SF Site News » Fan

Judy Newton Suffers Heart Attack

Steven H Silver — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:49:49 +0000

Judy Newton, the President of the Washington Science Fiction Association, was hospitalized on February 8 after suffering an heart attack. She is scheduled to undergo bypass surgery on February 10.

Obituary: Todd Frazier

Steven H Silver — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:47:30 +0000

Fan Todd Frazier was found dead in his apartment on the morning of February 9. From the 1990s, Frazier was an assistant editor for Ed Meskys’s fanzine Niekas and in 2007, Belknap Mill had an exhibit of Meskys and Frazier’s art collections. Frazier was a frequent attendee of Boskone and Readercon, as well as worldcons.

Obituary: Bob Lovell

Steven H Silver — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:05:36 +0000

Fan Robert Lovell (b.1947) died on January 15. Lovell was involved in Baltimore-Washington fandom from the late 1970s until 1983 and was involved with the bid that landed the 1983 Worldcon, Constellation, for Baltimore. Lovell supported the bids by offering “Backrubs for Baltimore.”

Obituary: Robert E. Briney

Steven H Silver — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:38:17 +0000

Fan Robert E. Briney (b.1933) died in late November. Active in Chicago fandom in the 1950s and 60s, Briney was one of the founding partners of Advent:Publishing. He edited the 1953 anthology Shanadu and co-edited the 1972 reference work SF Bibliographies: An Annotated Bibliography of Bibliographical Works on Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction. Briney also published the fanzine Contact Is Not a Verb from 1980 through 2006.

Obituary: Rusty Hevelin

Steven H Silver — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:46:57 +0000

Fan James “Rusty” Hevelin (b.1922) died on December 27. Hevelin became active in fandom in the 1930s, publishing the apazine H-1661. He attended Denvention 1 before joining the army and serving in the South Pacific during World War II. Returning to fandom, Hevelin became a huckster and frequent con attendee, serving as a guest of honor at numerous cons, including Denvention 2, the 1981 Worldcon. He received the First Fandom Sam Mosckowitz Archive Award for collections and the Big Heart Award. Hevelin was a founder of Pulpcon.

Hevelin in Hospice

Steven H Silver — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:34:43 +0000

Rusty Hevelin has entered end-of-life hospice care at the VA Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. His health has been in poor condition and last week reports emerged that Hevelin had lost all circulation to his legs. Hevelin is a long-time convention attendee and dealer. Hevelin became active in fandom in the 1930s and was the Fan Guest of Honor at Denvention 2 in 1981. Messages for Rusty can be left at Lorena Haldeman’s blog.

Paint, Pen, and Pixel Call for Art

Steven H Silver — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:21:52 +0000

Christopher J Garcia and Steven H Silver have announced a new fanzine, Paint, Pen, and Pixel to showcase the excellent artwork done by fan artists. They are asking for fan artists to send us a piece of original, unpublished artwork to be included, along with contact information. The fanzine will be in an electronic format and either horizontal or vertical artwork is welcome. The submission deadline is February 15 with the goal of publishing the fanzine on March 1.

For more information, e-mail paintpenpixel@gmail.com

A Fan in Parliament

Steven H Silver — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:26:03 +0000

Swedish fan Amelia Andersdotter has been permitted to take her seat representing Sweden in the EU Parliament. Andersdotter was elected to Parliament in 2009 representing the Swedish Pirate Party, but owing to internal EU red tape only now been able to claim her seat.

For more information…

TAFF Winner Announced

Steven H Silver — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:12:25 +0000

Jacqueline Monahan has been announced as the winner of this year’s TAFF Race to send a North American to Europe. Monahan will attend Eastercon. Monahan beat Warren Buff and Kim Kofmel in a three way race. Vote tallies have not yet been announced, but the number of ballots received doubled in the final week of voting.

Obituary: Susan Palermo-Piscitello

Steven H Silver — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:50:48 +0000

Fan Susan Palermo-Piscitello (b.1952) died on November 23. Palermo-Piscatello was active in fandom in the early 1970s, taking pictures that appeared in The Monster Times and working for the company that brought Japanese monster films, including Battle for the Planets and Time of the Apes to the US. She was among the first bartenders at CBGB and was in the band Cheap Perfume. She had recently returned to fandom after several years of gafiation.

