Los Angeles fan Phil Castora (b.1934) died sometime in July. Because of health issues, Castora was living on disability and unable to attend LASFS events in recent years. His death was discovered by fandom when two members of LASFS took distributions of L-APA to the facility where Castora was living and informed of his death.
The candidates for the 2010 GUFF race to send a fan from Europe to Australasia have been announced. James Shields and Douglas Spencer are vying to represent Europe at Aussiecon IV. Voting runs until April 5 and is open to anyone active in fandom prior to August 2008 and makes a contribution of at least £5 or AU$10.
The Nova Awards were presented at Novacon the weekend of November 13. The Novas are given for excellence in British fanzines. Steve Green, the award’s administrator, has announced that he will step down, to be replaced by Martin Tudor.
Best Fanzine: Banana Wings, edited by Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer
Best Fan Writer: Claire Brialey
Best Fan Artist: Sue Mason
Kansas City fan John D. Taylor (b.1946) died on November 14 from cancer. Taylor was a founding member of the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society in 1971. Taylor ran Kansas City’s only science fiction specialty store, founded Kansas City’s first science fiction convention, and was instrumental in running MidAmeriCon, the 1976 Worldcon in Kansas City. More recently, Taylor helped with the Heinlein Centennial. Active until the end, he co-chaired ConQuest in 2009. He is survived by his daughter and his second wife, Tina Black, to whom he was married eighteen days before his death.
San Francisco Science Fiction Conventions, Inc. (SFSFC) has announced that Kirsten M. Berry is the recipient of this year’s scholarship to attend SMOFCon 27 in Austin, Texas. Berry has been attending and working on conventions of various sizes for twenty-five years.
Comic Con founder Shel Dorf (b.1933) died on November 3. Dorf was trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before working as a freelance artist in New York. As a teenager, he had helped run Triple Fan Fest in Detroit. When he moved to San Diego in 1970, he decided to run something similar and Golden State Comic Con was born. Dorf walked away from the convention in the mid-80s after running it for 15 years.
SFWA member and photographer Christine Valada made her Jeopardy! debut on Monday, October 26. She has won her first two games and continues as champion. Valada, who suffered a major house fire earlier this year, chaired the Nebula Awards in Los Angeles in April.
Fan Bob Schoenfeld died in 2006 according to recent reports. Schoenfeld got into fandom through comics. He published the comic-centric fanzines Gosh Wow and On the Drawing Board. A member of the Ozark Science Fiction Association (OSFA) and its spin-off, The Saturday People, an invitation St. Louis fan club, and , Schoenfeld was the editor of the St. Louiscon Program Book for the 1969 Worldcon.
A dinner will be held by fans or Karl Edward Wagner at Patrick Sullivan’s Saloon in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, October 17 at 7:00pm. In part to honor Wagner, the group also seeks to begin hosting an annual festival in honor of Wagner beginning in 2010.
The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) Race for 2010 is underway. The winner will travel to Eastercon to help build ties between North American and European fandom. Anyone active in fandom prior to April 2008 may vote. There is a US$3 or £2 voting fee. This year’s candidates are Frank Wu and the team of Anne K.G. Murphy and Brian Gray. The ballot and the candidates’ platforms can be found on the TAFF website.