John Hertz is a long-time Los Angeles, California science fiction fan.
Winner of the Big Heart Award at the 61st World Science Fiction Convention (Toronto, 2003),[1] he is active in the fanzine community, publishing the fanzine Vanamonde. Three collections of his fanwriting have been published, West of the Moon (2002), Dancing and Joking (2005) and On My Sleeve (2007). He was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 2006, 2007, and 2009.
The fanzine Argentus (2004) contains an interview with Larry Niven's fictional character, Hanville Svetz, co-authored by Hertz and Niven.[2]
At conventions, Hertz can be found moderating panels, leading Art Show tours, or judging the costume competition called the Masquerade. He can be easily spotted at conventions sporting a colorful propeller beanie.
He is also renowned for his stewardship of Regency dance. Hertz has perpetuated the Regency dance mania at science fiction conventions in the United States since the 1980s, with the practice continuing to the present day. Hertz currently instructs dance workshops and choreographs balls across the nation[3], and in addition has written an article on Regency era dancing, included in the West of the Moon collection. He also wrote The Tenor of Terpsichore: Or Dances in the Fashion of the English Regency as Done By Certain Modern Admirers of the Same.
Hertz serves as one of the Rotsler Award judges.[4]
He was the 2010 Down Under Fan Fund delegate to Aussiecon 4, the fourth World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Australia.