Losconzine

In the heyday of conventions for my husband and I, it was always a treat to find the runner who was giving out the daily newsletter during multi-day conventions…Baycon had them, Loscon had them…I want to say every con who ever was a major con in the 1980s-’90 in California had them, but my memory is a bit foggy on that point.

What isn’t foggy was the excitement they brought in that ancient time pre and early internet to see “The Daily Baycon” – double-sided flyers in their brightly-colored splendor (a different color for each day, so you could tell the difference between days). If we had dropped off something in a dropbox for publication, it was even more fun seeing our little published bits as they were shared throughout the hotel to our fellow fans.

I also remember the sadness hearing that Baycon would no longer publish them because the cost of paper was rising, or the people who published them onsite were no longer doing them. We were told that it was okay in ensuing years because now that we had the Internet, everything could be online for everyone to see, without the hassle of compiling them, printing and distribution. But then, somewhere along the line, no one was taking onsite material for them and updating the convention’s website, or “app”, and so the practice well, fell out of practice, and so conventions, for us, in a sense, went sadly silent.

It is all these thoughts and memories that run through me as I now “hold” the Losconzine #48 .pdf in my hands on my tablet. A bittersweetness for the memories, but grateful that someone still cares enough to keep the tradition of an onsite fan-contributed publication alive in their own, unique way. I wish I had taken the time to stop at the Loscon 48 fanzine table and realize what was being created amongst us attending fen right under our noses.

Many thanks to you, Heath Row, for bringing this to my attention in the best possible way when one of my handicapped LASFS clients opened his mailer and saw his drawings had been included. You made his day and mine, and I guarantee that I’ll be looking forward to next year’s con so I too can participate in sharing my onsite experience with my extended family, Fandom.

(to save and read a copy of Losconzine #48, click here)

Kristine
Webmistress