt with science fiction as
philosophy and religion
> Toastmaster was scheduled to be Bob Bloch
-- he could not attend, as he was unavoidable detained in England
-- toastmaster duties were filled by Karen Anderson
> program booklet contained an original story by Larry Niven, "Wait It
Out"
-- during the convention, Ray Bradbury read an unpublished story about
the last man in England
> the theme of the convention was `40 years of tomorrow'
-- this was reflected in GoH Harry Harrison's talk, "The Year 2000",
which opened the convention
> other program events included meetings of the Tolkien Society of
America and the Hyborean Legion, a slide show by George Forbes on what
extraterrestrial life forms might look like, and a report by Ray
Bradbury on the making of the movie version of THE ILLUSTRATED MAN
> there were also some pro and fan panels
-- Harrison, Harlan Ellison, Kris Neville, and Phil Farmer spent an hour
discussing "Science Fiction and Censorship"
-- a filk song panel featured Pelz and Ted Johnstone was actually more
of a demonstration of filk songs than a discussion of them
-- Bjo Trimble led a panel discussion on STAR TREK
> there were several other speeches by science fiction notables
-- Larry Niven gave a talk on organ banks, which were featured in some
of his stories at that time
-- Norman Spinrad's speech, "The New Wave in SF" was timely, as his
novel BUG JACK BARRON was being serialized in NEW WORLDS
-- at the banquet, Harrison's gave his second speech of the convention,
"Science Fiction as Philosophy and Religion", and Ellison talked
about editing
> the convention was both a financial success and a strategic success
-- the convention was, in effect, a model for the worldcon the group
was bidding for (in 1972); they ultimately succeeded in bringing the
first worldcon to the Los Angeles area since the 1958 Solacon
> apparently, the goal of bigger *and* better was realized; LOCUS
characterized the FUNcon as a Fun-con
- 1969, Westercon XXII (Los Angeles) (July 3-6, 1969)
> convention was known as FUNcon II
-- site selection had been held at the 1968 Worldcon, which doubled as
the Westercon; the Los Angeles bid had easily defeated a semi-serious
bid by Bill Rotsler and Earl Kemp for Tijuana, Mexico
> chairs were once again Bruce Pelz and Chuck Crayne
-- once again, Future Unbounded was sponsor organization for the
convention
-- they went on to head up successful bid for 1972 Worldcon, which they
also co-chaired
> site was Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, California
> attendance was an astronomical 640 people, a number exceeded only by six
worldcons to that point in time
> GoH was Randall Garrett
> Fan GoH was Roy Tackett
> TM was Harlan Ellison
> program book featured a spectacular wrap-around color cover by Tim Kirk
and George Barr
-- Kirk went on to win three first prizes in the ten categories of the
art show awards
> masquerade featured some wonderful costumes, but the show stopper (not
to mention heart stopper) was Cheri French's "The Illustrated Woman",
which consisted of body paint, an abbreviated G-String, and nothing else
> other happenings
-- there was an authors reception that ended prematurely, due to the
presence of a loud rock band next door
-- at banquet, poor quality of the food and service was made up for by
the Garrett and Ellison show, a continuing joke and mock insult
session
-- there was a STAR TREK luncheon on Sunday, which featured an amusing
speech by Kris Neville (about what?), that some of the Trekkies
present reportedly took a little too seriously
> right to hold the 1970 convention was won for Santa Barbara by the
Trimbles, getting more votes than the other two bids combined
-- Harlan Ellison's seconding of the Berkeley bid wasn't enough to
persuade enough voters to change their minds
> one other notable event happened at this convention; Bruce Pelz met Len
and June Moffatt at the hotel coffee shop one morning, and conversation
turned to the Mystery genre
-- Len and June, besides being science fiction fans, were also mystery
fans. Mystery fandom existed, and even had a few fanzines, including
the Moffatt's THE JDM BIBLIOPHILE, but no conventions
-- The Moffatts had a good time at the 1969 Westercon, and wondered why
there couldn't be a mystery fandom counterpart. So they told Bruce
that he and Chuck Crayne whould follow up the success of FUNcon with
a mystery convention
-- the result was the origination of Bouchercon, the worldcon of the
mystery genre. The first Bouchercon was held (when?) in Los Angeles,
chaired by Bruce Pelz and Chuck Crayne
* Midwestcons (Cincinnati)
- the first Midwestcon took place in 1950, the year after the Cincinnati
worldcon
> some fans, who had stopped by the home of Dr. C.L. Barrett had remarked
how much they had enjoyed the convention, and especially how much more
fun the convention had been after each day's scheduled programming had
ended
> Doc Barrett agreed, and in May 1950, he hosted, mostly at his home, in
Bellefontaine, Ohio, what he called the MidWestCon
-- there was very little programming; a few bigger-name fans gave short
talks and there was an improvised dinner at a nearby hotel
> the whole thing was a big success, except that attendees wanted even
*less* programming, if possible; fans who came there didn't want any
programming to get in the way of having a good time
> this became a standard, and the only real event at most subsequent
Midwestcons was the banquet
> there has been a MidWestcon every year since then
- you might think that not very much happens at a convention with no
programming, but in fact, some of the Midwestcons of the 1950s gained a
degree of legendry
> one of these was the 1953 Midwestcon was held at the infamous Beatleys-
on-the-Lake motel in Indian Lake, Ohio
-- the place became known in fandom as 'Beastleys-on-the-Bayou' due to
its only slightly concealed hostility toward fans, which was made
evident when one of Mrs. Beatley's muscular sons punched out Randy
Garrett after some fannish shenanigans
>> Roy Lavender, who witnessed the event, described it as follows:
"It all involved Randall and a lady from Cincinnati -- he was
climbing on the dresser and leaping into bed, yelling 'Geronimo!'
When the bed gave out and collapsed, Mrs. Beatley's son came up to
see what had happened, and the whole thing moved out into the
hallway. The lady came out, wrapped in a blanket; somebody
stepped on the blanket, and when she ran down the hall, the
blanket stayed behind. In the ensuing discussion, Beatley cold-
cocked Randall, but he hurt his hand in doing so. So the next
day, at the banquet, we presented him with a blackjack."
> in 1954, the Midwestcon had moved back to Bellefontaine, and that
convention became even more infamous than the 1953 event
-- that was the year of the 'Midwestcon Door' incident involving Harlan
Ellison and Jim Harmon; accounts of this differed, depending on if
the information came from Ellison or other bystanders; it involved
water-filled paper sacks being dropped from a upper-floor window onto
a sidewalk, a soggy-and-infuriated Harmon (who had accidentally
gotten into the path of one of these missiles) paying a visit to
Ellison's room to have a discussion about it and knocking a hole in
the room door's upper panel in the process, and fans taking up a
collection to pay for the damage; many more colorful descriptions
have been written of this incident than there is room to re-tell here
> eventually, the MidWestcon left Bellefontaine as well, settling into the
Cincinnati area
-- if the Door incident wasn't enough to force a change of scenery, the
last straw happened the next year when some fannish tomfoolery
resulted in Harlan Ellison auctioning off Lynn Hickman's pregnant
wife on a Bellefontaine street corner, with spirited bidding from
other fans; host Doc Barrett, when he heard about the event, just
shook his head and said, "I've got to live in this town!"
-- by the late 1950s, the convention had settled comfortably into the
North Plaza Motel, on Reading Road just outside of Cincinnati
-- by then the date of the convention had also been formalized as the
last weekend in June each year
-- by the beginning of the 1960s, the Midwestcon had become an island of
stability in a rapidly changing fandom
- 1963 (Midwestcon 14); June 29-30, 1963
> held at North Plaza Motel
> attendance was 70
> weekend featured "much swimming, gabbing, and drinking" according to
attendees
> featured a late-night swimming pool party
> other partying was rampant
-- San Francisco bid party was dispensing liberal amounts of free liquor
-- Howard Devore summed up the weekend by saying that this was the best
Midwestcon since 1959
- 1964 (Midwestcon 15); June xx-xx, 1964
> usual crown of midwesterners in attendance, including the Coulsons, the
Kemps, the Lavenders, Howard DeVore
-- out of area fans included the Kyles from Potsdam, New York; Bob
Chazin from Berkeley; and newlyweds Bob and Peggy Rae (McKnight)
Pavlat from College Park, Maryland
> Tucker emceed smorgasbord banquet, which featured slides of the Discon
> featured singing by Juanita Coulson and Janet Hunter
> ended with a drunken swimming party at 4am
- 1965 (Midwestcon 16); June 25-27, 1965
> held at Holiday Inn North in Cincinnati
> convention began in a kind of pall, due to the recent death of
Cincinnati fan Don Ford
-- stirring eulogy was presented by Lou Tabakow, which seemed to serve
the purpose of laying him to rest, and the convention picked up after
that
> featured an appearance by many from the New York Fanoclasts club, who
were there to promote their Worldcon bid
-- were involved in the "First Midwestcon Open", a miniature golf event
in which the team of Rich Brown and a nearly legally blind Arnie Katz
won a stunning victory over the favored Ted White-Andy Porter teamup
-- another nonsensical event was a meeting of the Great Wall Science
Fiction Society, which was dedicated to meeting only at conventions
and having dinner at a Chinese restaurant; 13 'members' were present
- 1966 (Midwestcon 17); June 24-26, 1966
> held at Carrousel Inn on north side of Cincinnati
> some way out-of-town visitors were in attendance this year: George Locke
and Trevor Herndon from England
> there was an unusual occurrance from this year's Midwestcon: good
newspaper coverage
-- a reporter from the Cincinnati ENQUIRER spent an hour at one of the
room parties where Dave Kyle, Jack Chalker, Lou Tabakow, and Ron
Bounds filled him on not only on the convention, but also the history
of science fiction fandom from day one
-- to the amazement of all, the story the next day was both positive and
accurate, with Kyle being quoted at great length
> there being no program, not too much that can be reported, however of
the non-program events, the most noteworthy was the long and sometimes
loud debate between Alexei Panshin and loud-voiced Ed Wood about
Panshin's recent negative review (in YANDRO) of Sam Moskowitz's SEEKERS
OF TOMORROW
> it was a pleasant enjoyable weekend for the 85 fans who attended
- 1967 (Midwestcon 18); June ?
> site was North Plaza Hotel, back there after a two-year absense
-- unfortunately, the intervening time had not treated the hotel well,
and it was now a bit run-down
> two notable attendees this year were Ed Hamilton and Leigh Brackett
-- turned out that they were both avid photo-bugs; they spent several
hours talkong with fandom's most famous photographer, Jay Kay Klein
> convention was plagued by a number of automobile breakdowns by fans
getting to the convention or during the convention, the most spectacular
being when the air conditioner in Jon and Joni Stops's car decided to
blow itself up while crawling through a traffic jam, creating an even
bigger one
-- this caused Jay Kay Klein to muse about other fan automotive
misadventures from previous Midwestcons, and observed that "Dave Kyle
always finds out what's wrong with his car on trips to the
Midwestcon"
- 1968 (Midwestcon 19); June 29-30, 1968
> fans converged on the North Plaza Hotel for a pleasant weekend of fun,
fresh air, and water
> attendance was 225, plus several beach balls
> the swimming pool was apparently the guest of honor, as there were pool
parties all weekend, at all hours of the day and night
> worldcon bidders from Columbus and St. Louis were highly visible with
their bid parties
-- fan groups from Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York were there as well
> the convention lived up to its reputation as a meeting place for fans of
all regions and eras
-- fans attending who had gained prominence in previous decades included
Dave Kyle, Bob Tucker, Lee Hoffman, and Fritz Leiber
-- fans attending who had become prominent during the 1960s included Ted
White (who also fell into the previous category), Jay Kay Klein,
Alexei Panshin, and Earl Kemp
-- the convergence led to an enormous amount of SMOFing (topics?)
> the one major event of the convention was the banquet on Saturday night,
at a nearby all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant
-- a novelty this year was a 'demonstration' of ESP by one of the fans
present, Mark Schulzinger, which turned out to be more of a stand-up
comedy routine
-- after that, there was a short speech by Tucker (topic?) and a very
long series of introductions of all the notables who were there
> the other notable occurrance was the presence of "an immense number of
people peddling an even more immense number of fanzines", according to
LOCUS; it was taken as a sign that fanzine fandom was recovering from
its mid-decade doldrums
- 1969 (Midwestcon 20); June 28-29, 1969
> site was North Plaza Hotel once again
-- however, this time, there was trouble with the hotel air conditioning
system, which led chairman Lou Tabakow to promise a move to a better
hotel next year
> about 200 in attendance
> as usual, it was a convention for talking to people and partying; only
major event was the Saturday banquet, with Bob Tucker as MC
-- Ted White, the new editor of AMAZING and FANTASTIC, was introduced,
and spoke about the new fan-oriented features, such as fanzine
reviews, that he was adding to the magazines
-- Tucker himself said some good words about Harry Warner, Jr.'s newly-
published fan history book ALL OUR YESTERDAYS, for which Tucker had
written the introduction and entertained the banquet attendees by
reading sections from the book that dealt with himself and Claude
Degler
* Lunacons & Eastercons (New York City)
- Lunacons were sponsored, as you might guess, by the Lunarians science
fiction club of New York
> the first of these occurred in 1957, so by the beginning of the 1960s,
it was still a relatively new convention
> for some reason, Lunacons acquired the reputation of being a very sercon
type of convention; this may have been due to the natural presence of
many writers and editors in the city
-- Lunacon programming was, as a result, very filled with speeches by
authors and editors about science fiction itself, and whatever events
there were about fandom were very much overshadowed
- through the mid 1960s, Lunacons were only two day conventions, starting on
a Saturday and ending on Sunday; at the beginning of the decade it was
briefer still, being limited only to a Saturday
> however, many attendees came to the convention on Friday afternoon or
evening, which created an opportunity for another fan gathering of a
totally different focus
> these were called 'Eastercons', because of the convention's usual date
was near Easter (is this correct?) and they were sponsored by two other
New York fan clubs, FISTFA and the Fanoclasts
- whereas Lunacons were very sercon, the Eastercons were party-cons
> they usually took place in the same hotel as the Lunacon
> there was no rivalry between the two conventions; they were set up to
be symbiotic, and it worked well
- however, the Eastercon eventually became a victim of its own success
> convention was eventually discontinued after Lunacon became more than a
songle- or two-day event
> the Lunacon organizers saw that when there were parties, more people
wanted to stay over for them, so Lunacons became more extended events
- the first of the Lunacons of the new decade, Lunacon IV, took place
(when?) in 1960
> (details?)
