Fan Lounge

Part of the Chicon 6 concourse, a fan lounge designed by Leah Zeldes and Dick Smith to represent a typical Chifan living room of the Thursday era, featuring ratty sofas and brick-and-board bookshelves stuffed with giveaway sf. Front: Roger Sims, left, and Dave Kyle with life-sized soft-sculptures of Thursday regulars Neil Rest and Phyllis Eisenstein (created by Gretchen Roper). Behind them, working repro equipment from the Smiths’ collection: a ditto machine, mimeo and letterpress. Photo by Laurie Mann.

The Fan Lounge (sometimes Fanzine Lounge) is relaxed social space at a science-fiction convention devoted to Trufandom, a hangout for all fans interested in traditional fanac and meant to inspire the interest of others. The space was originally meant as a place where fanzine lovers, and those new to fanzines could come, read a few issues of displayed fanzines, and chat with fellow fanzine fans. There is rarely food or other amenities provided in Fan Lounges.

It's unclear when they first started, but it was no later than the 1980s.

It usually features displays of fanzines, often with free copies available or copies for sale. A repro method may be available. Publications on fanhistory or of interest to neofans may be on hand, too. There are occasional program items held in fan lounges, such as fan group meetings, Fan Fund meetings, and fanzine activities such as the production of "fanzine in an hour."

Some conventions have been creative in decorating their fan lounges. Chicon 2000 recreated a typical fan living room as used for meetings of the Chicago fanclub Thursday. At Anticipation in Montreal in 2009, they hung up giant photos of the living room of fgoh Taral. Geri Sullivan ran several fan lounges including an especially memorable on at Magicon in 1992.

The deplorable tendency of Worldcons to hide the fan lounge in an out-of-the-way spot ought to be discouraged.

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