30th World Science Fiction Convention

The 30th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) was L.A.con I, which was held in Los Angeles, California, US from 1 to 4 September 1972.[1] The venue for 30th Worldcon was the International Hotel. The organising committee was co-chaired by Charles Crayne and Bruce Pelz.

L.A.con I, the 30th World Science Fiction Convention
GenreScience fiction
Dates1–4 September 1972
VenueInternational Hotel
Location(s)Los Angeles, California
CountryUnited States
Attendance2,007
Filing statusNon-profit

The convention had 2,007 members, breaking the previous record of 1,600 set only one year earlier. The record was broken again a year later.

Program and events

Guests of honor

The guests of honor were:

Worldcon site selection

The 33rd World Science Fiction Convention was awarded to Aussiecon I in Melbourne, Australia. This was the first time a Worldcon was awarded to a site outside North America or Europe.

Awards
Main article: Hugo Award

The World Science Fiction Society administers and presents the Hugo Awards,[2] the oldest and most noteworthy award for science fiction. Selection of the recipients is by vote of the Worldcon members. Categories include novels and short fiction, artwork, dramatic presentations, and various professional and fandom activities.[2][3]

Other awards may be presented at Worldcon at the discretion of the individual convention committee. This has often included the national SF awards of the host country, such as the Japanese Seiun Awards as part of Nippon 2007,[4] and the Prix Aurora Awards as part of Anticipation in 2009. The Astounding Award for Best New Writer and the Sidewise Award, though not sponsored by the Worldcon, are usually presented, as well as the Chesley Awards, the Prometheus Award, and others.[4]

Hugo Awards

Other awards
  • Special Award: Harlan Ellison for excellence in anthologizing
  • Special Award: Club du Livre d'Anticipation (France) for excellence in book production
  • Special Award: Nueva Dimension (Spain) for excellence in magazine production

Notable events

At the L.A.Con I masquerade, one of the contestants, artist Scott Shaw!, came on stage wearing only a bathing suit, with his body completely covered with crunchy peanut butter. The name of his costume was "The Turd." from an underground comic story Shaw wrote and illustrated. Since some of the peanut butter tended to drip off of him, making the floor sticky for other contestants, a rule was passed that forever after at science fiction convention masquerades, no peanut butter costumes would be allowed. This masquerade rule is universally known among science fiction fans as the "no peanut butter rule."[5]

The first video game competition at a science fiction convention was held, and a science fiction fan named Kevan Pritchard from Lawndale, California, won the world championship contest in the game Spacewar!.

See also

References
  1. Cartnal, Alan (10 September 1972). "Science Fiction Fans Touch Down in L.A." Los Angeles Times. p. J1. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. "Article 3: Hugo Awards". WSFS Constitution. World Science Fiction Society. 2008. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
  3. Franklin, Jon (30 October 1977). "Star roars: this year's champs in science fiction". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, MD. p. D5. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  4. "Awards". Nippon2007: 65th World Science Fiction Convention. Retrieved 15 March 2009.
  5. "The origin of the "No Peanut Butter" rule". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.


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