NorthAmeriCon '79 was the second

North American Science Fiction Convention NASFiC, a.k.a. the North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled only during years where the Worldcon is being held outside the North American continent. NASFiC bids are voted on by the membership of the Wo ...

, held in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on August 30-September 3, 1979, at the Galt House Hotel. This NASFiC was held because

Brighton, England Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, was selected as the location for the 1979 Worldcon.

Guests of honor

* Frederik Pohl, pro *

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 ...

, fan

Information

Site selection

After the 1979 Worldcon was awarded to a site in England, Louisville was chosen as the site for the second NASFiC during the WSFS business meeting at Suncon, the

35th World Science Fiction Convention The 35th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as SunCon, was held on 2–5 September 1977 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. The chairman was Don Lundry. Participants Attendance was approxi ...

, in Miami Beach, Florida. Louisville ran unopposed and was chosen by acclamation during the business meeting.

Committee

NorthAmeriCon '79 was put together, in part, by the organizers of RiverCon, a local Louisville convention. * Chair: Cliff Amos * Vice-Chair: Bob Roehm * Operations: Ken Amos * Registrar: Steve Francis * Special Events: Shelby Bush and Irvin Koch * Publications: Bob Roehm * Art Show: Ken & Lou Moore * Film Program: Mike Hutto and Mike Jenevice

The official convention newsletter, known as ''Nebula'', was produced by Richard and Nicki Lynch. The Lynches produced the award-winning fanzine ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...

'' from 1982 to 2003.

Events

*"Best in Show" at the Masquerade was won by a burlesque skit titled "The Avengers of Space" organized by Carol Resnick and including her husband, author

Mike Resnick Michael Diamond Resnick (; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct ma ...

Notable program participants

Steve Jackson, later of Steve Jackson Games, was in attendance. In ''

Space Gamer Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

'' #29, he noted: "Labor Day, 1979: I was at North Americon in Louisville, trying to relax. In my spare moments, I would occasionally gaze at my briefcase and grin mindlessly. It contained a completely typeset copy of TFT:ITL" (i.e. ''

The Fantasy Trip ''The Fantasy Trip'' (''TFT'') is a tabletop role-playing game designed by Steve Jackson and originally published by Metagaming Concepts. In 2019, ''TFT'' was republished by Steve Jackson Games as ''The Fantasy Trip'' Legacy Edition. History ...

: In the Labyrinth'', which would not be published until the following year).

References

External links

NASFiC Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northamericon '79 North American Science Fiction Convention Festivals in Louisville, Kentucky 1979 in the United States 1979 in Kentucky