- Lunacon VII (April 21, 1963)
> took place in room 10D of Adelphi Hall on 5th Avenue in Manhattan
> attendance was about 125
> program included panel on Burroughs and his works
> according to attendees, it was "a quiet but enjoyable day"
- 1964 convention was cancelled (why?)
- 1965 convention
> a one-day affair, on Sat. April 24
> at Hotel Edison in Manhattan
> the 1965 Eastercon took place the night before
-- it was room party held in Room 232 of Loew's Midtown Motor Inn in
Manhattan
-- by all accounts, this first Eastercon was a boisterous affair
>> Ron Ellik reported that "by 10 pm the place was jumping"
>> George Heap on guitar could not be heard more than two paces away
> some of the fans and writers who dropped in were Hal Clement, Lee
Hoffman, Terry & Carol Carr, Ted White, Jack Gaughan, Charlie
Brown, Lin Carter, Frank Dietz, Calvin Thomas Beck, John Boardman,
Ken Beale, Pat & Dick Lupoff, Fred Lerner, and Will Sykora
> the Lunacon GoH was Hal Clement
-- did a talk about sciences in science fiction
> could have been called the Artist's Lunacon due to significant amount of
art-oriented programming
-- Sam and Chris Moskowitz gave slide show of art of Hannes Bok
>> SaM refrained from commenting on the art, instead talked about
science fiction
-- Jack Gaughan followed with well-received discussion of Bok and his
technical abilities
-- Steve Stiles led a panel that talked about fan art
> editors panel featured Don Benson (Pyramid), Don Wollheim (Ace), Fred
Pohl (Galaxy), and Ted White (an ass't editor at F&SF)
-- discussed the relationship of magazines to paperback books
- 1966 Lunacon
> this Lunacon was a two day affair (April 16-17, 1966)
> 1966 Eastercon was also April 16-17
-- the previous year's Eastercon had acquired such a legendary
reputation in the succeeding year that this year's Eastercon became a
legitimate convention in its own right, held more-or-less
concurrently with the Lunacon in the same hotel
-- there were over 100 in attendance
-- 235 total at combined Lunacon and Eastercon, 180 of them who only
attended the Lunacon
> Charlie Brown was the chair
> held in the 7 Arts Room of the Hotel Edison in New York City
> GoH was Isaac Asimov
-- for GoH speech, spoke for an hour on his favorite topic: Isaac Asimov
>> speech was full of all the usual Asimovania, with amusing
anecdotes about John W. Campbell, and his earliest days as a
writer
-- he was his usual entertaining self; the only surprising thing he did
all weekend was refuse dessert at the conclusion of a mass restaurant
expedition
> other writers in attendance were Hal Clement, Lester del Rey, Fred Pohl,
Lin Carter, Ted White, Randy Garrett, and Terry Carr
-- there was an obligatory 'New Writers' panel, but it featured the same
writers (Carr, Carter, and White) who had been on panels named this
for a number of years
-- there was also an all-star artists panel, with Gray Morrow, Kelly
Freas, John Schoenherr, Ed Emshwiller, and Jack Gaughan
>> however, Lester del Rey succeeded in putting them all on the
defensive when he asked the panelists why artists insist on
filling the interiors of magazines with dull faces
-- later on, del Rey took the podium along with Clement, Carr, and
Garrett for the 'Criticism in SF' panel, which in actuality became
'the Lester del Rey panel' as he pretty much dominated the discussion
>> del Rey's main point was that SF should be judged by a higher
standard than it was, but was being given a free ride by people
either protective or else patronizing of the genre
>> he also claimed that there really wasn't much if any literary
criticism in science fiction circles, there were only book
reviewers
-- Sunday editors panel featured Fred Pohl, and Doc Lowndes
>> halfway through the panel, publisher Sol Cohen made an appearance,
which resulted in his being singed by the audience with some blunt
questions about his unpopular reprint policies in AMAZING and
FANTASTIC
--- the most blunt of all was Lester del Rey's question if Cohen
considered himself a parasite in the publishing business
> the convention was looked on as perhaps the best Lunacon to date, from
its mix of intriguing program items, entertaining personalities, and
plenty of after-hour partying
-- Jay Kay Klein characterized the convention as "the best regional
convention I've attended in over ten years. Next year's affair can't
possibly be as good, but I'm going to be there just in case!"
- 1967 Lunacon (April 29-30, 1967)
> attendance was 275
> site was Hotel Roosevelt
> chair was Charlie Brown
> attendance was 235
> GoH was James Blish
-- arrived on Saturday night late, delayed from attending because of
problems at work
-- gave speech mostly about STAR TREK, both the series and book
novelizations he had been contracted to do
>> had taken the job with some misgivings, but the pay was good and
he was allowed to make any changes he wished, the major one
turning out to be throwing one of them down the incinerator shaft
> Samuel Delaney gave talk on his novel THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION with
the convoluted title "Voices in Science Fiction, or A Talk Talk, or
Silence; Water; Someone Saying My Name"
-- the talk itself, covering such things as 'rationale of literary
aesthetics' and 'vectors of criticism' was equally complex and
But also mesmerizing to listen to, which led Charlie Brown to
comment, "I don't understand a word he says, but he talks
beautifully."
> a 'New Writers' panel with White, Lin Carter, and Dave Van Arnam yielded
the useful information to would-be writers that writing as a full-time
profession only provides a modest living, and that you often take on
assignments like a novelization of LOST IN SPACE or some other abysmal
TV show or movie. When White was asked why he and White were doing such
a novelization, he responded, almost apologetically, "They paid us
money!"
> dialog panel between Roger Zelazny and Alexei Panshin was well received
> the 1967 Eastercon consisted of fan parties the nights of March 28 & 29
-- it was obvious by that time that the Eastercon would eventually
become part of the Lunacon; the stage for this was set this year when
the two conventions combined their membership fees
- 1968 Lunacon (April 19-21, 1968)
> site was Park Sheraton Hotel
> attendance was about 340
> GoH was Don Wollheim
> although a schedule of events had been printed in the convention's
program booklet, the actual program bore only a passing resemblance, as
the actual topic most discussion panels sooner or later became the
recently-released film, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
-- there was often vehement disagreement about the movie, not only *if*
it was or wasn't a good movie, but also on *why* fans did or didn't
like it
>> at a discussion panel specifically set up to review the movie,
Lester del Rey noted many of what he considered to be faults of
the movie, from structure ("the scenes were too long") to
scientific inaccuracies he spotted in various places
--- Asimov was only a bit kinder, stating that he thought that the
way to understand the film was to understand what was on
Stanley Kubrick's mind: "He wants to make his money back!" and
loaded the movie up with reviewer-pleasing special effects.
However, what bothered Asimov the most was HAL, the computer-
turned-killer aboard the spaceship Discovery: "I was seriously
and badly upset by the fact that the computer broke the First
Law [of Robitics]. You may think this is a story idea, but I
take it seriously."
-- Arthur C. Clarke attended and spoke about the movie on the Sunday of
the convention, but refused to explain anything about the movie,
other than immodestly describing it as "a masterpiece"
>> he described some of the differences between the movie and his
novel of the same name, and provided some information about the
special effects used in the filming
>> his only substantive comment about the meaning of the film was for
people to see it at least twice and form their own interpretation
> other events
-- bid parties required a convoluted procedure to obtain drinks, due to
arrangements with the hotel to keep prices down
>> the committee had bought bottles of liquor from the hotel directly
and sold drinks from them at cost to the party-goers
-- Eastercon was also going on, but it was in name only, the partycon
had for practical purposes become part of the Lunacon
- 1969 Lunacon (April 12-13, 1969)
> site was Hotel MacAlpin
-- held in meeting rooms on the 24th floor, well away from tourists and
other activities going on in the hotel
> was hugely succesful; attendance was about 620, making it the largest
regional science fiction held to that time
-- attendance exceeded only by seven worldcons
> chair was Ted White
> GoH was Robert A. Lowndes, one of the original Futurians
-- his speech was on the effectiveness of fans in influencing the SF
field
>> his advice boiled down to: write letters to the magazines, and
vote for the Hugos
-- also entertained the audience by reading what Charlie Brown in LOCUS
referred to as "some great excerpts from awful stories"
> other events
-- a mystery panel with Lester del Rey, Ted White, Norman Spinrad,
Alexei Panshin, Robert Silverberg, and Charlie Brown
-- a "Women in SF" panel with Carol Carr, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and
Anne McCaffrey
-- a speech by Isaac Asimov
-- interviews with Tom Disch and Norman Spinrad by Terry Carr
> many parties happened, including bid parties for Boston and Washington,
D.C., whose fan groups were contesting the bid for the 1971 Worldcon
-- one of the last of the Eastercon parties was also held, with the
demise of FISTFA there was no longer a sponsoring group
* Disclaves (Washington, D.C.)
- Disclaves were conventions in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and
were sponsored by the locak SF club, WSFA
- Disclaves were fairly new at the beginning of the 1960s
> first Disclave was held in 1958
> prior to that, there had been three conventions in early 1950s that are
often referred to as Disclaves, but were actually known as Conclaves
-- the most notable of these, for unusual reasons, was the third one, in
1953, where many scheduled guest speakers had to cancel for one
reason or another but sent talks for others to read for them
>> for that reason, this convention became known as the 'Proxyclave'
- the first Disclave of the 1960s was in 1960, on the weekend of May 20-21
> chair was George Scithers
> held at Diplomat Motel
> no guests; this was the first of a series of three relax-a-con Disclaves
> no reported attendance, but it was small
- Disclave 1961 (May 12-13, 1961)
> chair was once again George Scithers
> once again at the Diplomat Motel
> once again, no guests, and attendance was reported as 40
- Disclave 1962 (May 12-13, 1962)
> George Scithers was once again in charge, finishing a three year run as
convention chairman
> held at the Diplomat once again
> no guests
> 32 people attended
- no Disclave in 1963 or 1964, due to the 1963 Worldcon
> as Don Miller described it, "No one cared to try a Disclave only about
six months from the Discon"
- Disclave 1965 (May 7-8, 1965)
> site was Howard Johnsons Motor Inn in the outer northern suburb of
Wheaton, Maryland
-- for people who couldn't afford a sleeping room, Ron Ellik (who
had recently moved to the D.C. area from California) promoted
that "Beds in the hospitality suite are $5 a night and floor space
$1. No charge to pass out under the poker table."
> chairman was Banks Mebane
> there were 83 attendees, a better turn-out than expected, given that
this was the first Disclave in three years
-- however, it was very much a regional convention; attendees were
mostly from the northeast, the most distant travelers being four fans
from from Cincinnati
> convention began Fri. night, May 7, with First Friday meeting of WSFA
-- met in con-com suite to elect officers
-- partying began immediately after business session adjourned
>> Party Administrator was Ron Ellik, who held forth in the
hospitality suite
--- reported that degree of wildness about the same as the Discon,
even with lower attendance and budget
--- apparently parties passed a certain threshold, because hotel
management closed down many of them early
> Sam and Chris Moskowitz were the Guests of Honor
-- this was apparently not publicized prior to the convention
-- SaM's slide show on the history of ANALOG magazine well received
> George Heap gained favorable reviews for a selection of science
fictional-related songs he performed; one of them, which wrote with his
wife Cindy on the way to the con, was a filk song set to the tune of
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" and was about the trevails of being a
fanzine publisher
> for the most part, everyone seemed to have a good time; Ted White
characterized the convention as "one of the finest Disclaves I've
attended, and I've attended them all since they were revived in 1958."
- Disclave 1966 (May 13-15, 1966)
> chairman was once again Banks Mebane
> with the success of the previous year's convention, there was a desire
to hold the 1966 Disclave back in D.C. again
-- after a four year absence, Disclave returned to the Diplomat Motel,
which had been successfully 'tested' before the convention by someone
throwing a room party to 3:00am
> Guest of Honor was Roger Zelazny
-- Zelazny's GoH talk turned out to be as much a reading as a speech, as
he read a long section from his new book, LORDS OF LIGHT
> other events
-- even though this was a multi-day convention, programming only
happened on Saturday
>> a big party on Friday night, lasting until 5am
>> Sunday was just the dead dog party
>> even the Saturday events were not many in number
-- there was a 'pros' panel featuring Ted White, Terry Carr, and Jack
Gaughan that was originally supposed to discuss the topic "Commercial
Aspects of SF" in terms of idealism vs. commercial reality, but
mostly degenerated into shop talk between the panelists
>> for fans present, it was an interesting behing-the-scenes look at
the difficulties and rewards of making a living from the genre
-- there was yet another New Writers panel, which this time went off on
a tangent about the works of Tom Disch
-- Ben Jason got up to announce the Hugo nominees for the upcoming
Tricon, but this turned into something more interesting when he
started getting questions about the small turnout of nominating
ballots and, indeed, whether the Hugos themselves were therefore of
much worth
> attendance was reported as 99 people
- Disclave 1967 (May 12-13, 1967)
> held at Regency Congress Inn, in Washington, D.C.
> Guest of Honor was Jack Gaughan
> chair was Jay Haldeman
> program and other events
-- panel with Zelazny and de Camp led off the convention with a
discussion of the topic "Sword & Sorcery: Pro and Con", but wound up
discussing practically everything else except that
-- most interesting panel featured Ted White, Andy Porter, Banks Mebane,
and a newcomer, Fritz Muhlhauser III, titled "Is Fandom Goint to Hell
in a Bucket?"
>> Muhlhauser, who appeared to believe that fandom should have some
Great Purpose, had written what some fans had perceived as
unwarranted attacks on Asimov's FOUNDATION series and SF in
general for THE WSFA JOURNAL
>> panel may have been set up as a form of fannish inquisition, but
Mulhousen, apparently believing the best defense is a good
offense, succeeded in monopolizing almost all the time available,
no mean feat when considering who some of the other panelists were
- Disclave 1968 (May 10-12, 1968)
> held once again at Regency Congress Inn, and chair was once again Jay
Haldeman
> attendance was about 110
> Guest of Honor was Robert Silverberg, whose GoH speech was titled "Why
Does a Writer Write What He Writes?"
-- instead of covering well-trodden ground, he used the opportunity to
talk about his own motivations, including the need to evolve
as a writer. He, like many other writers, were tired of doing
the same type of story over and over again and really did want to g
on to something new, but readers didn't seem to want this. On the
other hand, Silverberg stated his belief that you still need to
communicate with readers through your stories, and that that some of
the 'New Wave' writers didn't seem to be doing this
> program and other events
-- Jay Kay Klein gave a humorous slide show, "The Decline and Fall of
Practically Everybody", the first of many, many showings that this
slide show would have in future years
-- Ted White startled everyone by appearing without his trademark beard,
having long sideburns instead
-- Alexis Gilliland announded that he had sold an article to PLAYBOY
-- a contingent of mostly female fans from Pittsburgh made the
convention after some automotive misadventures; they all wore
numbered plastic tags around their necks for easier identification
-- of the programming, one of the more interesting events was a dialog
between Lester del Rey and Ted White about what makes a science
fiction story worth reading
>> del Rey claimed that above all, it must be entertaining to read,
and took a swipe at the growing number of college writing courses
claiming that they ruin potentially great writers by getting them
caught in the rut of following accepted practices which are
sterile and repetitive
>> White claimed that what writers crave most is solid feedback from
their readers. He also railed against passing literary fads, and
mentioned that "I see nothing good about DANGEROUS VISIONS" He
said that he didn't see why it was necessary to shock readers, and
wondered what it did for science fiction
-- there was also plenty of music at the convention, in the form of late
night singing by fans and an appearance by a Bavarian Brass Band
- Disclave 1969 (May 9-11, 1969)
> held at Skyline Inn, not far from the U.S. Capitol building
-- in the evenings, the committee had arranged for a huge suite, with
movies in one room, singing in another, and a large party in the
third
> Jay Haldeman was again the chairman
> GoH was Lester del Rey
-- del Rey, known for his oratory, gave what Charles Brown described as
"the best speech of his career -- a closely reasoned, lucid,
nonpyrotechnical talk on modern SF. He even had nice things to say
about Norman Spinrad."
> the convention was lightly programmed
-- on Sunday, seemed to consist mostly of del Rey and Roger Zelazny
-- convention ended with a fan performance of "H.M.S. Trek-a-Star"
> the weekend was succinctly summed up by Tony Lewis, "All in all,
Disclave was a normal type con. Lester spoke, Silverberg spoke, they
got into an argument. We went to a great restaurant. Yum!"
* Balticons
- the first Balticon was held over Presidents Day weekend in February of
1965, at the Emerson Hotel in downtown Baltimore
> convention took over the entire top floor of the hotel, which was a
penthouse suite with a centrally-located wet bar
-- BSFS fronted the money for the rental, but couldn't cover the cost of
beer, snacks, and other consumables; writer and BSFS member Roger
Zelazny came to the rescue with a much-needed cash infusion
>> it turned out that the convention was successful enough that
Zelazny got all his money back when it was over
>> there was even enough money left that it could be used as seed
money for another convention, which BSFS scheduled for 1966
> there was no programming and no guests, but attendees made up for it by
making their own events
-- Randy Garrett was there, and he led one of his reknown filk sings
-- Lin Carter held court in a free-ranging bull session with a group of
fans in another part of the convention floor
- Balticon 2 (1966)
> held at Lord Baltimore Hotel, under mistaken belief that the Emerson was
going to be demolished to make way for construction of a parking garage
> chair was Jack Chalker
> this time there *was* programming and a guest of honor
-- GoH was Samuel R. Delaney, the first time he had ever been invited to
be a guest as a science fiction convention
> convention had to use some innovative means to keep to its small budget
-- to keep booze costs down, Paul Schaubel, who worked for Allied
Chemical Company, brought 20 gallons of pure ethyl alcohol to the
convention, which the committee then cut half and half with water and
used to fill empty vodka bottles
-- when the convention came up three room nights short of its room block
commitment, it proved cheaper for the committee to rent the rooms
itself and give them away to the neediest of attendees, rather than
to pay the hotel a penalty fee
> (other info?)
- 1967 Balticon (Balticon 3) (February 10-12, 1967)
> chair was Ted Pauls
> site was Emerson Hotel in downtown Baltimore
> GoH was L. Sprague de Camp
> program consisted largely of discussion panels -- "Has Science Fiction
Arrived as 'Literature'", new magazines vs. paperbacks, etc.
> sponsoring BSFS used the convention as their annual election of officers
- 1968 Balticon (February 9-11, 1968)
> site was Holidayland Hotel in Baltimore
> GoH was Samuel Delany (again? is this correct?)
- 1969 Balticon (February 14-15, 1969)
> site was Lord Baltimore Hotel
> attendance was about 120, from as far away as Ohio
> as with previous Balticons, was lightly programmed
-- a big party on Friday night, fueled by free liquor
-- Saturday had a few panels and speeches, then another big party that
lasted as long as there were people to party
> co-Guests of Honor were L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter
-- this fit in with the convention's theme: "Modern Fantasy in the Space
Age"
-- Carter was credited as having hosted the best parties
>> so good that even the hotel detective was there, with a drink in
one hand and a femmefan on the other
> other attending pro authors and editors included Lester del Rey, Ted
White, Roger Zelazny, and Hans Santesson
> convention lost about $30, from published reports
* Boskones (Boston)
- first five Boskones occurred in the 1940s
> occurred in the years 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1945 (two Boskones in 1945);
the one in 1943 featured the infamous Claude Degler as Guest of Honor
-- all were small (none had more than 25 attendees)
-- it was not until beginning of the 1970s that the newer generation of
fans found out about the 1940s Boskones
-- in an attempt to minimize confusion, the older Boskones were
designated as 'First Series' (and numbered with Roman numerals) and
latter-day Boskones were designated as the 'Second Series'
- new Boskone series was at first intended to be a twice-per-year convention
> however, only year this happened was 1966
- Boskone 1 (Sept. 10-12, 1965)
> sponsored by newly-formed Boston Science Fiction Society
> site was Statler-Hilton Hotel in Boston
> attendance was 70 (registered), actual attendance was 66
-- this was actually a pretty good turnout,when considering there had
been almost no publicity except news items in fanzines and also the
convention was being held the weekend directly after the London
Worldcon
> chairman was Dave Vanderwerf
> GoH was Hal Clement (a.k.a. Harry Stubbs)
> TM was Boston fan Tony Lewis
> theme of convention was 'The Science in Science Fiction'
-- Science Speaker was Dr. Robert Enzmann, who discussed the likelihood
and science requirements for manned interstellar flight
-- a well-attended event was a panel "Scientists Look at Science
Fiction", with Asimov, and Ben Bova, plus two university professors:
Dr. Dwight Batteau from Tufts University and Dr. Jerome Lettvin from
MIT
>> Batteau claimed that SF was no longer as imaginative as science
itself, while Asimov countered that SF was heading away from so-
called 'hardware' science fiction -- since most future problems
were likely to be sociological in nature, SF writers were starting
to write about more about that and less on sense-of-wonder themes
>> Bova added that SF had for the most part evolved beyond the
'formula' story, and was less and less distinguishable from so-
called mainstream fiction, while Lettvin amused the audience when
he said always admired the role of the mad scientist, and still
pictured himself in that role. One fan remarked that with a
haircut and an attire resembling an agitated Albert Einstein,
Lettvin certainly gane the appearance of one
> Forry Ackerman was also at the convention, due to the fortunate
circumstance of his stopping on the east coast on the way back from
Loncon for some meetings with the publisher of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF
FILMLAND magazine
-- he gave an entertaining talk about his travels in Europe before the
Worldcon, where he met a fan with 30,000 volumes of science fiction
(in French!), found the drinkingest fans in the universe in Vienna
(where even the children toted beer steins from breakfast to bed-
time), and ultra-sercon fandom in Berlin (who prepared papers for
each meeting, then "read each mouthbreaking Germanic syllable to the
membership")
> committee presented the 'oguH Award'(a crashed, spray-painted rocket
ship) to Alma Hill as "the person who had done the most to Boston Fandom
during the past year"
> the newsworthy event of the convention was the announcement of a new
annual science fiction award, in honor of the late E.E. Smith, to be
presented at every future Boskone
-- idea received immediate endorsement from Fred Pohl, who proposed that
the award be called the 'Skylark'
>> in what could be considered a sequel to the earlier scientists
panel, Pohl went on to say that SF writers were actually better at
predicting scientific innovation than scientists, as they had
forecast many of the breakthroughs of the 20th century
> all in all, the convention appeared to be a success
-- Jay K. Klein gave Boskone a mixed evaluation, characterizing it as
"enjoyable, but it was not a top notch convention." However, he
prophetically predicted that "As a first tryout, the Boskone will be
succeeded by bigger and better annual affairs, with the Skylark Award
as a major feature." In later decades, Boskone became one of the
three largest conventions, with an attendance of more than three
thousand
- Boskone 2 (March 12-13, 1966)
> just six months after the first of the new Boskones, Boston fandom
showed its youthful vigor by holding another
-- once again, the Boston Science Fiction Society was the sponsoring
organization
-- there was some thought by the more zealous fans that two Boskones a
year ought to be a convention, so to say
>> however, saner heads prevailed, and Boskones after this one
occurred yearly, eventually settling in to a mid-February date
each year
-- actually, the real reason of another Boskone so soon after the first
one was that the committee wanted to gain more con-running
experience, with an eye toward eventually bidding for a worldcon
>> at the time of this second Boskone, the race for the 1967 Worldcon
was wide open, but all the other groups had more convention-
running experience
-- unfortunately, the weekend they chose turned out to be a bad one,
because the Science Fiction Writers of America were holding their
annual Nebula Awards banquet that weekend in New York, and as a
result, there were only a few pros present. Even Isaac Asimov and
Hal Clement weren't there, though Clement did show up on Sunday
afternoon
> site for this Boskone was Statler-Hilton Hotel once again
> attendance was between 60 and 80, depending on the source of the info
> chairman was once again Dave Vanderwerf
> GoH was Fred Pohl
-- Pohl received the first annual Skylark Award (a.k.a. the E.E. Smith
Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction)
>> award itself was a lens mounted on a wooden base, with an
inscribed brass plaque
--- some years later, Jane Yolen left her award on her kitchen
table on a sunny day, and sunlight focused through the lens
caused her best winter coat to catch fire. From then on,
winners of the Skylark were told to "put the award where the
sun never shines"
-- Pohl's GoH speech dealt with the evolution of 1930s fandom, noting
that many of the fans back then were now in positions of influence,
not just in Science Fiction, but in the outside world as well
>> (anyone else remember what his speech was about?)
