Checkpoint 94

Lettered masthead

Another all-fanzine issue, Checkpoint 94 (Feb/March 1979) is produced by Peter Roberts, do 38 Oakland Dr, Dawlish, Devon, UK. Available for news & things, or cash: 5/50p (UK & Europe), 4/$1 (America & Africa, airmail), or 6/$1 (Australia & NZ, airmail). Please pay in sterling, US dollar bills, or IRCs (one = 10½p to me). Heading by Tim Marion. Restormel Press Pub: 139.


YORCON, the 1979 Eastercon, will be taking place over the weekend of April 13th-16th in the Hotel Dragonara in Leeds (fan historians may care to note that the first sf con anywhere in the world was held in Leeds in 1937. This year's con is likely to be larger than the original one.) Guest of Honour is Richard Cowper. Fan GoHs are Graham & Pat Charnock. Current membership is something over 330; if you want to join, send £5 (cheques payable to YORCON) to: Alan Dorey, 20 Hermitage Woods Cres, St John's, Woking, Surrey, GU21 1UF. Supporting membership is £2.50 and a one day membership is £2.00.

Don West, now back on the committee, adds a few recent notes: there'll be a Creative Writing Competition for the best short stories written around any four of twelve illustrations being sent out with the final PR this month. "Quote cards on a grand scale," suggests Don – and there are £25 worth of prizes. Films have had to be procured by rather devious means, owing to some sort of ban on distributing stuff within two miles of a cinema. Don says they have managed to find some films, including the Clarke/Kubrick 2001 (presumably as opposed to the Tharg/Cuckoo 2001).

Gosh. I've just noticed that Leeds is in Yorkshire. So that's why it's called Yorcon...

LEEDS IN 1980? In a later phonecall, Don told me he intends to bid for another Eastercon in Leeds (same hotel) next year. Few other details yet, since Don hasn't contacted his proposed committee members; but Don would be Boss and he intends to run it as an unashamedly commercial operation. When I suggested he might team up with a certain Mr Stokes, there was an eldritch silence on the phone. We shall see what happens.

TAFF AUCTION: Remember that there'll be an auction on behalf of TAFF at Yorcon and that anything you might have to auction off would be welcome (donations would be excellent, but percentages can be negotiated if you want some recompense. We're not proud.). Bring any material along to the con books, fanzines, artwork, wookie suits, or what-have-you. Thanks.

EVEN MORE FANZINES RECEIVED: Being those from beyond the Empire & Dominions...

United States:

Algol 32, 33: Andy Porter, PO Box 4175, New York, NY 10017. (4/$8, 4/£4.75 – UK Agent Ethel Lindsay or usual). I suppose I ought to take this out of the "fnz" section, since it's nigh well a professional publication nowadays – but old habits die hard, &c. It's a glossy magazine, packed with well-known authors and articles & reviews of sf. Good stuff.

The Alpha Centura Communicator Vol 3/11,12: Owen Laurion, PO Box 648, Albuquerque, NM 87103. (35¢ or usual) Feeble Trekkie clubzine.

Baryon 13: Barry Hunter, 8 Wakefield Pl, Rome, GA 30161. ($1 or usual) Reviews and letters.

De Profundis 101,102,103: Leigh Strother-Vien, LASFS, 11513 Burbank Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91601. ($3 p.a. or trade) Newszine of the ancient LA club.

The Diagonal Relationship 6: Arthur Hlavaty, 250 Coligni Aye, New Rochelle, NY 10801. (usual or $1) Interesting personalzine with massive letter column.

Diehard 10: Tony Cvetko, 24424 Haskell (74), Taylor, MI 48180. ($1 or usual) Odd double-sided genzine, the other half being Imp 1 from Leah Zeldes.

Ered Nimrais 12: David Merkel, P0 Box 488, Lawrence, KS 66044. ($1 or usual) Nondescript genzine.

Fanny Hill 5: Dan Joy & Somtow Sucharitkul, 3815 Whispering Lane, Falls Church, VA 22041. ($1 or usual) Attractively produced genzine.

Fanzine Directory 2: Allan Beatty, P0 Box 1040, Ames, IA 50010. ($1, 60p, or trade) Bibliography of fanzines published in 1976.

File 770 6,7,8,9: Mike Glyer, 14974 Osceola St, Sylmar, CA 91342. (4/$2 or usual) Large fannish newszine, with articles and other extraneous oddments. Pretty good.

Four Star Extra 5,6,7: Joyce & Arnie Katz and Bill & Charlene Kunkel, 59 Livingston St (Apt 6B), Brooklyn, NY 11201. (6/$5 or whim) Large joint personalzine, often containing some fine fannish writing.

Future Retrospective 14: Cliff & Susan Biggers, 1029 Franklin Rd (Apt 3-A), Marietta, GA 30067. (75¢ or usual) Genzine, mostly letters and reviews.

Genre Plat 3: Allyn Cadogan & Grant Canfield, 251 Ashbury St (4), San Francisco, CA 94117. ($1 or usual) Large & attractive genzine.

Gnomenclature 2 & 3: Al Curry, 3904 W.Liberty St, Cincinnati, OH 45205. (50¢ or usual) Personalzine.

Graymalkin 2: Denise Leigh, 121 Nansen St, Cincinnati, OH 45216. (50¢ or usual) Genzine, though rather empty of content.

Groggy 2,3,4: Eric Mayer & Kathy Malone, 175 Congress St (Apt SF), Brooklyn, NY 11201. (usual) A hektographed fanzine, by god – legible, bright, & interesting.

Hedgehog 2: Jeff Frane, P0 Box 1923, Seattle, WA 98111. ($1 or usual) Interesting genzine, with some nice cartoonwork.

Impressions 6: David Romm, 1902 4th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404. (usual) Personalzine.

The Invisible Fan 6: Avedon Carol, 4409 Woodfield Rd, Kensington, MD 20795. (45¢ in US stamps or usual) Lively personalzine with a good set of letters.

Janus 12/3: Janice Bogstad & Jeanne Gomoll, c/o SF3, Box 1624, Madison, WI 53701. ($2 or usual) Large, fairly sercon fanzine with smashing artwork and some interesting pieces on borderline sf and post-modernist fiction.

Karass 37 & 38: Linda Bushyager, 1614 Evans Ave, Prospect Park, PA 19076. Final issues of a fairly fannish newszine. Now defunct.

Kickshaw 1: Clifford Wind, 304 E.Thomas(14), Seattle, WA 98102. (25¢ or usual) New genzine with some interesting artwork that's too faded & should be run again in a future issue. Checkpoint – the fanzine of helpful suggestions...

Locus 212,213,214,215: Charlie Brown, Box 3938, San Francisco, CA 94119. (24/$17 in US, $25 for 24 issues elsewhere, or trade) Expensive, but it's the solid sf newszine.

Mad Scientist's Digest 5: Brian Earl Brown, 16711 Burt Rd,(207), Detroit, MI 48219. ($1 or usual) Amiable fannish genzine.

Michael 2: Mike Bracken, 1810 Ramada Blvd, Collinsville, IL 62234. (usual) Personalzine.

Mota 26 & 27: Terry Hughes, 4739 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22205. ($1 or usual) A fine fannish fanzine with some unbelievably wonderful contributors and some damn fantastic letter writers.

Mythologies 13: Don D'Ammassa, 19 Angell Dr, East Providence, RI 02914. ($1 or usual) A huge fanzine, fairly serious, with a massive amount of discussion on various topics – The Fall of Rome, Sex Roles, Sf, and so on. Interesting.

The New Port News 56: Ned Brooks, 713 Paul St, Newport News, VA 23605. (usual) Apazine with some fnz reviews.

Of Such Are Legends Made 1: Joyce Scrivner, Box 1518, North Wales, PA 19454. ($1.50 – proceeds to TAFF) A collection of fannish legends – some new, some reprints of famous pieces, and most of them worthwhile. It should be available in the UK now – I'll make a note somewhere in one of these Checkpoints.

Personal Notes 9: Richard Harter, 306. Thoreau St, Concord, MA 01742. (whim) Huge, well-written personalzine with a large bunch of letters.

Phiz 5: Bruce Townley, 2323 Sibley St, Alexandria, VA 22311. (whim) Personalzine – less eccentric than it might be, though with Good Bits.

Phosphene 7: Gil Gaier, 1016 Beech Aye, Torrance, CA 90501. (3/$2 or usual) Mostly a personalzine – fascinating photos from Suncon.

Pretentious Sf Quarterly 2: Michael Ward, P0 Box 1496, Cupertino, CA 95014. ($1.50 or usual) Fairly straightforward genzine.

Prothallus 3: Sarah Prince, 2369 Williams (A), Columbus, OH 43202. (usual) Distinctive personalzine.

Quantum 8: Alan Curry & Michael Streff, 3904 W.Liberty St, Cincinnati, OH 45205. ($1 or usual) Adequate, but not stunningly exciting genzine.

Quinapalus 2: M.K.Digre, 1902 S.4th Ave (1A), Minneapolis, MN 55404. (50¢ or usual) Mixed ability, but promising, fannish fanzine.

Rune 52,53,54: Carol Kennedy & Lee Pelton, 1204 Harmon Pl (10), Minneapolis, MN 55403. (50¢, 4/£1.50, or usual – UK Agent: Dave Piper) Minnesota clubzine – varies in quality, but recent issues have been good and fannish (& of general interest).

Sf Review 26,27,28: Richard Geis, P0 Box 11408, Portland, OR 97211. (6/$7.50 in US or equivalent in UK – agent:. Wm Dawson & Sons, Cannon Hse, Folkestone, Kent) Fine sercon stuff, thoroughly readable, and regular with it.

Scientifriction 10: Mike Glyer, 14974 Osceola St, Sylmar, CA 91342. ($1 or usual) Large genzine, attractive and mostly sort of sercon.

Short & Pithy 1 & 2: Rich Coad, 781 Castro St, San Francisco, CA 94114. (usual) All too brief personalzines. .

Simony 3: Simon Agree, 1220 La Plaza, Cotati, CA 94928. (usual) Decent personalzine.

Skug 3: Gary Mattingly, 864 B Haight, San Francisco, CA 94117. (usual) Large & also decent personalzine.

St*r Tract 53: Nick & Alan Grassel, 1385 Connell, Ortonville, MI 48462. (usual) Strange computer-"personalized" personalzine, intended specifically for making contact with overseas fans.

Stefantasy 82: William Danner, R.D.l, Kennerdell, PA 16374. (30escudos or usual) Distinctive, hand-printed personalzine. Like it.

Tantrum 1: Bruce Pelz, 15931 Kalisher St, Granada Hills, CA 91344. (usual) Personalzine.

Thru Black Holes 4: Michael Roden, 982 White Oak Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45245. ($1 or usual – UK Agent: Terry Jeeves) Grim neo stuff, though the editor' s artwork isn't bad. Watch out for the fiction, though.

Voice Of The Lobster 1 & 2: George Flynn, Noreascon II, P0 Box. 46, MIT Branch P0, Cambridge, MA 02139. (50¢ or bc) Unusual idea – a fanzine produced by the 1980 worldcon to discuss worldcons in general. Of interest to con attendees.

Westwind 18,19,20,21,22,23: Kipy Poyser, 503 S Sawyer, Olympia, WA 98501. ($5 p.a. to NWSFS, or trade) Local club newsletter, neatly produced.

The Whole Fanzine Catalog 1,2,3,4,5: Brian Earl Brown, 16711 Burt Rd (207), Detroit, MI 48219. (5/$2 or trade) Fanzine reviews – longer& better than these, but still too bland. I'd suggest a more positive, even crusading attitude; otherwise you might just as well make a listing like this.

Wild Fennel 15: Pauline Palmer, 2510 48th St, Bellingham, WA 98225. ($1 or usual) Attractive & distinctive genzine.

Xenolith 1: Bill Bowers, P0 Box 3157, Cincinnati, OH 45201. ($1.50 or usual) Neat new genzine by an aged past-master.


Norway:

Algernon 15,16: Øystein Sørensen, 6102 Sogn Studentby, Oslo 8. (10kr or usual) Usually a large, fairly sercon clubzine (15 comes in two volumes), though the 16th issue is just a newsletter. In Norwegian, however...


Germany:

Fantasia 1: EDFC, Postfach 1371, D-8390 Passau. (DM 16 or usual) Formerly called Follow, this is a paperback-sized production for the German Fantasy Club, containing a few articles, stories, and, god help us, poems. In German.

Magira 31: EDFC – as above. (DM 16 or usual) Flashy fantasy publication with a glossy cover and a lot of artwork – some good., though all fantasy-conventional. In German.

MRU 147,148: Waldemar Kumming, Herzogspitalstrasse 5, D-8000 München 2. (DM 2.50, $1.40, or usual; US Agent Andy Porter) Regular genzine, noted for its photo-pages. In German, with English supplement.

Sf Times 145: Hans-Joachim Alpers, Weissenburger Strasse 6, D-2850 Brernerhaven 1. (6/DM 22 or usual) Nicely produced, radical, sercon genzine. In German.


France:

Bulletin du Sffan 12,13,14: Jean Milbergue, 17 Sq des Carrieres, La Clairiere, 78120 Rambouillet (10fr membership or usual) Quite sizable club newsletter. In French.

Fandom 1: Francis Valery, BP 06, 33620 Cavignac. (2.35fr or usual) Brief newszine. In French.

Starward Ho! 0: Jean Milbergue – as above. (usual) Introduction to a contemplated genzine. In English.


Belgium:

Octa-Info 10,11: Claude Dumont, BP 29, Namur 2. (usual) Club newsletter. In French.


Denmark:

Pulsar 4: Niels Dalgaard Ellen Pedersen, Horsekildevej 13, IV dør 3, DK-2500 Valby. (10 kr or usual) An all-Harry Harrison issue. In Danish.

Tohubohu 8: Niels Dalgaard – as above. (usual) Mostly locs. In Danish.

Under Maanens Overskaeg 3: Niels again. Produced for the Hugo Rumpfstadt Society... In Danish.


THE GUIDE TO CURRENT FANZINES, 5th edition, with all mod cons, is still available and contains an introduction to fanzines plus a listing of current titles from around the world. This edifying publication, neatly printed & bound, is yours for a mere 35p or 75¢ at the special CP readers' rate. Rush your orders to me. The first two volumes of the British Fanzine Bibliography are also available at 70p ($1.50) the pair. These cover the years 1936-1960. Later volumes are in preparation and await only enough cash on my part to pay the printing bill.

THE PIT: Over the edge this time go Paul Crofts, A.G.Prior, & Sarah Prince, unless I am bribed into leniency by cash or news or suchlike.

AWARDS: Hugo nomination ballots were distributed with the third Seacon 79 progress report. To vote you have to be a member of Seacon; deadline for nominations is April 30th. As Greg Pickersgill has pointed out in the latest Seamonsters, it's quite possible for UK fans to make an impact on the ballot. Last year 540 ballots were returned, but voting in some categories was low (for example, the spread of votes for the 5 fanzines nominated was 53-15, for fan writers only 42-10, for fan artists just 23-14; even for best novel, the spread was only 95-25 and for best drama it was a ludicrous 338-8). Remember to read the rules before you vote – a fanzine must have produced at least 4 issues, for example. My own nominations go to: Mota, Twll-Ddu, Maya, Stop Breaking Down, and True Rat and for writer: Dave Langford, Roy Kettle, Don West, Bob Shaw, and haven't-yet-made-up-my-mind (a real winner); fan artist: Harry Bell, Jim Barker, Dan Steffan, Alexis Gilliland, and someone else. Unless I'm reminded of some 1978 sf that I actually read and liked, I shall ignore the pro stuff. I don't know about Best Drama – Trumpton, perhaps?

Victoria Vayne has sent along a copy of the FAAn Award Nominations. I'm apparently on the award committee, though I've only found that out at second hand and I've no idea what the committee is supposed to do. The basic idea of the awards (that of peer voting, so that only active fans are eligible to vote) is fine; but for reasons which aren't entirely sound, there's a voting fee of $1(50p) plus SAE. If you really get a kick out of fan awards, then contact Ian Maule (18 Hillside, 163 Carshalton Rd, Sutton, Surrey) for your ballot (or Mike Glicksohn or Leigh Edmonds). On the other hand, if like me you'd rather buy yourself 5lbs of beetroots or spend the money on a TAFF vote (or GUFF or DUFF), then I wouldn't bother. The Checkpoint poll will be out after Easter, and that's free.

The Balrog Awards are a new set for fantasy fiction "sponsored by the Sword & Shield Club of Johnson County Community College". I've been sent a ballot & nomination form and voting seems to be both open and free. The only thing is they haven't left themselves much time and the deadline is March 23rd for final ballots. Still, there's always next year. The address, if you're interested is: Balrog Award, Student Activities: Office, Johnson County Com.Coll., Overland Pk, KS 66210, USA.


The Journal Of Ecclesiastical Necrology
(incorporating Dead Vicars' Monthly)
and:

CHECKPOINT 94

from:
Peter Roberts
38 Oakland Dr
Dawlish, Devon
United Kingdom

Printed Matter Reduced.