* Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA)
  - to an outsider, could be construed as somewhat similar to British fandom's
    Knights of St. Fantony, but in reality totally different in intent and
    activities
  - an organization devoted to the study of pre-17th century Western culture,
    concentrating on the European Middle Ages and Renaissance
    > open to anyone who shared Society's interest in medieval re-creation
      and re-enactment
    > "Creative Anachronism" meant selectively re-creating the best qualities
      of the middle ages
  - beginnings of Society date back to 1960, when Dave Thewlis and
    Ken de Maiffe became friends while attending language school at Indiana
    University
    > a bit later, when they were both posted to Germany by the U.S. Air
      Force, as they were surrounded by great amounts of medieval history
      present in Germany, each discovered the other had an interest in the
      Middle Ages
    > by late 1965 both were out of the military and living in California
      -- according to Thewlis, "Our interest in the Middle Ages had continued
         to grow, and our interest in fencing led us to be curious about
         fighting with period weapons and armor."
      -- they constructed steel and leather heaters (a type of shield), and
         made the first steps toward non-lethal weaponry that would be used by
         Society fighters
  - at about the same time that Thewlis and de Maiffe were taken up with ideas
    of swordplay using recreations of medieval armaments, Don Studebaker and
    Paul Edwin Zimmer had been discussing altering one's awareness by
    producing an alternative social reality
    > both were science fiction fans
      -- Studebaker, who had written some science fiction under the pen name
         `Jon DeCles', had met Zimmer at the 1962 Worldcon (in Chicago)
      -- Zimmer was the brother of Marion Zimmer Bradley, and introduced
         Studebaker to Thewlis and de Maiffe at his parent's farm in upstate
         New York
  - by 1967, after they all had relocated to California, they all started to
    meet with other people they had met who shared parallel interests,
    including Diana Paxson, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Walter Breen
    > at the time, Diana Paxson was a postgraduate student at the University
      of California in medieval literature
    > connection happened through the Bay Area's Elves, Gnomes, and Little
      Men's Science Fiction, Chowder, and Marching Society sf club, of which
      many of them attended meetings and parties together
  - Society was founded on May 1, 1966, in Berkeley, California, at a May Day
    medieval theme party hosted by Diana Paxson, although the name `Society
    for Creative Anachronism' was not invented until a short time afterwards
    > Paxson had noticed that the back yard of the house in which she lived
      was similar in shape to courtyards in castles she had visited in France
      -- after having seen Thewlis and de Maiffe show off their medeival
         weaponry, she decided that she wanted to have some kind of tournament
         there
    > the party was a huge success
      -- attendees came from many diverse sources: local science fiction fans,
         students from the Mills College and the University of California, the
         San Anselmo Theological Seminary, and friends of Thewlis and Paxson
      -- according to Thewlis, "We had an invocation (`Winnie the Pooh went
         thump-thump-thump down the stairs after Christopher Robin' in Latin),
         a madrigal group, and wound up the day by processing up Telegraph
         Avenue in Berkeley protesting the 20th century in fine 1960s Berkeley
         tradition." 
