Regarded as one of the seminal figures in Australian science fiction fandom, Susan Smith-Clarke's involvement in this aspect of the sf community began while she was in high school. As a student at Blacktown High School, she helped organise 'Deluge Monday' in order to protest the cancellation of the original Star Trek television series. In 1973 she published her first zine, Girl's Own Fanzine, and the following year began co-editing and publishing another zine, ARK, with Ron L, Clarke. Since then she has produced many dozens of fanzines, including Beyond Antares (1977-1986), the official fanzine of the Star Trek club Astrex, which she helped co-found and served as president for almost ten years; and Chronicles (1984-), a Blake's 7 fanzine. In 1982 Smith-Clarke began editing Medtrek for the Medtrek SF Media Convention. The zine features the finalists in the fiction and poetry competitions for the Australian National Media Con.
Among Smith-Clarke's zine publications have been: Data, Down Under Express, Review Zine, R-Rated, Chronicles Annual, The Other Side, Eye of Newt (fantasy), Blue Squadron Journal, Backtrack, Down Under Express, Double Play, My Brother's Love and Cross Streams.
Aside from her own publishing, Smith-Clarke has also acquired a large collection of fanzines, newsletters and other miscellany that are now housed in the National Library of Australia as the Susan Smith-Clarke Fanzine Collection.
Smith-Clarke's achievements have included being a four times winner of the National SF Media Award for Best Media Fanzine. She has also won numerous Fan-Q awards at MediaWest Con in America for her fanzine Down Under Express. She has been the Chairperson of nine conventions since 1975 (including Medtrek and Syncon), and Fan Guest of Honour at various conventions in Australia and the USA (notably MediaWest Con in Michigan). For two years she was president of the Sydney Science Fiction Foundation and was editor of its magazine, Forerunner.
In 1992, Susan Smith-Clarke was given a special Ditmar award for her services to science fiction fandom, and five years later became the recipient of the annual A. Bertram Chandler Award. She has also been nominated on multiple occasions for the Australian DUFF Awards (the 'Down Under Fan Fund').
[Sources: www.fanlore.org; Australian Science Fiction Foundation; Fancycopedia 3; and the National Library of Australia ('Susan Smith-Clarke Fanzine Collection')]
