Checkpoint 33

CHECKPOINT 33 10th March 1973

Checkpoint is a fortnightly news and reviews zine published by Peter Roberts, 87 West Town Lane, Bristol, BS4 5DZ, UK. Subs are 10/40p (2nd Class & Europe) and 6/$1, 8/R1, 8/$1(Aus)(foreign airmail). Sample copy free.

Agents: (USA) Charlie & Dena Brown, 3400 Ulloa St, San Francisco, Calif. 94116; (Aus) Robin Johnson, Box 4039, Melbourne, Vic.3001; (RSA) Nick Shears, 52 Garden Way, Northcliffe 4, Johannesburg, Transvaal.

News this issue from: Gerald Bishop, Ian Maule, Harry Bell, Andy Porter (US), John Millard (Can).

Restormel Press Publication: 78.


NEWCASTLE IN 74: Gannetfandom have organized themselves sufficiently to make a bid for the 1974 British Eastercon in Newcastle-on-Tyne. More details next issue. The only other proposal so far is a London convention, largely devoted to comix and horror material, and run by Bram Stokes. Official bidding time is at this year's OMPAcon.

TORCON 2 NEWS: (John Millard, con chairman) "Total membership is now over 1100. We have received over 100 nominations for the Hugo Awards and about 60 for the John W.Campbell Award. Deadline for nominations is April 1st 1973.

"All memberships received up to February 21st have been mailed by printed matter rate. With the Postal System we have today, some have no doubt gone astray, so we would like to hear from those who haven't received their memberships and also from those who have changed their addresses." John also advises any potential attendees of the world convention to book Hotel reservations early – they can always be cancelled if your plans are changed. Space at the Royal York Hotel, Toronto, is limited, though there are no other conventions over the same period as TORCON 2. UK Agent, if you're inclined to join or want more information, is Pete Weston (31 Pinewall Av, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B38 9AE).

OMPACON NEWS: The third Progress Report has appeared and carries some details of proposed programme items. Films ordered include my personal favourite, Forbidden Planet, and also Dr.Strangelove and Voyage To The End of The Universe; there are various shorts as well and also the 2nd Delta Amateur Film Competition. Other items are nebulous, but Dave Kyle will chair a fannish panel and both Brian Aldiss and Jack Cohen will be doing something. Guest of Honour is Samuel Delany and membership is 50p from Fred Hemmings, 20 Beech Rd, Slough, Bucks. SL3 7DQ.

ROMPA: Ian Maule has taken over Brian Temple's idea of a new British apa called ROMPA, The Rival Offtrails Magazine Publishers' Association; "it is intended" says Ian "as a FUN apa along the same lines as the original SAPS in America." Anyone interested should contact Ian at 12 Weardale Av, Forest Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE12 0HX; British and foreign fans welcome – and so are suggestions at this stage.

"Checkpoint, the only fortnightly newszine in England that brings out three issues in two weeks – every month or so." (Peter Darling)


fanzines received

Amoeboid Scunge 10 (6pp:A4:d) Jay Cornell & Seth McEvoy, 105 E.Wilson, MSU, E.Lansing, Mi.48823, USA. (free) Scunge is turning into a fannish newszine, which can't be bad; it's a splendid fortnightly plunge into the mad minds of Chevy 39 fandom – Aljo Svoboda also contributes. Recommended. (7)

Cypher 9 (58pp:A4:d) James Goddard, Woodlands Lodge, Woodlands, Southampton. (20p) Another thick issue of Britain's other serious sf fanzine – fine cover and interior illos by Kevin Cullen and the typeface has at last changed to elite. Contents include an interview with Harry Harrison, an article by Brian Aldiss, various other articles, plus reviews, letters, and the regular cartoon strip. I never find Cypher very interesting, I'm afraid; but many others will recommend it – it's probably because Jim Goddard's stfnal tastes don't coincide much with my own (whereas Bruce Gillespie's, for example, do). (5)

Down Alien Skies 2 (4pp:fscp:d) Nick Shears & Greg Lee, 52 Garden Way, Northcliffe 4, Johannesburg, Transvaal. (10/65p) A Diplomacy zine which includes reviews and variants. Plenty of space for new players – contact Nick if you're interested.

