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{{Short description|Fanzine on science fiction}}
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[[File:MGNTNJNRNL1938.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cover of ''Imagination'', a fanzine published by Forrest J. Ackerman, January 1938, drawn by Jim Mooney]]
A '''science-fiction fanzine''' is an amateur or semi-professional [[magazine]] published by members of [[science-fiction fandom]], from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of [[fanzine]], within one of which the term "''fanzine''" was coined, and at one time constituted the primary type of science-fictional fannish activity ("[[fanac]]").

==Origins and history==

The first science-fiction fanzine, ''[[The Comet (fanzine)|The Comet]]'', was published in 1930 by the Science Correspondence Club in [[Chicago]]. The term "fanzine" was [[neologism|coined]] by [[Russ Chauvenet]] in the October 1940 issue of his fanzine ''Detours''.<ref>{{Cite dictionary|title=fanzine n.|url=https://sfdictionary.com/view/186|dictionary=Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction|editor-first=Jesse|editor-last=Sheidlower|date=December 16, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2025}}</ref> "Fanzines" were distinguished from "prozines", that is, all professional [[magazine]]s. Prior to that, the fan publications were known as "fanmags" or "letterzines".

Traditionally, science-fiction fanzines were (and many still are) available for "the usual", meaning that a sample issue will be mailed on request; to receive further issues, a reader sends a "letter of comment" (LoC) about the fanzine to the editor. The LoC might be published in the next issue: some fanzines consisted almost exclusively of letter columns, where discussions were conducted in much the same way as they are in internet [[newsgroup]]s and [[mailing list]]s, though at a relatively slow pace.

Since 1955, the annual [[Worldcon]] has awarded [[Hugo Awards]] for [[Hugo Award for Best Fanzine|Best Fanzine]];  awards for [[Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer|Best Fan Writer]] and [[Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist|Best Fan Artist]] were added in 1967 and have continued since then.

==Semiprozines==

During the 1970s and 1980s, some fanzines—especially [[sercon]] (serious and constructive) zines devoted to science fiction and [[fantasy literature|fantasy]] criticism, and newszines such as ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]''—became more professional journals, produced by [[desktop publishing]] programs and [[offset printing]].  These new magazines were labeled "semiprozines", and were eventually sold rather than traded, and paid their contributors. Some semiprozines publish original fiction.  The Hugo Awards recognized semiprozines as a separate category from fanzines in 1984 after ''Locus'' won the award for best fanzine several years running (See [[Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine]]). Well-known semiprozines include ''Locus'', ''[[Ansible (magazine)|Ansible]]'', ''[[The New York Review of Science Fiction]]'', and ''[[Interzone (magazine)|Interzone]]''.

==APAs==

{{Main|Amateur press association}}

[[Amateur press association]]s (APAs) publish fanzines made up of the contributions of the individual members collected into an assemblage or bundle called an [[apazine]].

The first science-fiction APA was the [[Fantasy Amateur Press Association]] (FAPA) formed by a group of science-fiction fans in 1937. Some APAs are still active as hardcopy publications, and some are published as virtual "e-zines", distributed on the [[internet]].

==Other types of fanzines==

{{Main|Fanzine}}

The term "fanzine" is also used to refer to fan-created magazines concerning other topics: the earliest [[rock-and-roll]] fanzines were edited by science-fiction fans. A significant part of modern computer/Web/Internet slang, abbreviations, etc. is derived from the jargon of the fanzine fans. See [[fanzine]], [[fanspeak]].

The fanzine movement is now well represented on the Web; see [[webzine]].

== Conventions ==
Fanzine readers and producers naturally gather at [[science fiction convention]]s, but there are also small conventions dedicated to fanzines. The first fanzine-only annual convention was Autoclave, held by a Detroit-based fan group for several years in the 1970s. In 1984, the first [[Corflu]] was held in [[Berkeley, California]]. A second convention, [[Ditto (convention)|Ditto]], started in Toronto in 1988. Both of these conventions continue to take place each year.

==See also==
{{Category see also|Science fiction fanzines}}
* [[Fanspeak]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://efanzines.com eFanzines.com: science fiction fanzines on-line] 
* [http://aspace.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/2/classifications/97 Fandom-related Collections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408054205/http://aspace.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/2/classifications/97 |date=2022-04-08 }} at the [[University of Iowa]] Library
* {{cite web |title=Collection: Science Fiction Fanzines Collection {{!}} Georgia Tech Archives Finding Aids |url=https://finding-aids.library.gatech.edu/repositories/2/resources/324 |website=finding-aids.library.gatech.edu}}

{{Science fiction}}

[[Category:Science fiction fanzines|*]]
[[Category:Science fiction fandom| ]]