      -- the party also featured a tournament, in which the knighting of David
         Bradley for valor on the field of battle occurred
         >> judges were Dr. Elizabeth Pope of Mills College (one of Paxson's
            former professors) and Studebaker (who would a year later become
            Paxson's husband)
         >> Bradley thus became recognized as the first to be Knighted in the
            organization's history
         >> the tournament was successful enough that plans became active
            almost immediately for another soon afterward
            --- in order to make reservation to use Joaquin Miller Park, in
                Oakland, for the second tournament, the new organization
                needed a name, so one of the attendees of that first
                tournament, Marion Zimmer Bradley, came up with `Society for
                Creative Anchronism' which quickly caught on
  - in part due to the efforts of Studebaker and Paxson, the Society became
    incorporated in 1968
    > became a non-profit educational organization of the State of California 
      in October 1968
    > earlier in 1968, Society was formally established with the creation of 
      titles such as Knight, Duke, and King, and induction of members into
      them
      -- that date, January 6, 1968, became referred to as Twelfthnight in SCA
         annals, and was considered the most significant event in the
         Society's early history
  - members took on Society names: Diane Paxson became Diana Listmaker; Don
    Studebaker became Jon de Cles; Marion Zimmer Bradley became Mistress
    Elfrida of Greenwalls; Thewlis became Siegfried von Hoflichkeit
  - as in middle ages, SCA divided world into semi-autonomous "kingdoms"
    > activities
      -- tournaments held; knights did battle with mock weaponry such as
         rattan swords
      -- "wars", which were mostly outdoor camping events, mostly in summer,
         that featured larger-scale combat scenarios as opposed to the one-on-
         one duels that occurred during tournaments
      -- "feasts", which were banquets served in medieval fashion, usually on
         long communal tables, featuring medieval food for Society groups
         ranging in size from 20 up to several hundred, with attendees in
         their medieval garb
      -- "revels", which were more or less formal parties in garb, with much
         singing, dancing, drinking, and events like bardic competitions
      -- Society publications included TOURNAMENTS ILLUMINATED, edited by Don
         Studebaker, which started with the April/May 1967 issue
         >> published informations about upcoming events, plus general
            interest articles on medieval culture and literature, "how-to"
            articles for making appropriate garb and constructing weaponry,
            and even some poetry and verse
         >> a frequent contributor was Bjo Trimble, with her cartoons
  - interest in the new organization quickly spread
    > Diana Paxson wrote an article about that first tournament of May 1966,
      which appeared in NIEKAS, gaining instant widespread visibility for the
      organization
      -- NIEKAS was widely distributed, and won Hugo Award for Best Fanzine at
         the 1967 Worldcon
    > LASFS became involved during the Society's second year, via the Trimbles
      and Owen Hannifen
    > New York fans found out about the SCA from Bradley and Walter Breen, 
      who moved to Staten Island in 1968
      -- an Eastern branch formed on June 2, 1968, the anniversary of King
         Arthur's coronation
    > conventions such as Westercons and (especially) the 1968 Worldcon, where
      the SCA held demonstrations, were also a means of introducing it to fans
    > however, the major link in the growth of the SCA was from college
      students, networking outward from those who had been involved at that
      May 1966 event in Berkeley
    > by the early 1970s, four kingdoms existed in North America, comprising
      the west, northern midwest, east, and southwest
      -- each chose King twice- or thrice-annually on field of combat
      -- in later decades, the Society expanded outside of North America,
         while its popularity in the U.S. continued to increase
      -- at the time of the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Society,
         in 1976, there were over 2000 dues-paying members, and an even larger
         number of people who considered themselves active participants in the
         Society's events
  - SCA had strong ties to fandom during the 1960s
    > early members included science fiction notables such as Poul and Karen
      Anderson, William and Mildred Downey Broxon, Bjo and John Trimble,
      Walter Breen, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jerry Pournelle, Felice Rolfe, and
      George Scithers
      -- one of the more important science fiction notables in the SCA was 
         Randall Garrett (a.k.a. Randall of Hightower), who became involved
         with the SCA in 1967, and founded heraldic practice and armory in the
         organization
  - most notable and visible activity during the 1960s was the demonstration
    conducted at the 1968 Worldcon, of which more will be said later 

* Georgette Heyer fandom
  - started from articles published in NIEKAS
  - members included Suford Lewis, Cory Seidman, Leslie Turek, Peggy Kennedy,
    Marsha Brown
    > Ted White interested, but patronesses did not approve of his `tone'