Obituary: Bob Sabella

Steven H Silver — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:34:56 +0000

Fan Bob Sabella died on December 3 after being hospitalized and diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Sabella was the editor of the fanzine Visions of Paradise as well as the OE of FAPA, the oldest and longest running SF Amateur Press Association. In 2000, Sabella published the book Who Shaped Science Fiction? Through October, 2011, he published 170 issues of Visions of Paradise.

Obituary: John Berry

Steven H Silver — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:45:52 +0000

Irish fan John Berry died on November 25, eighteen months after undergoing treatment for cancer. Berry entered organized fandom in 1954 after meeting Walt Willis. Over the years, he was involved in British club fandom and published several different fanzines. He ran for TAFF in 1958, losing to Ron Bennett, but the following year, Berry was the fan Guest of Honor at Detention, the Worldcon in Detroit. The following year, Berry was voted best fan writers in a poll conducted in the fanzine Skyrack. By 1962, Berry had gafiated, only returning to fandom after twenty years had passed.

West Declines Rotsler

Steven H Silver — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:30:16 +0000

Mike Glyer reports that D. West has declined the Rotsler Award announced last weekend at LosCon.

For more information…

Rotsler Winner Announced

Steven H Silver — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:06:43 +0000

D. West, the winner of the 2011 Rotsler Award for Fan Artist, sponsored by the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests, was announced at Loscon. Founded in 1998, the award comes with a $300 honorarium. Sample of West’s work was displayed at Loscon. West has previously won three FAAn Awards for Best Artist and has three Hugo nominations for best fan artist, in 1979, 1987, and 1999.

For more information…

Obituary: Wendall Ing

Steven H Silver — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:15:04 +0000

Boston fan Wendall Ing (b.1940) died on November 11 after a lengthy illness. Ing was active in Boston fandom and had been named a Fellow of NESFA. He was active in the search which found the building that became the NESFA Clubhouse.

Nova Awards

Steven H Silver — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:04:42 +0000

The Nova Award winners were announced the weekend of November 11 at Novacon. The Nova Awards are presented to recognize excellence in British fanzine publishing and writing.

Best Fanzine: Head, edited by Doug Bell & Christina Lake
Best Fanzine Writer: Claire Brialey
Best Fanzine Artist: Dave Hicks

For more information…

Obituary: Chris Croughton

Steven H Silver — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:47:55 +0000

British fan Chris “Keris” Croughton was killed in an head-on collision on November 10. Keris was active in the filk community from 1991, often running sound boards. In addition, Keris was a musician and a founding member of the n’Early Music Consort. Keris was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2007.

GUFF Race Underway

Steven H Silver — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 11:55:42 +0000

Kylie Ding and Grant Watson are this year’s candidates for GUFF, the Get-Up-and-Over Fan Fund. The winner of the race will travel from Autralasia to Europe for Olympus 2012, next year’s Eastercon in London. GUFF is not limited by geography, so anyone may vote. The voting deadline is January 22, 2012.

For more information…

Obituary: Frank Harwood

Steven H Silver — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:08:04 +0000

Las Vegas fan Frank Harwood (b.1952) died on October 2. Harwood was a founding member of Las Vegas Fandom in 1990 and throughout the 1990s was a regular attendee at meetings of SNAFFU and social events.

Obituary: Amy Paul

Steven H Silver — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:03:15 +0000

Baltimore area fan Amy Paul (b.1957) died on October 4 from lymphoma. Paul lived at the slanshack Fandom Republic in Baltimore in the mid-1980s when she became active in fandom. Paul was active in Balticon and helped run their Short (Amateur) Film contest. She went by the name Revered Blessing Bird.

Obituary: Barry Polonsky

Steven H Silver — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:52:09 +0000

Chicago area fan Barry Polonsky (b.1964) died on October 10 after a battle with cancer. Polonsky, who was known as “Oneleggedman,” was an attendee at many Chicago area science fiction conventions and was an active organizer of the Chicago Speculative Fiction Community.

