* The Cult
  - begun in 1954 by Peter Vorzimer as a rotating editorship apa, unlike the
    other sf apas that were in existence at the time which had an elected
    official editor who served for a full year
    > The Cult was set up with 13 membership slots, with mailing deadlines
      every three weeks
      -- the mailings were called Fantasy Rotators, or `FRs'
         >> each of the 13 members published a FR in The Cult's 39-week
            publication cycle
         >> each member, plus the top five waitlisters had activity
            requirements, in the form of letters or postcards to the current
            FR's publisher; these were assembled into the FR and copies were
            sent out to the members and waitlisters
      -- however, members could also publish a `Fractional Rotator' or f/r
         whenever he or she wanted, which counted toward activity
         >> these were mini-fanzines, usually in the form of a letter, which
            members sent out to other members and waitlisters
      -- The Cult was also fandon's first exclusionary apa, as it was open
         only to people living in North America
         >> the short 3-week interval between FRs made it impossible to accept
            European or Australian fans, due to international mail lags
  - the presiding officer of the apa was known as the `Official Arbiter', or
    `OA', who was elected (or re-elected) each 39-week cycle
    > George Heap, who was OA near the end of the decade, summarized the role
      of the OA as follows: "It is his job to bring order out of the confusion
      (or vice versa, it would seem in some cases).  His chief function is to
      rule on the legality of various types of Cultac, and has the power to
      ignore all species of Cultish Sin."
    > some of the OAs during the 1960s besides Heap were (who?)
  - Bruce Pelz (when?) hung the title on the apa as `The Nastiest Bastards in
    Fandom'
    > it was not meant as an insult, as The Cult seemed to delight in being
      nasty to each other, as well as anyone else who dropped in
    > when Alma Hill referred to The Cult as "a small uninformed group", it
      was politely pointed out that Cult members were, at that time, in charge
      of the three large U.S. apas, FAPA, SAPS, and N'APA
      -- it was then somewhat less politely suggested that it might be Hill
         who was the one uninformed
    > in spite of the "Nastiest Bastards" tag, there were not many all-out
      feuds to report on; what nastiness there was instead got to be almost a
      game
      -- as Bruce Pelz later remembered, "In general, everyone picked on
         everyone else, and a slip-up would be bound to get one castigated in
         various textual and artistic ways"
    > there were even some members who weren't nasty at all
      -- Fred Patten was accused (by who?) of having obviously forged his
         Nasty Bastard Credentials when he had joined
  - there was real trouble for The Cult in 1966, when a Hoax roster appeared
    that nearly resulted in a fission into two Cults
    > real Cult was as nasty as ever, under OAship of Scotty Tapscott
    > but Cult-II was getting ready to form under self-appointed OAship of Jim
      Sanders
    > (how was it all resolved?)
  - The Cult spawned several in-group references that became known to outside
    fandom
    > one was `Cultoons', usually done by Jack Harness
      -- (details?)
    > `The Bucket'
      -- (details?)
    > finally, there was the `ARBM Boys', which came into being after someone
      decided that The Cult needed a theme song
      -- the song chosen was a parody called "Arson, Rape, and Bloody Murder"
         set to the tune of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", which seemed
         just right for The Cult
      -- Harness, Ted Johnstone, and Pelz adopted noms de Cult from the title,
         with Harness becoming `Arson', Johnstone `Rape', and Pelz `Bloody
         Murder' (why?)
         >> according to Pelz, "Actually, Ted was bragging in selecting his,
            Jack then took over the more cerebral of the remaining two, and I
            took what was left over and made the b/e/s/t/ worst of it.  None
            of us had very accurate credentials."
      -- Thereafter, Cultoons showed up with characters identified as `A',
         `R', and `BM', and readers knew who was being depicted
  - The Cult was the first example of a rotating editorship apa, and remained
    the only example for the first 10 years of its existence, until the
    founding of TAPS

* Terran Amateur Press Society (TAPS)
  - founded in December 1964 by Arnie Katz
  - operated similar to The Cult
    > monthly letterzine published that was similar to The Cult's Fantasy
      Rotators
  - other prominent members in the 1960s included Len Bailes, (others?)