* Tolkien fandom
  - The Fellowship of the Ring
    > group devoted to fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien
    > official club journal was I-PALANTIR, edited by Ted Johnstone
      -- 4 issues published
      -- successor was fanzine named ENTMOOT
         >> edited by Greg Shaw
         >> typical contents included comparison of paperback editions of
            THE LORD OF THE RINGS to music for some of the books songs
  - The Tolkien Society of America
    > Ed Meskys assumed control of organization (when?) after first Thain of
      Society had to give it up
    > in October 1968, Tolkien Conference held at Belknap College in New
      Hampshire, under Tolkien Society sponsorship
      -- was organized by Ed Meskys, who was a Professor at Belknap
      -- was not a convention; was a scholarly literary conference, with
         presented papers
         >> many of the papers were given by people from the sf community,
            such as Lester del Rey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Dainis Bisenieks,
            and Fred Lerner
    > Ed Meskys also held Tolkien Society meeting at Boskone VI in 1969
    > publications
      -- GREEN DRAGON was the TSA newsletter
         >> apppeared in the late 1960s
         >> edited by Ed Meskys
         >> contained mostly news of meetings and other events in Tolkien
            fandom
    > published a fanzine THE TOLKIEN JOURNAL
      -- edited by Dick Plotz
    > another Tolkien fanzine supported by The TSoA was ORCRIST, edited by
      Richard West
      -- began in 1968, but with its third issue, in 1969, it was merged with
         THE TOLKIEN JOURNAL
  - in Champaign, Illinois, at the University of Illinois, a previously
    little-known fan named Jan Howard Finder organized a `Conference on Middle
    Earth', which was held April 25-26, 1969
    > (details?)
    > Finder went on to become a prominent fan in later decades; his vocal
      support of Australian fandom and fan causes earned him the fannish 
      nickname of `Wombat'
  - at first, no independent Tolkien fandom in U.K.
    > Ken Cheslin was British correspondent for The Fellowship of the Ring
      -- after I-PALANTIR folded, KenCh began publishing NAZGUL'S BANE (1960)
         >> first British fanzine devoted to Tolkien's work
      -- began, in effect, first British spin-off to SF fandom
  - later in the decade, in 1968, an Australian Tolkien Society formed under
    the guidance of Michael O'Brien of Hobart, Tasmania
    > (details needed, if any exist)

* somewhat related to Tolkien fandom was the Mythopoeic Society
  - this was a subfandom that for fans interested in the writings of Tolkien,
    C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams
  - was started in 1967, in the San Gabriel Valley suburbs of Los Angeles
  - branch groups soon sprung up, the first in 1968 closeby in the San
    Fernando Valley
  - in later decades, the organization sponsored an annual convention, Mythcon

* Burroughs fandom
  - Burroughs Bibliophiles
    > organized by Vernell Coriell in 1960
    > annual meeting, "Dum Dum" (named after convocation of great apes in
      ERB Tarzan novels) at worldcons
      -- often, Dum Dum guests very notable: Weismuller, Burroughs sons, 
         Buster Crabbe, other Tarzan actors, Hal Prince (drew Prince Valiant
         comic strip), Sam Moskowitz (in 1969)
    > by the time of the 1964 Worldcon, membership in organization was nearly
      a thousand
  - Notable publications of Burroughs fandom
    > The BURROUGHS BULLETIN
      -- edited by Vern Coriell
      -- (short bio of Vern Coriell here)
    > ERB-DOM
      -- edited by Camille Cazedessus, Jr
      -- (short bio of Caz here)
      -- Mike Resnick assoc. editor for a time
      -- won fanzine Hugo in 1966
    > NORB'S NOTES
      -- published by Charles Reinsel, who was charter member and Treasurer
      -- later went on to unhappy fate of killing his ex-wife and her husband
    > BURROUGHSANIA
      -- Britain's first sword-and-sorcery fanzine (1960)
      -- published by Michael Moorcock, featuring some of his early tales
    > THE READER'S GUIDE TO BARSOOM AND AMTOR
      -- a collaboration of Dick Lupoff, Larry Ivie, and Dave Van Arnam
         >> Lupoff was publisher, Ivie artist, and Van Arnam writer
      -- published in 1963, limited edition of 200 mimeographed copies
         >> was very successful; edition sold out
      -- dissected and discussed the Mars and Venus stories of Burroughs
      -- included maps, indices, and other reference material
    > THE READER'S GUIDE TO TARZAN'S AFRICA
      -- assembled by Van Arnam after seeing the success of the previous
         volume
    > in Australia, Alan J. Tompkins of Melbourne published a few Burroughs
      fanzines late in the 1960s (need more info)
    > THE BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
      -- published in 1964 by Henry Heins of Albany, New York
      -- Ron Ellik described it as "a lovely and fantastic devotion" to the
         works of ERB
         >> contained reproductions of St. John artwork, photos of first pages
            of early ERB stories, articles on the writing of ERB
  - First Edgar Rice Burroughs World Con
    > held in 1965, over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4-5) in Chicago
      -- site was Conrad Hilton Hotel
      -- apparently Coriells could not afford to go to the Loncon
    > GoH was (who?)

