Checkpoint 59

CHECKPOINT is published by Darroll Pardoe, 24 Othello Close, Hartford, Huntingdon PE18 7SU, England. It is available for news or trades, or for 10/60p (Overseas: 10/60F Belgium, 10/6F France, N.America airmail 10/$2.00, Australia airmail 8/$1.00. No foreign cheques, please). Free sample on request. Our telephone number is 0480-56072. This issue dated February 18th 1975. A.93. Heading in Blanchard Solid.

THE FANZINE ACTIVITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS The setting up of these awards has now been finalised, and British subscribers to CP will find a ballot form enclosed with their copy. [* Added, handwritten: Following shortly.] I'm the British agent, and Peter Roberts and myself constitute the UK membership of the committee which is currently administering the Awards. We also constitute the credentials sub-committee for British nominations. I hope that British fans will take an interest in these Awards, which should fill a long-felt gap in the fan world, a gap which the Hugo fanzine award does not fill. One thing we still need is a good pet name for the Awards; if anyone has a nice one we'd be glad to hear it.

NOVACON 5 has now announced the location of its hotel. This is the ROYAL ANGUS HOTEL, in St. Chad's Queensway, Birmingham. The time is November 7th to 9th, 1975, and the Guest of Honour is DAN MORGAN, Registration is 75p to Pauline Dungate, Flat 4, 144 Monyhull Hall Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham.

SEACON 75 The British Easter Convention (only six weeks away, now!) has issued its third progress report. Unfortunately, Mike Moorcock has had to withdraw as GoH, but HARRY HARRISON has stepped into the gap and will be Guest of Honour in his place. Registration at SEACON (which is to be held in the De Vere Hotel at that well known South-East coastal resort, Coventry) is £2.50 to 19 Ranmoor Gardens, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1UQ.

BENELUXCON 3 (Alias SFANCON 6) has run into difficulty with its proposed venue. The University of Antwerpen had agreed to take the convention (last year's similar arrangement at Gent worked rather well) but the Belgian Government put pressure on them to allow a meeting of (of all things) NATO instead. So NATO is in and BENELUXCON is turfed out into the cold. Simon Joukes is now looking for a hotel site. The British agent is Vernon Brown, Pharmacy Dept., University of Aston, Birmingham B4 7ET. Send him 50p for supporting registration. The GoH is JAMES WHITE and the Fan GoH is Waldemar Kumming. Date is 18-21 July 1975.

FANTASYCON is the name of a one-day meeting being organized by the British Fantasy Society for Saturday February 22nd. Non-members will be welcome, and can send 50p to Sandra Sutton, 194 Station Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7TE or just turn up on the day. Ramsey Campbell will talk on Lovecraft, and Keith Walker will discourse on fanzines; there will also be an art display and other items. It's at the Imperial Centre Hotel, Birmingham.

THE TOLKIEN SOCIETY AGM and Dinner is this year being held (for members only) at the Bloomsbury Centre Hotel in Coram Street, London WC, on February 22nd (clashing with the BFS meeting on the same day, I'm afraid). The guests will include Miss Priscilla Tolkien, and Mrs. Horrocks (the Mastermind winner on TV).

SCIENCE FICTION 75 is the title of a series of talks being organised by ICA in London (The Mall, Nash House, London SW1). The time is Wednesdays at 7.30 pm. February 26th is Brian Aldiss on 'SF and the Nature of Time'; March 5th is Tom Disch on 'SF and Cheese'; March 12th is Peter Nicholls on 'SF: The Monsters and the Critics'; March 19th is Phil Dick on 'The Man, The Android and the Machine'.

(Jim Linwood)

FANZINES RECEIVED

A FLYING WHAT 1,2 (Joe Walter, P0 Box 1077, Fort Bragg, CA 95437, USA) (20¢ or the usual) This new fanzine hasn't settled down to a tidy layout yet, but the contents are pleasantly varied in a fannish kind of way. Fanzine reviews by Mike Bracken. The front cover of #1 would shock one or two British fans I can think of.

FANTABULOUS CRUD and DISASSOCIATION (Joe Walter) are one-shots riding along with FLYING WHAT. Joe succumbs to the temptation to plan out his future fanzine publishing ideas in print: most fans do this occasionally, but they never seem to stick to what they've said. I wonder if Joe will be the exception?

*THE SPANISH INQUISITION 3 (Jerry Kaufman and Suzanne Tompkins, 622 W 114th Street, Apt. 52A, New York, NY 10025, USA) (25¢ or usual). Now a genzine, though still with a lot of material on films. And I always like to read fanzines where people talk about their travels, to conventions or otherwise.

SF ECHO 21 (Ed Connor, 1805 N.Gale, Peoria, IL 61604, USA) ($1.00) Fandom's oddest shaped fanzine. Paul Walker interviews Brian Aldiss (though it comes out rather fragmented) and the letter column is well up to standard.

SOG 33 (GRAFAN, Box 14268, Tower Grove PO, St Louis, MO 63163, USA) (membership is $5 a year). Local news and a good listing of upcoming conventions.

SON OF THE WSFA JOURNAL 161-166 (Don Miller, 12315 Judson Road, Wheaton, MD 20906, USA) (10/$2; I think Eric Bentcliffe is still British agent) Three 'double' issues, full of the usual news and reviews.

*OUTWORLDS 21/22 (Bill Bowers, Box 2521, North Canton, OH 44720, USA.) ($1.50 or usual) Newsprint, in two parts. Eric Mayer has a glorious faan version of 'The Exorcist' which alone would be worth getting OW for. This is a fanzine not to be missed.

