Pros Fandom History - post the fourth
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
So, here's an even further expanded version of our Pros history, with information and memories and stories from some of the earliest Pros fans -
inamac,
lil_shepherd, Felicity Parkinson, and most recently from Sebastian! Thank you very much to those people, and to everyone else who's been helping with this - it's looking good! *vbg* I think I've included all the information I've had so far - I'm hoping for a few dates from some people, so that I can include what they've said too, and I'm looking forward to promised Paul's-location-spotting info, hopefully scans of the original Weekend in the Country minicons, DiaL letterzine dates, info about New Pros meetings/fandom... all sorts of things! And of course any new thoughts and memories that people have...
I'd love to include information about the South California gatherings, for example, hosted by Lily Fulford, and I believe M.Fae Glasgow too - does anyone know about these? Oh, and what about fandom in Australia - what was going on there? When did Jane appear? The very-prolific Nuthatch Press? What happened in Germany? In France?! There was fandom in France because I have a copy of a 1993 fanzine! And I know there are lists in Germany, but... Can anyone tell me about those, so that I can include them? And I've just remembered the Japanese website too, that I seem to remember comes off the OpLewC website there... When were the Zebracons that featured Pros?! When did M.Fae do her readings? Someone out there must know - please help! *g*
Pros Fandom History So Far Known
1977
30th December 1977 - 17th March 1978 - Series One first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1978
7th October - 9th December 1978 - Series Two first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1979
27th October - 15th December 1979 - Series Three first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1980
7th September - 27th December 1980 - Series Four first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1981
"Enigma" fanzine, published by Blue Jay Press in the UK contains Pros fic Christmas Spirit - later reprinted by Blue Jay Press in Best of the Professionals (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
First Pros slash story written in the UK (1980 or 1981?) - Consequences by Tarot and A.N. Other (nb, these are their current pseudonyms for use on internet) (source: comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd; article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009). There is of course debate over this! Compare discussion at this thread at
blueamaranthe's livejournal; comments from Felicity Parkinson quoted by
metabolick that "Powerplay as the first Hatstand (B/D) story written and its sequel Deathgame. Both were by Stuartsky.", comments here on thread by
metabolick and
msmoat's comment here that she had always been told that O. Yardley wrote the first Pros slash story.
Note that Felicity Parkinson describes the following Pros stories as "pre-1981":
"The earliest list I have (which dates from about 1981, so the stories had probably been in existence for a while), gives Powerplay as the first Hatstand (B/D) story written and its sequel Deathgame. Both were by Stuartsky. The first stories I actually read were Consequences, by A.N.Other and Jane Doe and its sequels The End of An Illusion, Coldwater Morning and Two Crazy Lovers, by Stuartsky; Light of Day. The next story I read, which is also on the list and which really got me hooked, was Masquerade, by A.N.Other, which I still think is one of the best stories there's been but then I think she's a crackingly good writer. And then Cause For Concern, by Stuartsky, another first class story.
Other stories on the list are: Aftermath (a sequel to the episode Fall Girl); Christmas Spirit (the slash version of a gen story); Shadow of a Ghost (a sequel to Painting the Clouds); Remember Angola, by Anne Lewis; Nightwatch, and a couple of spoofs - The Poofessionals by Dirk Grapple and Double Take by Anon.
Work in progress on the list includes Painting the Clouds, which didn't come out till some years later, which was unfortunate, as it then seemed rather like a pale copy of Masquerade. But the author of Masquerade had written *her* story using the same premise and with the permission and encouragement of the author of Painting the Clouds, only she got it finished and circulated a lot sooner! What else out of that lot? Endgame, by A.N.Other is another story that did get circulated and Of Tethered Goats and Tigers, by A.N.Other, another first class story.
There's a note on the list saying that fans in Australia are writing feverishly. That's the very early stuff from my point of view, dating back before 1981.
While the fandom was a slash one from the word go, the same authors did write some gen stories which appeared in various gen zines or as one-off stories. But after the initial flurry, it settled down to being an undercover slash fandom and really took off in the early 80s. Some fans from America were put in contact with me and sent me some of their early stuff (including Mary Sues) and the fandom seemed to get going in the USA in the mid-1980s. Ditto Australia, as well as in the UK." (source: Felicity Parkinson in a comment here, quoted by
metabolick)
Those UK Pros fans who wrote Pros slash stories referred to themselves as "Hatstanders" from the comment that B/D were "as bent as hatstands": "The phrase, "I think they're as bent as Hatstands" was said by one of the two authors of Consequences [Tarot and A.N. Other] which is probably the earliest slash B/D story and certainly written just after the Zebracon at which that remark was made.
"It was, however, turned into a slogan by someone else entirely, who is not on LJ, but who was a mover and shaker in British S&H and Pros fandom." (source: comment and memories at this thread). They each received an enamelled frog brooch (ten to a dozen or so of these had been bought at Covent Garden Market), although recollections as to their significance are unclear - there may have been "a joke about how many frogs you had to kiss before you found a prince, and a story about same" (source: comment and memories here in this thread; comment and memories here in this thread)
First Pros slash zine published for sale in the UK, a long story: Remember Angola (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
In 1981/82
inamac (Ina MacAllan) and
lil_shepherd (Lil Shepherd) wrote character studies of both Bodie and Doyle, based on evidence they took from the episodes, meant to prompt discussion. They have kindly posted these pieces, which can now be found here at this post (Bodie) and here at this post (Doyle) (source: the two posts themselves - please follow the links!; comments from Felicity Parkinson quoted by
metabolick). These studies were presented for discussion at the Weekend in a Country minicon (see below).