Forthcoming Sf Books 12 (4pp:A4:d) Joanne Burger, 55 Blue Bonnet Ct, Lake Jackson, Tx.77566, USA. (3/$1) Lists of new American sf releases between January and April 1973.

Girl's Own Fanzine 1 (19pp:A4:d) Sue Smith, 78 Redgrave Rd, Normanhurst, NSW.2076, Australia. (free) A collection of articles by various Aussie femmefans, plus John Bangsund, with a common theme of fan marriages; the pieces range from the entertaining to the sickly, but altogether it's quite good and I look forward to future issues – the letter columns should be interesting, if nothing else... (4)

Instant Message 121 (2pp:A4:d) NESFA, Box G, MIT Branch Station, Cambridge, Ma.02139, USA. (?) New England Sf Association's regular newsletter – not of much interest to the outsider, except for news of local events like the annual Boskone con. (2)

Inworlds 3 (8pp:A4:d) Bill Bowers, PO Box 148, Wadsworth, Ohio 44281, USA. (5/$1) UK Agent: Terry Jeeves, 5/40p. This is Bill's new monthly fanzine about fanzines – it includes short reviews, news notes, and letters and oddments. Interesting and recommended. The latest Outworlds has appeared as well, by the way. (7)

Locus 133 (8pp:A4:d) Charlie & Dena Brown, 3400 Ulloa St, San Francisco, Calif.94116, USA. (10/$3.50) UK Agent: Pete Weston. A regular sf newszine, this Locus also includes a run-down on sf magazines by Tony Lewis. It's not a fun zine (except for the cartoons) but it is a useful one. (6)


FANZINES RECEIVED: There's still a stack waiting to be noted, I'm afraid, & they'll have to wait until next time. The number in brackets is a subjective rating on a 1-10 basis – I may often recommend fanzines that I personally don't care that much for, hence the numbers may help to indicate the sort of response I have to finding a particular fanzine in the morning post!

RANDOM MOVEMENT: Bill Bowers, PO Box 148, Wadsworth, Ohio 44281, USA.
Gerald Bishop, 1B St.Luke's Av, London, SE4 7LG.
Joe Patrizio, Schiehallion, 37 Gowantree Dr, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.
Andy Porter, PO Box 4175, New York NY.10017, USA.


the sercon page

BOOK NEWS FOR SF FREAKS: (compiled by Gerald Bishop)

March: hardback: Cape: Killer Pine (Gutteridge), The Mountain At the Bottom Of Worlds (Cameron), The Breast (Roth); Gollancz: The Fifth Head Of Cerberus (Wolfe), The Early Asimov, The Farthest Shore (Le Guin); Heinemann: A Nevil Shute Omnibus; Hodder: The Cloud Walker (Cooper); Hutchinson: Machines and Men (Roberts); Longman: Breed To Come (Norton).

Paperback: Arrow: The Isle of the Dead (Zelazny); Hodder: Wanderers Of Time, and Sleepers of Mars (Wyndham); Mayflower: Count Brass (Moorcock); NEL: Breakfast in the Ruins (Moorcock), The Weapon Makers (van Vogt); Pan: The Crock Of Gold (Stephens); Panther: All The Sounds Of Fear (Ellison), The Rest Of The Robots, The Martian Way and Nightfall One (Asimov), Second Stage Lensman (Smith), God Bless You, Mr.Rosewater and Slaughterhouse 5 (Vonnegut); Piccolo: Tales From The Galaxies (ed.Pearson & Williams-Ellis); Sphere: Beyond Bedlam (Guin), Starburst (Bester), The Game Players of Titan (Dick).

Paperback imports: Pan/Ballantine: The Sorcerer's Ship and Beyond The Golden Stair (Hannes Bok).

SFBC Selection: Conscience Interplanetary (Green).

