The 16th World Science Fiction Convention (

Worldcon Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...

), also known as Solacon, was held on 29 August–1 September 1958 at the

Alexandria Hotel The Hotel Alexandria is a historic building constructed as a luxury hotel at the beginning of the 20th century in what was then the heart of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its elegant design and the fact that its public rooms sat disused for dec ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States. Solacon's chair was Anne S. Moffatt.

Participants

Attendance was 322.

Guests of Honor

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...

Anthony Boucher William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dr ...

(toastmaster)

Awards

1958 Hugo Awards

For the 1958 Hugos, Solacon presented engraved Hugo Award plaques instead of the nickel-plated Hugo rockets mounted on wooden bases, like those presented at the previous Worldcons in 1953, 1955, 1956, and 1957 (no awards were given in 1954). The winners were: * Best Novel/ Novelette: '' The Big Time'', by

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

* Best Short Story: "

Or All the Seas with Oysters "Or All the Seas with Oysters" is a science fiction short story by American writer Avram Davidson. It first appeared in the May 1958 issue of ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' and won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1958. One of Davidson's best ...

", by

Avram Davidson Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy ...

* Best Professional Magazine: ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

'', edited by

and Robert P. Mills * Outstanding Movie: ''

The Incredible Shrinking Man ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' is a 1957 American science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold (director), Jack Arnold, based on Richard Matheson's 1956 novel, ''The Shrinking Man''. The film stars Grant Williams (actor), Grant Williams as Sc ...

'', directed by Jack Arnold; screenplay by

* Outstanding Artist:

Frank Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the s ...

* Outstanding Actifan:

Walt Willis Walter Alexander Willis (1919–1999) was a well-known Irish science fiction fan, resident in Belfast. Work Willis was awarded a 1958 Hugo Award as "Outstanding Actifan" (active fan), which replaced the Best Fanzine category that year. He was n ...

Notes

Solacon was physically in Los Angeles, but (by mayoral proclamation) technically in

South Gate, California South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, with . It is located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. South Gate is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County. The city was incorporated on J ...

, to fulfill their longtime bid slogan (since 1948) of "South Gate in '58." Superfan Rick Sneary had a cardboard sign at this convention that read "We'll do it again in 2010" that he carried to numerous future Worldcons. His death in 1990 laid that dream to rest and the 2010 Worldcon took place in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

References

External links

NESFA.org: 1958 convention notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Science Fiction Convention 016 1958 conferences 1958 in Los Angeles Science fiction conventions in the United States Worldcon August 1958 in the United States September 1958 in the United States Events in Los Angeles