1982
"Enigma" fanzine, published by Blue Jay Press in the UK contains Pros fic Bad Apple and Booby Trap - later reprinted by Blue Jay Press in Best of the Professionals (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
Blue Jay Press published two long Pros stories in a single zine Dead Beat in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
Privately printed and circulated Changing the Rules/Security Risk fanzine in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; further information about Changing the Rules/Security Risk from publisher here in comment thread.)
Mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England 5th-7th March 1982 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
metabolick) - "basically get-togethers for a small number of fans to watch episodes and discuss stories and characterisations. Ken Bulmer attended the first one" (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd; comment thread here from
lil_shepherd; comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
metabolick) At least one of the cons seems have been held at the Ashecroft Hotel in York (source: a con programme described here by
metabolick) and see also here for another memory of the Weekend in the Country minicons.
The Weekend in the Country mini con is further described: "It wasn't a slash con per se, even though Professionals fandom was really slash from the outset. People had to be very careful about what they said in public. Ken Bulmer was the guest of honour at the first convention, and certainly slash wouldn't have been mentioned in his presence. I'm also not sure whether everyone there was a slash fan, and the other point is that people were a bit paranoid that Brian Clemens would get to hear of slash fandom. It wasn't like Star Trek, where we were on the other side of the Atlantic and a whole continent away as well. Professionals slash fandom was British and Brian Clemens was on the doorstep, as it were. But it was talked about in private discussions and I did order a slash zine at the first convention.
"One of the sessions at the first one was a character study of Bodie and Doyle, done by two fans listening to what was said in the episodes that had been shown so far. I remember some of the discussion got quite heated at times and I can see that I've scribbled comments all over my pages. This from someone who at that point had only seen about a dozen episodes! The following year we had a similar character study done on Cowley by the same two people. They decided to leave out Wild Justice and Operation Susie from their study because of the contradictions in them compared with other episodes." (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
metabolick). Note that these are the two character studies by
inamac and
lil_shepherd mentioned and linked above!
7th November 1982 - 6th February 1983 - Series Five first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
Sebastian became involved in Pros fandom in 1982. O. Yardley hosted a gathering that included Sebastian, ET, HG, Rob and six other women, all of whom went on to write Prosfic, many now considered "classic". In her own words:
"I first got hooked on the Pros in 1982, I can remember the very moment - I was watching Foxhole on the Roof the day after its first UK airing - recorded (on VHS, back in those not-so-good Olden Days) and doing the ironing - and something about it really grabbed me.
"What if, I thought to myself, passing the iron absentmindedly back and forth over the shirts, what if that one fell in love with that one and -
"It took me some time to work out for sure which was Bodie and which was Doyle, and even longer that it was not C-Fifteen but CI5, but you couldn't doubt the enthusiasm, the passion, the enormous thrill and deep emotional joy I got from considering these two men and their strange bleak world.
"I had 'form' in the world of fictional gay love, having been into K/S for sometime, and through it I had met a very good friend, ET, who lived near me. She had already noticed the boys and the slash potential, and she was a friend of O Yardley's, who very kindly invited us and about ten others to her house in London when we breathlessly confessed our new obsession.
"By this time most of us had a B/D story on the go, or half on the go, which we passed around at this meeting - some of those stories got finished - some didn't. As it happened some very good writers were among O Yardley's little group - HG for one, O Yardley herself obviously, ET, Rob, and others. In fact I think every single one of those people came up with a good or great story in those early years, partly because O Yardley had the idea of each of us writing a Birthday Story for everyone in the group, ie 11 stories a year from each of us, and partly because we were all in it together - inspiring each other and keeping those flames fed on a cycle of passion and euphoria.
"We were not the first group of Pros slash-writers in the UK, there existed another - with which we had a rather childish, tho not-very-serious rivalry - they had come first, and, rightly or wrongly, we felt we were seen as brash young upstarts :lol (Looking back on it, they probably thought no such thing). For some reason they called slash-Pros stories 'Hatstands' (yes, they really did.) They also had some absolutely brilliant writers in their group - the Remember Angola author, for a start, who also came up with some other absolutely shattering and heartrendingly powerful classics, but we did not mix much, and kept to O Yardley's group by and large.
"We managed several meetings a year, either at OY's house (generous, hospitable woman that she was to put up with 11 women sleeping in bags all over the house - or occasionally elsewhere. The format of our weekends together was always the same - all 12 of us piled into one small living room - raucous, energetic and bawdy conversation - lots and lots of episodes running day and night on thrice-copied and sometimes double-imaged VHS, many pauses and rewinds to ogle merest glances between the boys or favourite bits of dialogue - I don't think any of us really ever understood the actual plots :lol but we could quote all the slashy moments word for word.
"When we weren't watching, or sitting round OY's dining table eating something hot and delicious from a large casserole dish that seemed to be on the go from dawn till dusk, we were writing - passing scraps and notes around for comment - sometimes people would be sitting there waiting with barely-concealed impatience for HG's pen to reach the foot of a page of Rediscovered in a Graveyard - in longhand! at which moment they would snatch it and scan it and sigh with joy and beg her to write quicker and pass it on to the next in line.
