Over 100 fans, family, and friends gathered in Bloomington, Illinois on August 3-5, to celebrate the Tucker Tribute, honoring Fern and Wilson Tucker. The weekend was sponsored by the Dawn Patrol, a loose collection of over 300 science fiction, space and aviation enthusiasts from throughout the United States and Canada.
     Folks started flying in on Friday afternoon, coming from 14 states, including both coasts. Roger Tener, Cathy Tener, Dave Moreno and myself lived up to the group's name, arriving in Bloomington in a Bonanza dubbed "White Knuckle Airlines."

     No activities were scheduled for Friday night, but following several groups going out to dinner, the early arrivals retired to the Hospitality Suite in the Dawn Patrol's wing of the Empire Inn and Conference Center. The two rooms were packed with good friends who talked until the wee hours. Bob Tucker, who looked 15 years younger than the last time I saw him, stayed at the party until midnight and a very  animated Fern stayed until 1a.m. Bob, Fern and their children were all sporting Bob Tucker sweatshirts, which Judy Mays (Tucker) had made for the weekend.
     Saturday morning many folks went to the nearby Bob Evens restaurant to start the day. Other daytime activities included an autograph session, a video from a Tucker Roast at Archon in 1989, and an informal Bloomington Used Bookstore tour. One of the stores had a large display of Tucker books and a clipping from the local newspaper's coverage of the tribute.
     The event received other local attention, including a 30 minute interview with Tucker on the radio earlier in the week.
     The actual event began at 5:30 p.m. with a reception where everyone showed off their finery, viewed a display of Bob's books and awards and caught up with late comers. Perhaps 50 cameras were present and flashes were constantly going off.
     The atrium, where the dinner was set up, was pretty hot, but after folks got their food and found their seats, it wasn't too uncomfortable. There weren't enough servers to assist with the meal, but folks jumped in and helped get drinks and clear tables. The hotel was understaffed and the surprisingly good meal had been entirely prepared by one person, Dominique, who received a well deserved round of applause.
     After dinner, folks returned to the main ballroom. When most people had settled down, the hosts entered to the fanfare from Star Wars. Then Bob and Fern were escorted to the main table, to the Olympic  Fanfare.
     Following opening remarks and thanks for the many individuals who had helped with the weekend, Bob and Fern were presented with a framed proclamation from the Mayor of Bloomington. It spoke about them at length, then proclaimed August 4th to be Wilson (Bob) and Fern Tucker Day. They were very surprised and pleased.
     Then we settled into a pattern of Roger introducing a speaker, the speaker's presentation, then I would read some e-mailed messages or letters from folks that could not attend. Speakers included Jimmy  Hollaman, Tom Meserole, Robin Wayne Bailey, Joan Marie Knappenberger, Missouri Smith, Nancy Hathaway, Gordon Garb and others. Bob was presented a plaque in honor of his contribution to SF and mystery literature and Fern received one for all of her support.
     After each speaker, I would read a few messages, not giving the name of the sender until the end. It quickly became a challenge for Bob (and others) to attempt to name the sender in advance of the end. Well-wishers included Frank M. Robinson, Harry Harrison, Joe Haldeman, Larry Niven, Algis Budrys, William F. Wu, Rob Chilson, Mike Resnick, Phylis Eisenstein, Julie Shwartz, Lee Killough, James Gunn, George Zebrowski, Patrick Nielsen Hayden,  Dave Truesdale, Jack Williamson, and many others. Mark Tiedemann sent his in the form of a script for a play.
     After about 70 minutes, Roger called for a brief break. When folks returned there were a couple more presentations and I read my last two messages: one from Sri Lanka (yes from Sir Arthur C. Clarke) and one that was from me. Roger presented the final plaque of the evening to Bob for his contribution to Fandom.
     The ceremony was followed by a receiving line with Bob and Fern, and their children. Then the Dawn Patrol had one of their famous group pictures. After folks changed, many returned to hospitality suite to unwind and share a few Smooths.
     Sunday morning there was another group run to Bob Evans, followed by good-byes and many wishes for another Bloomington Dawn Patrol Event, perhaps Bob and Fern's 50th Anniversary in 2003 or Bob's 90th Birthday in 2004.
     There will be a second chance to see Bob and Fern in Bloomington on October 12-14, 2001: ditto 14/FanHistoriCon 11. Photos: http://kcsciencefiction.org/01tucker01.htm

