Page:Fantastic Universe (1956-10; vol. 8, no. 3).djvu/2

 THE 14 WORLD SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION

seven Science Fiction enthusiasts from New York visited Philadelphia one Sunday afternoon, meeting together with local fans. That gathering of the two groups became the first "science fiction convention" in history.

This Labor Day weekend, in New York City, more than one thousand people will attend the four-day at the Biltmore Hotel, attending the several sessions to be addressed by distinguished personalities in the field, joining in the after-sessions parties and in the traditional Costume Ball, and applauding guest of honor Arthur C. Clarke, principal speaker at the Banquet on Sunday night. The next morning. Labor Day, Convention members will vote for the site of next year's convention, the choice this year being between London and Los Angeles.

While many of you will perhaps be more attracted by the "big party" nature of the gathering, the convention represents an opportunity for hundreds of "professionals" in the field to meet together, to talk "shop" and to renew friendships, and an opportunity for fans and interested readers to meet the men and the women who personify Science Fiction and Fantasy. Prominent among these will be John W. Campbell, Jr., Willy Ley, Anthony Boucher, Judith Merril, Murray Leinster, Isaac Asimov, Theodore Sturgeon, William Tenn, L. Sprague de Camp, Lester Del Rey, H. Beam Piper, and many others.

Join us at the Biltmore Hotel that weekend (the registration fee is $2, incidentally) and meet and hear the men and the women who have explored our Todays and our Tomorrows!