In comments to recent news about 2010 Hugo Awards going to Frederik Pohl and Jack Vance, redbird asks an interesting question:

Does that make Vance the oldest person to win a Hugo?Jack Williamson's Hugo for "Ultimate Earth," awarded at the Millenium Philcon in 2001, leapt to mind ( Read more... )

Frederik Pohl, now 90, is not the oldest person to have won a Hugo last night.

Congratulations to ( (The envelope, please...) )

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The 2010 Hugo nominees have been announced. To my delight, one of the Best Fan Writer nominees* is James Nicoll, who has been posting witty and thought-provoking things to computer networks for twenty years or more. I think it is high time fandom recognized a man whom a machine recently described as " 75% Sage and 75% FoolRecent Worldcon ( Read more... )

Thanks to crack librarians in Boise, we have an obituary for Warren Fitzgerald.

Since he dropped out of active participation in both the Scienceers and the rocketry group by the end of 1930, he may well be the first fan ever to gafiate.

(If you wish to comment, please do so here.)

I may be on the trail of the birthplace of science fiction fandom (for certain values of "birthplace").

Last week Rob Hansen pointed out, to Boingboing and Tor.com, that 11 December 1929 was the occasion of the founding meeting of the Scienceers, which seems to have been the first science fiction fan club, at least the first club where the ( Read more... )

Frederik Pohl, a legend of science fiction, turns 90 today. Here's what I wrote on his blog:

Happy ninetieth birthday, Fred. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Thanks for all the books and stories; thanks for your part in building the now-sprawling edifice we call science fiction.

Keep telling stories!


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Winthrop Sargeant writes about the world of science fiction in Life, 21 May 1951.

(Apparently Life is now available at Google Books.)

2008: A Pungent Message
I received a very peculiar e-mail today: an offer to sell a sauce factory. In India. It can also bottle pickles, relishes, and chutneys.

Your opportunity to buy a plant making and bottling sauces, pickles, relishes and chutneys ( Read more... )

Congratulations to Sam WINOLJ, who, I know, sometimes reads this.

And to Bonnie, who has just become Mrs. WINOLJ.

May the honeymoon be even longer than the courtship.