Jan Howard Finder

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jan howard finder is a prominent American science fiction writer, filker, hostelling tour guide, costumer, production assistant, and fan, who was a guest of honor at the 1993 ConFrancisco. He normally spells his name in lower case, jan howard finder, and his last name is pronounced finn-der. ^[1] He currently lives in the Albany, New York area, and is considered by many in science fiction fandom to be the epitome of smof (a "behind the scenes" worker).

Contents 1 Science Fiction 2 Tour guide 3 Production 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Science Fiction

Finder, nick-named "The Wombat," has been a frequent guest at numerous Science Fiction conventions, including Honored Guest at ConFrancisco (the 1993 Worldcon). ^{[2] [3]} He has also be 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] [5]} He was a co-founder of Albacon. ^[6]

He has been the chairperson at several cons, including two cons specifically dedicated to the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. ^[7] He was chair of Albacon in 1996 and of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) 32 in Schenectady, New York in 2001. ^{[8] [9]}

Well-known in fannish circles,^{[10] [11]} he was editor of the Fanzine, The Spang Blah. ^[12]

The Wombat has been a frequent masquerade judge, ^{[13] [14]} costumer ^[15] charity auctioneer, and speaker on sci-fi con panels, from Arisia and Albacon in the Northeast United States to World Cons ^{[16] [17]} and Lunacon 2007. ^[18] He has mentored other prospective con chairs. ^[19]

Finder writes 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). ^{[20] [21] [22]}

He was editor of Alien Encounters (1982),^{[23] [24] [25] [26]} which is sold on Amazon. ^{[27] [28]}

He has achieved that rarest of fannish honors - another writer has named a character for him. ^[29]

[edit] Tour guide

Finder is well-known for his organized hostelling tours of science-fiction and -fantasy related sites, such as to "Middle Earth" - meaning New Zealand, in which The Lord of the Rings was filmed. ^[30]

[edit] Production

Finder made an unsuccessful effort to assist with the production of The Lord of the Rings.^{[citation needed]} He did succeed in becoming a production assistant with the 2007 motion picture The Break-Up. ^[31]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Albacon
• Filking
• Hostel
• List of Worldcons
• 51st World Science Fiction Convention
• Science fiction convention
• Science fiction fandom
• Wikipedia:WikiProject Fan Fiction