"We didn't get much sleep at these weekends. During one of them I was in the bunk on top of HG. Trying not to wake the six others in the room we tossed ideas up and down between the bunks and came up with Two in a Bunk plus a story written all in letters, her taking the part of Bodie and me of Doyle, which we wrote back and forth by post once we were back at home. (What was it called now? lord, I have forgotten.)
"Email would have been handy! not to mention PCs - everything was written in longhand, then on typewriters, with three carbons. I sometimes marvel that our stories ever flowed or shone at all, given that in these days of WORD a first draft can be endlessly picked at it, changing a word here and there, polishing and editing and refining over and over - something just not possible in those days. Once you had typed it, it was done, no more fiddling, unless you wanted to Tip-Ex out the odd word here and there.
"I don't think those stories were any the worse for their crude manner of execution, and I'll always be glad I was there - right back nearly at the very beginning of Pros-slash - ah, those days, those glorious days...." (source: contribution to Pros fandom history made at Sebastian's own Pros discussion forum Foxhole on the Roof).
1983
Blue Jay Press published Pros stories in Impact 1 in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
Second mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England, 4th-6th February 1983 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
metabolick) - "basically get-togethers for a small number of fans to watch episodes and discuss stories and characterisations." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd) At least one of the cons seems have been held at the Ashecroft Hotel in York (source: a con programme described here by
metabolick.
A character study of George Cowley, by
inamac and
lil_shepherd was presented for discussion at the 1983 Weekend in the Country minicon (source: comments from Felicity Parkinson quoted by
metabolick, and also see comments here by one of the authors,
inamac.)
1984
Blue Jay Press published Pros stories in Impact 2 in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd)
Third mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England, 3rd-5th February 1984 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
metabolick) - "basically get-togethers for a small number of fans to watch episodes and discuss stories and characterisations." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
inamac from information from
lil_shepherd) At least one of the cons seems have been held at the Ashecroft Hotel in York (source: a con programme described here by
metabolick.
"Australian fiction included the story 'Deadly Ribbons' and the 'straight' fiction zine Mixed Doubles 1 (1984). (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
The Hatstand Express (T.H.E.) first published in Australia, 1984 - "It consisted of letters of comment on the episodes, characters and fan fiction, as well as short stories, poetry and artwork." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
"Mixed Doubles was a British Professionals/Starsky & Hutch letterzine which was prodced from 1984 to 1989 along much the same format as T.H.E. but also included newscuttings about the actors." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
1986
(Pre-1986 but not defined by date): "From the U.S. came the early stories 'Victorian Bed', 'Doyle's Dream' and 'Rules of the Game'. Zines were slower to follow but have included Teo Torriate (1986) and various issues of In the Public Interest. These have all been slash fiction. The U.S. zine British Takeaway remains one of the few mainly 'straight' fiction zines to be produced." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
1987
10-12 April 1987, Weekend in the Country convention in Baltimore, USA, run by Laura Peck and Tacs (source: programme booklet owned by
towerbridge2006; comment here by
towerbridge2006; comment here by
pxr5)
1988
Oblique Publishing founded (1988-2003) (source: Oblique Publishing - About page)
1989
"The British Pros Circuit Library began in 1989 and continues to this day. Fans from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Germany and France have all been subscribers at one time or another." (source:
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread)
1990
In Felicity Parkinson's article on Pros history, written in 1990, she says: "Fandom has also developed in Australia and the United States of America. Australian fandom had early contacts with British fans and later also through the U.S. United States fandom was slower to evolve, possibly because the series has not been so widely shown there. However, Zebracon, a U.S. convention for Starsky and Hutch fans, now also embraces Professionals fandom." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
"Short Circuit letterzine began publication in Britain in 1990, but "is now under U.S. editorship, again with a mixture of letters and fiction." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
The first Nattercon (known in 1990 and 1991 as Zircon) held, on the weekend of October 26th, 1990, in England. The programme is a mix of The Professionals and Starsky and Hutch It included showings of fanvids, discussion panels including discussion "on all aspects of zines", auctions, and a raffle. Discussions were led by Felicity Parkinson, Helen Raven, H.G., Jane Carnall, and various other people whose lj/internet names (if any!) are unknown to me! (source: copy of original Zircon programme, copied and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; lj pseudonyms are from own knowledge, and are mostly not the names listed in the programme;
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread) There have been twenty Nattercons, all held in Milton Keynes, England. (source:
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread)
"Pear Tree Press started in 1990 with Professional Insight which is also still in print." (source:
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread)
1991
From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "Tracy (can't remember her last name, sorry) was the first one to start typing in circuit stories and sharing with a circle of her friends. This was about 1991-92. Late 1992, her circle was up to about 20, myself included. She was wanting to concentrate more on her writing, so asked me if I'd like to takeover effort of taking the hardcopy circuit stories and typing/scanning them and sharing them. So I did! Tracy and I talked and decided to start calling it The Professionals Library or Proslib, as it was no longer just a circle of friends, but fans from all over". (source:
hagsrus in this comment below)
First "Writeshop" held, 7th-9th June 1991, based around writing Prosfic and co-organised by Helen Raven and Felicity Parkinson. Idea proposed for format of future Writeshops, that attendees submit short pieces of fiction for discussion. (source: comment from co-organiser of Writeshop 91,
helenraven) "Writeshop" seems to have evolved at some point into "Write Time", although the format seems to be similar to that described here. "Write Time" is a continuing annual event as of 2009 (source: own attendance of Write Time in 2007 and 2008).
