Ed Kramer

Name:	Ed Kramer
Also Known As:	Edward E. Kramer
Occupation:	Editor
Medium:
Works:	Dragon*Con (Co-founder), editor of various works
Official Website(s):	Edward Kramer.com; Wikipedia
Fan Website(s):
On Fanlore:	Related pages

Ed Kramer is a well known BNF, a pro editor and writer who was active in the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror genres.

Kramer was one of the six men who formed the original board of directors of Atlanta based Dragon*Con, founded in 1987. The name "Dragon*Con" ("DragonCon") was chosen in honor of Kramer's home computer which was a Dragon 64, and his BBS community "The Dragon" which served as a organizing/planning committee forum.

Kramer is also a serial sexual abuser of children.

Kramer resigned from DragonCon's board in 2000, but he remained a stockholder and owned 34 percent of DragonCon until 2013 when his DragonCon partners bought him out after years of complaints that his share of the show's profits (reportedly totaled more than $150,000 annually) were funding his legal costs in his protracted battle against the child-molestation charges lodged against him.

He was a powerful figure in the science fiction convention world, known as a highly competitive cutthroat businessman who caused several other conventions in the region to shut down permanently. His social connections within fandom were legendary, as was the troupe of preadolescent boys who reportedly accompanied him everywhere.

Kramer was an associate member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and an editor and recruiter of fantasy authors for anthologies and RPGs.

Kramer chaired several other Atlanta-area cons including the Origins Game Fair in 1990; the 1992 World Fantasy Convention; the Nebula Awards Weekend and NASFiC in 1995; and the World Horror Convention in 1995 and 1999.

Kramer's 1994 Answers to a Questionnaire

On November 3, 1994, Kramer posted answers to a questionnaire to the Usenet discussion group rec.arts.sf.fandom:

FANDOM QUESTIONNAIRE RED SKYE

NAME: Ed Kramer

ADDRESS: P.O. Box 148, Clarkston, GA 30021-0148

e.kr...@genie.geis.com

GROUP AFFILIATIONS: Founder and Chairman, Dragon*Con; Chairman, NASFiC '95; Chairman, World Horror Convention '95.

HOBBIES/AREAS OF INTEREST: Computers, Caving, Exotic snakes.

OCCUPATION: Consultant / trainer to the educational fields.

AGE: 33

1) Has being involved with a fan club and (or) attending cons benefited you personally? [X] YES [_] NO

2) How has being involved in fandom benefited you.

As result of contacts made through fandom, at this point, I have edited 16 anthologies with many more to come. These are entirely due to attending SF/Fantasy/Horror Cons. It is how I primarily solicit new authors for participation in anthology projects.

4) What are the drawbacks of fandom?

Drawback is time committment. Preparing a con (as a Chair) take hundreds of hours each and every week. Actually, it really does take a lot of time.

5) How much time would you dedicate to your fan activities?

3-5 hours daily.

6) How much money do you approximately spend on merchandise, cons, fan activities, club membership and any expenses incurred due to your fandom activities during a month? And during a year?

Approx. $6,000 per year.

8) How many group related activities (meetings/cons) would you attend on average each year.

Chattacon (Chattanooga, TN)

Arisia (Boston, MA)

World Horror Con

WorldCon

World Fantasy Con

Oasis (Orlando, FL)

Game Manufacturer's Association Meeting

San Diego Comic Con (San Diego, CA)

Antares (Atlanta, GA)

Dragon*Con (Atlanta, GA)

Diamond Trade Show

Capital City Trade Show

Child Sex Offense Charges

Kramer has been charged with multiple child sex offenses over the years.

The first accusation was in 1997. However, the accuser subsequently recanted. Before Kramer was arrested, he had a reputation for inappropriate relationships. According to Ken Johnston, a historian who gave sword fighting demonstrations at Dragon*Con, Kramer "was constantly surrounded by young boys."

In August 2000, Kramer was arrested and charged with multiple counts of pedophilia. During that time, Kramer engaged in numerous procedural delays to avoid standing trial; meanwhile continuing to sexually abuse teenage boys in his home while supposedly under house arrest. He was found to have used profits from Dragon*Con to fund his legal defense. It was then, that original convention founders were finally able to break all connections with Kramer and start fresh with a new name (Dragon Con instead of Dragon*Con or DragonCon), ensuring that profits would no longer go to Kramer.

Kramer was again arrested and held without bond in 2011 after authorities discovered him in a motel with at least one, and perhaps three teenage boys.

Kramer pled guilty in 2013 using an Alford plea, which basically states "I am innocent, but the prosecution has evidence that would likely persuade a judge/jury that I am guilty." Kramer received a 20-year sentence consisting mostly of parole and house arrest. He paid $100,000 to each of the three victims.

In 2019, Kramer was arrested twice, once in February for allegedly taking photos of a young boy at a doctor's office and again in September for gaining improper access to a county government's computer system. He again entered an Alford plea and as of 2021 is likely free on probation.

Fan and Peer Reactions to Kramer's Sexual Abuse of Minors

It seems that many of his co-workers had long suspected him of being a paedophile, but none were willing to speak up, either fearing anger and retaliation from Kramer and his supporters, or unwilling to cast aspersions on a science fiction convention that had become a cultural institution and even a way of life for hundreds of thousands of fans.

Some of Kramer's supporters included Harlan Ellison, Anne McCaffrey, and at least twenty others, and their comments were posted at Free Ed!. Many creators and fans dismissed the accusations as rumor, attributed them to anti-Semitism (Kramer is Orthodox Jewish) or cited his known affairs with adult women.

Harlan Ellison commented:

"I've seen Ed around young people in unguarded moments and there was nothing about his body language that suggested anything inappropriate," Ellison says. "Frankly, I can't imagine any child not running in fear from this creature who looks like he stepped out of an EC comic. Fact is, picturing Ed in bed with someone is like imagining Jerry Falwell fucking Eleanor Roosevelt."

Film director Joe Christ said he was skeptical until he witnessed Kramer "canoodling" with a little boy at GothCon 2000 (considered an adult event, unsuitable for people under 18). Christ's wife, Nancy Collins, has done extensive research on the allegations against Kramer.

See Five Geek Social Fallacies. See Other links to fan comments on Usenet.

Fan Comments: From rec.arts.sf.fandom (2000-01)

The discussion on rec.arts.sf.fandom between 2000-01 consisted mostly of fans either directly defending Kramer, or defending him more passively by stating that he was simply accused but not convicted. The discussion included a lot of disparaging of the charges against him, and disbelief of minors and their ability to tell the truth. Many fans attacked the process, the police, and the motives of two fans (Joe Christ and Nancy Collins) who'd asked fans to contact law enforcement if they'd seen any evidence of Kramer's illegal activities. Some fans brought up the argument of what constituted child pornography, and the straw argument of peoples' harmless photos of babies in bathtubs and fans' experiences of changing into costumes at cons as evidence that no one was safe from accusations. Several fans pointed out that fandom didn't need mundanes poking around and making fans look odder than they already were.

Some excerpts:

More Examples of Fan Comments

[Keith F. Lynch]:

I too regard him as innocent. And will continue to do so in the absence of overwhelming evidence otherwise. In fact, I would be willing to bet money at ten to one odds on his innocence, if there were any surefire way to resolve the question. (Where is Halperin's _Truth Machine_ when we need it?)

I have more first-hand experience than most people here with how easy it is to be falsely arrested -- and convicted -- of a serious crime.

[Lucy Kemnitzer]: ... I don't know any of the people involved.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden:

Yesterday, when the news of Ed Kramer's arrest started showing up in Atlanta-area news media on the web, I was the first person to post a URL to the smofs mailing list. Moreover, I'm not a big fan of Ed Kramer. I don't like the kinds of cons he runs, I have more than one friend who's worked with him on anthology projects and who's come to regret doing so, and I've always been put off by his insinuating manner when he wants to sell me anthologies. Frankly, he's always struck me as a hustler, as someone constantly prowling for an angle.

So for that reason, I feel particularly compelled to remark that the above story -- today's followup -- sets off a whole bunch of alarm bells for me. There's a distinct lack of internal logic; connections are repeatedly insinuated but never actually demonstrated. In the third sentence, we slide directly from "the alleged victim" (singular), to "the boys" (plural), without any explanation whatsoever, so that suddenly it's implied that Ed Kramer molested some unstated larger number of boys.

Moreover, it's hard to escape the thought that any number of us probably have "hundreds" of photographs of people "in various states of dress and undress" in our homes, some of whom might even be under 18, simply by virtue of having gone to a lot of costume-heavy SF cons and taken a lot of pictures. Were _we_ to be (let's just postulate) falsely charged with molesting one minor, who happened to be depicted on one of those "hundreds" of photographs, the newspapers could write exactly that sentence about us.

And, of course, note the final line of the story: "FBI agents are reviewing about 250 videotapes of mostly foreign films police found in Kramer's home." Goodness, videotapes of foreign films! Well, there's a smoking gun for you.

(Teresa pointed out, after reading my earlier draft of this note, that those "foreign" films could in fact be anime, some of which would certainly excite prosecutors looking for evidence of pederasty. But lots of people in our circles have tons of anime.)

Ed Kramer could be guilty as sin. All kinds of evidence may be in the offing -- home-made videos, confessions, who knows what. But this what this squib from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution web page actually demonstrates is that disparate facts about anyone's life can be marshaled to suggest deviancy and guilt. Not that we've ever seen local and Federal law-enforcement authorities in Atlanta do anything like that, perish the thought.

[Mike Weber]:

Ed Kramer could be guilty as sin. All kinds of evidence may be in the offing -- home-made videos, confessions, who knows what. But this what this squib from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution web page actually demonstrates is that disparate facts about anyone's life can be marshaled to suggest deviancy and guilt. Not that we've ever seen local and Federal law-enforcement authorities in Atlanta do anything like that, perish the thought.

I can agree with that last sentence. But i kind of like Ed, anyway. And i know people who are closer friends of his than i am ever likely to be who apparently think he's a Pretty Good Guy.

[Paul W. Cashman]:

I realize that many people in fandom have various reasons to dislike Ed, and there's no doubt that in some cases they have just cause for it. :)

--But I also know of many people -- kids and adults -- whose lives have been directly improved with Ed's help, ranging from helping troubled teens with drug rehab, to introducing aspiring writers and artists to professionals -- some, like me, have been published thereafter -- to helping bands get noticed in the music industry, etc.

If a call goes out for character witnesses on Ed's behalf, they'd have to marshal us at the stadium and bus us to the courtroom in shifts. I exaggerate, but at least a hundred people locally would answer that call. Ed tends to leave a well-marked trail. :)

[John Kensmark]: I know nothing about this case except what's been in this thread, and I never heard of Ed Kramer before either, but I have to admit that this is some mighty troubling media coverage. This is a difficult sort of thing to cover without offending people, but that doesn't excuse the presumption of guilt that's rampant in the reporting I've seen.

[Joel Rosenberg]: It's a horrible thing, certainly, regardless of his guilt or innocence, just horrible differently, depending.

[Jane: Former director, dealers room and Kid*Con, Mother, Grandmother, and Wife, and friend of Ed Kramer]:

I have known Ed for many years, worked for him in the Dragon Con office, and spent many hours in his company. He has cared for my child when I had to have surgery, and been there for me on numerous occasions when I needed someone to talk to. Ed is a kind and caring person.

As for these charges, the court system will have to sort it all out. I can only hope that justice is served in this case. Having been involved with the court system for many years, I can only trust the system to work.

Ed Kramer is my friend, and I will do what I can for him. I think that one thing that needs to be said is that the evidence being presented in the paper may not be a damming as it sounds. Ed has received many tapes throughout the years form film makers for evaluation and consideration to be shown at Dragon Con. I have seen many of these films, and so have others. Also, he has an extensive collection of Anime, which is the foreign film collection mentioned in the news. He has GWAR tapes and several other performance tapes from the various bands that have played at the con, or wanted to play, and sent demo tapes. Have any of you seen some of the Goth bands perform live? Need I say more?

Also, the photographs, Ed is a photographer. He has taken head shots for several people locally and has also photographed many professional musicians and such during his college days. He was a photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine. The "partially clad boys" were audition and promotional shots for the movie he is producing. I have seen many of these shots. The boys are dressed in a "native" gear, loin cloths and rags. Several of the kids around here wanted to have a part in this movie, so there were audition shots of them as well. My son was to do one, but decided he did not want to for other reasons.

So, please, when you consider this, consider fact, not conjecture. The press is the press. Their job is to sell papers. They will sensationalized as much as possible, and let's face it, a convention like DC is great fodder. How many of us could pass on this inspection. Do you have movies with kids in costumes that may be considered "undressed"? Ever seen the old movie "Caveman" with Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach? This is the kind of costume the boys in Ed's proposed movie wore. Just not as furry. I know that many of you will read this and think, "Not me, I do not have things like this in my home!" But look around, and consider what you might have from a different perspective. Kids in bathing suits in a film, cute pix of your children in the tub or as tiny bare babies that many of us do would all be feed for this frenzy of sharks. If you have anything whatsoever that has a picture or likeness of a young person that is not dressed like a member of the clergy on a week-day, and you were to be investigated, (heaven forbid) they could make just as much of it.

The truth is, if most of us were in Ed's place, there would not be as much of a fuss, and every little thing would not be drug through the press as we are not "newsworthy". We did not create a hugely successful event. Ed did. His innocence or guilt will be determined by the court, and is not for us to decide. As for the rest, consider the source.

[Kerry Bateman]: As a person who has known Ed Kramer for 10 years and who has studied the information thus far presented to us concerning this case, I feel that it is baseless and ludicrous. Ed is a man who would extend his aid to anyone in need without thought for himself or for appearances. I also speak for a dear friend of mine, and a 15-year friend of Ed's, Richard Dinsmore. I feel that he would certainly vouch for Ed's impeccable character, kindhearted nature, and habit of going above and beyond to help others. I resent this assumption of his guilt and assassination of his character, and would like to speak out for those who support him, respect him, and care about him. He has done a great job for Dragon Con, and we should not turn our backs on him in this, his time of need.

[charawn]: do take issue with the inflammatory manner that the article presents the data, and especially with the manipulative placement of the quote from the plaintiff's mother. However, few yet seem to want to face the damage that this event could have on fandom, especially in an election year, and especially with someone so well known and connected in the fandom/entertainment arena. The whole thing at this point is very circumstantial as no physical evidence has been presented as of the moment, but I agree with the above that the reporter apparently doesn't recognize the presumption of innocence in our judicial system, or isn't being allowed to by her superiors (allowing for the reality that the AJC's desire is to sell newspapers and generate hits on its' web site for its' advertisers).

[Vicki Rosenzweig]: In any case, what do you suggest we do? Disavow any connection with Ed Kramer, just in case? Organize a defense fund? Write to the AJC and point out that this is not typical of fandom--and thereby create a connection that people might not have thought of?

[Dave Locke]:

Even more interesting, Kramer and the boy's mother had "dated for two years but were never intimate, which prompted the woman to question Kramer, the investigator said". But "he quickly grew close to her three boys". D'uh.

And what they found in his home, which was about a dozen videotapes which "featured mostly unclothed or nude young boys, with the theme often focused on boys discovering their sexuality either with other young boys or older men, police said. Investigators are also trying to identify hundreds of photographs of boys "in various states of dress and undress" but not fully nude".

Certainly none of that is going to hang him, but it shouldn't be waived away, either. It all legitimately adds to a concern that the case be fully investigated and the truth be outed. If he's innocent, I wish him the best of luck. If he's found guilty, he'll be sentenced.

[Keith F. Lynch]:

Sounds like the prosecution's case is falling apart if they have to go trolling newsgroups in search of victims.

How many of us could survive such an inquisition unscathed?

"Yes, officer, I witnessed Dr. Asimov carrying on like a dirty old man. He also has a foreign sounding name. Better pick him up for questioning. And check his home for inappropriate books, photographs, movies, convention souvenir books, etc."

[Loren MacGregor]: I like fandom a lot, but fandom as I know it could not exist without the related freedoms. Even if it could, I would prefer a country without fandom over a fandom absent my favorite country.

[Patrick Nielsen Hayden]:

I suppose I need to reiterate here that I don't actually like Ed Kramer much at all, and that if he's guilty I think he should be convicted.

That said, the statement that "X isn't the victim here, he is the accused" would have sounded perfectly natural coming from Torquemada.

Since I basically like people and tend to trust in the idea that moral progress will happen, by hook or crook, I trust that whatever the outcome of the Kramer case, Joe Christ will eventually look back on this post with exquisite embarrassment. I'm embarrassed for him already.

[Danny Lieberman]:

Joe and Nancy,

I'm saddened to see your post to this particular newsgroup and your implied assumption of Ed Kramer's guilt. While the rasf regulars have already jumped down your throats for what appears to be an attack on your (former?) friend, I just feel sadness.

Its not that I need to defend Kramer, or his right to a fair hearing, there are plenty here who can speak of his rights and the fact that there are many questions about the case that we don't know.

By posting a trollish request with the phone number of the Gwinnett Cty authorities, you appear to have turned on someone I thought was your friend. Have the authorities asked for your help to bring evidence against your pal?

Ive already seen announcements from the DragonCon committee stating that they'll keep the convention afloat, despite what fate Ed faces. So, I don't think the convention is the issue - DragonCon will remain.

Whatever happens to Ed Kramer, his life won't be the same, and he's going to suffer, even if he is falsely accused. If the charges are true, he will likely be punished. If it's true, I'll be sad for the children involved as well.

I'm just surprised that you are trolling for information on "inappropriate behavior", and it occurs to me that post above does not read like the usual Joe Christ rant I'm used to. Did you really write that?

Well, I've been to conventions where Ed Kramer was in attendance. But all I remember was him promoting his own conventions, books, and other projects he was involved with.

What you've missed since you're not a regular in this particular NG is that a lot of people are willing to give Ed the benefit of the doubt, and I for one hope he has good legal counsel, because in Georgia he's going to need it.

[Doug Wickstrom]: Define "child pornography." Can't, can you? Got any pictures at all of your own children? Got any JC Penney's catalogs? You too, have child pornography.

[Joel Rosenberg]: I don't think the threats, such as they are, much matter -- even if Ed Kramer is justly convicted (as he may be, despite some disturbing reports about how the police have behaved), I can't recall anybody "defending" Kramer, other than to argue that he should, indeed, have a fair trial, assuming that there is sufficient evidence to go to trial in the first place.

Dragon*Con's 2013 Statement

From Dragon*Con's Facebook page on February 15, 2013:

There has been a great deal of discussion as of late in the community regarding our continued financial connection to Edward Kramer. Please know that we are as troubled by this circumstance as anyone else, but please also know that there is no simple, legal, solution to this matter…if there were, it would have been resolved long ago.

For the record, Edward Kramer resigned from the Dragon*Con convention in the year 2000. Since that time, he has had no role in the direction or management of the convention; however, he remains a stockholder despite our desires otherwise.

Since Edward Kramer’s arrest in 2000, we have made multiple attempts to sever all ties between Edward Kramer and Dragon*Con including several efforts to buy Edward Kramer’s stock shares. Unfortunately, Edward Kramer’s response to our buyout efforts was repeated litigation against Dragon*Con…thus our buyout efforts have been stalled. The idea proposed of dissolving the company and reincorporating has been thoroughly investigated and is not possible at this point. Legally, we can’t just take away his shares. We are unfortunately limited in our options and responses as we remain in active litigation.

The current flood of “information” about this litigation appears to have been taken from the multiple lawsuits against Dragon*Con filed by Edward Kramer and his lawyers (i.e., Edward Kramer’s arguments and allegations, not documented facts). To our dismay, much of this misinformation is being quoted as pure fact despite the reality that a court of law determined that many of the facts and figures provided by Mr. Kramer in his law suits were false, inaccurate or completely fictitious.

It is our sincere hope that the end is in sight and that the upcoming trial(s) in Gwinnett County will provide a resolution of Edward Kramer’s guilt or innocence, and therefore a cause of legally divorcing ourselves from him once and for all.

Since 2000, Dragon Con has been managed by three of the original co-founders, Chairman Pat Henry and board members Dave Cody and Robert Dennis. In that time the convention attendance has grown from less than 10,000 to over 52,000 fans. Our goal has been and will continue to be, to provide the greatest fan driven science fiction/fantasy convention in the world.

We do hope that everyone understands that due to past, present, and possible future lawsuits we find ourselves unable to comment further on any matters concerning Edward Kramer. Please do not construe any future silence on the matter as a lack of concern on the part of the Dragon*Con staff and more specifically, our board of directors.

We will continue to strive to provide the best possible experience for our attendees, volunteers, partners and invited guests alike.

We are, and will remain, for the fans, by the fans.

See Also

• The Most Hyper-Toxic Possible Discussion: What To Do (2000)
• I Don't Know Any More Than This -- Radio News: DragonCon Head Arrested (September 2000)
• New Ed Kramer story in Creative Loafing (September 2000)
• Ed Kramer case in Georgia, post by Joe Christ & Nancy A Collins asking for information (October 2000)
• Ed Kramer Back In Jail (November 2000)
• Ed Kramer Court Papers Online (March 2001)
• A web site with court documents from various hearings in the Ed Kramer case. (now offline) (March 2001)
• Kramer Cover Story In New C. Loafing (January 2002)
• Dragon*Con officially splits with accused molester Ed Kramer - UPDATED - The Beat, ^{Archived version}, Comics Beat" (July 2013)
• Dragon*Con Finally Cuts Financial Ties With Co-Founder and Accused Molester Ed Kramer, ^{Archived version}, The Mary Sue (July 2013)
• Dragon Con co-founder accused of photographing 7-year-old boy at a doctor's office, ^{Archived version}, "The Daily Mail" (August 2019)

• Free Ed! (2007)
• Perverts Of Geekdom by Buzz Dixon (February 11, 2018)
• Dragon Con co-founder reaches plea deal in hacking case, ^{Archived version}, ABC News (February 2020)
• Ed Kramer Sues For Libel, ^{Archived version}, File 770 (March 2020)
• Walter Breen and Breendoggle