* APA-X
  - first "secret" apa
  - previous incarnation was CRAP (Carbon Reproduced Amateur Press), formed in
    March 1958
    > originally formed by Chattanooga, Tennessee fan Bill Meyers, after a
      visit by Bruce Pelz who was in town for a caving convention
  - CRAP originally a small-membership apa
    > membership originally defined by number of legible copies that can be
      obtained from multiple carbon copies of original as typed in typewriter
    > initially, membership consisted only of Meyers, plus Al Andrews, Es
      Adams, and Glen King
    > membership expanded in early 1960s, included some so-called `omniapans'
      such as Bruce Pelz and Jack Harness
      -- by the late 1950s, Pelz and Harness had succeeded in belonging to
         every apa in science fiction fandom, and were dubbed `omniapans'
    > CRAP became rotational apa, based on model of The Cult
  - some members (Andy Main and Bob Lichtman, among others) took aversion to
    the presence of omniapans, who wanted to be in apa only for completeness,
    rather than supposedly a genuine interest in the organization
    > death of CRAP was engineered in August 1961 by Andy Main
      -- by that time, CRAP had evolved and enlarged to the point where there
         were 10 members, one associate member, and a waiting list
      -- the last official publication of the apa was Andy Main's HAUFEN MIST
         #4, which declared the apa dead
         >> two versions of the fanzine were sent out; everyone but the
            onmiapans received the more complete version, which announced the
            creation of a successor apa, APA-X, and was an invitation to join
      -- effect was that the omniapans were dropped: Harness, Pelz, Ted
         Johnstone (who was in many, but not all, apas) and even Norm Metcalf,
         who had never claimed (or tried) to be one
      -- the remaining members formed APA-X
  - some of best known members of the reformed apa were Ted White and Calvin
    Demmon
  - apa lasted until (when?)

* Lilapa
  - another secret apa, maybe best known, but certainly the longest lived
    > its fame as a secret apa derived in part to the invitational nature of
      its mailings, even though many in fandom knew of its existence
  - formed about the end of 1964 by a group of fans brought together by the
    Boondoggle (a.k.a. the Breen fracas) surrounding the 1964 Worldcon, more
    on which will be mentioned later
    > according to Tom Perry, "a number of us found we were corresponding
      furiously about the Boondoggle and other matters, and passing each
      other's letters around or quoting extensively from them, within a fairly
      small circle."
    > this became the de facto beginnings of the group
  - name derived from members' habit of calling the group "our little apa",
    which quickly became shortened to "lilapa"
    > eventually, formality set in and the first letter became capitalized
  - membership was limited to 15 slots, couples counting as one member
    > original members included Norm Clarke and Gina Ellis, Terry and Carol
      Carr, Elinor and F.M. Busby, Tom Perry, and Boyd Raeburn
    > Dean Grennell joined shortly after the apa came into being; other
      members during the 1960s included Robert Silverberg, Bill Rotsler, Bob
      Shaw, Greg Benford, Dick and Pat Lupoff, and Bill Donaho
  - prospective members had to be invited by majority of the apa's members 
    before they could join
    > no blackball existed, unlike the situation in FAPA, but there was a
      mechanism called "The Pout" which was a conditional veto
      -- when a member invoked a Pout against a proposed new member, it was
         the same as saying "if so-and-so becomes a member, I will drop out"
      -- this became codified into the apa's rules, if someone was voted into
         membership over a Pout, the member who Pouted was then required to
         drop out
  - there was only one officer: The Goat, which was a volunteered rather than
    elected position
    > was responsible for receiving the contributions, and mailing the apa
      bundles to the members
  - apa was successful enough that it enjoyed continued existence for decades
    after its formation

* APA-45
  - begun in mid 1964 by Pennsylvania fan Richie Benyo, who was first official
    editor
    > fafiated after one mailing due to college, new OE became Rich Mann
  - significance of title: membership limited to fans born in 1945 or later
  - appeared quarterly
  - first mailing was 222 pages (13 members); second mailing was 187 pages
  - activity requirements were at least 6 pages of original material in each
    mailing, plus at least a 20 page genzine in every other mailing
    > characterized by Bruce Pelz (who was not eligible for membership) as:
      "It sounds like Burn-Outsville to me, but if they can keep it going it
      will at least serve to channel the energy neos usually waste trying to
      get into other APAs."
    > activity requirements relaxed (when?)
  - members included the Couches and Luttrells of St. Louis fandom; also Arnie
    Katz, Richie Mann, Dave Hall; Nate Bucklin, Ken Fletcher, Fred Haskell and
    Jim Young of Minneapolis fandom; Bob Vardeman, Don D'Ammassa; John Kusske
    ((which of these were members at the beginning? during the 1960s?))
    > it also attracted Australian fans Bruce Gillspie and Leigh Edmonds to
      membership (was this in 1960s? or later?)
  - by the late 1960s, the apa was in good health; the 17th mailing (date?)
    was up to 322 pages and included some impressive-sized fanzines: a 42-page
    first issue of Leigh Edmonds' RATAPLAN, a 40-page HOOP from Jim Young, a
    53-page CHEAP THRILLS from Fred Haskell, and a 68-page QUARK from Chris
    and Lesleigh Couch
    > there were 20 people on the membership list, and another nine on the
      waiting list
  - apa had the unusual claim to fame of having its own filk song, which was
    set to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"