> Science speakers once again abounded on the program
-- Dwight Batteau, who was one of the scientists present at the previous
Boskone, this time gave a lecture about research that was going on
into communicating with dolphins
>> he also showed several short films done to document the progress
in teaching dolphins to respond to an artificial language that had
been developed spefically for their set of senses
-- Igor Paul gave an equally fascinating talk on a totally different
topic: high speed transportation
>> attendees thought the options he discussed included really *were*
from the realm of science fiction: large pneumatically-conveyed
capsuled moving through large tunnels, souped-up super trains,
and ballistic missiles
>> one of the more off-the-beaten-track possibilities was drugging
the passengers, then stacking them like cordwood to keep costs
down, with the side effect of making low speed transportation seem
instantaneous for any intrepid-but-frugal travelers
> among the other pro authors present was Lester del Rey, and his talk,
"The Humanities in Science Fiction", many thought was the best speech of
the weekend
-- it analyzed how science fiction had evolved, with the earliest
science fiction stories being written by scientists and engineers,
but about 1950, fiction written by people with a background in the
humanities started to become predominant
-- del Rey's belief was that the mainstream humanists had now gotten
control of the genre, much to its detrement; he claimed that they
were no longer writing for the reader, but for each other, and it was
high time to bring back the engineers
-- del Rey was a very polished and convincing speaker, but his beliefs
obviously aligned with those of the Boskone attendees based on the
long sustained applause he received at the conclusion of his talk
- Boskone 3 (October 1-3, 1966)
> a solo production of Erwin "Filthy Pierre" Strauss, who was chairman
-- ostensibly was run under sponsorship of M.I.T. Science Fiction
Society
>> convention site was at M.I.T.
>> unlike other Boskones, this one was intended to be a convention
intended mostly for local fans, to acquaint them with the fans and
fan activities of the area
-- after two conventions, Strauss was one of the few fans there who
actually thought two Boskones a year was still a good idea
> attendance was 68
> Principal Speaker was John W. Campbell, Jr.
> Science Speaker was Oliver Selfridge once again
> the convention did manage to turn a profit, and the surplus money went
to support Boston's (unsuccessful) 1967 worldcon bid
> one lasting creation from this convention was the appearance of the
fanzine HELMUTH, which was a post-con report after this and succeeding
Boskones
- Boskone 4 (April 1-2, 1967)
> chaired by the Paul Galvin
> sponsored by the Boston Science Fiction Society, the last Boskone they
would sponsor
> site was Statler-Hilton
> attendance was 72
> GoH was Damon Knight
> Science Speaker was Dr. Marvin Minsky
-- this was the beginning of Minsky's long association with Boston
fandom
> Skylark Award was presented to Isaac Asimov
- Boskone 5 (March 23-24, 1968)
> sponsored by the New England Science Fiction Society, which had been
born from the ashes of the Boston Science Fiction the previous year
> chairman was Paul Galvin
> site was Statler-Hilton
> attendance was 155
> GoH was Larry Niven
> Science Speaker was Prof. Warren McCulloch
> Skylark Award went to John W. Campbell, Jr.
-- Isaac Asimov both presented the award, and accepted it for Campbell,
who couldn't be at the convention
> it was at this convention that Larry Niven met his future wife, Marilyn
Joyce "Fuzzy Pink" Wisowaty
-- she had gotten the nickname "Fuzzy Pink" from her roommate Frannie
Dyro when they had attended M.I.T. earlier in the decade
>> "Fuzzy Pink" being short for "Fuzzy Pink Roommate"
- Boskone 6 (March 22-23, 1969)
> chair was Leslie Turek
-- an alumnus of MITSFS, who later went on to chair the 1980 Worldcon,
and win a Hugo Award in 1990 for the fanzine THE MAD 3 PARTY
> site was Statler-Hilton
> attendance was 262
> GoH was Jack Gaughan
-- his GOH speech, although entertaining, was apparently memorable for
its non-memorable subject matter, which nobody seemed to remember;
the most descriptive comment about the speech was Charlie Brown's
"Indescribable!"
> Official Artist was Stephen Fabian
-- this made Boskone the first convention to officially honor SF
artists with their own 'Artist GoH' spot
> Science Speaker was Dr. Louis Sutro, who described NASA's Mariner
Project for sending space probes to other planets in the solar system
> Skylark Award was presented to Hal Clement
-- NESFA members did not exactly give great support to the award,
however, as only 13 ballots had been received
-- at the same presentation, Asimov was re-presented with the Skylark
he had received the previous year, after some repairs had been made
to it to fix some loose parts
> other happenings
-- Isaac Asimov was there, and opened the convention by answering some
questions from the audience
-- Anne McCaffrey appeared on a panel with Hal Clement, Marion Zimmer
Bradley, and Larry Niven about female protagonists in science fiction
-- Tony Lewis, Fred Lerner, and Elliott Shorter tried to make sense of
some of the plans proposed for revising the worldcon site rotation
schedule
-- Jack Chalker presided over an auction that netted about $100; in it,
he 'sold' Asimov to the Brookline High School SF Club for $23
-- parties at the convention were spectacular in their consumption; on
Saturday night, the Boston and Washington, D.C. bid parties went
through a total of quarts of liquor, 30 quarts of tonic, and several
cases of beer. But there was still some left over.
> there was also a Tolkien Society of America meeting held in conjunction
with the Boskone
-- program for that included a panel on the economics and technologies
of Middle Earth, a speech by Dainis Bisenieks on "Games Hobbits Don't
Play", and a speech by Dave Erdreich on "Sauron as Hero" that put new
light on the evil force in LORD OF THE RINGS
* Mescons
- these were a series of party convention Memorial Day weekends held in
Center Harbor, New Hampshire, hosted by Ed Meskys
- typically, about 30 people attended, mostly from the Boston and New York
fandoms
- the most memorable of the bunch was probably the 4th one, in 1969, which
featured a NESFA meeting, a frisbee game, and an invasion by thousands of
hungry mosquitos
> the convention's program included displaying a ten-cent bag of potato
chips; apparently the attendees came hungry
* Philcons (Philadelphia) (sometimes refered to as 'Phillycons')
- 1963 convention (Saturday, November 9th)
> site was Constitution Room of Sheraton Hotel
> Fred Pohl was Principal Speaker
> about 70 fans attended, from as far away as Connecticut and Virginia
> programming
-- James Blish, L. Sprague de Camp, and Lester del Rey in panel on topic
of their recent work and the current sf field
>> they were heckled by Judy Merril
-- Judy Merril spoke on some of the prominent types of bad sf
>> she was heckled by Fred Pohl
-- Fred Pohl talked about editing GALAXY and IF
>> he was heckled by everybody
-- a fan panel appeared and heckled each other
- 1964 convention (November 14-15, 1964)
> site was Philadelphia YMCA
> convention preceded by meeting of PSFS on the previous day
- Philcon '65 (Nov. 13-14, 1965)
> chairman was Oswald Train, who was also PSFS president
> site was Sheraton Hotel in the Hall of Flags
> GoH was L. Sprague de Camp
> other notables in attendance included Sam Moskowitz, George O. Smith,
Don Wollheim, Milton Rothman, and Hans Santessan
> convention began, in effect, on Friday, Nov. 12, when the PSFS held its
regular meeting, after which everyone was invited to troop over to
Harriet Kolchak's house for a welcoming party
> theme of the convention was 'Thirty Years of Science Fiction'
-- Bob Madle gave a talk about the earliest years of the PSFS, which
was celebrating its 30th birthday with this Philcon
-- Sam Moskowitz was there as well, and he gave a talk about some of the
science fiction publications of 1935, complete with color slides of
the covers of some of those prozines and fanzines
-- Dr. Milton Rothman, who had hosted the first science fiction
convention back in 1936, had become a scientist in the intervening
years. He gave a talk that made the claim that science fiction was
becoming too fictional and losing its connections with hard science
>> on the other hand, he said he didn't believe for a minute that
science would ever discover anti-gravity, or faster-than-light
propulsion. If, in some far future year these things did happen,
any fans still around could settle with his estate, as he was
betting $1,000 that they wouldn't
> de Camp's Guest of Honor Speech was kind of an odyssey of sorts, in
which he talked about his visit to Robert E. Howard's home town to try
to find out more about Howard the man vs. Howard the legendary writer
- 1966 convention (Nov. 12-13, 1966)
> site was Sylvania Hotel, an older hotel that had recently been renovated
> attendance was about 140
> Guest of Honor was Isaac Asimov
> theme of convention was 'SF and the Two Cultures', a reference to how SF
might possibly fit in somewhere between science and the humanities
-- Asimov gave one of his amusing talks loosely around that theme,
though it digressed at the end when someone asked him about FANTASTIC
VOYAGE and he launched into a critique of the lack of science
accuracy in the movie and how difficult that made his job of writing
a novelization of the screenplay
-- pro panel on that theme with de Camp, James Blish, Lin Carter, and
Hal Clement kicked around the topic for a while before getting
sidetracked onto the subject of great artists
>> at that point, the audience was flabbergasted by Lin Carter's
assertion that all the great minds in history were male, and there
never had been a female equivalent of Shakespeare, Mozart, or da
Vinci.
- 1967 convention (November 13-14, 1967)
> held at Sylvania Hotel
-- the Moscow Circus was in town, and had also chosen the Sylvania Hotel
as its headquarters while in Philadelphia
>> two different times during the convention Jay Kay Klein was
accosted by young ladies asking if he was part of the Circus
> theme this year was "Two Years to the Moon", a reference to NASA's
schedule for the first manned moon landing, with much emphasis on space
travel
-- however, there wasn't all that much about space travel on the
program
>> Fred Pohl gave a short talk about watching in-person a Saturn V
launch, but transitioned into a narrative about the economics of
publishing science fiction magazines
>> Lester del Rey, James Blish, Ted White, and Robert Silverberg told
about their discovery of science fiction and some of the
publications that existed at those times, but the nearest that got
to space travel was when they started digressing about the brass-
plated breasts of women on PLANET STORIES covers
> Guest of Honor was to have been Willy Ley, but he was on a lecture tour
and events around the Saturn V launch threw off the tour by a couple of
days
-- Hal Clement (Harry Stubbs) filled-in for Ley, and gave a mostly
impromptu speech about astronomy and lunar geology (selenology)
> del Rey wrapped up the convention with a brief talk about the logistics
and sociology of interstellar flight
- 1968 convention (November 9-10, 1968)
> held once again at the run-down Hotel Sylvania
> attendance was about 300, the most ever at a Philcon to that point,
which was almost too large for the decrepit hotel facilities
-- this prompted Charlie Brown to write: "It was obvious that the
conference has outgrown the Sylvania both in size and stature. I
hope the committee realizes this before next year. In a way, it will
be sad to leave the Sylvania. After all, where else can you get
collapsing furniture, keys bent to fit the locks, unworkable
cigarette machines, soda machines that steal your money, and water
faucets that run hot water on one side of the stream and cold on the
other?"
> GoH was James Blish
-- his speech was the highlight of the convention (details?)
> other programming
-- a panel on science and society featured Ted Thomas, Ben Bova, and Hal
Clement
-- Ben Bova also gave a speech on weather control
-- popular panel on "Sex in SF" featured Robert Silverberg, de Camp,
Joanna Russ, and Alexei Panshin
> convention was also enjoyable for the large number of bidding parties on
Friday and Saturday night
- 1969 convention (November 14-16, 1969)
> site was Warwick Hotel, the Sylvania hotel of previous years having
become increasingly run down over the years
-- fans probably wished they were back there, however, when they were
greeted with the news upon check-in that their room rates had been
raised over what had been advertised
>> it took a concerted and unified effort of the fans who attended,
something that just didn't happen all that often, to get the hotel
to rescind the increase
> GoH was Anne McCaffrey
-- her speech was on how the non-scientist can write science fiction
> attendance was about 300 by one account and 400 by another
-- included a small contingent of California fans and pros
-- also attending were some pro authors who hadn't been seen very often
at conventions: Gordie Dickson, Keith Laumer, and James Gunn
> happenings
-- Ben Bova gave a talk on quasars
-- there was a singout between Anne McCaffrey and Isaac Asimov
>> Charlie Brown, in LOCUS, judged the winner to be McCaffrey: "She
has a better voice than Isaac and a somewhat greater lung
capacity."
