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Walt Willis
Walter Alexander Willis (1919–1999) was a well-known Irish science fiction fan, resident in Belfast. Work Willis was awarded a 1958 Hugo Award as "Outstanding Actifan" (active fan), which replaced the Best Fanzine category that year. He was nominated for a best fan writer Hugo in 1969 and two retro-Hugos in the same category (in 2001, 2004 for work in 1951, 1954). In 1959 and 1957 he was nominated in the fanzine category for ''Hyphen'', and he received fanzine retro-Hugo nominations in 2004 for ''Slant'' and ''Hyphen''. He shared a retro-Hugo for ''Slant'' with that fanzine's art editor James White. His best known single work is ''The Enchanted Duplicator'' (1954), co-written with Bob Shaw, an allegory of a fan's quest to produce the perfect fanzine. This appeared to be closely modeled on The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan (though Willis and Shaw denied having read it beforehand). Along with White, Shaw, George Charters, Ian McAulay, and John Berry (an English policeman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although formal clubs such as the Futurians (1937–1945) and the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (1934–present) are recognized examples of organized fandom). Most often called simply "fandom" within the community, it can be viewed as a distinct subculture, with its own literature and jargon; marriages and other relationships among fans are common, as are multi-generational fan families. Origins and history Science fiction fandom started through the letter column of Hugo Gernsback's fiction magazines. Not only did fans write comments about the stories—they sent their addresses, and Gernsback published them. Soon, fans were writing letters directly to each other, and meeting in person when they lived close together, or when one of them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
10th World Science Fiction Convention
The 10th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known unofficially as Chicon II, was held on the Labor Day weekend, 30 August–1 September 1952, at the Morrison Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The convention chair was Julian C. May (later also known as Judy Dikty). Participants For years this Worldcon held the record for the largest attendance at any early science fiction convention, with 870 registered attendees, a figure which was not surpassed by another Worldcon until 1967 for NyCon 3 in New York City. By way of comparison, the previous year's Worldcon, the Nolacon in New Orleans, had an attendance of approximately 190. Guests of Honor * Hugo Gernsback Programming and events The program included the performance of an original science fiction ballet. Awards It was at this Worldcon that the idea for the Hugo Awards was first proposed and adopted. These awards, the highest and oldest honor in science fiction, were first awarded at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Science Fiction Writers From Northern Ireland
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for scientific reasoning is tens of thousands of years old. The earliest written records in the history of science come from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in around 3000 to 1200 BCE. Their contributions to mathematics, astronomy, and medicine entered and shaped Greek natural philosophy of classical antiquity, whereby formal attempts were made to provide explanations of events in the physical world based on natural causes. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, knowledge of Greek conceptions of the world deteriorated in Western Europe during the early centuries (400 to 1000 CE) of the Middle Ages, but was preserved in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age and later by the efforts of Byzantine Greek scholars who brought Greek man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Male Writers
Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ** Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state * Irish language, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family spoken in Ireland * Irish people, people of Irish ethnicity, people born in Ireland and people who hold Irish citizenship Places * Irish Creek (Kansas), a stream in Kansas * Irish Creek (South Dakota), a stream in South Dakota * Irish Lake, Watonwan County, Minnesota * Irish Sea, the body of water which separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain People * Irish (surname), a list of people * William Irish, pseudonym of American writer Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968) * Irish Bob Murphy, Irish-American boxer Edwin Lee Conarty (1922–1961) * Irish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 Deaths
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootings in the United States; the Year 2000 problem ("Y2K"), perceived as a major concern in the lead-up to the year 2000; the Millennium Dome opens in London; online music downloading platform Napster is launched, soon a source of online piracy; NASA loses both the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander; a destroyed T-55 tank near Prizren during the Kosovo War., 300x300px, thumb rect 0 0 200 200 Death and state funeral of King Hussein rect 200 0 400 200 1999 İzmit earthquake rect 400 0 600 200 Columbine High School massacre rect 0 200 300 400 Kosovo War rect 300 200 600 400 Year 2000 problem rect 0 400 200 600 Mars Climate Orbiter rect 200 400 400 600 Napster rect 400 400 600 600 Millennium Dome 1999 was designated as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1919 Births
Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the coast of the Hebrides; 201 people, mostly servicemen returning home to Lewis and Harris, are killed. * January 2– 22 – Russian Civil War: The Red Army's Caspian-Caucasian Front begins the Northern Caucasus Operation against the White Army, but fails to make progress. * January 3 – The Faisal–Weizmann Agreement is signed by Emir Faisal (representing the Arab Kingdom of Hejaz) and Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, for Arab–Jewish cooperation in the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East. * January 5 – In Germany: ** Spartacist uprising in Berlin: The Marxist Spartacus League, with the newly formed Communist Party of Germany and the Independent Social De ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
50th World Science Fiction Convention
The 50th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MagiCon, was held on 3–7 September 1992 at the Clarion Hotel, The Peabody Orlando, and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States. The chairman was Joe Siclari. The vice-chairman was Becky Thomson. Participants Attendance was 5,319, out of 6,368 paid memberships. Guests of Honor * Jack Vance (pro) * Vincent Di Fate (artist) * Walter A. Willis (fan) * Spider Robinson (toastmaster) * Mike Resnick (oastmaster for the Meet-the-Pros party) Awards 1992 Hugo Awards The 1992 Hugo Award base included a black stone backdrop featuring an astronomical scene hand-painted by base designer Phil Tortoricci. The base included orange grating from Cape Canaveral's Pad 29, launch site of America's first successful space satellite, Explorer I. * Best Novel: ''Barrayar'' by Lois McMaster Bujold * Best Novella: "Beggars in Spain" by Nancy Kress * Best Novelette: "Gold" by Isaac Asimov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down Under Fan Fund
The Down Under Fan Fund, also known as ''DUFF'', was created in 1970 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. History DUFF was created by John Foyster in 1970 as a means of increasing the face-to-face communication between science fiction fans in Australia and New Zealand, and North America. It coincides with the push within Australian fandom to host the World Science Fiction Convention in Australia in 1975, ( Aussiecon), and the rise of fanzine fandom centred on Melbourne, Australia; e.g. ''Australian SF Review'', ''SF Commentary'', '' ANZAPA''. He based the procedures of DUFF on the already-existing Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund (TAFF), which began in 1952. Funding DUFF is funded through the support of fandom. Candidates are voted on by interested fans all over the world, and each vote is accompanied by a donation of not less than $US5 or A$6. These donations, and the co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TransAtlantic Fan Fund
The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as ''TAFF'', is a crowdfunding project created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, across the Atlantic. History The first international fan fund, the ''Big Pond Fund'', was established to get Ted Carnell to the 1947 Worldcon, though it was the 1949 Worldcon he eventually attended. TAFF's roots lie in the successful effort to bring Walt Willis to the 1952 Worldcon in Chicago. Willis published the founding document for TAFF in ''Hyphen'' 4 (October 1953) following a discussion with "the available leaders of British fandom" at that year's Coroncon. Since that time TAFF has regularly brought North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions. The success of TAFF has inspired other regular fan funds between North America and Australia, Europe and Australia, and even Eastern and West ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lee Hoffman
Lee Hoffman, born Shirley Bell Hoffman, (August 14, 1932 in Chicago, Illinois – February 6, 2007 in Port Charlotte, Florida) was an American science fiction fan, an editor of early folk music fanzines, and an author of science fiction, Western and romance novels. Career In 1950–53, she edited and published the highly regarded science fiction fanzine, ''Quandry''. In November 1951, she began publication of ''Science-Fiction Five-Yearly'', which has appeared regularly since then (the 2006 issue ran 58 pages). Hoffman used a gender-neutral name within science fiction fandom, and many believed that she was a man. In 1952, she 'came out' as a leading editor of the science fiction fanzine ''Quandry'' at the 1952 Chicago World Con. Briefly married to editor Larry Shaw from 1956 to 1958, she was the assistant editor on the science fiction magazines he edited, ''Infinity Science Fiction'' and ''Science Fiction Adventures''. During that same time, she began editing and publishing he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier award in science fiction. The award is administered by the World Science Fiction Society. It is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine ''Amazing Stories''. Hugos were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. The awards were originally given in seven categories. These categories have changed over the years, and the award is currently conferred in seventeen categories of written and dramatic works. The winners receive a trophy consisting of a stylized rocket ship on a base; the design of the trophy changes each year, though the rocket itself has been standardized since 1984. The Hugo Awards are considered "the premier award in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