* InterAPA
  - founded by Kris Carey, who let idea flounder
    > Dwain Kaiser took over and got out first mailing in 1965
  - was intended to have international flavor, with members from different
    countries
    > at first, Carl Brandon, Jr. from Sweden was only non-U.S. member
  - was scheduled for 3-times-a-year publication
  - did not get off to auspicious start
    > first mailing had 83 pages, mostly zines that had appeared previously
      elsewhere
    > only 4 people represented in first mailing, though 11 listed as members
  - by 3rd mailing (in late 1965), seemed on solid ground
    > a 196 page mailing, 21 members listed
  - however, after that, started missing mailing deadlines
    > by early 1967 was two or three mailings behind

* APA-F
  - founded in 1964 (where?)
  - founded by (who?)
  - first weekly apa and first local apa
  - deliberately ended after 69th mailing, on October 29, 1965, "so as to end
    on a note of quality"
  - it's founding led to creation of a second weekly apa, Los Angeles's APA-L,
    which has remained alive and well for many decades

* APA-L
  - Los Angeles area/LASFS weekly APA
    > was collated at LASFS meetings
  - founded on October 22, 1964
  - first anniversary mailing, in 1965, totalled 149 pages, largest mailing to
    date
    > large enough that two volumes were necessary
  - compilation zines, THE BEST OF APA-L
    > put together by Fred Patten
    > first compilation published in 1965
      -- compiled the first few months of the apa
    > second compilation in 1966
  - apa was discontinued for several months in 1968, but was successfully
    revived
    > continued successfully for decades afterward, reaching it's 1,000th
      distribution (when?)

* Lou's Apa
  - started in Minneapolis in 1968 by Louis Fallert
  - with second distribution, name changed to Blue's Apa
    > Fallert had renamed himself "Blue Petal" from a character in a Vaughn
      Bode' cartoon
  - apa lasted for 7 distributions, then folded
  - its successor was Minneapa, one of the most active apas of the 1970s and
    1980s

* ALA-APA
  - founded in 1966
  - for Alabama fans only
  - apparently, not very many Alabama fans were interested
    > folded in 1967, after only 4 mailings
    > several members moved out of state; OE Larry Montgomery went into the
      Air Force

* VALAPA
  - a Los Angeles-based apa
    > sponsored by the Valley Science Fiction Association fan club
    > membership in the club was a requirement in order to join the apa
  - begun (when?)
  - official editor, in its short existance, was Dwain Kaiser
  - (details?)
  - members included Jim Young of Minneapolis
  - lasted until (when?)

* Technology Amateur Press Association (TAPA)
  - a Boston-area apa, founded in 1966 by Mike Ward
  - was an attempt to encourage fan activities in the normally sercon MIT
    Science Fiction Society
  - in the end, it was a failure, lasting only 10 mailings
    > it did bring into active fandom a number of fans who later became
      prominent, including Anthony Lewis, Susan Hereford, and Ed Meyer

* Gestalt Amateur Press Association
  - (details needed -- why was it formed?)
  - went into hiatus after 8th mailing (when?)
  - revived in December 1968 by Al Snider
  - went into permanent hiatus (when?)

* STOBCLER
  - started in 1965 by Ed Cox and Dave Hulan
  - fourth mailing (last?) appeared in December 1967

* IPSO (International Publishers Speculative Organisation)
  - Britain's second apa, first mailing was April 1961
  - founding members were George Locke and John Berry
    > Locke remained with apa through all of its brief existence
    > Berry dropped out after 4th mailing, the start of his gradual withdrawal
      from fandom over the next few years
  - by third mailing, 25 members, 17 of which were from U.S.A.
    > consistent drop in numbers after that, which eventually spelled doom for
      the apa
  - theme mailings
    > first mailing: "APAs"
    > second mailing: "The Lunatic Fringes of SF, and Editorial Influences"
    > third: "Time Travel"; fourth: "The Works of Robert A. Heinlein"
    > fifth: "Sex and Science Fiction"; sixth: "Progress" (effect of rapid
      technical advance on society)
  - members at one time or another included Ethel Lindsay, Ella Parker, Bruce
    Burn, Ted Forsyth from U.K.; Ron Ellik, Bill Donaho, Robert Lichtman,
    Len Moffatt, Ed Meskys, Harry Warner Jr., Ted White, Gordon Eklund, Marion
    Zimmer Bradley from U.S.
  - the APA lasted 2 years; 6th mailing was officially the last
    > deadline for 7th mailing, Nov. 1962, had seen only 3 contributions
    > George Locke declared apa extinct due to lack of enthusiasm
      -- Locke stated he would be glad to join a revival as a contributing
         member, if someone else wanted to work on the skeleton... but no one
         did
    > a semi-official 7th mailing put out later by U.S. fan Fred Patten
      -- included some leftover contributions and one or two others