Howe Resigned from BFS Committee

Steven H Silver — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:02:33 +0000

Following allegations concerning the administration of the British Fantasy Awards, David Howe has resigned from his position on the British Fantasy Society despite exoneration of any wrong-doing from the organization. Ramsey Campbell, the President of the organization, notes that Howe had stepped up to procure the awards, but had nothing to do with the nominations or tabulations of results and has thanked Howe for his service, particularly regarding the past year.

Campbell’s Statement

Obituary: Ella Mirkin

Steven H Silver — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:05:47 +0000

Fan Ella Mirkin (b.1949) died on September 14. Mirkin was an attendee at many Boston area conventions and served for many years on the concom for Readercon.

First Faneds Announced

Steven H Silver — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:55:39 +0000

The first Faned Awards, a Canadian award presented for fanzine activity, were presented on October 2 at VCON 36 in Vancouver, Canada by R. Graeme Cameron. Each winner will receive the Faned, a sculpture created by Lawrence Prime and a certificate designed by Taral Wayne. The first year’s awards were entirely selected by Cameron, who hopes to garner peer input in future years.

Best Fan Artist: Taral Wayne
Best Fan Writer: Garth Spencer
Best LoC Hack: Lloyd Penney
Best Fanzine: WARP, Cathy Palmer-Lister, Editor
Life-Time Achievement: “The Unknown Faned” who published Canada’s first SF fanzine in early 1936 under the title The Canadian Science Fiction Fan.

SMOFCon Scholarships

Steven H Silver — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 01:41:00 +0000

CanSMOF Inc. has announced two recipients of scholarships to help con-runners attend SMOFCon 29 in Amsterdam this December. Catherine Crockett of Toronto, Ontario and Megan Totusek of Maryville, Missouri will each receive scholarships of $1000 to help them attend.

TAFF Race

Steven H Silver — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 20:51:48 +0000

Warren Buff, Kim G. Kofmel, and Jacqueline Monahan have declared they are running for TAFF, to travel to the United Kingdom for Eastercon in 2012. The official ballot will be posted in the next few days.

Fore more information…

DeepSouthCon Awards

Steven H Silver — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 05:53:28 +0000

Two awards were presented by DeepSouthCon at FenCon VIII/DeepSouthCon 49 on September 25. The Rebel Award is presented to a fan who has done things for Southern fandom and the Phoenix Award is for an SF professional who has done things for Southern fandom. This year’s awards were presented by Steven H Silver and Toni Weisskopf.

Rebel Award: Brad W. Foster
Phoenix Award: Selina Rosen

In addition, the Rubble Award was presented to a fan for doing things to Southern fandom. This year’s Rubble Award was presented to Bill Parker for bringing Worldcon to San Antonio in 2013.

Kramer Arrested

Steven H Silver — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 04:30:59 +0000

Author and Dragon*Con founder Ed Kramer was arrested in Milford, CT and charged him with misdemeanor reckless endangerment of a child after he was found staying in a hotel with a fourteen year old boy. Kramer was in violation of the conditions of his bond from a previous arrest on allegations of child molestation, first made in 2000. Kramer’s bond has been revoked and he faces extradition to Georgia.

For more information…

Obituary: Dan Hoey

Steven H Silver — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 01:32:14 +0000

Washington DC area fan Dan Hoey committed suicide on August 31 at his home. Dan served as ~~Con~~Disclave chair in 1995 and was active is WSFA in the 1980s and 90s. In the 90s, he served WSFA as a trustee.

Obituary: Bill Kunkel

Steven H Silver — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 01:38:48 +0000

Fan artist Bill Kunkel (b.1950) died on September 4 following a fall. Bill’s artwork consisted of satirical cartoons and he also c0-founded the first magazine devoted to video and computer games, Electronic Games. Kunkel worked as a game designer, a comic book writer, and professional cartoonist.

Obituary: Paul Metz

Steven H Silver — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:19:55 +0000

Fan Paul Metz (b.1961) committed suicide on August 27. Metz was active in Bay Area fandom and a frequent attendee at Baycon. He worked for Atari writing computer games and hosted gaming nights at his home.

