Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention

Message from the Chair

We are immensely sad to announce that Erle Korshak, one of our Guests of Honor, passed away on August 25, 2021.

When we were choosing our Guests of Honor in 2020, our Bid Chairs, Helen Montgomery and Dave McCarty, both felt strongly that Erle should be one of the GoHs. “Erle was instrumental in bringing the Worldcon to Chicago for the first time in 1940, and because of that, we are here today planning for the 8th Chicago Worldcon,” said Helen, who is now the Chair for Chicon 8. We were so happy to be able to call and ask him to join us. Erle was so excited to be our Guest of Honor, and told us so in every conversation we had with him since then.

Our plans to honor Erle will not change. We will continue to plan to celebrate his amazing life and his contributions to fandom, from the early days of Worldcon to starting Shasta Publishing to his career as an attorney and his love of art which he passed on to his children.

Erle lived an incredibly full life, right up to the end. We will miss him greatly, but are so glad that he knew how much he meant to us.

The memorial service will be private. On behalf of the staff and members of Chicon 8, we extend our condolences to Erle’s family and friends.

Helen Montgomery
Convention Chair, Chicon 8