John Bangsund (21 April 1939 – 22 August 2020) was a prominent

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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 ...

fan in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He was a major force, with Andrew I. Porter, behind Australia winning the right to host the 1975 Aussiecon, and he was Toastmaster at the

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 a ...

ceremony at that convention.

Work

Bangsund was an influential and founding member of ANZAPA – the Australian and New Zealand Amateur Press Association; and long-time editor of the newsletter for the Victorian Society of Editors in Australia (of which he was an honorary life memberSociety of Editors Newsletter March 2007
/ref>). His fanzine, ''Australian Science Fiction Review'' (ASFR), did much to help revive science fiction fandom in Australia during the 1960s. He was co-chair of the 9th Australian S.F. Convention (1970), and Fan Guest of Honor at Ozcon (1974 Australian National SF Convention). Bangsund was the instigator of the term Muphry's law, which states that "if you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written".

Personal life and death

Bangsund was married to Sally Yeoland, who announced on his

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page that on 22 August 2020, he had died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...

Awards

Hugo Award for Best Fanzine The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...

1967, ''Australian SF Review'', nominated *

1968, ''Australian SF Review'', nominated *

Ditmar Award The Ditmar Award (formally the Australian SF ("Ditmar") Award; formerly the "Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award") has been awarded annually since 1969 at the Australian National Science Fiction Convention (the "Natcon") to recognise a ...

Best Australian Amateur Science Fiction Publication or Fanzine 1969, ''Australian SF Review'', winner *

Best Australian Fanzine 1972, ''Scythrop'', nominated *

Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer The Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer is the Hugo Award given each year for writers of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines or in generally available electroni ...

1975, nominated *

Best Australian Fan Writer 1979, nominated *

William Atheling Jr Award 1979, ''Parergon Papers 10'', ANZAPA, Oct 1978, nominated *

Chandler Award The Chandler Award is presented by the Australian Science Fiction Foundation for "Outstanding Achievement in Australian Science Fiction". It is named in recognition of the contribution that science fiction writer A. Bertram Chandler made to Aust ...

, 2001 *FAAN Lifetime Achievement Award, 2016

Book references

*''Approaches to the Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin'' by James Warren Bittne
Approaches to the Fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin
*''The History of the Science-fiction Magazine'' by Michael Ashleybr>Transformations: The Story of the Science-fiction Magazines from 1950 to 1970
*''The Language of the Night'' by

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, Susan Woodbr>The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction
*''Overland'' by O.L. Societ
Overland
*''Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index, 1992-1995'' by Halbert W. Hal
Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index, 1992-1995: An International Subject and Author Index to History and Criticism

Bibliography

Edited

*''John W. Campbell: An Australian tribute'' (1972)

Major fanzines

*''Australian SF Review'' (1966–69) - twice nominated for a

*''Scythrop'' (1969–1972) *''Philosophical Gas'' *''Parergon Papers''

Essays

*John Bangsund, "1968 and All That

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangsund, John 1939 births 2020 deaths Science fiction critics Australian speculative fiction critics Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia