Manuscript Collection MS COLL 457A - Boyd Raeburn papers

Boyd Raeburn (1927-2001) was a Canadian science fiction fanzine writer. Born in New Zealand, Raeburn relocated to Toronto as an adult, where he joined the Toronto Science Fiction Society, also known as the Toronto Derelicts. Raeburn, Ron Kidder, Howard P. Lyons, Pat Patterson, and Ger Stewart helped to revitalize the Toronto Science Fiction Society in 1953 and called themselves the Derelict Insurgents.

Raeburn’s first fanzine, Á Bas, began as a publication of the Derelict Insurgents in 1954. After the first issue, however, Raeburn served as the sole editor of the zine until its final issue in 1959. Á Bas was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1956.

Raeburn also published Le Moindre for FAPA (the Fantasy Amateur Press Association), of which he was a member from 1955 until his death in 2001. From 1963 to 1967 he worked alongside Ontario fans Norm Clarke and Georgina Ellis to publish Queebshots.

Besides his fanzines, Raeburn also gained repute within fandom for being one of the “Balcony Insurgents” at NYCon II in 1956, who occupied a balcony to hear cartoonist Al Capp speak without having to pay for the convention’s dinner, and for coining the term “sercon,” or “serious constructive,” to refer to fans more interested in critical discussion of science fiction, as opposed to those primarily interested in discussing fan activity itself.