Hansen, Rob
Entry updated 29 July 2024. Tagged: Author, Fan.
(1954- ) UK fan, active in Fandom since the mid-1970s, who has edited and co-edited numerous Fanzines including his debut production Epsilon (18 issues 1976-1985) and Pulp (19 issues 1986-1991); his artwork has appeared in many fanzines including his own. He was the 1984 TransAtlantic Fan Fund delegate (see Fan Funds). From 1987 he has released the results of extensive research on the history of UK fandom, beginning with The Story So Far: A Brief History of British Fandom 1931-1987 (1987 chap), a synoptic account published by Conspiracy '87, the 1987 UK Worldcon. This initial sketch was considerably expanded with assistance from Vince Clarke – who had preserved many records of his own early fan involvement from the 1940s to 1960 – and others. The resulting history appeared in fanzine format as Then (1988-1993 4vols); the main narrative (excluding source notes and letters of comment from the paper editions) was made available on line in the 1990s and, with minor revisions and corrections, assembled as Then: A History of Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930-1980 (2015 ebook). A more thoroughly revised and considerably expanded edition, incorporating – amid much other new material – researches published by Hansen in Relapse, is Then: Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930-1980 (2016), which won a FAAn Award as best special publication. Source notes from the four-volume edition are here restored and much expanded.
Rob Hansen wrote and updated fan-related entries for the 1993 edition of this encyclopedia. He continues to prepare a series of texts assembling archive material relevant to the history of Fandom, often with his own context-setting commentary. Examples to date by specific authors are Temple at the Bar (coll 2017 ebook; rev 2022), comprising the Fanzine writings of William F Temple; The Frank Arnold Papers (coll 2017 ebook), being the mostly unpublished nonfiction of Frank Edward Arnold; and True Rat: The Beast of Leroy Kettle (coll 2018 ebook; rev 2022), humorous fanzine writings by Leroy Kettle. The anthology Then Again: A UK Fanhistory Reader 1930-1979 (anth 2019 ebook) with Vince Clarke brings together fanzine articles casting further light on the stated era of fandom, many selected by Clarke before his death (hence the editorial credit) and used as source material for Then, to which this volume is a companion. Challenging Moskowitz: 1930s Fandom Revisited (anth 2019 ebook; exp 2024) assembles versions of 1930s fan history that differ from or cast new light on Sam Moskowitz's account in The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom (essays Fall 1945-Fall 1953 Fantasy Commentator; 1951 mimeograph; rev 1954); contributors include Jack Speer and Harry Warner Jr. Homefront: Fandom in the UK 1939-1945 (anth 2020 ebook) explores how UK fandom maintained its lines of communication during World War Two. Bixelstrasse: The SF Fan Community of 1940s Los Angeles (anth 2021 ebook; rev 2022) examines a peculiarly intense and turbulent period of Los Angeles fan activity. 1957: The First UK Worldcon (anth 2022 ebook; rev 2022) and 1965: The Second UK Worldcon (anth 2023) describe and provide historical context for the indicated Worldcons. Beyond Fandom: Fans, Culture & Politics in the 20th Century (2023) explores the activities of sf fans in various careers unrelated or only distantly related to fandom. [For further titles see Checklist below.]
For his long-term contributions to Fanzines and Fandom Hansen received the FAAn Award for lifetime achievement in 2023. [DRL]
see also: British Fantasy Society Bulletin; Eastercon; Futurian War Digest; Ken McIntyre; Nova Awards.