-- there was also the spectacle of Alicia Austin cutting Mike
Glicksohn's hair
>> Glicksohn was planning a trip to Mexico, where the government was
turning away long haired types
>> was witnessed by a crowd of 35, and pictures were taken for
posterity
-- the convention hosted a meeting by the Science Fiction Writers of
America
>> a meet the authors party happened Saturday night
* PghLANGE (Pittsburgh)
- sponsored by Western Pennsylvania SF Association
- first Pghlange in 1969 (June 6-8)
> GoH was Robert Silverberg
-- convention got off to an unusual start: on Friday afternoon, the
entire committee had gone to the airport to welcome Silverberg to
Pittsburgh, unaware of the fact that he had already gotten to the
motel on his own resources
>> after a period of time when people were wandering around wondering
where the convention committee was, Barbara Silverberg offered to
go to the airport to welcome the committee to Pittsburgh
> unofficially co-chaired by Ginjer Buchanan and Suzanne Tompkins
> attendance was about 80
> held at a very small motor lodge in Pittsburgh
-- even with a small hotel there were problems, as some of what little
meeting space there was was rented out from under the convention to a
wedding party
-- this meant that the huckster area was outside the hotel; luckily,
weather cooperated
> the tight confines caused many of the attendees to take a pass on what
programming had been planned
-- there were tried and true types of panels, such as Lin Carter on "How
to Create a Fantasy World" and a panel on SF Criticism with Lin
Carter and Lester del Rey
-- even Silverberg's GoH speech topic was a bit prosaic: "What It Is
Like to Be a Writer"
> the main attraction of the convention seemed to be the parties, for
which the presence of a usable swimming pool helped considerably
> one of con attendees was a STAR TREK fan named Lois McMaster
-- years later went on to win Hugo Awards for science fiction published
under her married name, Lois McMaster Bujold
* Marcons (Columbus, Ohio)
- name derived from the month the convention was held, March
> the name was kept in later years, even though the convention eventually
moved out of March
- first Marcon, in 1966, was actually a working party for Tricon, the 1966
worldcon [source: notes from talk with Larry Smith on 18Nov00]
- Marcon 2 (April 8-9, 1967)
> site was Holiday Inn North in Toledo, Ohio
> GoH was Roger Zelazny
-- event was, in effect, meant to celebrate Zelazny's Hugo Award he
received at Tricon [source: LSmith]
> prime mover to make convention happen was Howard DeVore [source: LSmith
7Dec00 email]
-- DeVore was nominally the chairman; he had picked the date and location,
and had chosen Zelazny as the Guest
-- onsite organization was done by Bob Hillis, while Larry Smith collected
the cash from attendees
> at-door membership was $1 per person, and over $100 was collected
[source: LSmith]
- Marcon 3 (March 30-31, 1968)
> held in Columbus, Ohio
> sponsored by Olentangy SF Society [source: LSmith 7Dec00 email]
-- this was anon-profit corporation set up by Smith, Hillis, and Brian Burley
as a liability shield against potential lawsuits
>> organization took its name from the Olentangy River, one of the two
rivers that flow through Columbus [source: LSmith 31Dec00 email]
-- they were members of Central Ohio SF Society, which was described in an
earlier chapter
-- this was one of the first examples of incorporating a regional convention
for tax and liability purposes, a practice that would become commonplace
in later decades
> GoH was Fred Pohl
- Marcon 4 (March 28-30, 1969)
> site was Holiday Inn East in Columbus
> GoH was Terry Carr
> other authors attending were Larry Niven, T. L. Sherred, and Dean
McLaughlin
-- Lin Carter and John Jakes were also supposed to attend, but never
showed up
> attendance was around 100
> among the program events were two panels featuring the authors present;
why they hated sword and sorcery on Saturday, and, the next day, why
they liked hard science
> highlight of convention was Carr's 17-minute speech on communication in
science fiction
-- he must have communicated well with the fans there, as they gave him
a standing ovation at the conclusion of his talk
* Detroit Triple Fan Fairs
- (origin of name?)
- 1965 convention
> not well attended
> (other details?)
- 1968 convention (June 15-16)
> 175 attended
> GoH was Harlan Ellison
> featured movies, talks and panels on comics
> Bob Taylor of MAD magazine was there, and gave a speech that he
illustrated himself on a large chalkboard
> special event was the humorous 'The Inquisition of Harlan Ellison', an
attempt to put Harlan on the spit, good naturedly
- 1969 convention (June 7-8, 1969)
> GoHs were Al Williamson and Edmond Hamilton
* Minicons (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
- Minicon I (January, 1968)
> held in Men's Lounge at Coffman Memorial Union at University of
Minnesota
> a Saturday afternoon event
> Jim Young was chairman and organizer
-- however, Young was not a University student (he was still in high
school), which caused committee to create the fiction that Frank
Stodolka, who *was* a University student, was in charge
> by different accounts, anywhere between 30 and 60 people present
> three pros present: Gordy Dickson, Cliff Simak, and Charles DeVet
-- a fourth pro, Carl Jacobi, was unable to attend because of the flu
> the convention's main event was the writers panel
-- Stodolka and Young took turns moderating; Dickson, Simak, and DeVet
sat at a long table and discussed science fiction with each other and
the audience
> another attendee, Mark Olson, compared the convention to a large room
party
-- later, Dickson became center of attention, with people sitting on
floor around his chair listening to him
> other things that happened
-- Jim Young played the piano after the authors panel had concluded
>> music was to become an established part of future Minicons
-- there was even a small art show, which included illustrations by Jack
Gaughan and some original comic book art by Carmine Infantino
- Minicon II (April 4-6, 1969)
> site was Andrews Hotel in Minneapolis
> Chairman once again was Jim Young
> about 40 people were pre-registered, including John Kusske who was
stationed in Okinawa at the time with the military (but did not attend)
-- in all there were 120 registered, with 105 in attendance
> Guests again were Dickson, Simak, and DeVet
> official opening of convention took place on Saturday afternoon,
immediately followed by a panel discussion with the guests on "How Did
You Discover Science Fiction?"
> featured event of the convention actually took place before the
convention officially opened: a Friday night showing of the classic
silent film METROPOLIS, to the piano accompaniment of Jim Young
> convention was concentrated into two areas of the hotel
-- the `Welcome Room', which opened Friday night, was the program area
>> was a place for fans to meet the guests
>> offered old radio dramas and readings throughout the weekend
-- a Minn-Stf hospitality room opened for general partying about 10pm
each night
> music was an unscheduled but well-remembered part of the convention
-- Haskell brought his 6-string and 12-string guitars, and played in the
evenings in a small sleeping room just off the convention's
hospitality suite
-- Dickson also spent his evenings in the music room, playing a guitar
he had borrowed from Haskell and singing with fans
> other events
-- the three pro guests sat on an informal discussion panel on Saturday,
which had the topics money and editors, the economics of writing, and
the `new wave' in science fiction
>> Simak said that the evolution in science fiction to new wave was
less significant than the earlier change from `mad scientist'
stories to `people' stories; he believed that the new wave would
merge into the main body of science fiction and after another five
to ten years, another new wave would arise
-- Ruth Berman hosted a STAR TREK slide show on Sunday afternoon
-- moving to a hotel for the convention meant that there was also room
for a combined art show and huckster area for booksellers
>> an art show award was presented Sunday (to who?)
> by all accounts convention was a good one
-- Joyce Fisher later remembered it as "very small, intimate, and just
delightful"
-- the unseasonably warm early spring weather seemed to add to people's
enjoyment of the weekend
> convention received good writeup in MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE afterward
-- headline to the story read "Science Fiction Fandoms Convene"
>> apparently, the story's writer didn't quite understand fan
terminology; story described Jim Young as a "fandom", Ken Fletcher
as another "fandom", and Fred Haskell as yet another "fandom"
* DeepSouthCons
- first DeepSouthCon was the MidSouthCon of 1963
> held weekend of July 4th
> hosted by Dave and Katya Hulan at their home in Huntsville, Alabama
-- was described as "a very enjoyable party"
> five other people were there
-- Al Lewis came all the way from Los Angeles. as part of a cross-
country trip he was on
-- other attendees were Rick Norwood, Bill Gibson, Bill Plott, and Marty
Moore
- DeepSouthCon II (Anniston, Alabama); August 21-23, 1964
> site was Van Thomas Motel
> chair was Larry Montgomery
> attendance was again 6
-- others were Rick Norwood, Dick Ambrose, Al Andrews, Bill Gibson, and
Lee Jacobs
> a one-shot fanzine CONGLOMERATION resulted, and reports indicated that
everyone seemed to have a good time
- DeepSouthCon III (Birmingham, Alabama); August 6-8, 1965
> site was Downtowner Motor Inn
> Larry Montgomery from Anniston was once again the chair
> attendance was 19; fan from farthest away was Ron Bounds from Baltimore
> con got off to a slow start, to say the least: Ned Brooks was the first
fan to arrive, and he didn't get to the con until late Friday afternoon
> not much programming
-- there were a couple of panels on Saturday afternoon, of unimaginative
topics: "What is Science Fiction?" and "Would there Still Be a Fandom
If SF Were No Longer Published?"
> the most interesting event in the convention was when Hank Reinhardt
brought in part of his collection of ancient weapons, including several
miniature but functional catapults
-- he also brought two matching sets of miniature warriors, and there
ensued a miniature battle between him and Jerry Page, each
commandeering catapults, and using pennies as ammunition
> a special event of that convention was the first-ever Rebel Award, which
was given to Al Andrews
-- award decided on by the committee; wanted to honor Andrews for his
service to Southern fandom
-- set a precedent; subsequent Rebel Awards also given out for service
to Southern fandom in later years
- DeepSouthCon IV (Huntsville, Alabama); weekend before Tricon in 1966
> originally was scheduled for Durham, NC
> second Rebel Award was presented to Dave Hulan
-- would not be another Rebel Award until 1970
- 1967 DeepSouthCon
- DeepSouthCon VI (New Orleans); August 23-25, 1968
> chairman was John Guidry
> GoH was Daniel F. Galouye
> attendance was about 65
> programming included a panel on sf films and a panel on Heinlein
- 1969 DeepSouthCon (Knoxville, Tennessee)
> GoH was Rachel Maddux
> site was a Ramada Inn in west Knoxville
> chair was Janie Lamb
-- Janie was a fan very active in the NFFF
-- somewhat less known is that she was also politically active, and held
a fair amount of power via the governor's office
>> this would become important as the weekend progressed
> an important event occurred at this convention: the formation of a pan-
Southern fan organization, the Southern Fan Confederation
-- (details?)
> was beset by troubles caused by over-exuberant fans that nearly closed
the convention down, which resulted in convention becoming almost
legendary in southern fandom lore
-- first incident occurred the first night of the convention, when an
Viking-clad Ron Bounds acted out the costume, carrying off one of the
waitresses from the hotel bar, much to the consternation of the
management
>> although waitress was immediately released, and it was meant all
in fun, motel did not see it that way, and its relationship with
fans that weekend started to become adversarial
-- the next evening, a contingent of fans from Atlanta caused much
greater trouble
>> included Joe Celko, Glen Brock, Steve Hughes, and Mark Levitan
>> to save money, they combined their resources to rent a small
second floor sleeping room that overlooked the motel's outdoor
swimming pool
>> the Saturday night of the convention, a lull in the activities
created the opportunity for trouble: Levitan found in his suitcase
a small vial of water-soluble industrial-strength red dye, which
had apparently been left in there by his father
--- using an empty cola can, they dissolved some of the dye in hot
water, attached a toilet tissue wick, then launched the can
into the middle of the pool
--- fortunately, the can floated like a buoy and no harm was done;
it might have ended that way except that the motel manager's
son picked that time for a midnight pool party with some
friends, and when he pulled the wick out in a fit of
curiosity, the dye turned him and the water around him bright
red
>> by next morning, red color had permanently turned the pool's
marine concrete into a plum color, and the motel struck back,
demanding to know which fans were responsible
--- Janie Lamb had to line up as much of convention as she could
find, in motel lobby, and after giving harsh speech denouncing
the incident for benefit of manager, asked for guilty party to
step forward
--- no one did, much to Lamb's relief, but motel retaliated by
confiscating Lamb's luggage until she paid for the pool
--- Lamb used her political connections to reciprocate, arranging
for the state police to find underage people in the motel bar
--- faced with loss of liquor license, the management suddenly
remembered where that had put her luggage, apparently deciding
that a purple pool looked just fine
--- apparently manager's son came through tribulation as well,
since nothing further was heard from him
>>> Celko speculated that his lower-body discoloration,
temporary as it would be, may have held some advantages:
"Crimson privates would not have been a real problem. It
would have meant entertaining the young lady he brought
with him with something she had never seen before."
>> Celko later apologetically summed up the fracas, "Our moral
character was much weaker in our youth, our time horizon was much
shorter, and we healed much faster in those days."
* Ozarkons (St. Louis)
- Ozarkon I (July 29-31, 1966)
> attendance was 60 (80 members total)
> site was Downtowner Motor Inn in St. Louis
> GoH was Ted White
> one of co-chairs was Chester Malon
-- he arrived at the convention on Friday afternoon, spotted a girl he
liked, and didn't come out of his room for the rest of the convention
> convention was only lightly programmed
> RATATOSK reports that the con was "quite enjoyable from all reports"
> success of convention moved committee to bid for 1969 Worldcon
- Ozarkon II (July 28-30, 1967)
> GoH was Roger Zelazny
- Ozarkon III (July 27-28, 1968)
> site was Ben Franklin Hotel in St. Louis
> Chairman was Ray Fisher
> about 100 attending
-- included Leif Anderson from Sweden and Darroll Pardoe from England
> GoH was Harlan Ellison
-- read two of his stories, much to the enjoyment of his fans
- Ozarkon IV (1969) was combined with the 1969 Worldcon
- Two other Ozarkons in the 1970s
> Ozarkon V, in 1970, had Alexei Panshin as GoH
> Ozarkon VI, in 1971, was scheduled to have Larry Niven as GoH
-- convention was cancelled, but unfortunately, no one informed Niven
who showed up in St. Louis only to find there was no convention
>> Niven used this incident in some of his subsequent stories
* Southwestercons
- 1966 convention (July 23-24, 1966)
> site was Hotel Southland in Dallas
> chair was Larry Herndon
- 1967 Southwestercon
- DallasCon (June 21-23, 1968)
> site was Hotel Southland in Dallas
> co-chairs were Tom Reamy and Larry Herndon
> about 150 attended
> GoH was Harold Le Doux
> program included films, and speeches by Le Doux, Fritz Leiber, and H. H.