Obituary: Paul Cherry

Steven H Silver — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:11:20 +0000

Oklahoma City fan Paul Cherry died near the end of August. Cherry was active in running Soonercon and went into the hospital near the end of July.

Obituary: Richard Hoen

Steven H Silver — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:31:12 +0000

Fan Richard Hoen (b.1928) died on August 2, 2010. Hoen was a twenty-year old college student when he wrote a letter to John W. Campbell praising the contents of the November 1949 issue of Astounding. Campbell ran the letter and set about creating the issue Hoen has described, publishing it in November 1949. Interviewed by Time Magazine at the time, Hoen said he had entirely forgotten the letter by the time the predicted issue appeared.

Obituary: Paul Roberts

Steven H Silver — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:17:57 +0000

Fan Paul Roberts (b.1962) died on August 21 while driving home to Utah from Renovation. Roberts was killed when he struck a car making an illegal U-turn. Roberts had been working the Westercon table at Renovation and was active in Utah fandom.

Obituary: Bill Trojan

Steven H Silver — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:30:34 +0000

Fan and publisher Bill Trojan died on August 21 in his hotel room shortly after the end of Renovation. Trojan, was a Eugene, Oregon area fan, the owner of Escape Books, and a collector and reseller of SF, Collectable Comic, and Pulp Fiction era books and original cover artwork ~~was known for running Adventure House, which reprinted replicas of pulp adventure magazines and books~~. Trojan had been in Reno for the convention, where he was working as a volunteer.

Big Heart Award

Steven H Silver — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:51:25 +0000

Gay Haldeman was the recipient of this year’s Forrest J Ackerman Big Heart Award. The award was presented at the beginning of the Hugo ceremony by Dave Kyle.

World SF Travel Fund

Steven H Silver — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:37:57 +0000

The World SF Travel Fund is being established to help a member of the SF community to travel to a major genre event. The fund is currently trying to raise $6,000 in an effort to fund its first two years of operation. Unlike traditional fan funds which vote on the recipients of the funds, the World SF Travel Fund has a board which will decide who the fund recipient will be. The board is comprised of Lauren Beukes, Aliette de Bodard, Ekaterina Sedia, Cheryl Morgan, and Lavie Tidhar. The fund hopes to raise enough to bring Philippines fan and editor Charles Tan to the World Fantasy Con in San Diego in October of 2011.

For more information…

First Fandom Nominees

Steven H Silver — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 13:58:20 +0000

The nominees for this year’s first fandom hall of fame have been announced by Joan Marie Knappenberger. The award is presented for contributions to the field of science fiction dating back more than 30 years. The Sam Moskowitz Award is presented for excellence in science fiction collecting.

Hall of Fame Award

Jay Kay Klein
Ray Bradbury
Keith Stokes

Posthumous Hall of Fame Award

Oliver Saari

Sam Moskowitz Archive Award

Ray Palmer
Hannes Bok
William Hamling
Stephen D. Korshak

For more information…

WOOF Call for ‘Zines

Steven H Silver — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:58:36 +0000

Seattle fan Randy Byers has been announced as the editor of this year’s WOOF, (World Organization Of Faneditors). Any fanzine editors (including rookies) who would like to contribute ‘zines for inclusion, should contact Randy and give him a title and page count for the table of contents. As Renovation is the 69th Worldcon, each editor should supply 69 copies.

For more information…

Obituary: Shirlene Annanayo

Steven H Silver — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:19:26 +0000

Fan Shirlene Annanayo (b. 1967) died on June 30 after suffering two major strokes two weeks earlier. Annanayo was active in the South Florida Science Fiction Society and helped run several Tropicons, including chairing the 2001 convention. Annanayo was also active in Mercedes Lackey fandom.

Cake Takes the DUFF

Steven H Silver — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 19:49:11 +0000

David Cake won DUFF (the Down Under Fan Fund) over Paula McGrath. On his third race to come from Down under to North America, Cake received 80 votes to McGrath’s 57. A total of 148 votes were cast, with the remaining split between “No Preference,” “Hold Over,” and “None of the Above.” Cake will travel to North America to attend Renovation, this year’s Worldcon.