SFRA NEWSLETTER 36 (H.W.Hall, 3608 Meadow Oaks Lane, Bryan, TX 77801, USA) (for SFRA members) Criticism and bibliography.

INFO 1:1 (J.C.Raasfeld and RA.J. Zielschot, Boerhaavelaan 88, Utrecht) (f 12.50/4) Nicely printed, mostly a comic strip (Lex Brand) in Dutch.

DE PROFUNDIS 74 (Barry Gold, 2471 Oak Street, Santa Monica, CA 901105, USA) ($3.00/yr) The LASFS newsletter.

NEBULA 4 (David Taylor, 15 Alwyn Gds, Upton-by.Chester, Cheshire) (4/60p). There's a whole unsuspected alternate fandom in Britain. This fmz (mostly fiction) is a manifestation of it.

*FIRST DRAFT 1 (John Bangsund, P0 Box 357, Kingston, ACT 2604, Australia) John's new personalzine, very informal and chatty, and the kind of fmz that makes fandom really worth being in.

ASH-WING 15 (Frank Denton, 14654 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98166, USA) A review of 'The Lion of Boaz-Jachin' no less: strange that more people haven't read or mentioned this low-key fantasy (but why Boaz and Jachin?) Also, by golly, Michael Carlson writes about Delaware, Ohio.

THE SPANG BLAH 2:4 (Jan Finder, PSC Box 614, US Air Base, 33081 Aviano, Italy) (usual) International newszine with a European emphasis for US readers.

GEGENSCHEIN 18,19 (Eric Lindsay, 6 Hillcrest Avenue, Faulconbridge, NSW 2776, Australia) (20p, 6/£1 or usual) Very varied contents; some talk about PLR (which so far as I can see is just another way of milking the taxpayer).

DON-O-SAUR 38 (Don Thompson, 71198 Canosa Ct, Westminster, CO 80030, USA) (25¢ or usual) Major item is a piece of faan fiction by Don, well worth reading.

FORTHCOMING SF BOOKS 23 (Joanne Burger, 55 Blue Bonnet Ct., Lake Jackson, TX 77566, USA) (6/$1.50) Regular US book listings.

ALGOL 23 (Andy Porter, Box 4175, New York, NY 10017, USA) (Ethel Lindsay is UK agent: £2/6) The Arthur C. Clarke issue. This does count as a fanzine, by Don Markstein's sensible definition, but it's a class above ordinary fmz. Printed, and sercon.

THE SIRAT 6 (Will Norris, 1073 Shave Rd, Schenectady, NY 12303, USA) (25k or usual) A bit disorganized, but good fannish reading none the less. He mis-spells poor old Spinge's name.

NESFIG NEWSLETTER 2 (Harry Bell, 9 Lincoln Street, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE8 4EE) The newszine of the NE SF Group, which seems to be well established now.

*GRANFALLOON 19 (Linda Bushyager, 1614 Evans Avenue, Prospect Park, PA 19076, USA) ($1.00 or usual). Roscoe be praised, here's Granny again. Fine writing by Mae Strelkov, Jodie Offutt and others.

LOCUS 168 (Dena and Charlie Brown, Box 3938, San Francisco, CA 94119, USA) ($6.00/15) The SF newspaper.

FANEW SLETTER 19-22 (Leigh Edmonds, P0 Box 74, Balaclava, Victoria 3183, Australia) The Australian newszine, invaluable for keeping up with fandom down under.

INSTANT MESSAGE 165 (NESFA, Box (1, MIT Branch P0, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA) (NESFA membership is $5.00 a year) The NESFA club newszine, mostly local news and events.

TRIODE 20 (Eric Bentcliffe, 17 Riverside Crescent, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, CW4 7NR) (3/£1 or usual). Triode still seems to be in the wrong time-zone, though 20 is a bit livelier than 19.

FANZINE FANATIQUE (Keith Walker, 2 Daisy Bank, Quernmore Road, Lancaster) (usual) Keith is another mis-speller of LES SPINGE. It's a pity his layout is so poor; the reviews (this is a fmz reviewzine) are quite good.

NEWS FROM BREE 13 (Hartley Patterson, 7 Cambridge Road, Beaconsfield, Bucks. HP9 1HW) (usual, not money) Includes a transcript of an interview with Tolkien, broadcast on BBC radio in 1971.

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BLUNT Dave Rowe asks me to make it clear that BLUNT is dead, and there's no prospect of its being revived. So take note, fans. (I personally think it's a shame).

J.D.BALDWIN (13 Coniston Gardens, Crossgates, Scarborough, N.Yorks, YO12 4JH) is hoping to start a SF fanzine for the Cleveland and N. Yorks. area, and would like to hear from interested fans in that region.

COA Gerald Bishop, PO Box 10, Winchester, SO22 4QA, UK.
Bill Bowers, Box 2521, North Canton, OH 44720, USA

IRISH FANDOM The N Ireland SF Association (NISFA) was formed last month (David Patterson, 4 Copeland Drive, Comber, Co. Down, NI) and the first meeting was held January 14th in a privately-owned SF cinema. (Graham Poole)

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARD-KNOX AND OTHER IMPROBABILITIES. John Bangsund is putting out under this title a collection of his fmz writings. It should be well worth getting. $A5.00 (until June 30th).

SONIA PORTER is organizing a SF Discussion Group for the Woking/Guildford area: first meeting 5th March at 8 pm in the Robin Hood Inn, Robin Hood Rd., Knaphill, nr. Woking. (Her address is 6 Robin Hood Close, St Johns, Woking, Surrey).