There is a broad cultural phenomenon alive all over the world today, one which grew out of the pulp magazines of the 1930s and '40's, but one that looks to the future as no culture ever has in the history of the world. This culture is known as "Science Fiction Fandom" and it is many things to many people, all of whom are united and divided by their common love of SF (and don't call it "Sci-Fi" -- that is a term coined by Forrest J. "Forry" Ackerman of LA CA to apply to BAD SF movies and tv).

Fandom consists of many elements. There are Clubs all over the country that have no official (and very little, if any,  unofficial) connection with each other; as well as local, regional, national, and international clubs. There are  conventions in every local, regional, national, or international conglomeration that can support them. There are magazines ranging from the professional ones you see at every newstand (Locus, Asimovs, F&SF, etc.) down to the "one-shots" done at any event that happens to have 2 or more fans and a typewriter or computer with printer. And don't even get me started on all the ways this impacts on things like the Internet, and the connections between fandom and professional writers, or the difference between fanzines and the small press.

In my case, Fandom  has supplied the bulk of my social life for almost 2 decades, brought me together with  my wife, taught me a great deal about how to get along with people, got me so frustrated at times that I became unbearable even to those who cared about me, and generally filled in for the extended family that my generation lacks.

I first got involved with SF Fandom in 1980 when Ward Smith, a fellow student at Birmingham-Southern College, repaid me for recruiting him into Lamdba Chi Alpha fraternity by taking me to a meeting of the Birmingham SF Club. There I met Adrian Washburn, who became one of my best and truest friends. It only took me a few meetings to get hooked. Since that beginning, I have joined and participated in many clubs, APAs (amateur writing groups), conventions, and what-not.

Among the highlights, I received the Kaymar Award from the National Fantasy Fan Federation for my work in reviving a dormant bureau of that venerable group;  served 2 or 3 times (my memory is not really clear right now on whether the first time was for 1 year or 2) as the Secretary of the Southern Fandom Confederation; served as Official Editor of  the Neffer Amateur Press Alliance (N'APA) for 5 years; and have Edited or Co-Edited 50 issues of Memphen, the Memphis SF Association newsletter. The Darrell Awards, which are bestowed by the Memphis SF Associaiton, were my idea and my most successful fannish project, at least for Midsouth fandom. I also enjoyed assisting my wife in putting out a few years' worth of issues of the Aeon Pulse, the club magazine /newsletter of the USS Aeon, the StarFleet of Memphis club of which we are no longer members.

At the moment, I hold the following positions:

   Founder and  Webmaster for the  Darrell Awards Jury of the Mid-South Science Fiction & Fantasy Association;
   Treasurer of the  Mid-South Science Fiction & Fantasy Association  (MSSFFA);
   Founder and Moderator, MemphisSF@yahoogroups.com  -- email list for all Memphis-area fandoms

My only current fannish memberships are in MSSFFA and on the social networking site on ning for
Battlestar Gallatica

 At various times in the past, I have been in many other SF-nal fan groups, including a few Star Trek and several Pern clubs and more than one general-sf-interest club. Also, my wife Barbara  and  I  are ex-members of the a couple of local Star Trek fan clubs.

Barbara is also currently serving yet another year as Art Show Director for  MidSouthCon   and we both are former members of the Board for the fan-run charitable corporation that runs that convention (Mid-South Science and Fiction Conventions, Inc.).

Conventions I have been to (either with Barbara or with others) included 2 WorldCons (Atlanta and New Orleans), many Deep South Cons, ConStellation  (the annual con in Huntsville, AL), various cons in Birmingham, a few in Atlanta, a few in Nashville, one in Oak Ridge, TN, and almost every convention in Memphis since 1987.

Over the years, I have edited, published, or written for many fanzines, including Anvil (the B'ham SF Club clubzine), The National Fantasy Fan (N3F clubzine), Memphen, and numerous APAs (N'APA, Southern Fandom Press Alliance,  Golden Apa, APA 69 Classic, Myriad APA, and others).

To sum up, fandom has been a major part of my life since 1980. This site is dedicated to fandom and contains links to the various clubs, conventions, fanzines, and other flotsam and jetsam that have made my fannish experience so rich and compelling. If you know of other SF-related sites  that cannot be reached easily from links on the sites that appear here, send me email about them and I may add them too. Otherwise, please feel free to use the links here and to bookmark this page (or not) if you find it useful. As with all the pages on my AOL-based site, it is primarily here for my use, but I don't mind if y'all use it too. (grin)