whitehills, the organiser of these writing weekends, describes them thus: "A Pros writing weekend started in 1991 and, for about the first four or five years, the theme was Pros only. However, as some fans wanted to try their hand at writing in other fandoms, the scope was widened which made it not particularly Pros related. These weekends have run for 19 years." (source:
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread)
1992
" The first Gryphon Press zine - Paper Flowers by Kitty Fisher - came out in 1992 and there have been approximately 35 zines from Gryphon over the ensuing years, all of which remain in print." (source:
whitehills posting via
londonronnieat this thread)
From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "As more and more fans got email, more heard about it and wanted to join. By 1993, the circle had grown to about 80. I emailed out a story every other day or so (it was growing that fast) and I would mail out diskettes (remember those 8-) to new members who joined." (source:
hagsrus in this comment below)
1993
From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "During 1993, I enlisted [Meri] to help me get people to help type, to talk to authors who were shy of having their stories in e-format. Seems funny now, but back then, this was all new. Lots of people were suspicious of the new medium. It opened up all kinds of questions about who controlled stories.
Meri thought it would be a good idea to store proslib on this new thing called The World Wide Web and created a web site called the Pros Online Circuit Archive to reach even more fans. Meanwhile, I bought up boxes of the hardcopy circuit from Karen Brandl and sent them to fans in the US, England, Germany and Australia to type up for Proslib. It was a fun, active time. Everything was so new and there was so much energy.
By the time I was up to 32 diskettes [see below, probably post-1996], thankfully burnable cds were in vogue and so was yahoo. I chose yahoo as the easiest way to send out weekly stories to the over 200 who were in Proslib. Up to that time, I just had an addressee list I maintained in my email." (source:
hagsrus in this comment below)
"Fans started to make electronic copies of Pros fanfic for email, floppy-disk and ultimately the ProsLib CD distribution" (source: Circuit Archive - About page and
msmoat, in comment below)
1995
Original CI5 listserv founded on the internet by Lorelei (source:
msmoat, in comment thread here)
PFL begins writing in Pros fandom (source: (source:
msmoat, in comment thread here)
1996
Online Circuit Archive founded by Meri (archivist) (source: Circuit Archive - About page)
Dave Matthew's Official Professionals Website founded on 24th June 1996 (source: Dave Matthew's Official Professionals Website homepage)
ProsLib: "In 1996 I got 11 or 16 three and a quarter inch floppies (can't remember exactly), so it would have been after 1996 that the library was up to 32 disks, though I believe it was growing very quickly by then." (source: memories in comment thread here by
copracat)
1997
Yahoo Mail begins in 1997, and so it is presumably post-1997 that Debbie moves the ProsLib mailing list to Yahoo Groups: "Yahoo mail wasn't around until 1997, so Debbie would have moved the mailing list to Yahoo in 97 or later." (source: memories in comment thread here by
copracat)
2000
ProsLib Yahoo Group founded 1st March 2000 (source: ProsLib Yahoo Group front page)
CI5alltheway Yahoo Group founded 22nd May 2000. (source: comment to thread by
hagsrus)
ProsSims Yahoo Group founded 20th August 2000 (source: comment here by
hagsrus
2001
Pros-Lit Yahoo Group founded 19th August 2001 (source: Pros-Lit Yahoo Group front page.
From
hagsrus (Frances), of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "I started actively helping with Proslib a year or so later [c2001] when I acquired a scanner and essentially took over as other demands on Debbie's time and energy became prohibitive. She was one of the very first people to whom I was introduced in the fandom by my original "pimp" and wonderfully generous in lending me stacks of zines as well as offering encouragement to write". (source:
hagsrus in this comment below)
2002
Lewis Collins Yahoo Group founded on 3rd March 2002 (source: Lewis Collins Yahoo Group front page)
Martin's Place Yahoo Group founded on 18th August 2002 (source: Martin's Place Yahoo Group front page)
The first Christmas Bash at the Scarsdale pub in London, England was held in 2002 (source: comment on thread here by
londonronnie)
2003
ProsStoryfinders Yahoo group founded 30th January, 2003 (source: comment to thread by
hagsrus)
Bodiesannao82347 Yahoo Group (Photo Archive only) founded 19th July 2003. (source: comment thread here by
hagsrus)
AngelFishFanFic Yahoo Group founded 25th August 2003 (source: AngelFishFanFic Yahoo Group front page)
The Hatstand online archive founded September 2003 (source:
taverymate recollection and saved posts as described here in this thread
Alijot's Professionals Recs website begun 2003/2004? (source: comment here by founder of Alijot's Recs,
alicambs)
Pros stories are regularly recced (recommended) by posters at
crack_van from 2003 - 2007, and although they were taken off the "Major fandoms" list after this, they are still recced. (source: Crack_Van's Memories page and comment on thread here by
hagsrus)
2004
the_safehouse founded 7th March 2004 (source
the_safehouse user info page) by
phantomas (source: my own knowledge from lj and other conversations)
Online Circuit Archive taken over by
justacat (archivist) (source: Circuit Archive - About page)
Pros Language Yahoo Group founded on 23rd November 2004 (source: Pros Language Yahoo Group front page)
2005
Bodiesanna082347_2 Yahoo Group founded 29th January 2005 - please be aware that the group seems to be abandoned, and messages visible to non-members are of the relatively pornographic-junk-spam type, rather than anything relevant to Pros. (source: comment thread here by
hagsrus)
ProsSlash Yahoo Group founded 24th June 2005 (source: ProsSlash Yahoo Group front page)
santa_pros founded 13th August 2005 by
queenbamfie (user name since changed several times) for one-off Christmas fic exchange (source:
santa_pros and own knowledge)
summer_of_78 founded on 11th December 2005 by
queenbamfie (user name since changed several times) for one-off Christmas fic exchange (source:
summer_of_78 and own knowledge)
2006
ci5hq founded 23rd April by
empty_mirrors and
przed (source:
ci5hq user info page)
Nattercon 2006 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2006, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
discoveredinalj founded 13th July 2006 by
empty_mirrors and
byslantedlight (source:
discoveredinalj user info page)
TV Lounge Forum founded some time around July 2006? Does anyone know more precisely? (source: TV Lounge Forum first introductions post)
Foxhole on the Roof Discussion Forum founded by Sebastian (Merry) at her Hard Facts Forum on 5th September 2006 (source: post by Merry at the forum)
pros_pearl founded on 13th December 2006 by
hisluvpet to celebrate 30 years of The Professionals (source:
pros_pearl user info page)
2007
pros_newsletter founded on 3rd May 2007 by
paris7am (source:
pros_newsletter user info page, and first
pros_newsletter entry)
Nattercon 2007 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2007, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
prosfinder founded 18th June 2007 by
probodie (source:
prosfinder user info page)
First Close Quarters 2007 - USA-based Pros convention, July (?) 2007, Laurel Lakes, Maryland (Washington DC), USA. (source: own knowledge; comment here by
hagsrus)
