by Gideon Marcus
This has been a year of many firsts. My first year as a full-time writer, my first published fiction story, and now, my first Worldcon. Ever since I became a science fiction fan back in 1950, Worldcons have been mysterious, half-magic events that happened to other people. I'd read reports in Fanac or Science Fiction Times or heard summaries from attendees, but they were never real for me.
Until now.
On August 31, 1963, I walked through the doors of the Statler-Hilton in Washington D.C. and attended Discon I, August 31 – September 2, 1963.
The Statler-Hilton in Washington D.C.
It was a weekend of panels, shopping, heated debate, raucous partying, fantastic costumes, and writers. There, in the flesh, I saw some of the titans of a field I am just entering. Most of them were somehow apart from me, beyond my ability to connect with at more than a perfunctory level. Others were more than happy to mingle. For instance, rising star Bob Silverberg, shared banter and contact information.
Of course, Silverberg is the fellow who wrote the second-most offensive story I've ever read, the one that turned me off of the magazine Venture forever. One can only hope he's grown out of his reactionary mindset.
Silverbob, himself! (from fanac)
But in addition to the cavalcade of celebrities, there were, of course, the hundreds of fans, and boy did we have fun together. The names of a few with whom I connected: Denise Head, Al Jackson, Myriam Warren, Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman. I even spent a little time palling around with young Astrid Anderson (daughter of Karen and Poul — I never quite managed to cross their path). Precocious kid. She's going places.
As usual, Galactic Journey presented a panel on the current state of fandom. The room was packed, and the questions were excellent. There was just one moment of heat: an attendee took umbrage at our less-than-flattering comments regarding Barry Goldwater. Well, it's a free country.
Leiber, Emsh, Ley, Scithers, Brackett, Asimov, De Camp (from locus)
On the last day, we crammed into the main hall for the award ceremony. The highlight of the luncheon was, without a doubt, the final award for "Dramatic Presentation." You see, Isaac Asimov was presenting, as he usually does (a rumor that it would be Ted Sturgeon turned out to be unfounded — he wasn't there). He made his little introductions for each of the winners, with increasing irritation as the night wore on.
You see, he really wanted a Hugo, and he was upset that he had never gotten one in his 25 years of writing. And now that he'd transitioned to mostly writing science articles, it was becoming clear (to him) that he never would.
Once he reached the last envelope, he took a moment to treat us all to a tirade. He knew, he said, why he had never gotten the golden rocketship. It had nothing to do with merit. It was anti-semitism, plain and simple. We were all Nazis. Yes, even me.
And with a snarl, he ripped open the final envelope and called out, "The award goes to I…" and froze, his tongue tripping on his own name. It turned out that there was no Dramatic Presentation award this year. Instead, Asimov was given a Hugo for his F&SF science articles — "putting the science in science fiction," the award read.
The laughter lasted quite a long time.
As for the rest of the Hugos, well, here's how they went:
Best Novel
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick [Putnam, 1962]
Nominees
Sword of Aldones by Marion Zimmer Bradley [Ace, 1961]
A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke [Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962]
Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper [Avon, 1962]
Sylva by Vercors [Putnam, 1961]
H. Beam Piper in tie at the convention (from zarthani)
This selection is truly remarkable. Not a single one of these books made our Galactic Stars list this year (though, to be fair, A Fall of Moondust was on our list the prior year). The Dick is decent, but not Hugo-worthy; ditto the Piper. The Bradley is just awful. None of us read Sylva, a French novel about a woman who turns into a fox, so we can't judge that one.
Short Fiction
The The Dragon Masters by Jack Vance [Galaxy Aug 1962]
Nominees
Myrrha by Gary Jennings [F&SF Sep 1962]
The Unholy Grail by Fritz Leiber [Fantastic October 1962]
When You Care, When You Love by Theodore Sturgeon [F&SF Sep 1962]
Where Is the Bird of Fire? by Thomas Burnett Swann [Science Fantasy Apr 1962]
Costumes of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser at the convention (from fanac)
Here, we're on more common ground. Of course, the WorldCon committee only picks five sub-novel length stories to award while the Journey gives out fifteen, which allows more opportunities for overlap between the two sets of awards.
