Algol

Algo was a science fiction fanzine by Andrew Porter.

Released in New York, U.S.A. in 1963 Algolgrew from a two page fanzine created on a spirit duplicator to having offset covers, and then mimeographed pages , till it eventually became a printed publication with colour covers with a circulation of 7,000. The name of the fazine was later to shanged to Starship and at this time it became a pro zine. Partly this was due to the mix of fanzine writers and professional writers the zine attracted.

Contributing writers included Brian W. Aldiss, Poul Anderson, Douglas Barbour, Gregory Benford, Anne McCaffrey, A. Bertrum Chandler, Philip K. Dick, Vincent DiFate, Harlan Ellison (Science Fantasy Bulletin), Walter Gillings, Ursula LeGuin, Richard Lupoff (Xero), Sandra Miesel, Frederick Pohl (The International Observer of Science and Science Fiction), Robert Silverberg (Spaceship), Ted White (Void), Jack Williamson, and Susan Wood (Aspidistra).

Contributing artists included Terry Austin, Vaughn Bode, Rick Bryant, Grant Canfield, Derek Carter, Ross Chamberlain, Cecilia Cosentini, Lee Elias, Vincent Di Fate, Kelly Freas, Jack Gaughan, Mike Gilbert, C. Lee Healy, Alan Hunter, Tim Kirk, Bill Kunkel, Jim McLeod, Lydia Moon, Dan Steffan (Boonfark), Steve Stiles, Mike Streff, Bill Rotsler, Jim Steranko, Arthur Thomson (The ATom Anthology), and Judith Weiss.

Algol also featured interviews with writers such as Suzy McKee Charnas, Samuel R. Delany, Gordon R. Dickson, Ursula K. LeGuin, Fritz Leiber, Richard Lupoff, and Michael Moorcock.

Algo won the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1974. Later the category for 'Best Fanzine' would be redefined so that semi-pro zines such as the later Algol/Starship with professional printing and circulations over 1,000, would have their own category, 'Best Semiprozines'. Whatever it ended up as, Algol did start out as a real fanzine, however.