Jeanne Gomoll is an American artist, writer, editor, and

science fiction fan Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

, who was recognized as one of the guests of honor at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (Loncon 3, the 2014

WorldCon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

), having been a guest of honor at numerous previous

science fiction convention 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 expres ...

s. She has been nominated multiple times for awards in artist and

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

categories, and for service to the genre of

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 unive ...

, particularly

feminist science fiction Feminist science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction (abbreviated "SF") focused on theories that include feminist themes including but not limited to gender inequality, sexuality, race, economics, reproduction, and environment. Feminist ...

Background

Gomoll attended the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where (along with later collaborator Janice Bogstad) she attended the first science fiction course offered at the university, although (in her words) "I had been really turned off in the later part of high school and college by the really sexist stuff going on in the genre".

Fandom, science fiction and feminism

In 1975, soon after graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

, she was actively involved in a feminist reading group in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, which she tried to convince to explore the potential of the SF genre. Gomoll read an advertisement in the '' Badger Herald'' seeking people interested in working on an SF fanzine. The core group (which included Lesleigh and Hank Luttrell, editors of the Hugo-nominated fanzine ''Starling'') was putting together what was to become the feminist

science fiction fanzine A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" was ...

, ''Janus'' (later ''Aurora SF''). Gomoll was initially recruited as an artist and designer, but became a writer and co-editor by the third issue. ''Janus'' was to be repeatedly nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Fanzine The Hugo Award for Best Fanzine is given each year for non professionally edited magazines, or "fanzines", related to science fiction or fantasy which has published four or more issues with at least one issue appearing in the previous calendar y ...

(1978, 1979 and 1980); this led to accusations that if ''Janus'' had not been feminist, it would not have been nominated. She has worked with

WisCon WisCon or Wiscon, a Wisconsin science fiction convention, is the oldest, and often called the world's leading, feminist science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, after a group of fans at ...

since its inception, and has served as editor of several items for WisCon's sponsoring organization SF(3) and for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award and other efforts related to

fandom.

"An Open Letter to Joanna Russ"

Gomoll is the author of "An Open Letter to Joanna Russ", a famous and oft-reprinted essayJeanne Gomoll, "An Open Letter to Joanna Russ". First appearance in ''Aurora'', v.10, n.1 (winter 1986-87); reprinted in ''Fanthology '87''; ''Six Shooter''; and other anthologies of SF criticism. Available online at http://www.reocities.com/Athens/8720/letter.htm. revisiting

Joanna Russ Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'', as w ...

' influential critiques of

and the suppression in literary history of the role of women in writing (especially ''

How to Suppress Women's Writing ''How to Suppress Women's Writing'' is a book by Joanna Russ, published in 1983. Written in the style of a sarcastic and irreverent guidebook, it explains how women are prevented from producing written works, not given credit when such works are pr ...

''). The essay was a response to

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

's exclusion of women's writing of the 1970s from his introduction to

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

anthology ''

Burning Chrome "Burning Chrome" is a science fiction short story by Canadian-American writer William Gibson, first published in '' Omni'' in July 1982. Gibson first read the story at a science fiction convention in Denver, Colorado in the autumn of 1981, to an a ...

''. Gomoll's

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

not only challenged Sterling's account, but recounts the history of women's involvement in science fiction writing and fandom during the 1970s.

Professional work

Gomoll is a professional artist still based in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

. From September 1979–July 2003, she was employed by the

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is a government agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin charged with conserving and managing Wisconsin's natural resources. The Wisconsin Natural Resources Board has the authority to set policy ...

as a

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

, also serving as illustrator of publications such as ''Nature's Recyclers Coloring Book'' and ''Butterflies & Roadways: How Rights of Way Maintenance Can Help Endandered Species''. In 2018 she retired and closed her

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

business, Union Street Design.Union Street Design website
/ref>

Selected bibliography

; Essays * "An Open Letter to Joanna Russ", ''Aurora'', v.10, n.1 (Winter 1986-87). * Introduction: "Visualizing the Future," to ''Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through SF & Feminism'', edited by Helen Merrick & Tess Williams, University of Western Australia Press, 1999 * ''TAFForensic Report: A Cold Case Investigation'', Union Street Design/LULU, 2020. ; Edited collections and journals * Editor, ''

