Gillon Field
(19?? – mid-March 1974)
Gillon Field was a fan from Halesowen, south-west of Birmingham, UK, briefly but much active in the early 1970s before her premature death. She was a member of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group and is best known as the creator and first administrator of the Nova Award, presented annually at Novacon between 1973 and 2014.
Field attended Novacon 2 in 1972[1] and OMPAcon '73, the 1973 Eastercon. She had a letter published in Zimri #4½ (May 1973) where her name/address is given as 'Miss Gillon Fields'. Comments from editor Lisa Conesa suggest Field was relatively new to fandom at the time.[2]
Checkpoint #39 (June 1973) announced that:
THE BRITISH FANZINE AWARD is calling itself 'The Nova' (Melbourne mobsters take note) and will be presented annually at the Brum Group's Novacon; the award is non-democratic, being presented by a panel of judges. Members of Novacon III […] may, however, nominate fanzines for consideration – send them to: Gillon Field, 109 Windsor Rd, Halesowen, Worcs.
Field is usually cited as the founder/creator of the Nova Award[3] but there may be a case for considering Hazel Reynolds as a joint creator.[4] Field and Reynolds selected the judging panel in 1973 and Linwood's letter in Checkpoint #57 (November 1974) says that Field as the award administrator had selected the 1974 panel 'early this year'.[5] Reynolds succeeded her as administrator.
Her death was briefly noted in Checkpoint #46 (April 1974):[6]
I've just heard at The Globe that Gillon Field, an active member of the Birmingham Group and organizer of the Nova Award, died last month (March).
Ritblat / Grim News # 2 of the same month contained a more detailed obituary on the last page:
Gillon Field, of the Birmingham S.F. Group, died during March of this year and was interred on March 24th 1974. Gillon was prominent in the organization of many Birmingham Group activities, and in Novacon administration. She was also the prime motive force behind the institution and organization of the NOVA Award for Best British Fanzine of the Year, an award that many had talked of instituting for a long time, but none had actually worked towards. All those who knew, hoped to meet, or recognised her reputation as som[e]one with an interest and enthusiasm for all aspects of fandom will be greatly saddened by this news. Any communications which would have been directed to Gillon Field must now be sent to either Jack Cohen or Roger Peyton.
____
- ↑ In her letter in Zimri #4½ she recalled meeting Brian Aldiss there.
- ↑ And while it's only an indicator, Field's name does not appear on the membership lists for Eastercon 22 in 1971, Chessmancon in 1972 or Novacon 1.
- ↑ E.g. Novacon 17 (1987) progress report 1: 'The NOVA is an award for fanzines produced by Science Fiction Fandom in the British Isles, created in 1973 by the late Gillon Field...'
- ↑ In Cynic #6 (December 1973), Jim Linwood said that Hazel Reynolds wrote to him inviting him to be a judge, and in a LoC response in #7 (February 1975), Reynolds mentioned the award as 'our little brainchild' and described how she encouraged people to nominate fanzines in its first year.
- ↑ https://checkpoint.ansible.uk/cp057.html#02
- ↑ https://checkpoint.ansible.uk/cp046.html#01
| Person | ????—1974 |
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