* Hyborean Legion (Robert E. Howard fandom)
  - president of Legion had title: King of Aquilonia
    > position was held at various times in the 1960s by Martin Greenberg,
      (others?)
  - best known members included L. Sprague de Camp and George Scithers
  - Hyborean Muster an annual event at worldcons
    > in 1966, established a Guild of Artisans
      -- elected to Guild in 1966 were Frank Frazetta and previous winners of
         the Heroic Fantasy Art award, including Roy Krenkel and Jim
         Cawthorne
  - sponsored "Bronze Hammer Award" at worldcon art shows during the early
    1960s, for best artwork of a heroic fantasy theme
    > winners included Roy Krenkel, Jim Cawthorn, and Jerry Burge

* Count Dracula Society (for horror films and Gothic literature enthusiasts)
  - formed in (early 1960s)
  - a Los Angeles area organization
    > President (in 1967) was Dr. Donald Reed
  - held annual awards dinners 
    > Ann Radcliffe Awards, equivalent of Hugos for the organization
    > 5th annual dinner was Feb. 18, 1967
      -- Guest of Honor was Dr. Russell Kirk, author of ghost stories
         >> spoke on "Ghosts: Friendly and Malign"
      -- other speakers included Forry Ackerman and Bob Bloch
      -- Awards (announced in advance) went to Christopher Lee, August
         Derlith, STAR TREK (for "its high quality of `fantasy and
         imagination'"), KHJ-TV (for "screening many high quality motion
         pictures"), and Karl Freund (for his cinematography in the classic
         movies DRACULA, THE MUMMY, and others)

* James Branch Cabell Society
  - formed (when?)
  - James Blish was corresponding secretary
  - the organization sponsored a professionally-printed fanzine, KALKI, which
    was edited by Paul Spencer

* Puddleby-on-the-Marsh Irregulars (Dr. Doolittle fandom)
  - founded by Fred Lerner in 1966
  - other members included John Boardman, Judi Sephton, Norman Cascajo, and
    Alan Shaw
  - club officers had interesting titles, taken from characters/animals in the
    book by Hugh Lofting
    > President was known as "Exalted Polynesia"
    > Vice President was known as the "Venerable Jip"
    > Secretary was "Honorable Dab-Dab"; Treasurer was "Worthy Gub-Gub"
    > Boardman was known as the Reverend Pushmi-Pullyu
      -- was both Vice President and in charge of membership committee for a
         time
  - club was somewhat anarchistic
    > Boardman seized power in "bloodless coup" in August 1966 regular
      meeting
      -- assumed title of Honorable Cat's-Meat-Man, indicating that members
         opposing his benevolent rule would thereafter resemble cat's meat
      -- was only minimal resistance to coup
         >> only other officer present was Fred Lerner, who was two inches
            shorter than Boardman and 50 pounds lighter
  - club lasted only very briefly; by some accounts so briefly that it may
    have only been a hoax invented by John Boardman, though accounts of its
    meetings appeared in the newszine RATATOSK

* Comics fandom
  - comics fandom can be traced back at least as far as the 1950s
    > in early 1950s, Lee Hoffman was one of the fans who were aficionados of
      Walt Kelly's "Pogo" comic strip
      -- at the time, she lived not far from the Okefenokee Swamp, so it
         seemed natural to her to incorporate Pogo into her writings in
         QUANDRY
      -- this was picked up on by other leading fans of that time, including
         Walt Willis, so much so that Pogo became one of the symbols of fandom
         of that era
    > however, to find the first comics-related fan publication, you'd have to
      look back another two decades, to the early 1930s, when Jerry Siegel and
      Joe Shuster published a fanzine simply called SCIENCE FICTION that
      described the exploits of man possessing great strength and the ability
      to jump over tall buildings: Superman
      -- this Superman, which was considerably different from the superhero
         the character became for D.C. Comics, seems to have been inspired
         by a work of science fiction, Philip Wylie's "Gladiator" (novel?)
