Jan Howard Finder

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Jan Howard Finder
Born (1939-03-02)March 2, 1939
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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Albany, New York, U.S.
Occupation American science fiction writer and academic administrator

Jan Howard Finder (March 2, 1939 – February 26, 2013) was an American academic administrator, career counselor, science fiction writer, filker, hostelling tour guide, costumer, and fan. He was a guest of honor at the 1993 Worldcon, ConFrancisco. As a personal affectation, he often spelled his name in all lower case letters, jan howard finder. (His last name is pronounced finn-der.)[1]

Background and work

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Finder became a devotee of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien in 1964, when he "spent three straight days curled up at his parents’ house" reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He studied academic administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and while there organized the "First Conference on Middle-earth", in 1969. In 1971, he held the second "Conference on Middle-earth" at Cleveland State University, where he was working as an assistant dean.[2] He ended up spending most of his life as a career counselor for various employers, including a stint at the United States Army's Fort Drum.[3]

Science fiction

Finder, nicknamed "The Wombat," was a frequent guest of honor at science fiction conventions, including "Honored Guest" at ConFrancisco (the 1993 Worldcon).[4][5] He was also Fan Guest of Honor at BYOB-Con 8 (1978), Lastcon 1 (1981, Albany NY), LepreCon 8 (1982), Genericon 1 (1985), NotJustAnotherCon 4 (1988), and Arisia 12 (2001).[4][6] He was a co-founder of Albacon.[7]

He was the chairperson of several science fiction conventions not specifically dedicated to the writings of Tolkien. He was chair of Albacon in 1996 and of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) 32 in Schenectady, New York in 2001.[4][6] Well known in fannish circles,[8] Finder was editor of the fanzine The Spang Blah.[4] Until 2011 he was "scribe" (secretary) of the Latham-Albany-Schenectady-Troy Science Fiction Association.[9]

The Wombat was a frequent masquerade judge,[6][10] costumer[11] charity auctioneer, and participant in panel discussions, from Arisia and Albacon in the Northeast United States to Worldcons [12][13] and Lunacon 2007.[14] He also mentored other prospective con chairs.[15]

Finder wrote in the short story genre, and his short fiction writing has been published in several anthologies, including "The Grapes of Rath" (1980) in Microcosmic Tales (1981).[16][17][18]

He edited the 1982 anthology Alien Encounters (1982) Taplinger ISBN 0-8008-0168-7,[19] which included short stories by Lynn Abbey, Ben Bova, Lee Killough, David Langford, and Ian Watson, among others. Finder was tuckerized when Anne McCaffrey named a character for him.[20]

Tour guide

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See also: Tolkien tourism

Finder was well known for his organized hostelling tours of science-fiction and -fantasy related sites, such as to "Middle-earth" - meaning New Zealand, where The Lord of the Rings was filmed.[21]

Film

Finder played a bit part in the 2006 film UnCivil Liberties, and was a production assistant for the 2006 motion picture The Break-Up.[22]

Recent events

For 2011, Finder organized the "3rd Conference on Middle-earth" (deliberately hearkening back to those of 1969 and 1971 which he had led), in Westford, Massachusetts. "I just finally said, 'I want to do it, and I don't give a damn if I lose money — I'll pay for it...'" "This is something I've wanted to do for 40 years." Finder retired from academia and battled prostate cancer, spending parts of March and August 2011 in the hospital.[2]

Death

Finder died at Albany Medical Center Hospital on February 26, 2013, five days before his 74th birthday, from renal and liver failure. He was undergoing a course of chemotherapy at the time.[3]

References

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External links

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  1. ↑ Pern Characters web site
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Edgers, Geoff. "At Westford conference, a fellowship of Tolkien fans" Boston Globe March 24, 2011
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jan Howard Finder, #1 fan, dies at 73
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 SciFi Fan Gallery page on Jan Howard Finder
  5. ↑ WorldCon programming cached web site
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 LepreCon web site
  7. ↑ Readers Advice web site
  8. ↑ Sci Fi Fan Photo website
  9. ↑ Latham-Albany-Schenectady-Troy Science Fiction Association website. Accessed March 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ WorldCon 2005 official web page program listing
  11. ↑ Costume Con Gallery web page on one of his creations
  12. ↑ Worldcn 2003 program
  13. ↑ WorldCon 2005 Photo gallery
  14. ↑ LunaCon web site
  15. ↑ Archon web site
  16. ↑ IBList web site
  17. ↑ Diverse Books web site Archived September 27, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections listing for Finder as author
  19. ↑ Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections listing for Finder as editor
  20. ↑ Pern Character web site
  21. ↑ Lastfa web site discussion
  22. ↑ IMDb listing for Jan Howard Finder
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