2007 CI5mas/Scarsdale Bash at The Scarsdale pub (used in Fall Girl), London, December 2007 (source: own attendance!)
2008
Nattercon 2008 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2008, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
The Automatic Hatstand archive founded August 2008 for Pros writers to submit and control their own story archives.
pros_icontest founded 28th September 2008 by
rochvelleth (source:
pros_icontest user info)
CI5mas/Scarsdale Bash at The Scarsdale pub (used in Fall Girl), London, December 2008 (source: own attendance!)
2009
loiteringpalely 18th March 2009 founded by
byslantedlight as a place to source Pros zines and Pros zine information (source:
loiteringpalely user info, archive and own knowledge!)
teaandswissroll founded 24th March 2009 by
draycevixen,
mikes_grrl,
norfolkdumpling and
saintvic (source:
teaandswissroll user info page; comment here by
hambelandjemima)
Nattercon 2009 - 20th Anniversary of UK-based Pros convention, May 2009, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
Close Quarters 2009 - USA-based Pros convention, July 2009, Washington DC, USA. (source: own knowledge)
Pros Writing Holiday 2009: Week/end in the Country - Derbyshire, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance)
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I'd love to include information about the South California gatherings, for example, hosted by Lily Fulford, and I believe M.Fae Glasgow too - does anyone know about these? Oh, and what about fandom in Australia - what was going on there? When did Jane appear? The very-prolific Nuthatch Press? What happened in Germany? In France?! There was fandom in France because I have a copy of a 1993 fanzine! And I know there are lists in Germany, but... Can anyone tell me about those, so that I can include them? And I've just remembered the Japanese website too, that I seem to remember comes off the OpLewC website there... When were the Zebracons that featured Pros?! When did M.Fae do her readings? Someone out there must know - please help! *g*
Pros Fandom History So Far Known
1977
30th December 1977 - 17th March 1978 - Series One first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1978
7th October - 9th December 1978 - Series Two first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1979
27th October - 15th December 1979 - Series Three first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1980
7th September - 27th December 1980 - Series Four first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
1981
"Enigma" fanzine, published by Blue Jay Press in the UK contains Pros fic Christmas Spirit - later reprinted by Blue Jay Press in Best of the Professionals (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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First Pros slash story written in the UK (1980 or 1981?) - Consequences by Tarot and A.N. Other (nb, these are their current pseudonyms for use on internet) (source: comment here by
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Note that Felicity Parkinson describes the following Pros stories as "pre-1981":
"The earliest list I have (which dates from about 1981, so the stories had probably been in existence for a while), gives Powerplay as the first Hatstand (B/D) story written and its sequel Deathgame. Both were by Stuartsky. The first stories I actually read were Consequences, by A.N.Other and Jane Doe and its sequels The End of An Illusion, Coldwater Morning and Two Crazy Lovers, by Stuartsky; Light of Day. The next story I read, which is also on the list and which really got me hooked, was Masquerade, by A.N.Other, which I still think is one of the best stories there's been but then I think she's a crackingly good writer. And then Cause For Concern, by Stuartsky, another first class story.
Other stories on the list are: Aftermath (a sequel to the episode Fall Girl); Christmas Spirit (the slash version of a gen story); Shadow of a Ghost (a sequel to Painting the Clouds); Remember Angola, by Anne Lewis; Nightwatch, and a couple of spoofs - The Poofessionals by Dirk Grapple and Double Take by Anon.
Work in progress on the list includes Painting the Clouds, which didn't come out till some years later, which was unfortunate, as it then seemed rather like a pale copy of Masquerade. But the author of Masquerade had written *her* story using the same premise and with the permission and encouragement of the author of Painting the Clouds, only she got it finished and circulated a lot sooner! What else out of that lot? Endgame, by A.N.Other is another story that did get circulated and Of Tethered Goats and Tigers, by A.N.Other, another first class story.
There's a note on the list saying that fans in Australia are writing feverishly. That's the very early stuff from my point of view, dating back before 1981.