    > at any rate, the first true fandom of comic books themselves took place
      in the early 1950s, after a new line of comic books began to be
      published: Entertaining Comics, or EC for short
      -- they were of generally higher quality than other comics that were
         being produced at the time
      -- also contained a letters section, which allowed fans to be aware of
         each others' existence
      -- EC comics fandom of the 1950s included Bhob Stewart, Mike May, and
         Ron Parker, who all published comics-related fanzines
      -- other fans in the 1950s who were also fans of EC comics included Bill
         Meyers, Ted White, Steve Stiles, and Larry Stark
         >> the EC fanzine POTRZEBIE, which appeared (when?) was edited by
            Stewart and Stark, and published by White
         >> Meyers actually came to sf fandom out of EC fandom
         >> Stiles attended the New York School of Visual Arts partly because
            many of the EC artists had gone there (rephrase this, based on M18
            article)
  - as the 1960s dawned, new fans and fanzines appeared to keep comics fandom
    healthy
    > XERO
      -- began in 1960
      -- ed. by Dick & Pat Lupoff
         >> (mini bios here)
      -- originally, XERO was not intended to be comics-oriented, but took
         that turn after Dick Lupoff's nostalgic article about Captain Marvel
         appeared in the (which?) issue
      -- center section of fanzine eventually became devoted to comics fandom
         >> "All in Color for a Dime" featured various fans who wrote
            nostalgically about the super hero comics of past decades
         >> (who wrote these articles, and what were they?)
         >> eventually, these articles were collected in two books, ALL IN
            COLOR FOR A DIME and THE COMIC-BOOK BOOK, that Dick Lupoff edited
            with Don Thompson (when did these appear? and were they
            *exclusively* the articles from XERO, or did they include
            previously non-published material?)
      -- (other things that appeared in the fanzine, in brief)
      -- fanzine itself won a Hugo award in 1963, the last year of its
         publication
         >> the cumulative effects of a series of moves by the Lupoffs was one
            of the reasons cited for its demise
    > COMIC ART
      -- edited by Don & Maggie Thompson
         >> (mini bios here)
            --- (obligatory note here about the three different Don Thompsons
                in fandom)
         >> later, they would publish the influential COMIC BUYERS GUIDE
      -- sf fanzine that talked about art in comics
         >> (contents?)
      -- published infrequently, about once a year
         >> begun in April 1961
         >> in December 1962 Maggie became co-editor
    > other comics fanzines of the 1960s by sf fans
      -- ON THE DRAWING BOARD was a comics fandom newsletter, published in the
         last half of the 1960s by St. Louis fan Bob Schoenfeld
         >> Schoenfeld actually came into sf fandom from comics fandom, as
            Bill Meyers had done the previous decade
      -- A SENSE OF FAPA, published (when?), contained a reprint from FAPA of
         an article (written by who?) on Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Brick
         Bradford
  - after comics fandom was became established in its own right, after its
    spin-off from sf fandom, comics-related fanzines started to spring up
    from people who did not have any direct connections with sf fandom
    > ALTER-EGO
      -- perhaps best known and most influential of these
      -- ed. by Jerry Bailes and Roy Thomas
      -- started out as amateur comic, featuring Thomas's parody of the
         Justice League of America
      -- (briefly, why was it influential? what did it transform into?)