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

'' (#1-18, 1975-1980) * Editorial collective member for ''Aurora'' (#19-26, 1981–90) * ''Obsessions'', apazine for ''A Women's Apa'', (#1-29, 1976-1983) * ''Shoreline'', apazine, for the ''Cascade Regional Apa'' (#1-11, 1978–81) * ''Cube'', SF(3) newszine (#1-13, 1982-1985) * ''Allargando'', apazine for ''Turbo-Charged Party Animal Apa'', (#1-16, September 1986 to 1988) * ''Union Street'', apazine with Scott Custis for ''Turbo-Charged Party Animal Apa'', (#1-111, September 1989 – present) * Editor (with Diane Martin) and designer of ''The Bakery Men Don't See'', cookbook and fund-raiser for the Tiptree Award, SF(3), 1991 (which was nominated for a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

* Editor and designer of ''Her Smoke Rose Up from Supper'', cookbook and fund-raiser for the Tiptree Award, SF3, 1993 * ''Grayscale'', apazine for ''Intercourse'' apa, (#1-15, September 1996 – present) ; Significant con roles * Chair, WisCon 20 (1996) * Chair, WisCon 30 (2006) * James Tiptree, Jr. Award - judge and coordinator (1994) * James Tiptree, Jr. Award "motherboard" member

Honors and awards

Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist The Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines. A Hugo Award for professional artists is also gi ...

nomination, (1978, 1979, 1980) *

nomination, (1978, 1980) * FFAN awards, fan editor (1979, 1980) *

Armadillocon ArmadilloCon is a science fiction convention held annually in Austin, Texas, USA, since 1979. As the second longest running science fiction convention in Texas, it is sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas and is known for its empha ...

guest of honor (GoH) (1979) *

AutoClave An autoclave is a machine used to carry out industrial and scientific processes requiring elevated temperature and pressure in relation to ambient pressure and/or temperature. Autoclaves are used before surgical procedures to perform sterilizat ...

GoH (1979) * Aquacon GoH (1981) *

Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as ''TAFF'', is a crowdfunding project created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, acro ...

delegate, 1987–1988 *

Hugo Award for Best Related Work The Hugo Award for Best Related Work is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for primarily non-fiction works related to science fiction or fantasy, published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The Hugo Awards have bee ...

nomination, (1992) * Reinconation GoH (2000) *

24 GoH (2000) *

Apollocon ApolloCon was a science fiction convention held annually in Houston, Texas by the Houston Science Fiction Association (HSFA), a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. ApolloCon offers information and entertainment for fans of science fiction, fantasy, ...

GoH (2011) *

Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service The Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for outstanding service activities. Particularly recognized are: promotion of SF teaching and study, editing, reviewing, editorial writ ...

(2011) * Guest of honor, 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (LonCon 3; 2014)

Notes

Additional references

; Interviews and Profiles
"Jeanne Gomoll", Fan Guest of Honor

ApolloCon ApolloCon was a science fiction convention held annually in Houston, Texas by the Houston Science Fiction Association (HSFA), a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation. ApolloCon offers information and entertainment for fans of science fiction, fantasy, ...

(2010) * "Jeanne Gomoll" entry in Reid, Robin, ''Encyclopedia of Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy'' ; Databases *
"Jeanne Gomoll"
TAMU SFFRD database. ; Additional references * Lefanu, Sarah, ''In the Chinks of the World Machine: Feminism and Science Fiction''. London:

The Women's Press The Women's Press was a feminist publishing company established in London in 1977. Throughout the late 1970s and the 1980s, the Women's Press was a highly visible presence, publishing feminist literature. Founding In 1977, Stephanie Dowrick cofou ...

, 1988. * Merrick, Helen and Tess Williams, editors, ''Women of Other Worlds: Excursions through Science Fiction and Feminism''. Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press, 1999. * various editors ''WisCon Chronicles'', Volumes 1-6. Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2007-2012. * Merrick, Helen. ''The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminism''. Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomoll, Jeanne Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American feminists American graphic designers Women graphic designers American essayists American magazine editors Artists from Wisconsin Feminist science fiction Science fiction fans Writers from Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Women magazine editors