Hollis
- 1969 convention (June 20-22, 1969)
> site was a Ramada Inn in Houston
> sponsor in theory was the Houston SF Club, but the emphasis was far from
science fiction
> this appeared to be a comic book convention disguised as a science
fiction convention
-- the dealers room was just about exclusively comic book dealers
-- attendees, for the most part, were high schoolers, who seemed to be
interested in augmenting their collections
> program was also primarily comics-oriented
-- the only real sf-related panel, about science fiction movies, was
postponed two times before it "finally disappeared in a general wave
of disinterest" according to one attendee
* Other conventions
- Aggiecon (April 21-24, 1969)
> sponsored by Cepheid Variable, the sf club at Texas A&M University, in
College Station, Texas
> GoH was Harlan Ellison
> was the first science fiction convention ever sponsored by a college or
a college affiliate student organization, yet another sign that science
fiction had come of age during the 1960s
- Long Beach Science Fiction Convention
> held in 1963 and 1964, in Long Beach, California
> 1964 event featured Forry Ackerman and Ib Melchior as guests, and was
held at a local restaurant
> these seem to have been mini-conventions for teen-aged movie fans, among
the first of the media conventions that would become popular in
succeeding decades
- Penn-Jerseycon
> held August 3-6, 1964, at Pete Jackson's home in Danville, Pennsylvania
> not known how many attended
> seemed mostly to be a weekend party, though a one-shot fanzine CLAPTRAP
also resulted
> after it ended, one of the attendees, Richie Benyo, was keen for a
sequel in 1965, but the idea seemes to have evaporated before another
could be held
- 1964 New York Labor Day Party
> not really a convention, was held for New York fans who were either
boycotting the 1964 Pacificon because of the Breen fracas, or who could
not afford to attend
> hosted by John and Perdita Boardman
> 30 people attended
> people played Diplomacy, discussed Lord Darcy's world with Randy
Garrett, argued politics, and generally shot the bull
> was deemed a good party: event lasted 24 hours, and the police only came
by twice
- a similar party, dubbed the NonCon, was held opposite the 1968 worldcon
> site was a Holiday Inn in Paramus, New Jersey
> organizer was Fred Lerner
> about a dozen fans were there, including Walter Breen and Marion Zimmer
Bradley
> was a total relaxacon with no programming whatsoever; highlight of the
event was a phone call from Berkeley, which came in at 3:00am local time
on Sunday, Sept. 1, with news of the Hugo Awards winners
- 1st Conference on the Bibliography of Science Fiction
> took place at Columbia University in New York City, on March 1, 1969
> conceived and organized by Fred Lerner
-- (mini bio of Fred here)
-- as Lerner later recalled, "During the 1968-1969 academic year, I was
a student in the School of Library Service at Columbia University.
Whenever possible, I did my term papers on some aspect of science
fiction. My interest in SF was enthusiastically approved by my
professors; when I entered the doctoral program a few years later, I
was urged to do my dissertation on science fiction."
-- as part of his course work, he decided to do an independent study
course on the bibliography of science fiction
>> this gave him the idea of a conference on the topic
> conference took place in the Harkness Auditorium at Columbia's Harkness
Library, on a Saturday morning
-- the date was specifically chosen to be the same day as the annual
ESFA Open Meeting in nearby Newark, New Jersey, and the same weekend
as the first ever STAR TREK convention, also in Newark
-- according to Lerner, "There was enough going on that weekend to
justify several out-of-towners travelling to New York."
> it worked; for whatever reason, several out-of-town writers and fans
were among the 57 people who attended
-- Tony Lewis, from Boston, gave a paper titled "Indexing the Science
Fiction Magazines"
-- other out-of-town attendees included Darko Suvin from McGill
University in Montreal, and Mark Owings from Baltimore
>> Suvin gave perhaps the day's most interesting speech, on Soviet
science fiction criticism in the early 1960s
-- two other notable who attended were Alastair Cameron and Sol Malkin
>> Cameron, who had left fandom years earlier, had produced the
Fantasy Classification System (when? for what organization?)
>> Malkin, editor of AB BOOKMAN'S WEEKLY, was accompanied by his
ever-present brandy-filled hollow cane
> among the locals who attended was the ever-present Sam Moskowitz, who
spoke on the importance and general lack of bibliography in science
fiction
-- another local person, Dr. Theodore Hines of Columbia University,
talked about the need for getting fanzines and similar items listed
in library journals
> the conference was successful enough that Lerner concluded a new
interdisciplinary organization about science fiction was desirable
-- Lerner began corresponding with Tom Clareson, whom he had met the
previous year at a Modern Language Association conference
>> (explain why Clareson is notable here, very briefly)
-- eventual result was the establishment of the Science Fiction Research
Association, in the early 1970s
> there were two subsequent conferences in this series before SFRA came
officially into existence
-- second Conference was held in conjunction with the 1970 Boskone
-- third Conference was in 1971, in conjunction with that year's Marcon
-- SFRA annual conventions incorporated bibliographical issues after
that, and these conferences were discontinued
- Secondary Universe
> held Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, 1968, at the University of
Wisconsin at Milwaukee
> over 200 attended, including fans from as far away as Puerto Rico
> had originally been intended as a two-hour symposium on "Imagination in
the Theatre Arts", it expanded into a two-day conference comprising all
areas of science fiction and fantasy
> began on Friday evening with two plays by Ray Bradbury, "To the Chicago
Abyss" and "Season of Disbelief"
-- the first was more or less a fantasy, while the second didn't seem to
have any fantastic elements in it
> another crowd pleaser, especially for the large contingent of amateur
filmmakers present, was a showing of Ed Emshwiller's short film,
RELATIVITY, followed by a short talk by Emshwiller afterwards
> on Saturday morning, the keynote speaker was Professor Clyde S. Kilby,
who had written several books on C. S. Lewis
-- his topic was "Morals and Literature", with specific references to
Lewis and Tolkien
> after that, the conference broke up into several special interest groups
-- Tolkien working group
-- group on sf in television and in the movies
>> Gene DeWeese gave a talk
-- third group concerned itself with "The New Thing"
>> Samuel Delaney was a speaker in this session
> luncheon speaker was Judith Merril, who talked about how inclusive
science fiction had become, in terms of subject matter, comprising
everything from fairy tales to so-called "hard" science fiction
> after lunch, three more special interest groups held sessions
-- one dealt with sf in poetry and music
-- another was concerned with "The Twentieth-Century Romance"
-- final session had the topic of "Science and Literature"
>> Ed Meskys participated in this session, substituting for Bruce
Pelz who at the last minute had been unable to attend
> three late afternoon sessions were also held
-- one of these sessions had the topic of mass media and science
fiction, and featured a talk by Phil Klass, otherwise known as
science fiction writer William Tenn
> conference was deemed successful enough that another was held the next
year
- Secondary Universe II
> held October 31-November 2, 1969, once again at the University of
Wisconsin at Milwaukee
> once again, hard to categorize; not really a science fiction convention
at all, nor was it totally a conference this time, even though it had 25
speakers; certainly it had more of a convention atmosphere than the
previous year's conference had
-- as with the previous year's conference, there was several
conferences/conventions in one: Society for Creative Anachronism,
Science Fiction Research Association, and Tolkien Society of America
-- theme of conference seemed to be `ecological problems and their
solutions', but any connection with SCA and the Tolkien Society
appeared to be tenuous at best
> events/program
-- at any rate, conference opened with keynote address by C. A. Muses
(editor of the JOURNAL OF CONSCIOUSNESS) titled "Whither Technology
or Will It Wither?", which proposed a deeper understanding of the
human mind and consciousness as a solution for many of man's problems
-- conference promptly split into its component parts after that
-- there were other scholarly talks; Harry Stubbs described the content
of many of them as "the O-Gloomy-Doom sort bemoaning pollution,
overpopulation, etc."
>> Stubbs changed his talk in reaction to all the pessimism, and
spoke about "Man as an Energy Addict", and proposed several
technological solutions should the world's energy supply ever run
low
-- SFRA held meetings, to start forming itself into what would become a
prestigious science fiction academia organization in later years
-- SCA sponsored a Halloween costume ball, with the stipulation that
costumes had to be pre-1660
* Canadian conventions
- Fan Fair I (July 29-Aug 1, 1968)
> also known as Toronto Triple Fan Fair
-- sponsored by OSFiC, Memory Lane, the Canadian Academy of Comic Book
Collectors, and the Markam Village Film Club
-- focus of convention was three-fold: science fiction, films, and
comics
> held at 594 Markam Street, in part of city known as Markam Street
Village
-- outdoor convention, held in tents
-- convention attendees paid $1 for `passport' which entitled them to
enter the tents and houses where events took place
>> passport depicted a three-headed dragon chasing hippie and beatnik
artists through the streets, with art canvases flying in all
directions
> organized and managed by George Henderson
> GoHs were Roger Zelazny and Stan Lee
> programme:
-- Ken Smookler chaired a debate by Zelazny, Stan Lee, and Phyllis
Gottlieb on the movie 2001
-- retrospective talks on Tarzan, the history of pictorial SF, and
adult comics
-- STAR TREK display
-- film showings on two wrinkled sheets stapled to a house wall
- second Fan Fair, in August 1970, held opposite the Heidelberg worldcon
> billed as unofficial alternative to 1970 worldcon, with approval from
the Heicon's committee
-- this made it, unofficially, the first North American Science Fiction
Convention, or NASFIC, as they came to be called, which were
conventions done as an alternative to Worldcon in years when the
Worldcon was in some far off corner of the world outside of North
America
> attendance was about 400
> site was King Edward Hotel
> guests included Isaac Asimov and Anne McCaffrey
> rather than do third Fan Fair, OSFiC decided to bid for 1973 Worldcon
-- committee formed around John Millard and Peter Gill, won the bid at
the 1971 Boston worldcon
-- however, Torcon business sapped OSFiC strength, nearly killed the
club
- KingCon (1967)
> held in Kingston, Ontario
> was basically a meeting arranged between OSFiC's Ottawa branch and
Kingston's Queens University club
* British National Conventions (Eastercons)
- 1960: [unnamed] (London), April 15-18, 1960
> hotel was the Kingsley
-- venue moved there in early 1960 after Ella Parker had discovered that
the original hotel, the Sandrinham, had cancelled the convention
booking without telling anyone
-- this was only the latest and last in a series of date and venue
changes for the convention; prior to that, the convention was
originally intended to be in London at Whitsun, then London at
Easter, then it was changed to Kettering at Easter, before being
moved back to London at Easter again
> GoH was Ted Carnell
> other notables attending included Sandy Sanderson, Joy Clarke, Don Ford
(who was TAFF delegate), Brian Aldiss, the Buckmasters
> Programme
-- TAFF candidate's quiz moderated by Doc Weir
-- slide show by Don Ford
-- "This is Your Life", hosted by Eric Bentcliffe; Norman Shorrock was
the very surprised subject
-- Doc Weir gave talk on Karel Capek
-- TAFF auction conducted by Ron Bennett
-- showing of a movie: THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
- 1961: LXIcon ["Lexicon"] (Gloucester), Mar. 31-Apr. 3, 1961
> moved to Gloucester from Kettering due to site considerations
-- Gloucester was much closer to Cheltenham, where most of the committee
lived
-- no hotel in Kettering was thought to be large enough for the
convention
>> even in Gloucester, an overflow hotel turned out to be needed
--- convention hotel had booked too many non-convention guests
--- Eric Bentcliffe arrived to find no room for him, despite his
guaranteed booking, so he slept in a maid's room
> attendance was 77
> chairman was Eric Jones
> organized by Cheltenham group, a.k.a. Cheltenham Circle
> Kingsley Amis was GoH
-- recently published book, NEW MAPS OF HELL, given lots of publicity at
the convention
> Programming
-- Eric Bentcliffe gave talk on his TAFF trip
-- Eric Jones subject of fannish "This Is Your Life"
-- SF Club of London performed short play
-- there was a drinking/droughts competition, where a board was set up
with small shot glasses of liquor instead of checkers; when a player
captured a checker, he drank it. Not known who won, but it is not
believed many players finished their games
- 1962: The 1962 BSFA Easter Convention (Harrogate)
> organized by Ron Bennett
-- con became known as "Ronvention"
> attendance was 94
-- group of German fans attended, including Tom Schluck, Rolf Gindorf,
Wolfgang Thadewald, Thea Grade, Horst Margeit, and Guntram Ohmacht
-- TAFF winner Ron Ellik attended
> GoH was Tom Boardman, editor of Mayflower SF series
> programme split between 2 hotels: West Park and Clarendon
-- most programming in Clarendon except fancy dress event, business
meeting and the one film that was shown
-- Ken Slater ran a sf quiz event and an auction
-- speech by Mike Rosenblum on development of British fandom over past
quarter century
> Ken Slater awarded 1963 convention over rival bid by Ella Parker
-- Slater's bid was assembled at the convention
-- Parker had proposed convention outside umbrella of BSFA, which
created some misgivings
> Doc Weir Memorial Fan Recognition Award created at this convention
-- money had been raised by fund to preserve Doc Weir's rumored large
SF collection
>> collection turned out to be mostly non-existent
-- fans voted to create continuing award, rather than turn money over
to Mrs. Weir
- 1963: Bullcon (Peterborough); April 12-15, 1963
> held at the Hotel Bull
> attendance was 130
-- was the largest British convention since the 1957 Worldcon
-- total paid registration was 167
> chairman was Ken Slater
> GoH was Edmund Crispin, who in real life was Bruce Montgomery, who
taught at one of the colleges of Oxford University (confirmation??)
