DECEMBER 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS FROM THE EDITOR . .3 . WHAT IS NESFA? . 3. BOSKONE HISTORY . 4 BOSKONE HISTORY, CONT. .5 . ME AND ISAAC ASIMOV BY LESTER DEL RAY . 11 DAVID HARTWELL BY JOHN R. DOUGLAS . 12. BOB EGGLETON BY HAL CLEMENT . 13. ELLEN ASHER BY MOSHE FEDER . .14 . RUTH SANDERSON BY JANE YOLEN . .17 . MEET WALTER JON WILLIAMS BY JANE LINDSKOLD . 18 GEORGE R.R. MARTIN BY WALTER JON WILLIAMS. 22 NEIL GAIMAN: AMAZING MASTER CONJURER BY TERRY PRATCHETT . .24 . RICHARD HESCOX BY BOB EGGLETON. 26 ABOUT DAVID GERROLD BY HARRY TURTLEDOVE . 28. BROTHER GUY CONSOLMAGNO BY BILL HIGGINS. 30 BRUCE COVILLE: ODDER THAN EVER BY JANE YOLEN . .32 . JO WALTON BY PATRICK NIELSEN HAYDEN . 34 MARY CROWELL BY BRENDA SUTTON . .36 . TEAM CHARLAINE! BY TONI L.P. KELNER . .38 . GINJER BUCHANAN BY JOHN DOUGLAS . .40 . CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN. 43 DAVID ANTHONY DURHAM. 44 NEIL CLARKE . 45. CERECE RENNIE MURPHY . .46 . ERRICK A. NUNNALLY. 47 FLOURISH KLINK . .49 . KEN LIU . .51 . WESLEY CHU . 52. COVER ART COURTESY OF HISTORICAL B&W IMAGES COURTESY BOB EGGLETON OF NESFA (NEW ENGLAND SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION) PHOTOMONTAGE ON PAGE 3 BY HISTORICAL BOSKONE PROGRAM COVERS MMXX & CONTENT COURTESY OF BOSKONE & NESFA INFOGRAPHIC ON PAGE 4 BY SPECIAL THANKS TO TONY LEWIS FOR THE NASA & WMAP SCIENCE TEAM USE OF HIS RARE COLLECTION OF BOSKONE SOUVENIR BOOKS. WITHOUT TONY’S ASSIS- EDITORIAL TEAM: ERIN UNDERWOOD, GUEST EDITOR TANCE JOURNEY PLANET: BOSKONE WOULD ERRICK A. NUNNALLY, LAYOUT DESIGN NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. JAMES BACON, EDITOR; CHRIS GARCIA, EDITOR 2 share my idea of creating a FROM THE fanzine that captures the essence of Boskone from a EDITOR historical perspective that honors the past conventions When NESFA asked me to be while also providing fans a taste the chairperson for Boskone 54, of what Boskone has to offer by which takes place in Boston, reprinting selections from MA from February 17–19, 2017, Boskone’s past Souvenir Books. I wanted to do “something” that would honor the history and They loved the idea and offered tradition of Boston fandom as to let me guest edit this well as Boskone itself. Boskone “Boskone” edition of Journey is, after all, the longest running Planet. (Thanks, guys!!!) science fiction and fantasy With Journey Planet: Boskone, we convention in New England, are creating the equivalent of a WHAT IS work are often invited to other We do what any sound thinking classes of membership. In most months, NESFA holds fan does…we create a fanzine! NESFA? two formal meetings on Sunday (from the NESFA website: afternoons, one mostly for www.nesfa.org) conducting business and the and many of the most notable “convention in a book” by other mostly for socializing; NESFA, the New England and significant figures in science reprinting past guest introduc- many of the 30 or so active Science Fiction Association, was fiction have been guests, tions and other fun tidbits that members also gather at our founded in 1967 by fans who program participants, volun- serve as snapshots in time and clubhouse nearly every wanted to do things in addition teers, or members of Boskone. are not meant to be “current” Wednesday evening for work to socializing. What we do has So, how could we capture this representations of where these and socializing. changed over time, most notably history and tradition? authors, editors, publishers, with the growth of NESFA NESFA is one of the oldest SF artists, etc. are in their lives and We do what any sound thinking Press, but the club is still clubs in the northeastern U.S., careers today. I hope fans will fan does…we create a fanzine! organized on that principle. and has been a registered enjoy Journey Planet: Enter Journey Planet, the Hugo NESFA has nearly 400 non-profit literary organization Boskone, especially those who Award-winning fanzine that is members, mostly Subscribing (under IRS section 501(c)3) since are unable to travel to Boston. published electronically and members from all over the shortly after its founding. distributed for free to fans ~ Erin Underwood world. Anyone who’s interested Boskone® is brought to you by worldwide. Thinking like a fan, Boskone 54, Chair can join as a Subscribing NESFA®, the New England I contacted the editors James member; members who Science Fiction Association. Bacon and Chris Garcia to demonstrate a willingness to 3 BOSKONE HISTORY Boskone (from the Boskone 9 Program Book, 1972) Why Boskone? Some years ago Edward Elmer Smith set forth, in the famous Lensmen series, the details of a neatly evil culture, the Boskone. The Boskone’s real life counterpart in neat evil springs from a pun on BOSton CONference. As a fan event Boskones first began in 1941. There were four Boskones