While the fandom was a slash one from the word go, the same authors did write some gen stories which appeared in various gen zines or as one-off stories. But after the initial flurry, it settled down to being an undercover slash fandom and really took off in the early 80s. Some fans from America were put in contact with me and sent me some of their early stuff (including Mary Sues) and the fandom seemed to get going in the USA in the mid-1980s. Ditto Australia, as well as in the UK." (source: Felicity Parkinson in a comment here, quoted by
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Those UK Pros fans who wrote Pros slash stories referred to themselves as "Hatstanders" from the comment that B/D were "as bent as hatstands": "The phrase, "I think they're as bent as Hatstands" was said by one of the two authors of Consequences [Tarot and A.N. Other] which is probably the earliest slash B/D story and certainly written just after the Zebracon at which that remark was made.
"It was, however, turned into a slogan by someone else entirely, who is not on LJ, but who was a mover and shaker in British S&H and Pros fandom." (source: comment and memories at this thread). They each received an enamelled frog brooch (ten to a dozen or so of these had been bought at Covent Garden Market), although recollections as to their significance are unclear - there may have been "a joke about how many frogs you had to kiss before you found a prince, and a story about same" (source: comment and memories here in this thread; comment and memories here in this thread)
First Pros slash zine published for sale in the UK, a long story: Remember Angola (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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In 1981/82
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1982
"Enigma" fanzine, published by Blue Jay Press in the UK contains Pros fic Bad Apple and Booby Trap - later reprinted by Blue Jay Press in Best of the Professionals (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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Blue Jay Press published two long Pros stories in a single zine Dead Beat in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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Privately printed and circulated Changing the Rules/Security Risk fanzine in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; further information about Changing the Rules/Security Risk from publisher here in comment thread.)
Mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England 5th-7th March 1982 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
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The Weekend in the Country mini con is further described: "It wasn't a slash con per se, even though Professionals fandom was really slash from the outset. People had to be very careful about what they said in public. Ken Bulmer was the guest of honour at the first convention, and certainly slash wouldn't have been mentioned in his presence. I'm also not sure whether everyone there was a slash fan, and the other point is that people were a bit paranoid that Brian Clemens would get to hear of slash fandom. It wasn't like Star Trek, where we were on the other side of the Atlantic and a whole continent away as well. Professionals slash fandom was British and Brian Clemens was on the doorstep, as it were. But it was talked about in private discussions and I did order a slash zine at the first convention.
"One of the sessions at the first one was a character study of Bodie and Doyle, done by two fans listening to what was said in the episodes that had been shown so far. I remember some of the discussion got quite heated at times and I can see that I've scribbled comments all over my pages. This from someone who at that point had only seen about a dozen episodes! The following year we had a similar character study done on Cowley by the same two people. They decided to leave out Wild Justice and Operation Susie from their study because of the contradictions in them compared with other episodes." (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
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7th November 1982 - 6th February 1983 - Series Five first aired in UK (source: Dave Matthew's Official Pros Website)
Sebastian became involved in Pros fandom in 1982. O. Yardley hosted a gathering that included Sebastian, ET, HG, Rob and six other women, all of whom went on to write Prosfic, many now considered "classic". In her own words:
"I first got hooked on the Pros in 1982, I can remember the very moment - I was watching Foxhole on the Roof the day after its first UK airing - recorded (on VHS, back in those not-so-good Olden Days) and doing the ironing - and something about it really grabbed me.
"What if, I thought to myself, passing the iron absentmindedly back and forth over the shirts, what if that one fell in love with that one and -
"It took me some time to work out for sure which was Bodie and which was Doyle, and even longer that it was not C-Fifteen but CI5, but you couldn't doubt the enthusiasm, the passion, the enormous thrill and deep emotional joy I got from considering these two men and their strange bleak world.
"I had 'form' in the world of fictional gay love, having been into K/S for sometime, and through it I had met a very good friend, ET, who lived near me. She had already noticed the boys and the slash potential, and she was a friend of O Yardley's, who very kindly invited us and about ten others to her house in London when we breathlessly confessed our new obsession.
"By this time most of us had a B/D story on the go, or half on the go, which we passed around at this meeting - some of those stories got finished - some didn't. As it happened some very good writers were among O Yardley's little group - HG for one, O Yardley herself obviously, ET, Rob, and others. In fact I think every single one of those people came up with a good or great story in those early years, partly because O Yardley had the idea of each of us writing a Birthday Story for everyone in the group, ie 11 stories a year from each of us, and partly because we were all in it together - inspiring each other and keeping those flames fed on a cycle of passion and euphoria.
"We were not the first group of Pros slash-writers in the UK, there existed another - with which we had a rather childish, tho not-very-serious rivalry - they had come first, and, rightly or wrongly, we felt we were seen as brash young upstarts :lol (Looking back on it, they probably thought no such thing). For some reason they called slash-Pros stories 'Hatstands' (yes, they really did.) They also had some absolutely brilliant writers in their group - the Remember Angola author, for a start, who also came up with some other absolutely shattering and heartrendingly powerful classics, but we did not mix much, and kept to O Yardley's group by and large.
"We managed several meetings a year, either at OY's house (generous, hospitable woman that she was to put up with 11 women sleeping in bags all over the house - or occasionally elsewhere. The format of our weekends together was always the same - all 12 of us piled into one small living room - raucous, energetic and bawdy conversation - lots and lots of episodes running day and night on thrice-copied and sometimes double-imaged VHS, many pauses and rewinds to ogle merest glances between the boys or favourite bits of dialogue - I don't think any of us really ever understood the actual plots :lol but we could quote all the slashy moments word for word.
