Open Letter to the Editors of All K/S Zines & All Other "/" Media Zines

See also: The Great Australian Radio Show Fiasco.

Open Letter
Title:	Open Letter to the Editors of All K/S Zines & All Other "/" Media Zines
From:	the name of this letter's author was withheld upon request
Addressed To:
Date(s):	published in Not Tonight Spock! #9 in May 1985
Medium:	print
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Topic:	slash and fanworks
External Links:
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Open Letter to the Editors of All K/S Zines & All Other "/" Media Zines was an open letter printed in Not Tonight, Spock! #9 (May 1985), and probably other, zines. The author's name was withheld by request.

The letter represents the fear and unease that slash fans felt regarding exposure to the mundane world.

The letter was printed at the same time as the Open Letter to K/S Fandom by David Gerrold. Also see: The Great Australian Radio Show Fiasco.

TO THE EDITORS OF ALL K/S ZINES & ALL OTHER "/" MEDIA ZINES. Please be advised that a recent program on the Sydney radio station 2FC openly discussed the topic of K/S publications. An excerpt taken from an American zine was read out by the reporter. The author of the story, the zine, the publishers & their address were supplied on air & the tone of the reading was NOT sympathetic. A fan of K/S, & I use the word advisedly, then discussed the topic with the reporter, John Baxter.

The interview was taped, due to the quick thinking of another fan who just happened to be listening to the program & it has been ascertained that John Baxter was in possession of other zines at the time the program went to air. The author of the named story & the publishers of the zine have been advised of the details of this matter.

Bearing in mind the details of recent events in the U.S.A. & in Britain, due to media publicity about other zines, I must warn all authors & editors to double check their orders from Sydney through the network of correspondents who have written to them because at the moment you run the risk of having your work exposed. I realize the difficulty of such action, but the repercussions of this kind of publicity are well known to all of us. I will not waste time by citing chapter & verse of past incidents, nor will I enter into the arguments for & against K/S. My stand is obvious as the writer of this letter.

Perhaps the disclaimers printed in the zine could be more explicit, though anyone with a modicum of intelligence should realize why such warnings are printed. The interviewee, Ruth Collerson, (... that is no secret, her name & profession were given on the program) may have been recently involved in fandom, less than twelve months I am told, but I feel that her action was harmful to the well being of general Trek as well as K/S. The same, lady is proposing to act as the co-editor of MAGNETISM II. As to the question of submitting stories to that publication, I offer no comment, Please authors, make your own judgements. If you wish to submit, do so.

Although this is an open letter, I must apologize for asking the editors of the letterzines to withhold my name & address, although I have, of course, given such details to them. They are experienced enough to understand my reticence & I know they have kept many confidences in the past. I, like so many, need my privacy & have no wish to suffer the consequences of others' thoughtlessness.