held in those epochal times (the Februaries of 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1945). Harry Warner, Jr. lightly details the proceedings of those events in his fine Fan History All Our Yesterdays. Hardly a Fan is yet active who can recall those Boskones lost past; however, with luck, you might mousetrap Harry Stubbs into reminiscing about those old times for you. 4 BOSKONE HISTORY CONTINUED The current series of Boskones began in 1965 as a Demonstration of Eminent Visibility by a resurgent BOSKONE III WAS HELD AT Boston Fandom. In the established traditions, and the yet-to-be-established traditions, of all True M.I.T. IN CAMBRIDGE, AND Fanac, the evolution of Boskone to its present form, will make a fine piece of Fan History. So, as a BOSKONE VIII AT THE service to all would-be Fan Historians, we append the following research clues: SHERATON ROLLING GREEN IN ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS. (taken from an article in Boskone 8 Program Book by Bill Desmond) ALL OTHER BOSKONES HAVE CHAIRMAN DATE GUEST OF HONOR ATTENDANCE BEEN HELD AT THE STATLER- I Dave Vanderwerf 10–12 Sep 65 Hal Clement 66 HILTON IN BOSTON. II Dave Vanderwerf 11–13 Mar 66 Frederik Pohl 71 Historical Note: Boskone is currently held every February Ill Erwin Strauss 1–3 Oct 66 -------------------- 68 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel IV Paul Galvin 1–2 Apr 67 Damon Knight 72 in Boston, MA. For more information, please visit V Paul Galvin 23–24 Mar 68 Larry Niven 155 www.boskone.org. VI Leslie Turek 22–23 Mar 69 Jack Gaughan 262 VII Tony Lewis 27–29 Mar 70 Gordon Dickson 383 VIII Bill Desmond 12–14 Mar 71 Larry Niven 285 IX Fred Isaacs 14–16 Apr 72 L. Sprague De Camp ??? Historical Note: An up-to-date list can be found at http://www.nesfa.org/boskone-history/boskone-history.html 5 B1 6 B3 7 B6 8 B7 9 B11 10 B11 11 DAVID HARTWELL B21 madness. The word workaholic was probably invented to cover his case, but I chose to think of him as a nee-Re- naissance man. At the time, he was still working for N.A.L. as a contract science fiction consultant. Shortly thereafter he moved to Berkley Books. He was also finishing up a doctorate in comparative mediaeval litera- ture, teaching English for engineers at Stevens Institute, managing Bard Hall, the medical students’ residence at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School (where he first met his wife), was a partner in an expanding mail-order book business, was involved in a small press publishing several sf-oriented pamphlets, was consulting editor with Gregg Press for their series of scholarly library reprints of sf classics, was editing a literary quarterly, The Little Magazine, which he had co-founded during his early days in graduate school, and wasting the rest of his limited free time going to sf conventions. The fact that he managed to maintain full employment for a small town out of one briefcase was enough to tire me out but he always had energy for the commute to his next job or for another round of the endless discussion of sf, publishing, books, and literature with the constant stream of visitors who Courtesy, The University of California Riverside, Department of Special Collections and University Archives. The University of California Riverside, Department Special Collections and Courtesy, flowed through his tiny apartment. It was a known fact that he occasionally found a vacant apartment in Bard Hall where he could chain up a writer who was suffering a block or overdue on a manuscript deadline. The combi- nation of light feeding and heavy encouragement usually produced the required number of double-spaced pages. He drinks dark rum, wears outrageous ties, has modest ambitions (“all I really want to do is publish the best science fiction line ever”), has a seemingly infinite knowl- by John R. Douglas edge of sf, English literature, fifties rock and roll, and Boskone 21, 1984 building management and works harder than anybody else I know. Since he left Pocket Books he’s had time to I first met David Hartwell many years ago when he reactivate most of the pursuits mentioned above. He has was attending a small convention as a representative for sold two books and may sell another, has a consulting job his then current employer (N.A.L.). Since he arrived with with Waldenbooks, another with Tor, and is clearly a large supply of free books, he seemed like a wonderfully showing signs of feeling underemployed. He considers useful person to know and I’ve since discovered that he pepper an exotic spice but then he is a native New has other charming attributes. Englander so that shouldn’t be a surprise. He prefers When I later moved to New York City I had the David to Dave. Say hello but be prepared for anything opportunity to discover the true extent of David’s after that.