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| Fanac | |
|---|---|
| Name | Fanac |
| Occupation | Fandom activity |
Fanac.
Fanac denotes organized activity within speculative fiction and related communities, encompassing conventions, publications, clubs, and collaborative projects involving fans of Science fiction, Fantasy, Horror fiction, Comics, Anime, Manga, Gaming, Role-playing games, Cosplay, Fanzine culture, Fan art, and Fan fiction. It links creative practice to institutions such as World Science Fiction Convention, Worldcon, World Fantasy Convention, Comic-Con International, and Dragon Con, and connects individual practitioners with organizations like Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, British Science Fiction Association, and Future Science Fiction Library. Fanac spans local clubs, regional cons, and international networks including Internet Relay Chat, Usenet, LiveJournal, Tumblr, Reddit, and Discord communities.
The term traces to mid-20th century usage among members of Science fiction fandom, deriving from contraction and slang patterns in groups centered on Fanzine production, Fan clubs, and Amateur Press Associations. Its coinage occurred contemporaneously with the rise of Amazing Stories readership, Astounding Science Fiction fandom, and activities around conventions such as the World Science Fiction Convention and the Worldcon 1940. The lexicon spread through publications like File 770, Lan's Lantern, and ANZAPA outlets, being adopted by participants in Southern Fandom Confederation, New England Science Fiction Association, and Fan History projects.
Roots lie in early 20th-century letter columns of magazines like Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, and Astounding Science Fiction, where readers formed proto-clubs and exchanged news about writers such as H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and A. E. van Vogt. Organized activity crystallized with the formation of groups like the Futurian Society, the New York Science Fiction Society (The Lunarians), and regional clubs including The Futurians, The Hydra Club, and The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. These groups organized conventions inspired by events like the 1939 New York World's Fair and wartime gatherings that later evolved into conventions such as Worldcon, Philcon, ConGregate, and Eastercon. Key publications—Science Fiction Advertiser, The Comet, and Imagination!—documented early Fanac, while figures like Donald A. Wollheim, F. Orlin Tremaine, Sam Moskowitz, Ray Bradbury, and James Blish participated in both amateur and professional spheres.
Fanac includes event organizing for conventions such as Worldcon, World Fantasy Convention, Eastercon, MidAmeriCon, LonCon, and Concentric Horizons; publication of fanzines and small presses exemplified by File 770, Locus, Interzone, and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction; curation of panels and programming featuring guests like Ursula K. Le Guin, Neil Gaiman, Margaret Atwood, Octavia E. Butler, and J. R. R. Tolkien scholars. Activities embrace costuming at San Diego Comic-Con, New York Comic Con, and Anime Expo; organizing Role-playing sessions for systems such as Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, and GURPS; running masquerades, Art shows, Dealer rooms, and Filk performances. Volunteer practices involve ConCom coordination, bid campaigns for site selection like those for Worldcon 70, campaigning for awards such as the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, and Bram Stoker Award, and preserving archives in institutions like the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame and The British Library.
Fanzines have been central to Fanac, with seminal titles including File 770, Lan’s Lantern, The Fanac Fan, Mimosa, Voyage West, Granfalloon, The Fan, Nova Express, Cry of the Nameless, and Spockanalia fostering discourse about authors such as Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Raymond Chandler, and Arthur C. Clarke. Fanac publications coordinate reviews, locs, letters, and art by contributors associated with APA-L, FAPA, SAPS, OZAPA, and ANZAPA. Small presses and semiprozines including Locus, Interzone, Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Strange Horizons, and Asimov's Science Fiction often intersect with fan-driven content, while fan-led award juries, e.g., for the Hugo Awards and Fan Activity Achievement Awards (FAAn Awards), reflect sustained engagement. Preservation efforts by Fanac.org-style archives, university collections, and private libraries document the evolution of lettercols, zines, and apa exchanges.
Fanac structures social networks within organizations like Worldcon, Comic-Con International, World Fantasy Convention, Eastercon, Penguicon, Midwest FurFest, Dragon Con, Anime Expo, and Games Workshop-related events. It underpins volunteer systems—ConCom—and informal institutions such as Fan Funds (e.g., TAFF, GUFF), supporting travel of participants including editors, critics, and creators like John W. Campbell Jr. and Ellen Datlow to major gatherings. Fanac shapes discourse through panels, workshops, and academic crossovers with events like NecronomiCon, FAAn Awards presentations, Worldcon Masquerade, and archival exhibitions at museums such as The National Library of Scotland and The Library of Congress.
Historic instances of Fanac include the organization of the first Worldcon in 1939 and the activities of the Futurian Society and The Futurians; mid-century case studies involve the influence of File 770 and the campaigns of Sam Moskowitz and Donald A. Wollheim in shaping con culture. Contemporary examples include coordination of Worldcon 75, the growth of Comic-Con International programming, fan-led preservation initiatives by The Eaton Collection, The British Library, and community responses to controversies at Worldcon 2014 and debates around award nominations such as the Sad Puppies campaign and reactions involving figures like Brad Torgersen and Larry Correia. Regional case studies feature MidAmeriCon II, Loncon 3, Chicon, Philcon, Eastercon panels on diversity led by advocates formerly associated with Carl Brandon Society and SFWA outreach initiatives.
Category:Fandom