The 1st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was held on 2–4 July 1939 in the Caravan Hall in New York City, United States,[2] in conjunction with the New York World's Fair, which was themed as "The World of Tomorrow". It was later retroactively named "NyCon I"[3] by Forrest J Ackerman.[4]
| NyCon I, the 1st World Science Fiction Convention | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Dates | 2–4 July 1939 |
| Venue | Caravan Hall |
| Location(s) | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Attendance | ~200[1] |
The convention was chaired by Sam Moskowitz.[5] Along with Moskowitz, other organizers were James V. Taurasi, Sr. and Will Sykora.
Participants
editAttendance was approximately 200.[1][6]
Guests of Honor
editThe Guest of Honor at the first Worldcon was Frank R. Paul.
Other notable participants
editAlso attending were John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, Ray Bradbury, Hannes Bok, Milton A. Rothman, John D. Clark, Jack Williamson, and Harry Harrison.
Controversy
editIn addition to its groundbreaking role as the first of its kind, the convention was noteworthy for the exclusion of a number of politicized Futurians by convention chair Sam Moskowitz; those excluded were Donald A. Wollheim, Frederik Pohl, John Michel, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Cyril M. Kornbluth, and Jack Gillespie, an event known to fannish historians as "The Great Exclusion Act."[7]
According to Pohl, in his autobiography The Way the Future Was, the Futurians held their own counter-convention which was attended by several who went to the regular convention. He also downplayed the aspect that politics played, himself believing that it was a personality conflict between the convention organizers and the Futurians and said "We pretty nearly had it coming," continuing with "What we Futurians made very clear to the rest of New York fandom was that we thought we were better than they were. For some reason that annoyed them."[8]
Programming and events
edit
Ackerman and his girlfriend and fellow fanzine editor Myrtle R Douglas (Morojo) attended the convention in "futuristicostumes" designed and sewn by Douglas: this is considered a forerunner to modern fan costuming (which is known as "cosplay").[4][9]
In 1994, the International Costumers' Guild (ICG) presented a special award to Ackerman recognizing him as the "Father of Convention Costuming" at Conadian, the 52nd Worldcon. In 2016, the ICG recognized Morojo as the “Mother of Convention Costuming” with a video award presentation at MidAmeriCon II, the 74th Worldcon.[10][11]
Awards
edit1939 Retro Hugo Awards
editHugo Awards were not presented, as the first ones were awarded in 1953. However, in 2014 at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention held in London, a set of Retro Hugo Awards were presented to honor work that would have been Hugo-eligible had the award existed in 1939:
- Best Novel: The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White
- Best Novella: "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell (as "Don A. Stuart")
- Best Novelette: "Rule 18" by Clifford D. Simak
- Best Short Story: "How We Went to Mars" by Arthur C. Clarke
- Best Dramatic Presentation: The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, written for radio by Howard E. Koch and Anne Froelick, directed by Orson Welles (The Mercury Theatre on the Air/CBS)
- Best Professional Editor: John W. Campbell
- Best Professional Artist: Virgil Finlay
- Best Fanzine: Imagination!, edited by Forrest J Ackerman, Myrtle Rebecca "Morojo" Douglas, and T. Bruce Yerke
- Best Fan Writer: Ray Bradbury
- Special Committee Award: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, creators of Superman
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "The Press: Amazing! Astounding!". Time. 1939-07-10. Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
- ^ "Caravan Hall". Fancyclopedia 3. Fancyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ^ "1939 - NyCon I". Notes on the Long List of Worldcons. World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
- ^ a b Kyle, David (December 2002). "Caravan to the Stars". Mimosa. No. 29. Retrieved 2008-12-10.
- ^ Henniker-Heaton, Peter J. (1963-07-06). "From the Bookshelf". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2011-03-08.
Sam Moskowitz has written science fiction, taught it, been an editor and literary agent in the field, and in 1939 organized the first of the still continuing World Science Fiction Conventions.
- ^ "The Long List of World Science Fiction Conventions". World Science Fiction Society. Retrieved 2011-03-07.
- ^ Kyle, David (1997). "SaM - Fan Forever (Moskowitz, the Futurians, and the Great Exclusion Act of 1939)". Mimosa. No. 21. Archived from the original on 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- ^ Pohl, Frederik (1978). The Way The Future Was. Ballantine/Del Rey Books. p. 76-77.
- ^ Raymond, Adam K. (2014-07-24). "75 Years Of Capes and Face Paint: A History of Cosplay". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
- ^ "Myrtle R Douglas: Mother of Convention Costuming" (video). youtube.com. International Costumers' Guild (ICG). August 19, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
- ^ "ICG Special Awards and Recognition". costume.org. International Costumers' Guild (ICG). Retrieved December 20, 2022.
Further reading
edit- In Memory Yet Green by Isaac Asimov (1979)
- The Futurians by Damon Knight (1977)
- The Way The Future Was by Frederik Pohl (1978)
