John Foyster

(1941 -- April 5, 2003)

John Foyster (who also used the pennames John Ossian and K. U. F. Widdershins) entered fandom in the late 50s and began publishing fanzines in the 60s. He was the main organizer of the 1966 Seventh Australian Science Fiction Convention, which is credited with relaunching Australian fandom. In 1970, Foyster begin the campaign that ultimately led to Aussiecon I, the 1975 Worldcon. He chaired the Melbourne in '85 bid and was the first chairman of Aussiecon II, but resigned. He went on to help found DUFF in 1972 and in 1979 was the first GUFF winner and published the trip report Stranger in Stranger Lands. He won three Ditmar Awards.

As a member of The Science Fiction Collective, he revived and published the Australian Science Fiction Review from 1979 through 1986. He helped foster a critical approach to SF in others by hosting the Nova Mob in Melbourne and Critical Mass in Adelaide.

In addition to being active in fanzine publishing, he was a fan historian with broad knowledge of the field. (Around the time of Aussiecon 3, he wrote Australian Fan History -- 1953-1966.) He was a member of FAPA for which he published Candiru. On his 60th birthday, Yvonne Rousseau, Juliette Woods and Damien Warman produced a special commemorative fanzine named Festzine.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Australian Science Fiction Review
• Emanation (in 1961, his first fanzine)
• FNAC (later followed by an electronic version, eFNAC)
• Boy's Own Fanzine (with Leigh Edmonds)
• The Gryphon
• Journal of Omphalistic Epistemology (with Bruce Gillespie)
• Sapsequently (for SAPS)
• Satura

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1969 -- Eighth Australian Science Fiction Convention
• 1970 -- Ditmar Award for The Journal of Omphalistic Epistemology
• 1973 -- Advention 2, Ditmar Award for "Let it Ring" (as by John Ossian)
• 1975 -- Past president of the FWA
• 1979 -- GUFF, Ditmar Award for Chunder!
• 1981 -- Advention '81 (as both John Ossian and K.U.F. Widdershins)
• 1992 -- The Contract
• 2002 -- A. Bertram Chandler Award

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