The Vance is really an excellent novella, and I understand a sequel may be in the works. The Leiber is definitely deserving, and its warm reception appears to have spurred a host of new Fahfrd and Mouser stories. The Sturgeon is a reasonable choice, though it was not one of ours.
We were not so taken by the Jennings, and we missed out on the Swann. Would any of our fellow travelers like to clue us in?
Best Dramatic Presentation
No Winner
Nominees
Burn, Witch, Burn (1962) (alt: Night of the Eagle) [Anglo-Amalgamated/Independent Artists] Directed by Sidney Hayers; Screenplay by Charles Beaumont & Richard Matheson and George Baxt; based on the novel Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber
The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) [British Lion/Pax] Directed by Val Guest; Written by Wolf Mankowitz & Val Guest
Last Year at Marienbad (1962) [Argos Films] Directed by Alain Resnais; Screenplay by Alain Resnais and Alain Robbe-Grillet; based on the novel The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
The Twilight Zone (TV series) by Rod Serling [CBS]
From The Twilight Zone episode Little Girl Lost
As described above, no program managed to secure the gold rocket ship this year. In any event, I am dismayed that we only covered two of the finalists. We will endeavor to Do Better!
Best Professional Magazine
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ed. by Robert P. Mills and Avram Davidson
Nominees
Analog Science Fiction and Fact ed. by John W. Campbell, Jr.
Galaxy ed. by H. L. Gold
Fantastic ed. by Cele Goldsmith
Science Fantasy ed. by John Carnell
Once again, the names are the same but the order changes. There just aren't that many magazines around these days, though there has been a resurgence lately (and I just read that Wonder Stories may be back!)
I wonder if we should start covering Science Fantasy…
Best Professional Artist
Roy G. Krenkel
Nominees
Ed Emshwiller
Virgil Finlay
Jack Gaughan
John Schoenherr
Krenkel's is a name I was unfamiliar with until recently. He's the one responsible for the beautiful cover work on the Edgar Rice Burroughs reprints. The others are, of course, staples of the magazine world.
Best Fanzine
Xero ed. by Richard A. Lupoff and Pat Lupoff
Nominees
Warhoon ed. by Richard Bergeron
Mirage ed. by Jack L. Chalker
Yandro ed. by Robert Coulson and Juanita Coulson
Shangri L’Affaires ed. by Fred Patten, Albert Lewis, Bjo Trimble and John Trimble
"Where is Galactic Journey?" you cry. After all, it was widely reported that our beloved journal would be on the ballot this year. Sadly, due to some arcane rule I don't quite understand, Galactic Journey was not eligible for the Hugo in 1963. Maybe next year…
Despite our not having officially been on the ballot, the Journey was invited to the Sunday night reveling that is traditional for Hugo losers. We sent a representative; however, the Traveler and Editor decided to get some much-needed rest. It had been a roller-coaster of a week, and we wanted to be fresh for the return to San Diego.
Nevertheless, Worldcon was a blast. We loved the venue, the friends, and the programming. We will definitely attend next year. Hope to see you there!
[We'll be discussing the Hugo winners, losers, and shoulda-beens all week, starting now, at Portal 55! Come join us!]
—
I'm going to be unhappy with the Hugos until they finally go back to having several short fiction categories. There's some serious apples and oranges problems as it stands now. I'm not holding my breath.
Krenkel came out of comics. He used to pencil for EC and shared a studio with Wally Wood and Harry Harrison.
Come join us at Portal 55!
I agree — fiction should be broken out, the more categories the better. Of course, it makes for a longer ceremony.
This is AWESOME:-)
Thank you! We enjoyed it, too!
