Peter Weston (19 October 1943 – 5 January 2017) was a British

science fiction fan 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 ...

from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, UK. Weston made many contributions in fan writing,

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

editing, convention-running and in local science fiction clubs. His 1960s pseudonym "Malcolm Edwards" caused some confusion several years later, when a real

Malcolm Edwards Malcolm John Edwards (born 3 December 1949) is a British editor and critic in the science fiction field. An alumnus of The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, he received his degree from the University of Cambridge. He was Deputy CEO at the Orion ...

began contributing to British fanzines. They met in 1970. He produced the first issue of the science fiction fanzine ''Zenith'' (later ''Speculation'') in 1963 and he edited the ''Andromeda'' series of original anthologies from 1975 until 1977. In 2006, following the success of his Hugo-nominated memoir ''With Stars in My Eyes'', Weston relaunched his fanzine ''Prolapse'' (re-titled ''Relapse'' in 2009), after a 23-year hiatus. He was rewarded with a pair of

Nova Awards A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

the following year, for "best fanzine" and "best fan" (the latter being a committee award). As well as organising a series of science fiction symposia in Birmingham inspired by ''Speculation'', Weston co-founded the

Birmingham Science Fiction Group The Birmingham Science Fiction Group (BSFG), also known as the "Brum Group", held its first meeting on 25 June 1971. It runs regular meetings in Birmingham, England, where SF fans can meet one another and professionals in the field in a friendly ...

(BSFG) in 1971 and helped originate the convention

Novacon Novacon is an annual science fiction convention, usually held each November in the English Midlands. Launched in 1971, it has been hosted by the Birmingham Science Fiction Group since 1972. History The first Novacon was organised by the University ...

later that same year. He later chaired Seacon '79, the third

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

to be held in the UK, and in October 2008 ran Cytricon V at the George Hotel in Kettering, a sequel to and commemoration of the event at which the modern

British Science Fiction Association The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British academics, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to promote the writing, criticism, and study of science fiction ...

was created. At the last, a surprise ceremony was held, inducting him and fellow science fiction fan Rog Peyton into the long-dormant "fannish" organisation the Knights of Saint Fantony. Since 1984, the

Hugo Awards 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 ...

(modelled in the shape of rockets and presented at the annual Worldcon) have been cast by the car-parts factory which Weston owned and managed until he retired.

Awards and honours

* 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971 nominee for

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 ...

* 1973 Nova award winner, "best fanzine" for ''Speculation'' * 1974

TAFF Taff may refer to: * River Taff, a large river in Wales * ''Taff'' (TV series), a German tabloid news programme * Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, an organisation for science fiction fandom People * a demonym for anyone from south Wales * Jerry Taff ( ...

winnerhttp://taff.org.uk/reports/pw1.html Weston's memoir of his TAFF tour * 1975 Doc Weir Award winner * 2005 nominee for

Hugo Award for Best Related Book The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...

for ''With Stars in My Eyes: My Adventures in British Fandom'' * 2007 Nova award winner, "best fanzine" for ''Prolapse'' * 2007 Nova award winner, "best fan" (committee award) He has been an official guest at a number of conventions, including: *1974 Fan Guest of Honour: Tynecon *2000 Special Guest: Boskone 37 *2002 Guest of Honour: Helicon 2 *2004 Fan Guest of Honor:

Noreascon 4 The 62nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Noreascon 4, was held on 2–6 September 2004 at the Hynes Convention Center, Sheraton Boston Hotel and Boston Marriott Copley Place in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. T ...

(2004 Worldcon)

References

External links

Noreascon 4 GoH BioOnline supplement to With Stars in My Eyes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weston, Peter 1943 births 2017 deaths Science fiction fans