Willis, Walt

Entry updated 3 February 2025. Tagged: Author, Fan.

(1919-1999) Irish civil servant, editor and author, one of the most notable members of Irish and world Fandom, whose main period of activity ran from 1948 to the mid-1960s. He co-edited and wrote for two classic Fanzines, Slant and Hyphen, and was a highly regarded columnist under the regular title "The Harp That Once or Twice" in Quandry and other fanzines including Warhoon; these columns are collected in Warhoon #28 (see below) and as The Harp That Once or Twice (2023 ebook). His minor fanzine Pamphrey (7 issues 1951-1958) was produced for FAPA. Willis wrote a column on fan-related matters for Nebula Science Fiction, titled "The Electric Fan" in issues #1 to #12 (Autumn 1952-April 1955) and "Fanorama" from #14 (November 1955) to the final issue #41 (June 1959); these columns were eventually collected with additional material as Fanorama: Walt Willis' Fan Columns from Nebula Science Fiction (coll 1998 chap). His popularity among US fans brought him a sponsored trip to the 1952 Chicago Worldcon, chronicled as The Harp Stateside (1957 chap) and leading directly to the creation of the still-running TransAtlantic Fan Fund (see Fan Funds). A subsequent "Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund" brought him and his wife Madeleine Willis to the 1962 Worldcon, again held in Chicago.

With Bob Shaw he wrote The Enchanted Duplicator (1954 chap), an allegory – somewhat in the manner of John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678; exp 1684), which neither author had then read – of the joys and aspirations of Fanzine publishing; this has been many times reprinted, notably as a November 1972-June 1973 magazine serialization in Amazing. Its long-delayed sequel, Beyond the Enchanted Duplicator: To the Enchanted Convention (1991 chap) with James White, had less impact. In 1958 Willis received a Hugo Award as "Most outstanding actifan" (active fan). A rare professional sf appearance is "Dissolute Diplomat" (January 1960 If) with Bob Shaw. The Improbable Irish (coll 1969) as by Walter Bryan is associational nonfiction but draws considerably on Willis's humorous fanzine work. The twenty-eighth issue of Warhoon (coll 1980) is a massive 614pp hardback collection of his best fanwriting, affectionately known in fandom as the "Willish" (Willis issue). [DRL]

see also: Fan Language; Science-Fiction Five-Yearly; Xero.

Walter Alexander Willis

born Ireland: 30 October 1919

died Northern Ireland: 20 October 1999

works

• The Enchanted Duplicator (Belfast, Northern Ireland: Walt Willis, 1954) with Bob Shaw [chap: Fandom: pb/]
• Willis Discovers America (Belfast, Northern Ireland: Walt Willis/A Nostalgic Publication, 1955) [chap: first appeared 1952 var fanzines: exp with preface and annotations: pb/Bob Shaw]
  • Willis Discovers America and other fan fiction (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2021) [ebook: exp of the above as coll: edited by David Langford: na/Bob Shaw]
• Beyond the Enchanted Duplicator: To the Enchanted Convention (Minneapolis, Minnesota: PROmote Communications, privately printed, 1991) with James White [chap: Fandom: illus/pb/Stu Shiffman]

nonfiction

• The Harp Stateside (Belfast, Northern Ireland: privately printed, 1957) [nonfiction: chap: illus/pb/Arthur Thomson as Atom]
  • The Harp at Chicon (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2017) [nonfiction: ebook: unrevised first-published segment of the above: first appeared December 1952 Quandry 27/28: na/nonpictorial]
  • The Harp Stateside (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: ebook: exp of the above with additional Willis material: na/Arthur Thomson as Atom]
• The Willis Papers (South Pasadena, California: privately printed, 1961) [nonfiction: coll: chap: edited by George W Fields and Ted Johnstone (publisher): illus/Arthur Thomson as Atom: pb/Bjo Trimble]
  • The Willis Papers (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2019) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: rev of the above: na/photographic]
• The Improbable Irish (New York: Ace Books, 1969) as by Walter Bryan [nonfiction: coll: pb/nonpictorial]
• Warhoon 28: Being a Special Issue of Warhoon Devoted to Walt Willis' Life, Times & Work (New York: privately printed, 1980) [nonfiction: coll: including some fiction: edited by Richard Bergeron: dated 1978 but published 1980: hb/Richard Bergeron]
• The Enchantment: A Trip Report (Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Fanhistorica Press, 1989) [nonfiction: chap: pb/photographic]
• Fanorama: Walt Willis' Fan Columns from Nebula Science Fiction (Glen Ellen, California: privately printed, 1998) [nonfiction: coll: chap: edited by Robert Lichtman: pb/Alan Hunter]
• I Remember Me and Other Narratives (Gaithersburg, Maryland: Mimosa, 2021) [nonfiction: coll: chap: ebook: articles contributed to Mimosa: edited with introduction and notes by Rich Lynch: na/Charlie Williams]
• TAWF Times Two: The 1962 Trip Reports (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2022) with Madeleine Willis [nonfiction: omni: ebook: accounts by Willis and his wife of their "Tenth Anniversary Willis Fund" visit to the USA: edited by Rob Hansen and David Langford: na/photographic]
• The Harp in England (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: UK Convention reports: edited by David Langford: na/Arthur Thomson as Atom]
• The Harp That Once or Twice (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: Fanzine columns: edited by David Langford: na/Arthur Thomson as Atom]
• The Harp Remembered (Reading, Berkshire: Ansible Editions, 2023) [nonfiction: coll: ebook: Fanzine columns and articles: edited by David Langford: na/Arthur Thomson as Atom]

links

• The Enchanted Duplicator
• "Fanorama" columns
• The Willis Papers
• Walt Willis ebooks
• Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Fancyclopedia 3
• Picture Gallery

previous versions of this entry

• Internet Archive