£1,000 SF CONTEST: The Sunday Times & Victor Gollancz Ltd are offering £500 for the best unpublished sf novel and £500 for the best volume of unpublished sf stories, the prizes being open only to those who have not been published in book form before as sf writers (in other words, established mainstream authors welcome). Pseudonyms acceptable, as long as the real names are given to the publishers. Scripts should be typed, double-spaced, with return postage, and should be between 50,000 and 100,000 words; they should be sent to: The Sf Competition, Victor Gollancz Ltd, 14 Henrietta St, London, WC2E 8QJ, and should arrive between Oct.1st 1973 and Jan.31st 74. Judges will be Brian Aldiss, Arthur C.Clarke, Kingsley Amis, & John Bush (of Gollancz). The presentation of prizes will be at the 1974 Eastercon.

SF ON TV: (Gerald Bishop) On March 13th Brian Aldiss, Anne McCaffrey, Gerry Webb, and Ethel Lindsay, together with some non-fans, were closeted in the studios of London Weekend Television for a discussion – officially on Greybeard, Dragon-Flight, & War Of The Worlds, but unofficially on "What is sf all about." It won't appear until after the con and should finally be the second in a series entitled Cover to Cover. Gerry's comment afterwards was that it was "like a poor con panel" and barely touched upon fandom.

The BBC, meanwhile, has been in America filming, amongst others, Phil Dick, Isaac Asimov, Fred Pohl, and Forry Ackerman for an Omnibus programme called "The History of Sf". This won't appear until sometime after the end of May.

Yorkshire TV is also rumoured to be producing a similar programme. No more details yet.

NEXT CHECKPOINT: On hand are the April book releases and forthcoming sf books from Gollancz. Also available is American sf book news – any requests for this to be printed?


FANZINE NEWS: Egg 7 has actually appeared and will be posted out over the coming week; inland and European readers will probably receive it with this Checkpoint, since it saves a considerable amount of postage. Contents include columns from Ian Williams, John Brosnan, and 'Gray Boak', plus an article from Eric Bentcliffe and the usual lettercol. There may be a few spare copies – 15p from me or 35¢ from Seth McEvoy. // New Australian agent for Checkpoint is Robin Johnson (address in colophon) and the Aussie rate has gone down to 8/$1(Aus) to account for revaluation. I can now offer Robin's Norstrilian News at 8/50p (airmail) and Robin will also sell you Egg for 30¢(Aus). // Next Algol from Andy Porter will contain a series of articles on Cordwainer Smith, an article by Brian Aldiss, columns from Dick Lupoff and Ted White, plus reviews of British fanzines (with photos of their covers, yet!), and "lots of pretty good artwork." The whole issue will be typeset and the print run is 1500... The best is last, namely a centrespread of Astrid Anderson, Algol's first Play-Alien of the Month. The following will be Algol's 10th annish with articles by Ursula LeGuin, John Brunner, and Jack Williamson – "maybe even more nude centrespreads, if I can find any fans so willing..." UK Agent is Ethel Lindsay, by the way.

CHECKPOINT FAN POLL: A ballot is enclosed – please fill it in, kids. A free copy of Checkpoint 35, the second annish, will go to all voters. Deadline April 5th. The poll was late last year and this is an attempt to get it back on schedule. All last year's Top Ten fanzines are eligible again this year, I think, and there are some new ones around too, of course. Five points are given to your first choice, four to the second, down to one for the fifth; fairly straightforward, I trust. The Best Article thing also covers regular columns, by the way. Vote now.

THE PIT: Into the Pit this time, unless they renew, are James Campbell & James Farley (US).

AND THE PENDULUM: Only one more issue before the following are mown down: Ian Butterworth, Graham Poole, Bob Rickard, Ken Faig (US), George Wells (US), Melville Boyd (US), Lester van Epps (US), and William Sheck (US). Please renew soon.

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CHECKPOINT II 33

from:

Peter Roberts....
87 West Town Lane
Bristol, BS4 5DZ,
United Kingdom...

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