"When we weren't watching, or sitting round OY's dining table eating something hot and delicious from a large casserole dish that seemed to be on the go from dawn till dusk, we were writing - passing scraps and notes around for comment - sometimes people would be sitting there waiting with barely-concealed impatience for HG's pen to reach the foot of a page of Rediscovered in a Graveyard - in longhand! at which moment they would snatch it and scan it and sigh with joy and beg her to write quicker and pass it on to the next in line.
"We didn't get much sleep at these weekends. During one of them I was in the bunk on top of HG. Trying not to wake the six others in the room we tossed ideas up and down between the bunks and came up with Two in a Bunk plus a story written all in letters, her taking the part of Bodie and me of Doyle, which we wrote back and forth by post once we were back at home. (What was it called now? lord, I have forgotten.)
"Email would have been handy! not to mention PCs - everything was written in longhand, then on typewriters, with three carbons. I sometimes marvel that our stories ever flowed or shone at all, given that in these days of WORD a first draft can be endlessly picked at it, changing a word here and there, polishing and editing and refining over and over - something just not possible in those days. Once you had typed it, it was done, no more fiddling, unless you wanted to Tip-Ex out the odd word here and there.
"I don't think those stories were any the worse for their crude manner of execution, and I'll always be glad I was there - right back nearly at the very beginning of Pros-slash - ah, those days, those glorious days...." (source: contribution to Pros fandom history made at Sebastian's own Pros discussion forum Foxhole on the Roof).
1983
Blue Jay Press published Pros stories in Impact 1 in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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Second mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England, 4th-6th February 1983 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
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A character study of George Cowley, by
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1984
Blue Jay Press published Pros stories in Impact 2 in the UK (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; comment here by
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Third mini-con Weekend in the Country was held in York, England, 3rd-5th February 1984 (source: comment on thread here, quoting Felicity Parkinson by
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"Australian fiction included the story 'Deadly Ribbons' and the 'straight' fiction zine Mixed Doubles 1 (1984). (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
The Hatstand Express (T.H.E.) first published in Australia, 1984 - "It consisted of letters of comment on the episodes, characters and fan fiction, as well as short stories, poetry and artwork." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
"Mixed Doubles was a British Professionals/Starsky & Hutch letterzine which was prodced from 1984 to 1989 along much the same format as T.H.E. but also included newscuttings about the actors." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
1986
(Pre-1986 but not defined by date): "From the U.S. came the early stories 'Victorian Bed', 'Doyle's Dream' and 'Rules of the Game'. Zines were slower to follow but have included Teo Torriate (1986) and various issues of In the Public Interest. These have all been slash fiction. The U.S. zine British Takeaway remains one of the few mainly 'straight' fiction zines to be produced." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
1987
10-12 April 1987, Weekend in the Country convention in Baltimore, USA, run by Laura Peck and Tacs (source: programme booklet owned by
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1988
Oblique Publishing founded (1988-2003) (source: Oblique Publishing - About page)
1989
"The British Pros Circuit Library began in 1989 and continues to this day. Fans from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Southern Ireland, Germany and France have all been subscribers at one time or another." (source:
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1990
In Felicity Parkinson's article on Pros history, written in 1990, she says: "Fandom has also developed in Australia and the United States of America. Australian fandom had early contacts with British fans and later also through the U.S. United States fandom was slower to evolve, possibly because the series has not been so widely shown there. However, Zebracon, a U.S. convention for Starsky and Hutch fans, now also embraces Professionals fandom." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
"Short Circuit letterzine began publication in Britain in 1990, but "is now under U.S. editorship, again with a mixture of letters and fiction." (source: article written by Felicity Parkinson, and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009)
The first Nattercon (known in 1990 and 1991 as Zircon) held, on the weekend of October 26th, 1990, in England. The programme is a mix of The Professionals and Starsky and Hutch It included showings of fanvids, discussion panels including discussion "on all aspects of zines", auctions, and a raffle. Discussions were led by Felicity Parkinson, Helen Raven, H.G., Jane Carnall, and various other people whose lj/internet names (if any!) are unknown to me! (source: copy of original Zircon programme, copied and distributed to attendees at the twentieth anniversary of the Nattercon convention, 2009; lj pseudonyms are from own knowledge, and are mostly not the names listed in the programme;
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"Pear Tree Press started in 1990 with Professional Insight which is also still in print." (source:
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1991
From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "Tracy (can't remember her last name, sorry) was the first one to start typing in circuit stories and sharing with a circle of her friends. This was about 1991-92. Late 1992, her circle was up to about 20, myself included. She was wanting to concentrate more on her writing, so asked me if I'd like to takeover effort of taking the hardcopy circuit stories and typing/scanning them and sharing them. So I did! Tracy and I talked and decided to start calling it The Professionals Library or Proslib, as it was no longer just a circle of friends, but fans from all over". (source:
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First "Writeshop" held, 7th-9th June 1991, based around writing Prosfic and co-organised by Helen Raven and Felicity Parkinson. Idea proposed for format of future Writeshops, that attendees submit short pieces of fiction for discussion. (source: comment from co-organiser of Writeshop 91,
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1992
" The first Gryphon Press zine - Paper Flowers by Kitty Fisher - came out in 1992 and there have been approximately 35 zines from Gryphon over the ensuing years, all of which remain in print." (source:
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From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "As more and more fans got email, more heard about it and wanted to join. By 1993, the circle had grown to about 80. I emailed out a story every other day or so (it was growing that fast) and I would mail out diskettes (remember those 8-) to new members who joined." (source:
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1993
From Debbie Ramsey, of ProsLib, on the origins of ProsLib in the USA: "During 1993, I enlisted [Meri] to help me get people to help type, to talk to authors who were shy of having their stories in e-format. Seems funny now, but back then, this was all new. Lots of people were suspicious of the new medium. It opened up all kinds of questions about who controlled stories.
