Häpna!

Häpna! — which means "Be astounded!" — was the first overt SF prozine in Sweden, published from March 1954 to Spring 1966 in 119 digest-sized, more or less monthly issues. Its editorship is unclear.

The founders were brothers Karl Gustav and Kurt Kindberg, who had inherited a small printing press and publishing business, and wanted to start an sf magazine. From its first issue Häpna! published suggestions for readers to form clubs and even publish fanzines. This was heeded by quite a few, and within months Sweden had a number of small fan groups. Fan news and information about clubs, fanzines and conventions continued to be a part of the magazine, usually published in every second issue. The fan columns were written by active fans: Sigvard Östlund was the main writer from the start until early 1956, Alvar Appeltofft followed through 1958; several fans wrote one or two columns in 1959 and 1960, after which Sam J. Lundwall wrote the fan columns from late 1961 to early 1963, followed by John-Henri Holmberg from then until the demise of the magazine. The continual fan page was extremely important to early Sweish fandom, since it was virtually only through the magazine new fans could discover fandom and become active.

Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

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Publication

1954—1966

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