Karen Lea Wynn Fonstad (April 18, 1945 – March 11, 2005) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

cartographer and academic who designed several

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...

es of fictional worlds, including her 1981 ''

The Atlas of Middle-earth ''The Atlas of Middle-earth'' by Karen Wynn Fonstad is an atlas (cartography), atlas of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional realm of Middle-earth. It was published in 1981, following Tolkien's major works ''The Hobbit'', ''The Lord of the Rings'', and '' ...

'' about J. R. R. Tolkien's creations.

Early life and education

Born Karen Lea Wynn in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

to parents James and Estis Wynn, she graduated from Norman High School in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, be ...

, and then earned a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy and an M.A. in Geography, specializing in

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

, from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. While attending the

she met Todd A. Fonstad. They married on March 21, 1970, and had two children: Mark and Kristina.

Career

Before her "retirement" to raising children and writing companion atlases, Fonstad was Director of Cartographic Services at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh. Her formal acknowledgments for ''The Atlas of Pern'' (1984) include "my husband, Todd, associate professor geography" and the UW Oshkosh Department of Geography. She served on the Oshkosh City Planning Commission for twenty-four years and was a member of the Oshkosh Common Council. Other interests and activities included the Grand Opera House Board of Directors, Hotel/Convention Center and Mass Transportation Center Development Committees, Oshkosh Commercial Development Corporation, Business Improvement Council Board of Directors, Downtown Oshkosh Committee, the Oshkosh Symphony League, the Camp Fire and Cub Scout programs, and the UW-Oshkosh Faculty Dames, where she held the offices of president and secretary.

Death

Karen Wynn Fonstad died, aged 59, from complications of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

Works

Fonstad's speciality was the creation of fictional atlases:. Retrieved 2011-11-20. * ''

'' (1981) **

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 ...

, based on

Tolkien's legendarium Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his '' The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of '' The Silmar ...

*''

The Atlas of Pern ''The Atlas of Pern'' by Karen Wynn Fonstad is an authorized companion book to the science fiction Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. It was completed in 1984 based on the first seven Pern novels and collaboration with McCaffrey. The ...

'' (1984) **

Pern ''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. T ...

, based on the

Dragonriders of Pern ''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. T ...

series by

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 ...

*'' The Atlas of the Land'' (1985) ** The Land, based on

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'' is a series of ten high fantasy novels written by American author Stephen R. Donaldson. The series began as a trilogy, entitled ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever''. This was followed by an ...

Stephen R. Donaldson Stephen Reeder Donaldson (born May 13, 1947) is an American fantasy, science fiction and mystery novelist, most famous for ''The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant'', his ten-novel fantasy series. His work is characterized by psychological complexit ...

*'' The Atlas of the Dragonlance World'' (1987) ** Krynn, based on the

DragonLance ''Dragonlance'' is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived ''Dragonlance'' while driving in t ...

stories by

Tracy Hickman Tracy Raye Hickman (born November 26, 1955) is an American fantasy author. He wrote the ''Dragonlance'' novels with Margaret Weis. He also wrote role playing game material while working for TSR and has cowritten novels with his wife, Laura Hick ...

and Margaret Weis (among others) *'' The Forgotten Realms Atlas'' (1990) **The Forgotten Realms, a setting for

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

Ed Greenwood Ed Greenwood (born July 21, 1959) is a Canadian fantasy writer and the original creator of the '' Forgotten Realms'' game world. He began writing articles about the Forgotten Realms for '' Dragon'' magazine beginning in 1979, and subsequently so ...

, published by TSR * ''The Atlas of Middle-earth: Revised Edition'' (1992)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fonstad, Karen Wynn 1945 births 20th-century cartographers 2005 deaths American cartographers American Methodists Artists from Oklahoma City Deaths from breast cancer People from Norman, Oklahoma Place of death missing Role-playing game artists Tolkien studies University of Oklahoma alumni University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh faculty Women cartographers