The Fantasy Amateur Press Association or FAPA ("FAP-uh") is

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 ...

's longest-established

amateur press association An amateur press association (APA) is a group of people who produce individual pages or zines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group. History The first APAs were formed by groups of amateur pr ...

("apa"). It was founded in 1937 by

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...

and

John B. Michel John B. Michel (1917–1969) was a science fiction author (sometimes publishing under the name Hugh Raymond) and editor associated with the Futurians, of which he was one of twelve founding members. He was elected director of the Futurians i ...

. They were inspired to create FAPA by their memberships in some of the non-

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

amateur press associations, which they learned about from H. P. Lovecraft. (It is also fandom's longest-running organization of any kind, preceding the founding of the runner-up, the

National Fantasy Fan Federation The National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F or NFFF) is one of the world's oldest science fiction fandom organizations. The organization was founded in April 1941 when all science fiction, horror, and fantasy literature was lumped into one category ca ...

, by nearly four years.) Like other APAs, FAPA is primarily an agency for distributing to its members publications published by its members at their own expense. FAPA has "mailings" every three months. Members are required to be active in some way — writing or publishing — and produce at least eight pages of activity a year. When needed, there are elections (in August) of a secretary-treasurer and official editor. Other officials have included Official Critics, a Laureate Committee, President, Vice-President, and ballot counters. The first two positions were abandoned by the mid-1940s, and in 2009 the positions of President and Vice-President were also eliminated. The President Emeritus is the author

Robert Silverberg Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand ...

, who was the last serving President and who has been an active member of FAPA longer than any other current member. When necessary, a teller for the annual officer elections was appointed by the secretary-treasurer. FAPA's original constitutional limit was 50 members to accommodate publishers using

hectograph The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame. While the original use of the technolo ...

s. There were 21 members listed on the roster of the first mailing in August 1937; it took until the November 1938 mailing to fill the 50-member roster. The membership limit was raised to 65 in 1943 and has remained at that level ever since. The early years of FAPA were stormy with party politics and sociological feuds (as recounted in the late

Jack Speer John Bristol Speer (August 9, 1920 – June 28, 2008) was an attorney, practicing law for over 60 years; a judge; and a member of the Washington House of Representatives. Also a long-time science fiction fan and important early historian of scie ...

's pioneering fan history, ''Up to Now''). In 1947, Speer reformed the constitution, and the Insurgents quashed the last inactive OE, Elmer Perdue. Since then official troubles have mostly not disturbed FAPA, and red tape has been held to a minimum. The constitution was again revised in 1958 (also by Speer) to incorporate amendments, bylaws, and practices adopted since 1947. Another major revision occurred in 2001 under the oversight of Robert Lichtman (Secretary-Treasurer since 1986 and still holding that office), clarifying and conforming constitutional requirements with actual practice. During the 1950s and 1960s FAPA was so popular and membership so sought after that the waiting list grew to monumental proportions, for a period of time exceeding the number of membership slots on the FAPA roster. A waiting list fee was instituted to cover the cost of sending the ''Fantasy Amateur'' to so many fans awaiting membership, and a requirement that waiting listers periodically acknowledge receipt of the ''Fantasy Amateur'' was begun in order to weed out those who lost interest during the long wait. By the '70s the waiting list became much smaller, and in more recent years (since the mid 1990s) has disappeared altogether. Additionally, the number of members has also shrunk as existing members died or otherwise dropped off the roster. As of August 2019, there were 17 active participants. FAPA continues to operate in the 21st Century as a connection to fandom's past, and a way for fans to timebind with those who came before. Find the Facebook Group called "FAPA - SF Fandom's Oldest Apa" for contact and membership information.

Members

Notable members over the years have included: *

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction authors, science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror ...

Gregory Benford Gregory Benford (born January 30, 1941) is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of ''Reason ...

*John D. Berry *

James Blish James Benjamin Blish () was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is best known for his ''Cities in Flight'' novels and his series of ''Star Trek'' novelizations written with his wife, J. A. Lawrence. His novel ''A Case of Conscienc ...

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

Marion Zimmer Bradley Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (June 3, 1930 – September 25, 1999) was an American author of fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction, and science fantasy novels, and is best known for the Arthurian fiction novel ''The Mists of Avalon'' an ...

*Charles Burbee *

F.M. Busby Francis Marion Busby (March 11, 1921 – February 17, 2005) was an American science fiction writer and science fiction fan. In 1960 he was a co-winner of the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine. Biography Francis Busby was born in Indianapolis, the son of ...

& his wife Elinor *

Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor. Background and discovery of fandom Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San ...

Jack Chalker Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring during 1978 to write full-time. He also was a ...

* Louis Russell Chauvenet *

Willis Conover Willis Clark Conover, Jr. (December 18, 1920 – May 17, 1996) was a jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America for over forty years. He produced jazz concerts at the White House, the Newport Jazz Festival, and for movies and televisi ...

Gordon Eklund Gordon Eklund (born July 24, 1945 in Seattle, Washington) is an American science fiction author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s '' Star Trek'' TV series. He has written under ...

E. Everett Evans Edward Everett Evans (November 30, 1893 – December 2, 1958) was an American science fiction writer and science fiction fandom, fan. He married science-fiction author Thelma D. Hamm in 1953. His works include the novels ''Man of Many Minds'' ( ...

*Ken Forman *

Richard E. Geis Richard E. Geis (July 19, 1927 – February 4, 2013) was an American science fiction science fiction fandom, fan and writer, and erotica writer, from Portland, Oregon, who won the Hugo Award for Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer, Best Fan Writ ...

* Steve Green *

Dean Grennell Dean A. Grennell (November 1, 1923 – April 10, 2004) was an American firearms expert, writer/editor, and active science fiction fan. He was the managing editor of ''Gun World'' magazine and editor of the science fiction fanzine ''Grue''. Bac ...

Jim Harmon James Judson Harmon (21 April 1933 – 16 February 2010), better known as Jim Harmon, was an American short story author and popular culture historian who wrote extensively about the Golden Age of Radio. He sometimes used the pseudonym Judson Gre ...

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, Wester ...

John-Henri Holmberg John-Henri Bertilson Holmberg (born 22 June 1949 in Stockholm) is a Swedish author, critic, publisher and translator, and a well-known science fiction fan. In the early 1960s he edited ''Science fiction Forum'' with Bertil Mårtensson and Mat ...

*Ben Indick *

Virginia Kidd Virginia Kidd (June 2, 1921 – January 11, 2003) was an American literary agent, writer and editor, who worked in particular in science fiction and related fields. She represented science fiction American authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin, R.A ...

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of "To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind th ...

*Francis Towner Laney *

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

Bob Leman Robert J. Leman (1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American science fiction and horror short story author, most associated with ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction''. He was not published until he was 45, but had been a member of First Fando ...

*Robert Lichtman *

Robert A.W. Lowndes Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes (September 4, 1916 – July 14, 1998) was an American science fiction author, editing, editor and science fiction fandom, fan. He was known best as the editor of ''Future Science Fiction'', ''Science Fiction (A ...

Richard Lupoff Richard Allen Lupoff (February 21, 1935 – October 22, 2020) was an American science-fiction and mystery author, who also wrote humor, satire, nonfiction and reviews. In addition to his two dozen novels and more than 40 short stories, he a ...

& his wife Pat *

David McDaniel David Edward McDaniel (16 June 1939 – 1 November 1977) was an American science fiction author, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based upon the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' Biography David McDaniel w ...

aka "Ted Johnstone" * Daniel L. McPhail *

Judith Merril Judith Josephine Grossman (January 21, 1923 – September 12, 1997), who took the pen-name Judith Merril around 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist, and one of the first women to be wid ...

(under maiden name Judy Zissman) *

John Michel Field Marshal Sir John Michel (1 September 1804 – 23 May 1886) was a British Army officer. He commanded the 6th Regiment of Foot during the Eighth Xhosa War in 1851 and served as Chief of Staff of the British Army's Turkish contingent during ...

Morojo Myrtle Rebecca Smith Gray Nolan ( Douglas; June 20, 1904 – November 30, 1964), known to science fiction history as Morojo or sometimes Myrtle R Douglas, was a science fiction fan, fanzine publisher, and cosplay pioneer from Los Angeles. Fand ...

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

Bruce Pelz Bruce Edward Pelz (August 11, 1936 – May 9, 2002) was a US science fiction fan. He was highly active in the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS) and a major SMOF, co-chairing the 30th World Science Fiction Convention. He also wrot ...

*Elmer Perdue *

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

Frank M. Robinson Frank Malcolm Robinson (August 9, 1926 – June 30, 2014) was an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer. He was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk and Milk's designated successor in the event of his death but decline ...

Milton A. Rothman Milton A. Rothman (November 30, 1919 – October 6, 2001) was a United States nuclear physicist and college professor. He was also an active science fiction fan and a co-founder of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. An occasional aut ...

William Rotsler Charles William Rotsler () was an American artist, cartoonist, pornographer and science fiction author. Rotsler was a four-time Hugo Award winner and one-time Nebula Award nominee. Rotsler's papers including dozens of matted color drawings, un ...

Julius Schwartz Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...

George Scithers George H. Scithers (May 14, 1929 – April 19, 2010) was an American science fiction fan, author and editor. A long-time member of the World Science Fiction Society, he published a fanzine starting in the 1950s, wrote short stories, and moved ...

* A. Langley Searles *

* Dick Smith *

*James Taurasi *

Bjo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom ...

& her husband John * Wilson Tucker * Harry Warner, Jr. * Charles Wells * Ted White *

References

Fancyclopedia

External links

Rob Hansen's "Who's Who in SF Fandom"Reference to archive at Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, MarylandBibliography of books about fandom, with multiple mentions of FAPA
{{Authority control Alternative media Science fiction organizations Organizations established in 1937 Newsletters