I had occasion to comment on "Where Is the Bird of Fire?" a while back. Below is what I wrote, with much of the plot description omitted for the benefit of those who have not read it, but should do so. As to whether you should cover SCIENCE FANTASY: yes. It is probably the most interesting magazine in the field at the moment, if you can find it. Notice I didn't say "best." It publishes some terrible crap, some excellent material, and some that is just strange. But to the Bird:
Swann’s “Where Is the Bird of Fire?” is considerably longer and much more impressive than Swann’s two earlier stories in the magazine, and in a rather different mode, the fantasy-drenched retelling of ancient mythology and history.
In the familiar story, Romulus and Remus are the twin grandsons of Numitor, deposed king of Alba Longa, who are to be killed but instead are set off down the Tiber in a basket, found and suckled by the wolf Luperca, and then discovered and reared by shepherds. Much later, Remus is kidnapped and taken to Alba Longa and Romulus raises a band of shepherds to liberate him. They restore Numitor to the throne, plan to start their own city nearby, and Remus is killed in a dispute over which hill to build on—the Palatine or the Aventine?
In Swann’s version the narrator is Sylvan the Faun, carried off after a mock raid by Romulus, who is already scheming to take Alba Longa. It is Remus, however, who takes Sylvan, rescuing him from the dangerous designs of Romulus. Sylvan stays, sharing Remus’s household with the elderly Luperca, and becomes Remus’s constant companion and admirer. Romulus is the dynamic and confident go-getter; Remus is the one in harmony with nature, the bird of fire as Faunus puts it. [MASSIVE SPOILERS OMITTED]
Swann’s ancient Italy is a much more alien place than most of the other strange worlds the characters in Science Fantasy are thrust into, since we see it through the eyes of those who live there and partake of its thoroughly pagan and premodern world-view. His style is generally low-key and matter-of-fact, notwithstanding—and maybe accentuating—the otherwise deeply strange presentation. At times his in-passing lyricism can be startling. E.g.: in the battle for Alba Longa, Remus tells Sylvan to run to Romulus while he holds off the dictator Amulius: “Behind me a prince and a tyrant grappled in roses and thorns.” At other times it is not startling at all, like the predictable set-piece crescendo at the conclusion, in Sylvan’s voice near the end of his ten-year life:
"Where is the bird of fire? In the tall green flame of the cypress, I see his shadow, flickering with the swallows. In the city that crowds the Palatine, where Fauns walk with men and wolves are fed in the temples, I hear the rush of his wings. But that is his shadow and sound. The bird himself is gone. Always his wings beat just beyond my hands, and the wind possesses his cry. Where is the bird of fire? Look up, he burns in the sky, with Saturn and the Golden Age. I will go to find him."
But even this is better controlled and less overdone than the usual in high fantasy. Swann, unlike many of his fellows, would be a hard fantasist to parody—an odd compliment, no doubt, but a real one.
Thank you for the fascinating description. Swann sounds like an author to watch.
As far as the Hugo Awards go, I have no major problems with them except for the fact that No Award "won" over a couple of very good movies. Maybe a lot of American fans didn't have a chance to see those British films. (And the other one nominated, which I have not seen, is a French art film. Very interesting.)
(Good year for the French, by the way, since the fiction awards are always dominated by stories in the English language. I believe that "Sylva" is the first translated work to be nominated.)
That was me again.
Darn! I wish I'd known you were going to be in D.C. I would have told you to check out this local comic at the Shoreham Hotel, Mark Russell. Sort of a Mort Sahl with music.
I attended the 1963 Worldcon in Washington DC, age 19. A student at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (Now NYU Tandon ), I was a member of its SF Club. We persuaded the student Government to fund the trip for club members. I still have a book documenting that weekend and my picture is among the those at the banquet. I remember how many of the Big Names would talk to you if you walked up to them. I think less than 300 attended. I bought at the auction the typescript of a Murray Leinster novel for $8 then got him to autograph it. He expressed surprise someone would pay $8 for it. I once read a piece by Barry Malzberg that Leinster did not attend SF events, was shy, etc. But that weekend he was Guest of Honor, spoke to me & my friends and gave a humorous GOH speech .