Contact: Jan Gosnell, 10637 Boundary Line, R.R. 2, Kent Bridge, Ontario, Canada N0P 1V0; ph. 519/351-1428 (Best time to call: between 7pm. and 10pm, Eastern Standard Time); e-mail: eileen@ciaccess.com
The Fanzine Reading Room is located in the very comfortable Executive Travellers Lounge directly across from the hotel reception desk. If there are enough GoFers, the room will be open 24 hours a day. If there are not enough GoFers, then the operating hours will be posted. Volunteer to be a GoFer!
This year is the 20th anniversary of the MediaWest*Con 'Zine Reading Room. In 1982, the Star Wars saga and Star Trek were the focus of most fannish activity with a few other fandoms filling in the edges. All fannish writing was in the form of print fanzines; very few fans had computers or VCRs; and the Fan Q ballot was 1/2 page. How time and fandom has changed.
Its original purpose was to give con attendees a chance to see and read fanzines that they did not have other access to. As time passed, the 'Zine Room became, in a small way, a fanzine archive with a permanent loan collection of over 400 classic and out-of-print zines covering 25 fandoms and over 25 years of fannish creativity. To this core purpose other functions have been added over the years.
FAN Q DISPLAY: With the increasing diversity of the Fan Q Awards and of fandom itself, the 'Zine Room has become the area to display Fan Q nominated material lent to it by the nominees. This gives voters a chance to see a wider array of items before making their votes. The Fan Q Ballot box is also located in the 'Zine Room. The STIFfie Awards ballot box has also been located in the 'Zine Room as a courtesy to its organizers. We encourage all current Fan Q nominees to loan examples of their nominated works to the 'Zine Room; either the 'zines themselves and/or photo-copies of individual stories or examples of artwork.
FANZINE "ADS": To aid the sales of fanzine editors and dealers at MW*C, the 'Zine Room started making special notations on loaned 'zines that were also for sale at the con. There is a list kept of where these 'zines are being sold in order to inform the interested reader where to find the sellers. Anyone selling 'zines at the con is invited to loan a copy of their 'zine and let us know where at the con they will be dealing.
FANNISH CHARITIES: The 'Zine Room displays the items for and runs the silent-bid auction to support the SF/Media Fan Fund. The 'Zine Room also runs a silent-bid auction to benefit the postal costs of the Fanzine Archives. A list of these items will be posted on this web page as they arrive. If you would like to donate items of fannish interest to either of these charity auctions, please notify me either by mail or e-mail of what you will be bringing to the con. If shipping of your donated items is necessary, please send them to the con address: MediaWest*Con, 200 East Thomas St., Lansing, MI., U.S.A. 48906-4047 Attention: Fan Fund. Please notify Lori and Gordon in advance if you are going to be shipping items to them.
FANZINES: The main function of the Fanzine Reading Room remains: to give the con attendees the best chance to see the widest possible array of fandom's creative efforts in print form. In common with all other aspects of MW*C, the 'Zine Room relies on member input. We especially need 'zines that are current, with Fan Q nominees in particular being wanted.
FANZINE LOANS: If you are intending to loan 'zines to the con, please let me know either by e- or snail mail. It would be very helpful if you could take 2-3 minutes to note down the information on your 'zines and send this info to me before the con. I need to know: name of 'zine; fandom/s; year published; rating; Slash or Gen; if being sold at the con and a very brief idea of contents -- novel or anthology, humour, poems, fiction or non-fiction etc.; and if a Fan Q nominee this year. If you aren't able to send this info to me before the con, you can still bring your 'zines to the con and give me the info there.
If you are not able to bring your 'zine/s to the con or send it/them with a friend, you could mail it to the con address with "Attention: Fanzine Reading Room" on the envelope. If you wish the 'zines to be returned, please include a SASE with sufficient postage. Postal Deadlines: For 'zine info to me and/or 'zines mailed to the con: Outside North America -- May 6th, North America -- May 12th. E-mail deadline for 'zine info to me -- May 21st, midnight EDT.
The permanent loan collection has been cut down greatly in size. The Fanzine Archives, a non-profit organization run by Ming Wathne, is doing year-round what the 'Zine Room does at MW*C. and with a much greater number of classic and out-of-print 'zines. It's existence makes our permanent loan collection somewhat redundant. In fact, the 'zines deleted from the permanent collection over the last few years have been donated to the Archives. Therefore, the MW*C permanent loan collection will focus mostly on current 'zines, the most-read 'zines, and a few representative 'zines of each fandom we have. This will leave the 'Zine Room with much fewer 'zines. Hopefully, 'zine loans, especially temporary ones, of newer 'zines will fill out our selection of 'zines for the use of the membership.
The 'Zine Room will only accept "bulk" permanent donations of 'zines on Sunday night at the "Antique Fanzine Roadshow." This will be held in the hotel Atrium at a time to be announced at the con. Ming Wathne of the Archives and I will be on hand to go through bulk permanent donations (which are usually the left-overs from 'zine collections that were being sold at the con that the sellers don't want to haul home ) and choose 'zines for our respective usage. Any 'zines left after that will be put out in the Atrium for the attendees to help themselves to. Bulk permanent donations of 'zines arriving in the 'Zine Room before or after the "Fanzine Roadshow" will be put out in the Atrium.
This official MediaWest*Con page was updated March 16, 2002