What is a Worldcon?
| Meta | |
|---|---|
| Title: | What is a Worldcon? |
| Creator: | Rich Kolker |
| Date(s): | 1975 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS, Science Fiction |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
What is a Worldcon? is a 1975 essay by Rich Kolker.
It was printed in Phoenix #1.
Two years later, Kolker proposed World Star Trek Convention.
Some Topics Discussed
- Science Fiction and Star Trek
- Star Trek fandom visibility
- for profit pro cons vs. fan run cons, and the future of fandom
The Essay
What is a Worldcon? The answer to that question may determine the future of the granddaddy of all SF cons.
It has been suggested by many (including some of the committees bidding in 1977, I emphasize some) that the World Science Fiction Convention is a convention only for literary speculative fiction. These people feel that what should be done is that all of the "fringe fans", i.e. Star Trekkers, Burroughs fans, film fans and sword and sorcerers should be sent off to another hotel for their own con. The Worldcon should be their private dominion.
The reason they expouse [sic] these beliefs is the growing size of Worldcons, up to 4500 at Discon II last September. They feel a larger gathering would be unmanageable. That1s a lot of bunk, (a word used to save the fragile eyes of our more sensative [sic] readers.)
It has been proved at Star Trek cons that groups of 8000 (at ISTC 73) and even 10,000 (at Equicon 1) can be successfully handled and programmed for. Certainly Worldcon committees, who have more than two years to plan, and should have more experience than the relatively recent Trekkers in planning conventions, can do the same.
So what is the real reason that hard SFers are running scared from the larger cons? They feel they are losing control of "their" con. They feel it's only a couple of years away when the "fringe fans" will take over the con. and sweep the Hugo voting. This has never happened, and odds are it never will. A fan, any fan, of a genre such as science fiction will not throw his vote to a person who doesn't in their opinion deserve it. Indeed uneserving books, stories, art, etc. will not even appear on the ballot.
The only three years '’Star Trek” was on the Hugo ballot, "trekkies” did not decide the outcome. The first was 1966, before Star Trek was on the air, and "The Menagerie" won the award. In 1967 the Hugo went to that little known trekkie writer Harlan Ellison for "City on the Edge of Forever", which later won the writer’s guild award for the best drama script of any type for that year. In 1968 the winner was "2001”.
Another "Trek" person didn’t appear on the ballot until David Gerrold was on the Torcon ballot and lost. He appeared again in 1974, and again didn’t win. And both times he was also on the Nebula, ballot, selected by the SFWA. None of the other Star Trek entries, including a teleplay by Roddenberry, won either. So much for trekkers taking over the Worldcon.
I feel the Worldcon is a conference of all science fiction fans throughout the world. After all, what does "World Science Fiction Convention" mean? If it is necessary to prohibit non-SF hucksters from the con (ie. comics sellers) then so be it. If some people who are only fans of literary SF want to hold a literary SF convention let them. Don’t shut the Worldcon.