FANDOM

   The active readership of sf and fantasy, maintaining contacts through FANZINES and CONVENTIONS. Fandom originated in the late 1920s, shortly after the appearance of the first SF MAGAZINES. Readers contacted each other, formed local groups (some of which, notably the SCIENCE FICTION LEAGUE, were professionally sponsored), and soon began publication of APAS and other amateur magazines, which came to be known collectively as fanzines. The first organized convention was held in Leeds, UK, in 1937 and the first World SF Convention in New York in 1939 (although it gained its name from the holding in that year of the World's Fair in New York). From the 1920s to the 1950s, when sf was a minority interest, the number of people in fandom was small, probably no more than 500 at any one time. Since the 1960s, however, the number has steadily increased to over 10,000 - though this figure, of course, represents no more than a tiny fraction of the wider sf readership. Fandom is, like GENRE SF, primarily a US phenomenon, though other English-speaking countries quickly adopted the concept. Continental Europe, Japan and elsewhere followed much later; but increasing translation of and interest in sf has now spread fandom to some 30 countries, from Mexico to Norway. It is made up of both readers and writers of sf; many authors started as fans and many fans have written sf, so there is no absolute distinction between the two groups. Fans themselves are mainly young and male with higher education and a scientific or technical background, but exceptions are numerous and the stereotype is becoming less pronounced. Many more women entered fandom in the 1970s and 1980s.Fandom is not a normal hobbyist group. It has been suggested that, if sf ceased to exist, fandom would continue to function quite happily without it. That is an exaggeration; but it indicates the difference between sf fans and ostensibly similar groups devoted to Westerns, romances, detective fiction, etc. The reason may lie in the fact that sf is a speculative literature and consequently attractive to readers actively interested in new ideas and concepts, in addition to those idly seeking entertainment. Early fans took part in rocketry, radical politics and quasi-utopian experiments; later fans seem to find fanzines, conventions and the interaction of fandom itself a sufficient outlet for their energies and ideas. Though fandom has a tradition and history, even a FAN LANGUAGE, fans are notably independent; relatively few belong to national organizations such as N3F or the BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION, and many publish individual and independent fanzines, a fact that at least one outside sociologist - Fredric Wertham (1895-1981) in The World of Fanzines (1973)-has found remarkable and even "unique".There is a fannish word "fiawol", an acronym for "fandom is a way of life": the joke is not altogether untrue. Just as sf is unrestricted in the scope of its interests, so too are fans and fandom. Fandom is thus a collection of people with a common background in sf and a common interest in communication, whether through discussion, chatter, correspondence or fanzine publishing. The result is more nearly a group of friends, or even a subculture, than a simple fan club or a literary society.There have always been divergent interest groups within fandom, and during the 1980s these tended to split more obviously. The most basic division, perhaps, is between those fans whose main love is written sf and the so-called media fans, who prefer sf in the form of CINEMA, TELEVISION or COMICS. Even among fans of written sf, fanzine fans and convention fans have become separate groups, though there is substantial overlap; comics fans have their own conventions, and there are other special-interest groups in media fandom who may be primarily interested in, for example, STAR TREK (the "Trekkies") or DR WHO; there is even a games fandom, with a particular interest in role-playing games (GAMES AND TOYS).Various aspects of US fan history are covered in, among others, The Immortal Storm (1954) by Sam MOSKOWITZ, All our Yesterdays (1969) and A Wealth of Fable (1976 in mimeo form) by Harry WARNER Jr, The Futurians (1977) by Damon KNIGHT and The Way the Future Was: A Memoir (1978) by Frederik POHL. The fullest history of UK fandom takes the form of a fanzine, Then, written and published by Rob Hansen: the 180pp of \#1, \#2 and \#3 (1988-91) cover the story to the end of the 1960s; more are projected.

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   See also: FAPA; FUTURIANS; OMPA; RATFANDOM.