From the time Randy Byers was introduced to science fiction, he was a fan. As a freshman at the University of Oregon he attended his first sci-fi convention, Norwescon, which he cites as one of his main reasons for moving to Seattle. And that was just the beginning.

On Sept. 1, Byers woke up to an e-mail inbox full of congratulations. His editing for the fanzine Science-Fiction Five-Yearly had earned him and his co-editors, Geri Sullivan and Lee Hoffman, the coveted Hugo Award.

The Hugo was named in honor of Hugo Gernsback, known as the father of sci-fi fanzines. Also known as the Science Fiction Achievement Award, the Hugo is given annually by the World Science Fiction Society at its convention WorldCon. What distinguishes the Hugo Award is that it is determined by a popular vote of the entire membership of the WSFS.

Byers, who has worked for the University of Washington since 1981, didn’t get his hopes up when he heard about SFFY’s nomination in February. His fanzine Chunga which he both writes for and edits with two friends locally, had been nominated twice before with no success. However, the third time really was the charm.

Science-Fiction Five-Yearly was founded in 1951 by fanzine legend Lee Hoffman.

“This fanzine is about the culture itself, about the fans,” Byers said. “The stories in it are mostly humorous. It’s about having fun and goofing off.”

Hoffman passed away at the age of 74 in February 2007, shortly after the 12th issue of SFFY was published. Because the zine was always considered hers, despite the fact that much of the editing was delegated, issue 12 of SFFY will be the last.

As one of the guest editors, Byers contacted the writers and artists and worked with them through the production process. Byers jokes that he was going to write for the zine himself but couldn’t meet his own deadline.

The term fanzine was coined in the 1940s for amateur publications produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon to communicate with other fans. Though they now span a wide variety of topics, the first were sci-fi zines that began to spring up in the 1930s.

Originally, fanzines were made using typewriters and mimeographs, but progressed with technology to the photocopier and finally the Internet. Styles vary: some imitate literary magazines, while others incorporate submissions more like open letters or diary entries.

“You don’t necessarily write about science fiction at all,” Byers said. “I’ve written about my family and my love life. You write about people because it’s the people that keep you involved.”

For now, Byers will continue working on and looking for more opportunities like the one he found with Science-Fiction Five-Yearly.

“I’ll just see what comes up,” he said. “I like working with other people. It just seems like my own stuff isn’t as interesting as the stuff I do with others.”

It’s very clear that Byers will stay involved in the science fiction scene for one very worthwhile reason: He truly loves science fiction. Having lived in Micronesia with his family from ages 6 to 10, Byers feels that he missed the bonding experience with other children that usually happens in elementary school. He attributes this feeling of exclusion to his interest in the sci-fi culture.

“I like hanging out with nerds, I guess because I am one,” Byers said. “It’s the intelligence and the curiosity. There’s an openness to the global view that I love. Fanzines help readers find a missing family.”

[Reach reporter Nick Feldman at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]