> other notables present included Kingsley Amis, Michael Moorcock, Brian
Aldiss, John Brunner, Tedd Tubb, Harry Harrison, and Ted Carnell
> Programme
-- Harry Harrison's talk, "Sex and Censorship in SF"
-- fannish slide show by Eric Bentcliffe
-- fancy dress event on Saturday evening
>> covered by Anglia TV, which had been alerted to the presence of
Kingsley Amis at the convention
>> Best Costume prize won by a new fan, Harry Nadler, for what was
described as "a very nasty-looking mutant"
-- TAFF panel with Ethel Lindsay, Ron Bennett, Eric Bentcliffe
>> many suggestions from audience on how to improve the fund; only
only one with any concensus was doubling voting fee to five
shillings
>> suggestion was quickly adopted by TAFF administrators Ellik and
Lindsay; new U.S. voting fee is $1
-- "rousing auction" run by Ted Tubb
>> a highlight of the weekend, according to some attendees
> Doc Weir Award presented in absentia to Peter Mabey, for his work on the
BSFA lending library
> convention was successful and hotel management wanted convention back
-- was decided that 1964 convention would return to same site
- 1964: Repetercon (Peterborough); March 27-30, 1964
> attendance listed as 151, though one report listed only 125 as attending
-- ten members of Birmingham SF Group attended
> GoH was Tedd Tubb
> chairman was Tony Walsh
> attended by U.S. pros Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett
> attended by TAFF delegate Wally Weber
-- he had a great time: "They wait on me hand, foot, and tentacle; the
only person in Britain reluctant to become my slave is Ella Parker"
>> reference to the Weber-Parker pseudofeuds of years past that had
brought on Ella's U.S. trip of 1961
> George Scithers, who was in Europe on military service, also attended
> even LASFS was there is spirit
-- the club sent a telegram, which was received with applause, and which
brought in 8 shillings at the auction
> Programme
-- pro authors "tribute to Nova", with Michael Moorcock, Ted Tubb, and
Ken Bulmer
>> Nova Publications had published NEW WORLDS magazine
--- went out of business in 1964
--- NEW WORLDS assumed by a different publisher after that
>> panel was tribute to Ted Carnell's editorship under Nova
> Doc Weir Award went to Archie Mercer
-- he thanked BSFA in a short speech which was described as "the
weekend's finest"
> site selection: Birmingham defeated Harrogate by a single vote, 27 to 26
-- Ron Bennett had championed the Harrogate cause
>> according to those who attended, it was a bad convention for
Bennett: besides losing the site selection vote, he had lost his
voice after the convention's first day, and worse, had incredibly
bad luck at Brag
- 1965: Brumcon 2 (Birmingham); April 16-19, 1965
> GoH was Harry Harrison
> chairman was Ken Cheslin
-- Cheslin was also Treasurer and Secretary of convention committee
> programme booklet listed 117 as members
-- only about 80 were on hand
>> committee did not achieve number of members necessary to get
convention space price discount from hotel
--- recriminations abounded about rampant free-loading
> movies shown: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and THE CONQUEST OF SPACE
> George Scithers and Dave Kyle from U.S. in attendance
-- each promoted 1966 worldcon bids they were supporting (Scithers for
Cleveland and Kyle for Syracuse)
> future site selections
-- Great Yarmouth chosen for 1966 convention
-- Tony Walsh given 1967 convention
- 1966: Yarcon (Great Yarmouth, Norfolk); April 8-11, 1966
> GoH was publisher Ron Whiting
> chairman was Dave Barber
> programme book listed 133 members
-- only about 100 attending
> Programming
-- New Authors panel with Ramsey Campbell, Terry Pratchett, Hank
Dempsey, James Colvin, Langdon Jones, Dave Busby
>> some authors came as their pseudonyms
-- first BSFA-sponsored British Fantasy Award given, to John Brunner
-- Knights of St. Fantony event
>> initiated were Harry Harrison, Brian Aldiss, Mike Rosenblum, and
Dave Barber
> last Eastercon that was officially held under auspices of BSFA
-- resulted from vote taken at BSFA's AGM
-- Dave Barber and Jill Bridges appointed as trustees to preserve the
convention's continuity from year to year
-- created controversy; was criticized by Ron Bennett in SKYRACK #88
-- however, 1967 Eastercon was more-or-less a BSFA convention (site had
been previously selected in 1965)
- 1967: Briscon (Bristol); March 24-26, 1967
> sponsored by BaD Group
-- Tony Walsh was chairman
-- Archie & Beryl Mercer handled pubications
-- Graham Boak in charge of room where art show, fanzine sales, and book
sales were housed
> GoH was John Brunner
> no attendance figures listed
> Programme
-- speeches by Brunner and Michael Moorcock
-- Knights of St. Fantony event
>> initiated were Ramsey Campbell, Charles Partington, Wendy Freeman,
and Jill Adams
-- two screenings of Ed Emshwiller's film RELATIVITY, which was billed
as not for the squeamish
>> film inspired short-lived fanzine of same name by two Welsh fans,
Jon Williams and Bryn Fortey
--- fanzine was later revived by Fortey in the 1970s
- 1968: ThirdManCon (Buxton in Derbyshire); April 12-15, 1968
> Organized by The Delta Group
> site was St. Ann's Hotel
> GoH was Ken Bulmer
> 215 registered, 160 in attendance
-- large U.S. contingent including Dave Kyle, Don Wollheim, and TAFF
delegate Steve Stiles
-- group of German fans attending to promote Heidelberg 1970 Worldcon
bid, including Waldemar Kumming, Tom Schluck, and Heinrich Arenz
> Programming
-- Bulmer gave humorous talk on trends in science fiction
-- Eric Bentcliffe did slide show
-- Dave Kyle spoke about the movie 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
-- Knights of St. Fantony event
>> initiated were Doreen Parker, Ken McIntyre, and Beryl Mercer
-- British Fantasy Award shared by Phil Dick and Michael Moorcock
> Site selection
-- alternate site deemed necessary for 1969 Eastercon; suitable
accomodations were not available in Cambridge
>> committee put together to locate new site
-- no decision on site for 1970 was made, ending two-year planning cycle
- 1969: Galactic Fair (Oxford); April 4-6, 1969
> put on by The London Circle
-- chairman was Ted Tubb; committee also included John Brunner and Ken
Bulmer
> name of convention derived from committee's opinion that a convention
"should be more than international -- it should be interstellar"
> site was Hotel Randolph in Oxford
> attendance was about 200
-- attendees came from the U.K., the U.S., Sweden, Italy, and Germany
> Programming
-- showing of prize winning films from Trieste SF Film Festival
-- realistic jousting match that resulted in loser being taken to
hospital to patch his wounds
-- one panel, "Looking back on Science Fiction" which included two well-
known editors from opposites of the Atlantic, Don Wollheim and Walter
Gillings, was enlivened by Wollheim's opinions of the 'New Wave'
writing movement
-- later, there was another panel specifically dealing with "The New
Wave in Science Fiction", which as expected, devolved into a series
of arguments back and forth amongst the panelists, which included
Charles Platt and Ted Carnell
> Robert Jungk from West Germany organized a display of Perry Rhodan book
covers, posters, and related items that was filmed for broadcast on
German television
-- he also conducted a televised interview with three authors in the
series, K. H. Scheer, Walter Ernsting, and Willi Voltz
-- all this resulted in a surge in circulation figures for books in the
series
> GoH Judith Merril carried into hall during opening ceremonies by honor
guard
-- was reclined on large butcher tray
>> someone in audience yelled "Where's the apple that should be in
her mouth?"
>> Merril was *not* amused
-- at the banquet, Merril's proved herself an innovative speaker as well
as an author
>> her GoH speech seemed obscure to the audience, until they realized
she was building a story with their participation
> Doc Weir Award was presented to Beryl Mercer by the previous year's
winner, Mary Reed
* Other British conventions
- Minicon of June 1960
> held in Kettering
> 13 fans attended
> convention led to formation NotFans fan group of Nottingham University
> convention also led to formation of Young Science Fiction Readers Group
- London Minicon
> held Nov. 1967
> organized by Ella Parker, Ethel Lindsay, and Keith Otter
-- held in block of flats where Parker lived
> GoH was Ted Carnell
> other details lacking on attendees and events
- second London Minicon
> held Nov. 1968
> featured GoH James White
> marked the end of the SF Club of London
* Australian National Conventions
- the first Australian science fiction convention was (when?), (where?)
- in the 1950s, the only fan communities large enough and interested enough to host
a convention were Melbourne and Sydney
> Sydney hosted the event in 1955 (was there another)
-- it was during that event that it became clear that Sydney fandom was destined
for years of infighting [source: "Sea Green Sunday"]
> conventions were held in Melbourne in 1956 and 1958
> but after the 1958 convention, Melbourne fandom was in a period of change,
where older menbers were deparing and newer ones appearing, and was not
able to advance to the point of being able to host another convention for
more than half a decade
> meanwhile, Sydney fandom at the end of the 1950s was in its own disarray
from feuds and schisms, with none of the splintered fan groups showing either
the interest or capability of putting on a National Convention
- re-established in mid-1960s (need lots and lots of information)
> by the early 1960s, Melbourne fandom had rebounded in terms of the number of
fans who came to meetings, and was showing signs of wanting to resume an
annual Natcon [source: Foyster 7Nov00 email]
> by then there was also a network of Australian fans outside the Melbourne
area; fanzines like John Foyster's SATURA/THE GRYPHON were able to help keep
fans connected and aware of what was happening throughout the country [source:
Foyster 7Nov00 email]
- 1966: Seventh Australian Science Fiction Convention (Melbourne);
April 9-11 (?) (Easter weekend)
> it was the first Australian science fiction convention since the late 1950s, and
the first Melbourne convention in nearly a decade
> no guests
> chairman was John Foyster
> other committee included Merv Binns, Lee Harding, John Bangsund, Mervyn
Barrett, Paul Stevens, Dick Jenssen
> was the first Australian Natcon since 1958
-- John Bangsund wrote that "there was something of the atmosphere of a
revival meeting about it, a wonderful feeling of something happening, a
powerful sense of fellowship." [source: Bangsund's web site]
> total membership was 76 fans
-- about 60 attended at least one session
-- average attendance was 45
> membership fee was A$1.50
> site was Melbourne SF Club clubroom, 19 Somerset Place in Melbourne
-- actually a warehouse of McGill's Newsagency
-- described by attendee Charles Higham as "a ramshackle building that
appeared to have been put together out of barrel planks"
-- the entire convention was held in that 15'x40' room, including the
film program, thanks to a row of seats that had been scavenged from an
old movie theater
> notables attending included writers John Baxter, Lee Harding, Stephen
Cook, Doug Nicholson
> opened with an auction
-- about 100 items auctioned, mostly old magazines
-- some sold for as much as two dollars
> screened the films THE HAUNTING, METROPOLIS, DR.X, THE BEAST WITH FIVE
FINGERS, and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN
> featured a writers panel with Baxter, Cook, and Harding
-- one of writers mentioned that when he had been asked to address a
Melbourne literary society on SF, he was asked to change the title
of his talk from Science Fiction to Prophetic Literature
-- panel included taped messages from overseas notables, including
Ted Carnell, who said that sex was creeping more and more into SF
-- consensus on need for Australian SF magazine to bring writers and
fans together
> convention was written up by Charles Higham in the April 23, 1966 issue
of THE BULLETIN, Australia's national news/literary magazine
-- besides covering the convention, did a creditable job of
introducing science fiction fandom to the public
-- mentioned the fannish gods Ghu and Roscoe
-- explained the terms `BNF', `neo', `sercon', `fanzine' and `TAFF'
-- gave condensed history of Australian fandom through the 1950s
-- printed a quote from "one of the earliest SF founders"... Claude
Degler
> the convention was a big success, recreating the tradition of the annual
NatCon, but the most significant outcome was the creation of something
that would help to rejuvenate the regional fandoms in Australia
-- near the end of the convention, the idea surfaced for a new fanzine
would act as a focal point to keep the momentum of the successful Natcon
-- John Bangsund was elected by acclaim to be the editor/publisher, and
soon afterward the first issue of AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW
appeared [source: Bangsund's web site]
- 1968: (Melbourne) (Easter weekend)
> committee included Mervyn Binns, John Bangsund, Paul Stevens, Dick
Jenssen, Leigh Edmonds, Lee Harding, John Foyster, Diane Bangsund
- 1969: (Melbourne) (Easter weekend) (8th Australian SF Convention)
> committee included Diane Bangsund, (others)
> Awards presented:
-- Best Australian SF: FALSE FATHER LAND by A. Bertram Chandler
-- Best International SF: CAMP CONCENTRATION by Tom Disch
-- Best Contemporary Writer of Science Fiction: Brian Aldiss
-- Best Australian Amateur SF Publication: AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION
REVIEW, edited by John Bangsund
* Swedish Conventions
- two Stocons were in 1956 (70 attendees) and 1958 (50 attendees)
- in 1959, there was also a Stockon 2.5, with 12 attendees and a new
spelling of its name
- no conventions at all in 1960, so in 1961, Stockon 3 (Stockholm) became
the first Swedish convention of the 1960s
> was a one-day convention in late February, chaired by Sam Lundwall
> 30 people braved the middle of Sweden's winter to attend
> program included some talks on sf, and a few films shown in 8mm format
- 1962 was another year without a convention in Sweden, but in 1963, the
fourth Stockon (Stockholm) was held (April 6-7, 1963)
> about 40 attendees
> Lundwall was again chairman
> program included more movies in 8mm format, a reading by Sture
Lonnerstrand, and Lundwall demonstrating his new walkie-talkie
- although these conventions were de-facto the National Convention, that
official designation did not exist until the mid 1970s
> since there was usually only one (at most) convention per year through
the decade of the 1960s, Swedish fans referred to any convention as
"this year's Swedish convention"
> there was no bidding system, and none was needed; any group that wanted
to put on a convention simply did so, and let others know through
fanzines and other printed publicity
-- there were few enough fans at that point where the first announced
convention plans discouraged any other group doing likewise, or made
them book a date far enough away on the calendar where fans could
recuperate both their stamina and their finances
- the Uppcon, in Uppsala, was a case in point
> it was a one-day convention in mid-November 1963, chaired by Ingvar
Svensson
> about 30 attendees
> program included a visit to the microgenetics laboratories at Upsala
University (where Svensson was a professor)
> even more interesting, however, was a roundtable debate on views of the
future in Swedish utopian/dystopian fiction
-- one of the participants was Arvid Rundberg, an avowed communist,
whose novel DEN RUNDA STADEN (THE ROUND CITY), which advocated
humanity living in totally identical apartments in collectively-run
arcologies, had just been published
> after the convention, the newspaper critic and non-fan Jonas Sima, who
was covering the convention, stated that he viewed fandom as "a
substitute for manhood"
-- John-Henri Holmberg later commented on the apparent factualness of
that statement: "The four or five most active fans during the decade,
Mats Linder, Bertil Martensson, Ingemar Nilsson, and myself, were all
probably late learners, and I can probably state as a fact that we
all stopped doing a thousand fanzine pages annually as soon as we
finally started getting laid with some regularity."
