Dunegate
The Dunegate feud split Washington, DC, fandom in late 1984. When the movie of Dune was premiered, the studio contacted WSFA asking for names to people -- both fans and pros -- to invite to the DC opening. There wasn't room for all of the people who felt that they had a claim to be invited, and there was vigorous resentment between some of the not-invited and the president of WSFA, Alexis Gilliland.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, this spun out of control and resulted in an especially nasty feud. These were the days of the TAFF Wars, yet Mike Glyer commented in File 770 that "So many of us who have spent the past five months wading through the cesspit of fandom's TAFF feud were deluded into thinking that [that] was a bitter, vitriolic feud." This was worse.
The feud was nasty and split the club, with Somtow Sucharitkul and Timothy R. Sullivan leaving to found the short-lived Washington Alternative SF Association.
Given how essentially trivial the nominal cause was, this more than most fan feuds was probably fueled by other tensions in the club.
Articles:
- File 770 51, p. 11 (long article by Mike Glyer)
- File 770 52, p. 16 (letters in response)
- File 770 54, p. 8 (final notes)
| Fanhistory | 1984 |
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