CUFF Winner Announced

Steven H Silver — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:51:09 +0000

Kent Pollard has been announced as the winner of this year’s Canadian Unity Fan Fund race. Pollard defeated Danielle Stephens 20-18-2 and will travel to CanVention, which is being held this year in conjunction with SFContario 2 in Toronto from November 18-20.

Obituary: Terry Jeeves

Steven H Silver — Mon, 30 May 2011 12:37:25 +0000

Fan artist Terry Jeeves died on May 29. Jeeves was a founder of the British Science Fiction Association and served as editor of its ‘zine, Vector. He also published his own fanzine, Erg for more than forty years and was the co-editor of Triode with Eric Bentcliffe. Jeeves won the Doc Weir Award for service to British fandom , the Rotsler Award, and in 2010 was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame. In 2010, Thomas Sadler published Wartime Daze, a fanzine tribute to Jeeves that included numerous articles and art by Jeeves.

Singular Effect Cornerstone Award

Steven H Silver — Mon, 23 May 2011 15:07:58 +0000

The Singularity Effect has announced the winner of its first Cornerstone Award, presented by a group of fans from the Carolinas to honor and acknowledge the achievements and contributions of other Carolina fans. The first award is presented to Jeff Smith, founder and organizer of the Mid-Atlantic Convention Expo (MACE). Smith has also worked on StellarCon, and running other conventions including Roc of Ages and BabTrek. The award will be presented at ConCarolinas in Charlotte during the weekend of June 3-5.

The Singularity Effect consists of Everette Beach, Paul Cory, James & Tera Fulbright, Laura Haywood Cory, Mill Mann, and Ron and Stephanie McClung.

TAFF Winner: John Coxon

Steven H Silver — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:54:05 +0000

John Coxon was declared the winner of a four-way TAFF race the day after the deadline. Coxon won with 27 European votes and 11 North American votes. A minimum of 27 European votes and 10 North American votes were required for victory. Graham Charnock received 20 North American votes, but only 20 European votes, Liam Proven received 75 European votes, but fell short of the North American vote requirement by one, and Paul Treadway received 10 European and 9 North American votes. A total of 189 votes were cast. Coxon will travel to the US to attend Renovation as this year’s TAFF delegate and will take over Steve Green’s administrative duties.
For more information…

DUFF Nominees

Steven H Silver — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 18:25:43 +0000

David Cake and Paula McGrath have been announced as the nominees for this year’s DUFF (Down Under Fan Fund) race. The winner of the race will travel to North America to attend Renovation and also tour North America. Anyone who were active in fandom before January 1, 2011 may vote. The voting deadline is March 31.

For more information…

Obituary: Marty Burke

Steven H Silver — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:24:44 +0000

Filker Marty Burke died on April 4. Burke ~~was a member of the Dorsai Irregulars and~~ wrote the songs “Rise and Strike for Dorsai” and “Drink to the Health of the Dorsai,” which won the Pegasus Award for Best Dorsai Song in 2007. Burke served as a president of the Michigan Astrological Research Society and was a student of Catholic Christian Rosicrucian mysticism. Burke and his wife, Diana Gallagher, were Super Secret Guests as GAFilk in 2003.

Ray Capella Exhibit

Steven H Silver — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:42:06 +0000

A memorial exhibit of Ray Capella’s art will take place in Pomona, CA on March 26 and 27. Capella, a member of LASFS, died in 2010. The exhibit will take place at the dA Center for the Arts, 252-D South Main Street in Pomona, California and will feature not only his professionally published work, but also art he provided for various fan publications.

Glicksohn Memorial

Steven H Silver — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:35:05 +0000

A memorial service will be held for Mike Glicksohn at the Windermere United Church, 356 Windermere Avenue in Toronto, Ontario on Wednesday March 23 at 7:00 pm. A memorial page is on-line at the Humberside Collegiate Alumni Association.

For the memorial page…

Obituary: Steve Davis

Steven H Silver — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:32:06 +0000

Fan Steve Davis (b.1938) died on March 18 following a battle with cancer. Davis was married to Grania Davis, who had formerly been married to Avram Davidson. Davidson lived with Steve and Grania for several years before Davidson’s death. Davis assisted in the translation of stories for the anthology The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories.