IsisCon

Convention
Name:	IsisCon
Dates:	Aug 28-30, 1987
Frequency:
Location:	Hilton Hotel, Washington D.C.
Type:
Focus:	Star Trek: The Original Series
Organization:
Founder:	Chevy Chase Association of Trekkers
Founding Date:
URL:
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IsisCon was a Star Trek: TOS convention held August 28-30, 1987 in Washington D.C.

front cover of the program book, the book is 8 1/2 x 11, 20 pages and contains full page profiles of guests Leonard Nimoy and Mark Lenard

back cover of the program book

The Staff

C.C.A.T. = Chevy Chase Association of Trekkers and E. Searle Prettyman.

Florence Butler, George Clark, Lauren Dennstaedt, Marguerite "Connie" Newman, Julie Quets, Geraldine Sylvester and Terri Sylvester.

Guests of Honor

• Leonard Nimoy
• Mark Lenard
• David Gerrold
• Jacqueline Lichtenberg
• Marc Okrand
• J.M. (Jeanne) Dillard (author)
• Della Van Hise
• Curt Harpold (magician)
• Athelstan (singer)
• Ann C. Crispin
• The Doctors in the House (British humor troupe)
• Beyond Orion (singers)
• Irene Kress (author and microbiologist)

From the Program Book

ISISCON began in November 1986 when we decided that we wanted to provide ourselves and other fans with a different sort of convention. Our past experiences had left us feeling that many conventions lacked the entertainment and involvement that we wanted; that they provided guest stars/panels/and movies but never seemed to express the changing faces/attitudes of fandom. We were curious to see if other fans also felt as we do about conventions and fandom.

During the seemingly endless rounds of planning and paperwork for ISISCON, we asked ourselves several questions, including: Which fan traditions were engraved in stone? Why was Costume Call invariably held on Saturday night? What could we do to make Friday night more interesting? How could we increase fans' participation in the convention experience? As the answers emerged we discovered the purely practical reasons behind some immutable traditions. And we learned that "change" is not a dirty word, nor is "improvement" an unacceptable concept ... as long as they provide our fellow con-goers with a good mix of interesting, on-time, easily accessible programming. With that thought in mind, we made an effort to acknowledge other fandoms besides Trek, and we scheduled events focusing on DOCTOR WHO, BLAKE'S 7, et al, for fans with an interest in these shows.

So, whether you're a TREKKER, WHOVIAN, or devotee of a fandom still in its seminal stages, whether you're an Old timer or a Neo - WELCOME TO ISISCON! ENJOY. - THE ISISCON STAFF

This Con, and Slash

It was a progress report for this con that sparked one fan's interest in writing the 1988 meta article Thinking About Slash/Thinking About Women:

I first had the idea to write about slash in general when I discovered the phrase "indiscriminate slash fandoms" listed as a potential panel topic on a progress report sent out last year before Isiscon (a Trek con held in Washington, D. C). I was struck by the adjective chosen, and it got me to thinking.

A fan remembers Mark Lenard, a guest of honor, walking the dealer's room, and some of Lenard's comments there:

I went to the Isis convention with a few fellow K/S zine publishers. One of them used to put out a binder with all her covers (some quite explicit) on her dealer's table. We were watching all our tables when Mark Lenard wandered by. He was looking at everything on the tables with great interest (the tables were all full with K/S zines). Then he glanced through the binder and looked up and said with a heavy sigh: "My son, my son" shaking his head with a sly grin on his handsome face! It was hysterical. He knew what he was looking at and was obviously amused by it. Ah, those were the days!

In his IsisCon official presentation to fans, Lenard also commented on explicit zines:

… years ago I used to get a lot of fanzines. All kinds of them. And you know about the x-rated fanzines. I never, well, I looked at them sometimes. Sometimes I didn't. Threw them in the back of the car or something. One day I got into the car and my daughter was four years old then. She got into the backseat and there was this fanzine there. She opened it up and there was a centerfold and who should be on the centerfold but Spock. And I'll tell you only that his ears weren't the only thing about him that was pointed. She was four then. She seemed, I won't say unimpressed, but it didn't seem to bother her particularly. She's 21 now. She seems to, you know, have grown up all right. I resolved never again to leave any of that stuff around, any of the fanzines around without looking at them first.

In 1988, Della Van Hise, a fan and guest of honor at the con, wrote in the editorial of her zine, As I Do Thee #11:

"I wouldn't know... I [as Spock] wasn't there!!" - Leonard Nimoy; Summer 1987 Isiscon, When asked (by someone who didn't know any better) what he thought of the magazines in which Kirk and Spock are lovers.

In 2016, Della Van Hise wrote about slash and this violation of the fourth wall and had a different account:

....fans have over the years done many things that aren't really kosher with fandom. My favorite story of a fan asking an inappropriate question at a convention happened at a one-shot convention in Washington D.C. in the 1980s, Leonard Nimoy was the big guest.

The day before his appearance, I sold a bunch of K/S zines to a young man who was stunned and excited to discover K/S. Being gay himself, and a student at Georgetown, he couldn't believe that something celebrating his own sexuality was part of his huge love for Star Trek. *I* was excited to introduce him to K/S. The following day, as I sat in Nimoy's talk with a whole bunch of other K/S editors, writers and artists, Nimoy called on this young man during Q&A. And, of course, this very excited young man asked The Question: "What do you think of the fan writing in which Kirk and Spock are lovers?" You could hear a collective gasp and the sound of dozens of eyes widening in horror. It just wasn't DONE. You didn't ask the actors about slash. NEVER NEVER NEVER. With his usual grace and good will, Nimoy replied (I'm paraphrasing): "What do you think of it?" The young man replied that he thought it was amazing, to which Nimoy said, "Fans have great imaginations. Next question?" I have never heard or heard of an actor responding to a question about a character's sexuality with more sensitivity and understanding. I think actors who are faced with the same question now could learn a lot from Nimoy's reply.

Transcript Compilation

Mark Lenard's IsisCon Transcript is here.