Robert Clive Hansen
born Cardiff, Glamorgan: 9 November 1954
works (selected)
nonfiction
series
Then
- Then #1 (London: privately printed, 1988) [nonfiction: chap: covering the 1930s and 1940s: Fandom: Then: pb/collage]
- Then #2 (London: privately printed, 1989) [nonfiction: covering the 1950s: Fandom: Then: pb/collage]
- Then #3 (London: privately printed, 1991) [nonfiction: covering the 1960s: Fandom: Then: pb/collage]
- Then #4 (London: privately printed, 1993) [nonfiction: covering the 1970s: Fandom: Then: pb/collage]
- Then: A History of Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930-1980 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2015) [omni of the above four titles minus source notes and letters of comment but with added supplements covering 1980-1987 from The Story So Far below: ebook: Fandom: Then: na/photographic]
- Then: Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930-1980 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2016) [much exp and rev vt of the above: Fandom: Then: hb/photographic]
- Then: A History of Science Fiction Fandom in the UK: 1930-1980 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2015) [omni of the above four titles minus source notes and letters of comment but with added supplements covering 1980-1987 from The Story So Far below: ebook: Fandom: Then: na/photographic]
individual titles
- The Story So Far: A Brief History of British Fandom 1931-1987 (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Conspiracy '87, 1987) [nonfiction: chap: Fandom: pb/Rob Hansen]
- On the TAFF Trail (London: privately printed, 1994) [nonfiction: chap: pb/Rob Hansen]
- American Trips (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2021) [coll: ebook: Convention reports: na/Rob Hansen]
works as editor
series
British SF Conventions (in order of publication)
- 1957: The First UK Worldcon (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2022) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: volume #3: British SF Conventions: na/photographic]
- 1957: The First UK Worldcon (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2022) [nonfiction: anth: rev of the above: British SF Conventions: pb/photographic]
- British SF Conventions Volume 1: 1937-1951 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: British SF Conventions: na/photographic]
- 1965: The Second UK Worldcon (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: anth: volume #5: British SF Conventions: pb/photographic]
- British SF Conventions Volume 2: 1952-1957 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2024) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: British SF Conventions: na/photographic]
individual titles as editor
- Then Again: A UK Fanhistory Reader 1930-1979 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2019) with Vince Clarke [nonfiction: anth: ebook: na/photographic]
- Challenging Moskowitz: 1930s Fandom Revisited (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2019) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: na/photographic]
- Challenging Moskowitz: 1930s Fandom Revisited (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2024) [nonfiction: anth: exp rev of the above: pb/photographic]
- Homefront: Fandom in the UK 1939-1945 (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2020) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: na/photographic]
- Faan Fiction 1930-2020: an exploration (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2021) [anth: ebook: with extensive commentary on selections: na/Rob Hansen]
- Bixelstrasse: The SF Fan Community of 1940s Los Angeles (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2021) [nonfiction: anth: ebook: na/photographic]
- Bixelstrasse: The SF Fan Community of 1940s Los Angeles (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2022) [nonfiction: anth: rev of the above: pb/photographic]
- Generation Femizine (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: anth: pb/photographic]
- Beyond Fandom: Fans, Culture & Politics in the 20th Century (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: anth: pb/photographic]
single-author collections as editor
- William F Temple. Temple at the Bar (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2017) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: na/photographic]
- William F Temple. Temple at the Bar (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2012) [nonfiction: coll: rev of the above: pb/photographic]
- Frank Edward Arnold. The Frank Arnold Papers (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2017) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: na/photographic]
- Leroy Kettle. True Rat: The Beast of Leroy Kettle (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2018) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: na/photographic]
- Leroy Kettle. True Rat: The Beast of Leroy Kettle (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2018) [nonfiction: coll: rev of the above: pb/photographic]
- Chuck Harris. Creative Random Harris (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2021) edited with David Langford [nonfiction: coll: ebook: na/photographic]
- Walt Willis and Madeleine Willis. TAWF Times Two: The 1962 Trip Reports (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2022) edited with David Langford [nonfiction: omni: ebook: accounts by Willis and his wife of their "Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund" visit to the USA: na/photographic]
links
- Rob Hansen's Fan Stuff
- Then
- The Then Archive
- TransAtlantic Fan Fund Ebook Library
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Fancyclopedia 3
- Picture Gallery
previous versions of this entry