New Orleans' bachelor population dwindled by two on June 30 as Guy Lillian wed Rose-Marie Green Donovan, and Robert Neagle married Ann Cavitt.
     Guy and Rose-Marie Green Donovan exchanged vows in Cocoa, Florida. They expected to celebrate with guests by watching a satellite launch. Guy wrote in advance, "If it comes off the bride's father Joseph L. Green, the SF writer, will host wedding attendees at a viewing area, I believe in a park."

     A wise man, Guy made sure to mail the 14^th issue of Challenger before embarking on married life. And if Millennium Philcon had a gift registry, Guy would have signed up for one of those attrractive, rocket-shaped doorstops!

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature:  The Innamorati by Midori Snyder
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature: Aria of the Sea by Dia Calhoun
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies: J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the
     Century by T.A. (Tom) Shippey
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in General Myth and Fantasy Studies): King Arthur in
     America by Alan Lupack and Barbara Tepa Lupack

     The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature is given to the fantasy novel, multi-volume, or single-author story collection for adults published during the previous year that best exemplifies "the spirit of the
Inklings."
     The Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature honors books for younger readers (from "Young Adults" to picture books for beginning readers), in the tradition of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia. Rules for eligibility are otherwise the same as for the Adult Literature award.
     The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies is given to books on Tolkien, Lewis, and/or Williams that make significant contributions to Inklings scholarship
     The Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies is given to scholarly books on other specific authors in the Inklings tradition, or to more general works on the genres of myth and fantasy.
     For more information, contact Mythopoeic Awards administrator: Eleanor M. Farrell, P.O. Box 320486, San Francisco, CA 94132-0486; E-mail: emfarrell@earthlink.net 

The 2001 Aurora Award winners were presented Saturday, May 5, 2001, at V-Con 25, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Best Long-Form Work in English: The Snow Queen, Eileen Kernaghan (Thistledown
     Press, 2000)
Best Long-Form Work in French: Demain, les etoiles, Jean-Louis Trudel (Pierre Tisseyre,
     2000)
Best Short-Form Work in English: "Surrendering the Blade," Marcie Tentchoff (The
     Doom of Camelot, Green Knight Publishing) [poem]
Best Short-Form Work in French: "La Danse des esprits," Douglas Smith (Solaris 134)
     [traducteur: Benont Domis]
Best Work in English (Other): Science Fiction: The Play, David Widdicombe [play]
Best Work in French (Other): Solaris, Joel Champetier, rid. (Les Compagnons temps
     perdu)
Artistic Achievement: Jean-Pierre Normand (Parsec v3n6, Surial 3000, Demain les
     itoiles, Futur sur mesure, Guerre pour un harmonica, Les eaux de Jade, Un voyage de
     sagesse)
Fan Achievement (Fanzine): Voyageur, Karen Bennett, ed. (USS Hudson Bay / IDIC)
     (www.idic.ca)
Fan Achievement (Organizational): R. Graeme Cameron (BCSFA president & V-Con 25
     chair)
Fan Achievement (Other): Donna McMahon, book reviews/ critiques de livres

The finalists for the 2000 Sidewise Awards for alternate history fiction are listed below. The awards will be presented at Millennium Philcon. Judges for this year's awards were Moshe Feder, Evelyn Leeper, Jim Rittenhouse, Robert Schmunk, Stuart Shiffman, Steven Silver.

     translated from Portuguese by David Alan
     Prescott, Altair #67

NEXT PAGE