James LeRoy "Rusty" Hevelin (February 16, 1922 – December 27, 2011) was a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fan,

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

publisher, collector and huckster.

Career

Hevelin was an active member of the science fiction community from the early 1940s, publishing his own fanzines such as ''H-1661'', as well as contributing to many others. He had been Fan Guest of Honor and Toastmaster at so many

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

that everyone (including Hevelin) lost count. He was the Fan Guest of Honor at the 1981

Worldcon Worldcon, officially 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 Wor ...

, Denvention Two (he had attended Denvention One in 1941). He was particularly likely to participate in panel discussions on the history of fandom and fanzines, and in panels of the form, "So: This Is Your First Convention? Here's What To Expect." Hevelin was the 1986 recipient of the Big Heart Award for service to the science fiction community. He was well known as a collector of science fiction materials, and was the recipient of First Fandom's 2003 Sam Moskowitz Archive Award for excellence in science fiction collecting.

Legacy

Hevelin was one of the founders of PulpCon, an annual convention dedicated to

pulp magazines Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their cheap nature. ...

. In 2012, PulpFest announced they would be renaming the Munsey Award, which has been given annually to a person who has given of himself or herself for the betterment of the pulp community. The new name for the award was to be the Rusty Hevelin Service Award. The Munsey Award survives, but the Rusty Hevelin Service Award has been introduced as a new award. His collection of pulps, fanzines, and science fiction books became part of the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Library Special Collections and University Archives in April 2012. The library is digitizing the Hevelin Collection's approximately 10,000 fanzines, for the benefit of scholars and fans alike; and the Collection has its own frequently-updated

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

page. The 2012 Liaden universe novel ''Dragon Ship'' by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is dedicated to Hevelin (and to

Anne McCaffrey Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American 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'', 1968) an ...

). One of the

supporting character A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...

s in the novel is a telepathic non-human creature named Havelin, described as graying (younger members of the species have rusty-colored hair), old and knowledgeable.Lee, Sharon and Steve Miller. ''Dragon Ship'' Riverdale, New York:

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

, 2012; pp. 175 ''et seq.''

Personal life

Hevelin was a veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

who served as a Marine in the South Pacific. After the war he attended

Antioch College Antioch College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection and began operating in 1852 as a non-secta ...

, where he knew

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

and dated Coretta Scott (well before she met

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

). He had four grown sons, John, Scott, Bruce, and Will.

References

External links

Hevelin Fanzines transcription project
at the University of Iowa {{DEFAULTSORT:Hevelin, Rusty 1922 births 2011 deaths People from Imperial County, California Military personnel from California United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Antioch College alumni