Jan Howard Finder (March 2, 1939 – February 26, 2013) was an American

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...

, career counselor,

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer, filker, hostelling

tour guide A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...

cosplayer Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

, 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''.)

Background and work

Originally from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, Finder became a devotee of the works of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

in 1964, when he "spent three straight days curled up at his parents’ house" reading ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

''. He studied

academic administration Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, 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 Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

. He ended up spending most of his life as a career counselor for various employers, including a stint at the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home ...

Science fiction

Finder, nicknamed "The

Wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are ada ...

," was a frequent guest of honor at

science fiction conventions Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...

, including "Honored Guest" at

ConFrancisco The 51st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as ConFrancisco, was held on 2–6 September 1993 at the ANA Hotel, Parc Fifty Five, and Nikko Hotels and the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California, United States. ...

(the 1993 Worldcon).SciFi Fan Gallery page on Jan Howard Finder
/ref> He was also Fan Guest of Honor at BYOB-Con 8 (1978), Lastcon 1 (1981, Albany NY),

LepreCon LepreCon is an annual science fiction convention with an emphasis on art held in and around Phoenix, Arizona usually in May around Mother's Day weekend. It is the second oldest science fiction convention in Arizona. It is sponsored by LepreCon ...

8 (1982), Genericon 1 (1985), NotJustAnotherCon 4 (1988), and

Arisia Arisia is a Boston-area, volunteer-run science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a conve ...

12 (2001).LepreCon web site
/ref> He was a co-founder of

Albacon Albacon is the Albany science fiction convention, held each year in the Albany, New York area, also called the Capital District. Albacon is the largest "Con" in upstate New York, United States. It is hosted by LASTSFA, or Latham-Albany-Schene ...

. He was the

chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of several science fiction conventions not specifically dedicated to the writings of Tolkien. He was chair of

in 1996 and of the

Science Fiction Research Association The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media. ...

(SFRA) 32 in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

in 2001. Well known in fannish circles, Finder was editor of the fanzine ''The Spang Blah''. Until 2011 he was "scribe" (

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

) of the Latham-Albany-Schenectady-Troy Science Fiction Association. The Wombat was a frequent masquerade judge, costumer

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition exi ...

, and participant in panel discussions, from

and

in the

Northeast United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the South ...

to Worldcons and

Lunacon Lunacon was an annual science fiction and fantasy convention organized by the New York Science Fiction Society - The Lunarians, Inc. Held from 1957 to 2017, it was the oldest science fiction convention in (usually) New York State, and was gene ...

2007. He also mentored other prospective con chairs. Finder wrote in the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

, and his

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writing has been published in several anthologies, including "The Grapes of Rath" (1980) in ''Microcosmic Tales'' (1981). He edited the 1982 anthology ''Alien Encounters'' (1982) Taplinger , which included short stories by

Lynn Abbey Marilyn Lorraine "Lynn" Abbey (born September 18, 1948) is an American fantasy author. Background Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel (an insurance manager) and Doris Lorraine (a homemaker; maiden name, De Wees). She ...

, Ben Bova, Lee Killough,

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

, and Ian Watson, among others. Finder was tuckerized when

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American-Irish writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 19 ...

named a character for him.

Tour guide

Finder was well known for his organized hostelling tours of science-fiction and -fantasy related sites, such as to "

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

"—meaning New Zealand, where ''

'' was filmed.

Film

Finder played a bit part in the 2006 film ''

UnCivil Liberties ''UnCivil Liberties'' is a 2006 film directed by Thomas Mercer and starring Glenn Allen and Tony Grocki. Plot Set in the near future, ''UnCivil Liberties'' imagines a Big Brother–type government that uses technology to spy on its citizens. A ...

'', and was a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

for the 2006 motion picture ''

The Break-Up ''The Break-Up'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peyton Reed, starring Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston. It was written by Jay Lavender and Jeremy Garelick from a story by them and Vaughn, and produced by Universal Pict ...

''.IMDb listing for Jan Howard Finder
/ref>

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 Westford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was at 24,643 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Westford began as 'West Chelmsford', a village in the town of Chelmsford. The village of West Chelmsfor ...

. "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 An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and battled prostate cancer, spending parts of March and August 2011 in the hospital.

Death

Finder died at

Albany Medical Center Hospital Albany Medical Center (AMC) is the name of the umbrella organization over the Albany Medical Center Hospital and Albany Medical College in Albany, New York. Though the name Albany Medical Center referring to the two institutions on their shared ca ...

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.

References

External links

''The Wombat: There & back Again, a Wombat's Holiday'' by jan howard finder

Image on Flickr
* *
Jan Howard Finder
in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Finder, Jan Howard 1939 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers Career counselors Cleveland State University people Deaths from kidney failure Deaths from liver failure Filkers Novelists from Illinois Tour guides University of Illinois College of Education alumni Writers from Chicago