Editing Science-fiction fanzine (section)

==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.