- in 1964, Swedish fandom maintained its 1960s tradition of not having a
convention in even-numbered years, the next convention, Stockon 5
(Stockholm) didn't occur until April 17-19, 1965 (ending on a Monday)
> the long drought between conventions did not bring out many fans; only
about 25 attended
> sponsored by a small group of fans within the newly-created Swedish SF
Convention Society who were tired of the lack of conventions in Sweden
-- chairman was John-Henri Holmberg
> program (began Saturday)
-- panel discussion on "Different Conceptions of Life"
-- panel discussion on what could be done to save Stf in Sweden
-- were some science-related items, included discussion between two
astronomers on the possibility of intelligent life on other worlds,
and a lecture on prehistoric animals
-- once again, some 8mm movies were shown
-- an auction raised about $100
> singing of Sam Lundwall, of songs from his forthcoming album, brought
rave reviews
- in 1966 Malcon II (Malmo) broke the trend of odd-numbered year conventions
> was last weekend in May, 1966
> numbered II because Malcon I, in 1959, was apparently a hoax
> chairman was Leif Andersson
> 29 attendees
-- included fans from Denmark and Norway
> program included a talk by invited author Sven Christer Swahn, yet more
8mm movies, and a visit to Lund University where Andersson was doing his
doctoral research in astronomy
> a special event was the presention of the Swedish Academy of Science
Fiction's annual S-F Award to Danish fan Jannick Storm
-- award had been founded to honor a deserving Scandinavian sf writer or
fan
-- was the first time the award had been presented at a convention;
the previous two awards, in 1963 and 1964, had been presented at the
annual meeting of the SFSF
- the only sf convention in Sweden in 1967 was the Gothcon, in Gothenburg
> chairman was Ingemar Nilsson
> the improving trend in attendance continued, with 45 fans there
> the Swedish Academy of Science Fiction's annual award was presented to
John-Henri Holmberg
> although this, by default, was the sf convention event of the year,
little else noteworthy happened
-- there was the usual mix of popular science and movies
-- only real exception was a moment of sercon: (someone?) gave an
impressive talk author James Blish, which was well received
- the sixth Stockon (Stockholm), in 1968, was once again, the only
convention in Sweden that year
> chairman was John-Henri Holmberg
> there 60 attendees, the most at a convention in Sweden since the very
first Stocon
> Bertil Martensson was presented the Swedish Academy of Science Fiction's
annual award
> the program was an eclectic mix, with talks on H.G. Wells, dinosaurs,
and modern art, and, of course, more movies
- it wasn't until 1969, at the Con 69 in Lund, that Swedish fandom tried
something different
> chairs were Mats Linder and Bertil Martensson
-- Linder himself was honored with the Swedish Academy of Science
Fiction's annual award
> 40 fans were in attendance
> what was different about the convention was the convention itself
-- instead of following the example of other conventions during the
decade, this one was arranged more as an informal `happening',
according to John-Henri Holmberg
-- there were impromptu talks, film shows, and performances
-- overall, it was different enough to be memorable, but maybe a little
too different for most fans there, as its format was tried only once
more, at another Lund convention in 1973, where it failed again
- as the 1960s ended, Swedish fans could look back at the growth in their
conventions over past decade, and ahead to a new decade of even more
interest; they were not disappointed
- Swedish conventions of the 1970s grew in attendance considerably,
especially those in Stockholm
> high water mark of 450 attendees at the Scancon of 1976
* German conventions
- Niederrhein-Con (March 21-22, 1964)
> GoH was Austrian fan Franz L. Rottensteiner
> no official program, though there was a talk by Rolf Gindorf on what was
going on in German fandom
> the most memorable event of the convention was when the editors of the
German fanzine EXITUS selected Dieter Steinseifer for their "1963 Fan of
the Year Award", only to be surprised when Steinseifer declined the
award
-- they recovered quickly, however, and records of the convention show
that Rolf Gindorf was the EXITUS 1963 Fan of the Year
- Castle-Con (July 31 - August 3, 1964)
> German national convention
> organizer was Franz Ettl
> site was the thousand-year-old Castle of Marquartstein, in the village
of same name near the Austrian border
> 104 fans attended
-- British fans included Ina & Norman Shorrock, Norman Weedall, Archie
Mercer, Ethel Lindsay, George Locke, John Roles, and Eddie Jones
-- U.S. visitors included writer George O. Smith
> program was in German, but some events were translated for English-
speaking fans by Tom Schlueck, Wolfgang Thadewald, Horst Evermann, and
Gary Kluepfel
-- British fans from London and Liverpool provided slide shows
-- Friday night featured public dance by a group of Bavarian dancers,
for con-goers seated in courtyard drinking beer and Kirschwasser
-- fancy dress event on Saturday night held in a medieval hall of the
castle
-- an unexpected event of the convention was the castle proprietor
>> first night of the convention, he got drunk and kept all the fans
awake all night
>> next morning, still drunk, he broke all the dishes: no breakfast!
> overall, the convention served to strengthen ties between German fandom
and English-speaking fans
-- Ethel Lindsay wrote that "My former impression of the majority of
Gerfandom being very 'serious' proved to be wrong. That they spoke
in German was the only difference I could see from the fans in Britain
and America. They even out-did the British fans when it came to the
fancy dress turnout. I attended one program item, a talk by a German
author who discussed the kind of criticism that sf gets from the general
critics. I gathered that the critics in Germany, like so many of our
own, are liable to criticise sf for the wrong reasons." [source:
ELindsay trip report dated 15Oct64]
- Francon (August 20-22, 1965)
> site was the Felbergof, located in Feldbergstrasse in Oberursel (near
Frankfurt)
> Edmond Hamilton, Leigh Brackett, George O. Smith, George Scithers from
U.S. attended
- Wien-Con (August 4-8, 1966)
> 1966 Annual Convention of Gerfandom
> programming featured a talk by Dr. Petri on Russian science fiction
-- another item of interest was a slode show by Gerhard Richter on
"Phantastic Realism of Vienna"
> the most fannish thing that happened at the convention was when Eddie
Jones introduced Walter Ernsting to the Knights of St. Fantony
- Linz-Con (May 13-15, 1967)
> held at Marquardstein Castle in Linz
> (details?)
- Insel-Con (August 4-7, 1967)
> 1967 Annual Convention of Gerfandom
> had originally been scheduled for Vienna, moved to Berlin
> (details?)
- Linzer Ostercon (May 31 - June 3, 1968)
> held in Linz
> (details?)
- Perkeo-Con (August 2-5, 1968)
> the annual convention of the Science Fiction Club Deutchland
> 1968 locale was Heidelberg
> attendance was about 80
-- included most of the Heidelberg 1970 worldcon bid committee
> program included a report on the recent Trieste Science Fiction Film
Festival and a four-part television documentary about science fiction
-- series was made by Brian Wood, an Englishman who was working for
Bavarian TV
-- many fans criticised the series, saying that after watching it, an
outsider wouldn't have any idea what science fiction was about, and
that much of the material covered didn't even have anything to do
with science fiction
> German equivalent of the Hugo Awards were presented
-- DUNE won as Best Translation
-- Peter Watkin's PRIVELEGE was selected as the Best SF film shown in
Germany
-- in the book category, `No Award' was the winner
> SFCD held its annual elections, with Gert Zech becoming the club's new
chairman
> there was also a St. Fantony Ceremonie, in which German fan Franz Ettl
was initiated
- Hessen-Con (June 13-15, 1969)
> held in Marburg
> (details?)
- DuCon (August 1-4, 1969)
> site was Dusseldorf
> (details?)
* Other European conventions
- Wiencon (August 5-8, 1966)
> held in Vienna, Austria
> coach trip from Britain set up by Tony Walsh
> (need more details)
* Other international conventions
- there were two science fiction conventions in Argentina in the 1960s; the
first was held in Buenos Aires in December 1967, which led it to be called
the Bairescon
> was organized by Hector Pessina
> attendance figures have been lost, but convention was relatively small
> was mainly serconnish, featuring discussions of books and writing
- in July 1968, a larger convention, the Mardelcon, was held in Mar Del
Plata
> was organized by members of the Antelae SF Club of that city
> this convention was far more upscale than the Bairescon
-- writers, editors, and book distributors attended
-- there were displays by magazine publishers, and even one by the
national UFO investigation center
-- local TV even took an interest
> the program track featured discussion panels, debates, and performances
of plays
-- a local scientific expert, Dr. Armando Cocca, spoke about space law
-- there was a story contest for new writers, with the top award
presented to Magdalene Moujan Otano, who later went on to sell
stories to Spanish-language magazines such as Spain's NUEVA
DIMENSION
- Japanese National Science Fiction Conventions
> first science fiction convention in Japan was Meg-Con in Tokyo
-- was a one-day convention, on May 27, 1962, ostensibly to celebrate
the fifth anniversary of Japan's first and best-known fanzine,
UCHUJIN
-- chairman was Takumi Shibano
>> Shibano had learned about conventions from his contacts with U.S.
fans, and thought this would be a good way to bring fans from
around the country together
>> however, there was a possible problem: Shibano had never actually
*been* to a convention, or knew exactly how one was run
--- as he remembered later, "I didn't really know what to do, I
only knew that I wanted to start a convention."
>> Shibano and about 10 other fans planned the convention
--- they had no idea how many would come, and to simplify things,
decided to have only at-the-door memberships
--- only real publicity of the event were some letters Shibano
wrote to a few smaller newspapers and a write-up that appeared
in the one major science fiction magazine of that time
-- convention was a rousing success, with 180 in attendance, one of them
an announcer for the Tokyo Broadcasting Company who arrived
shouldering a portable recorder
>> part of its success was because it was the very first opportunity
that most of the fans had to get to see each other in person
>> never before had so many science fiction fans in Japan been in
one place, a fact that Shibano observed as he opened the
convention: "Look at the person in the seat next to you. *All* of
you are science fiction fans!"
-- whole convention was in a single large room, with a corner of the
room set aside for book sales
-- programming was free-form, consisting mostly of speeches by guests
and fans
>> some readings of science fiction by Shin'ichi Hoshi
>> some films were shown
>> perhaps the most memorable event of the convention took place at
the start of the convention: a large mural cartoon was drawn by
cartoonist Osamu Tezuki, the renown artist of "Astro Boy", that
greeted attendees as they entered the convention hall
-- Shibano later reflected on the success of the convention, while at
the same time looking ahead to future conventions in Japan: "It was
far better than we had expected. The only fault ws that we had no
theme speech. All speakers spoke only their congratulations or their
personal opinions of science fiction. We should have had a theme for
the con and asked some good lecturer to speak as the main program."
> Shibano went on to chair four of the first six Japanese national
conventions
> Tokon I (Tokyo) (October 26-27, 1963)
-- Takumi Shibano again chairman
-- 300 attending
> Daicon I (Osaka) (July 25-26, 1964)
-- Yakutaka Tsutsui chaired the convention
-- 150 in attendance
> Tokon II (Tokyo) (August 28-29, 1965)
-- Takumi Shibano was chairman
-- 400 attending
> Meicon I (Nagoya) (August 20-21, 1966)
-- Den Yoshimitsu the chairman
-- 130 in attendance
> Tokon III (Tokyo) (August 19-20, 1967)
-- Takumi Shibano was chairman
>> this would be the last convention he chaired
-- 180 attending
> Tokon IV (Tokyo) (August 31-September 1, 1968)
-- Masahiro Noda was the chairman
>> Shibano was not able to attend the convention
-- 250 attending
> Kyucon (Tuetate-Spa in Kumamotoken) (August 23-24, 1969)
-- Shinji Matsuzaki was chairman
-- only 90 attended