Meri thought it would be a good idea to store proslib on this new thing called The World Wide Web and created a web site called the Pros Online Circuit Archive to reach even more fans. Meanwhile, I bought up boxes of the hardcopy circuit from Karen Brandl and sent them to fans in the US, England, Germany and Australia to type up for Proslib. It was a fun, active time. Everything was so new and there was so much energy.
By the time I was up to 32 diskettes [see below, probably post-1996], thankfully burnable cds were in vogue and so was yahoo. I chose yahoo as the easiest way to send out weekly stories to the over 200 who were in Proslib. Up to that time, I just had an addressee list I maintained in my email." (source:
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"Fans started to make electronic copies of Pros fanfic for email, floppy-disk and ultimately the ProsLib CD distribution" (source: Circuit Archive - About page and
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1995
Original CI5 listserv founded on the internet by Lorelei (source:
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PFL begins writing in Pros fandom (source: (source:
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1996
Online Circuit Archive founded by Meri (archivist) (source: Circuit Archive - About page)
Dave Matthew's Official Professionals Website founded on 24th June 1996 (source: Dave Matthew's Official Professionals Website homepage)
ProsLib: "In 1996 I got 11 or 16 three and a quarter inch floppies (can't remember exactly), so it would have been after 1996 that the library was up to 32 disks, though I believe it was growing very quickly by then." (source: memories in comment thread here by
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1997
Yahoo Mail begins in 1997, and so it is presumably post-1997 that Debbie moves the ProsLib mailing list to Yahoo Groups: "Yahoo mail wasn't around until 1997, so Debbie would have moved the mailing list to Yahoo in 97 or later." (source: memories in comment thread here by
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2000
ProsLib Yahoo Group founded 1st March 2000 (source: ProsLib Yahoo Group front page)
CI5alltheway Yahoo Group founded 22nd May 2000. (source: comment to thread by
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ProsSims Yahoo Group founded 20th August 2000 (source: comment here by
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2001
Pros-Lit Yahoo Group founded 19th August 2001 (source: Pros-Lit Yahoo Group front page.
From
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2002
Lewis Collins Yahoo Group founded on 3rd March 2002 (source: Lewis Collins Yahoo Group front page)
Martin's Place Yahoo Group founded on 18th August 2002 (source: Martin's Place Yahoo Group front page)
The first Christmas Bash at the Scarsdale pub in London, England was held in 2002 (source: comment on thread here by
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2003
ProsStoryfinders Yahoo group founded 30th January, 2003 (source: comment to thread by
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Bodiesannao82347 Yahoo Group (Photo Archive only) founded 19th July 2003. (source: comment thread here by
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AngelFishFanFic Yahoo Group founded 25th August 2003 (source: AngelFishFanFic Yahoo Group front page)
The Hatstand online archive founded September 2003 (source:
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Alijot's Professionals Recs website begun 2003/2004? (source: comment here by founder of Alijot's Recs,
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Pros stories are regularly recced (recommended) by posters at
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2004
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Online Circuit Archive taken over by
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Pros Language Yahoo Group founded on 23rd November 2004 (source: Pros Language Yahoo Group front page)
2005
Bodiesanna082347_2 Yahoo Group founded 29th January 2005 - please be aware that the group seems to be abandoned, and messages visible to non-members are of the relatively pornographic-junk-spam type, rather than anything relevant to Pros. (source: comment thread here by
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ProsSlash Yahoo Group founded 24th June 2005 (source: ProsSlash Yahoo Group front page)
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2006
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Nattercon 2006 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2006, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
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TV Lounge Forum founded some time around July 2006? Does anyone know more precisely? (source: TV Lounge Forum first introductions post)
Foxhole on the Roof Discussion Forum founded by Sebastian (Merry) at her Hard Facts Forum on 5th September 2006 (source: post by Merry at the forum)
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2007
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Nattercon 2007 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2007, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
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First Close Quarters 2007 - USA-based Pros convention, July (?) 2007, Laurel Lakes, Maryland (Washington DC), USA. (source: own knowledge; comment here by
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2007 CI5mas/Scarsdale Bash at The Scarsdale pub (used in Fall Girl), London, December 2007 (source: own attendance!)
2008
Nattercon 2008 - UK-based Pros convention, May 2008, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
The Automatic Hatstand archive founded August 2008 for Pros writers to submit and control their own story archives.
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CI5mas/Scarsdale Bash at The Scarsdale pub (used in Fall Girl), London, December 2008 (source: own attendance!)
2009
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Nattercon 2009 - 20th Anniversary of UK-based Pros convention, May 2009, Milton Keynes, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance!)
Close Quarters 2009 - USA-based Pros convention, July 2009, Washington DC, USA. (source: own knowledge)
Pros Writing Holiday 2009: Week/end in the Country - Derbyshire, UK. (source: own knowledge/attendance)