      -- first issue was in Spring of 1961, ended in 1965
  - finally, just as there were fans who later became professionals in the sf
    field, there were also fans who became professionals in the comics field
    > perhaps the best example of this is St. Louis fan Steve Gerber, who
      went on to write the HOWARD THE DUCK comic (when?)
    > on the other hand, Vaughn Bode', who won the Fan Artist Hugo Award in
      1969, was already active in the so-called `underground' comics movement
      in the 1960s, when he was discovered to fandom by Bob Schoenfeld
      -- Ray & Joyce Fisher's ODD was the first fanzine to feature Bode'
         artwork -- covers as well as interior illos
         >> there was also a celebrated cartoon war in ODD between Bode' and
            Jack Gaughan, which Gaughan `won'
      -- unfortunately, there turned out to be an unforseen downside to
         Bode''s association with St. Louis fandom: in the late 1960s (when
         exactly?), Bode' sent Schoenfeld his art files for storage, which
         were destroyed when the Missouri River rose and the basement where
         they were stored was flooded
    > other fans who became comics professionals included Trina Castillo, who
      later became an artist for the so-called underground comix (when?)
      -- (others?)

* Gaming fandom
  - Gaming fandom, which became one of the major off-shoots of science fiction
    fandoms in the 1980s and later, can be traced back to the 1960s and even
    earlier
    > in the 1940s, author Fletcher Pratt would frequently host war games
      recreations in miniature at his home for other author friends (need more
      details on this.. did Pohl or Asimov mention it in their 
      autobiographies?)
      -- recreated actual battles using miniature soldiers, with the players
         assuming the role of the commanding officers of the armies
    > (any other examples of this kind of game?)
    > (any other organized gaming in fandom in the 1950s or earlier?)
  - a game that seemed to be popular with fandom during the much of the 1960s
    was another variant of a war game, the board game Diplomacy, which had
    been invented by Allan B. Calhamer
    > the game, which is set in Europe before the time of World War One,
      involves up to seven players, the object of the game being to gain
      control of as much territory as possible
      -- the structure of the game, with a built-in period of time between
         moves which players use to make or break alliances with each other,
         made it perfect for playing via mail
    > John Boardman was one of the most active fans involved in Diplomacy
      during the 1960s
      -- on May 31, 1962, he began the first postal Diplomacy game, via his
         fanzine GRAUSTARK
         >> it was the first of the so-called `Dipzines', which largely
            consisted of summaries of game moves and related information
            --- Boardman was the games master in that first postal Diplomacy
                game; the players in the game were Fred Lerner, Bruce Pelz,
                Ted Johnstone, plus two non-fan members of the East Paterson
                Diplomacy Club that Lerner had founded in 1961
                >>> that club had been recognized by Calhamer as "the world's
                    first formally organized Diplomacy club"
         >> a later example of a Dipzine was ETHIL THE FROG, published by
            British fan John Piggott, after the game had leaped the Atlantic
            Ocean to the British Isles in 1969
         >> by the early 1970s, many British science fiction fans, most
            notably Peter Roberts, had also embraced the game, and an
            organization called the British Diplomacy Club had come into being
  - however, the `game' that gained the biggest visibility in fandom of the
    1960s was Coventry
    > Coventry actually had its beginnings well before the 1960s, back in
      about 1952, when its direct predecessor, The Mariposan Empire, was
      conceived
      -- was invented by by some non-fan teenagers who lived in and around the
         city of Pasadena, California
      -- The Mariposan Empire was one of the first role-playing games; in it,
         parts of the city of Pasadena became transformed into kingdoms of a
         `Mariposan Empire'
      -- mythical histories were developed, and these led to the conspiracies
         and other intrigues that were features of the game, as players tried
         to conquer each other's territory
         >> (okay, rich, how was the game actually played??)
      -- in that period in the early 1950s, fandom had not yet really 
         discovered that the game existed; the one exception was Paul
         Stanbery, who was friends with some of the players and thought the
         game was fun
    > considering the fact that Pasadena was within the envelope of Los
      Angeles fandom, it was inevitable that other fans would eventually
      become involved in something as intriguing as The Mariposan Empire
      -- one of the first was Rich Brown, who had been friends with Stanbery
         since grade school; Brown was actually introduced to the game about
         two years before he even discovered science fiction fandom
      -- by the late 1950s, interest in the game by its originators was
         starting to wane, so Stanbery came up with the idea of remaking the
         game, with the help of Brown, by injecting some science fictional
         aspects into it
      -- the result was Coventry
    > Coventry can best be described as a role-playing game, perhaps more
      accurately as a role-playing universe, that contained many elements of
      science fiction and fantasy
      -- influences were drawn from the fiction of James Blish, James Gunn,
         Fred Pohl, Cyril Kornbluth, and Robert Heinlein, and the 1950s movie
         FORBIDDEN PLANET
      -- the imaginary locale of the game was a self-contained hollowed-out
         asteroid habitat, constructed by aliens, which somehow had become the
         refuge of human survivors of World War Three
      -- into this mythos, players in Coventry converted their true-life
         identities into fictional role-playing personae
    > Coventry soon spread to fandom, and involved some fairly well-known fans
      -- Bruce Pelz, who was still residing in Florida at that time, had
         published an issue of his fanzine ProFANity that had asked his
         readers to select a fantasy world they would like to live in if they
         had the choice
         >> Brown, in his letter of comment response, took the opportunity to
            mention Coventry
         >> Pelz was building contacts with Los Angeles fandom, which would
            result in his moving there in late 1959; one of the people who was
            on his mailing list was Ted Johnstone, who happened to live not
            far from Stanbery, in South Pasadena
      -- soon Ted Johnstone became introduced to Stanbury, and not too long
         after that, he was a convert to the new game
      -- soon after that, through Johnstone's hyperfannish activities at that
         time, it became known to fandom in Southern California
      -- eventually, Coventry-inspired fanzines (titles? editors?) started
         appearing in Los Angeles fandom; these featured contributions from
         local fans and from fans as far distant as Ruth Berman in Minnesota
    > The intrigues and conspiracies eventually manifested themselves into
      some unpleasantness with other fans
      -- members of LASFS who weren't involved with the game started to object
         to injection of Coventry into club meetings and discussion of
         Coventriana rather than LASFS business
    > an even bigger imbroglio resulted after fans who were in the game
      started to become angry with Johnstone, who was acting as Coventry's
      gamemaster
      -- Johnstone, who had become Coventry's Gamemaster, had introduced a
         character known as `The Guardian', whose job it was to disrupt the
         game in witty ways that were intended to remind players, some of whom
         seemed to be a bit too immersed in the game, that it was *only* a
         game
      -- this caused a backlash that got quite nasty; some of the players did
         not appreciate what was perceived as sabotage by The Guardian; there
         were threats of lawsuits (by who?), and even a report of a firebomb
         that was left on (who's? Stanbery's?) front lawn
      -- The Guardian's identity was kept secret from the players (it was
         actually local fan Dean Dickensheet), but to divert attention to a
         location suitably far from Los Angeles, Johnstone dropped some hints
         that The Guardian was actually a neofan from Baltimore, Jack Chalker
         >> Chalker immediately started receiving threats via mail
         >> (his response?  how did it end?)
    > (when did the Coventry interest start to die down? details?)
      -- a postscript to Coventry came a little over a decade later, when two
         of the L.A. fans who had played Coventry came up with the idea for
         a somewhat similar role-playing game that would eventually make them
         wealthy and famous
         >> their names were E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and the game they
            invented was called `Dungeons and Dragons'