Jeanne Gomoll
is an American artist, writer, editor, and
science fiction fan
, who was recognized as one of the
guests of honor
at the
72nd World Science Fiction Convention
(Loncon 3, the 2014
WorldCon
), having been a guest of honor at numerous previous
science fiction conventions
.
[1]
She has been nominated multiple times for awards in artist and
fanzine
categories, and for service to the genre of
science fiction
, particularly
feminist science fiction
.
Background
[
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]
Gomoll attended the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, 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
[
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]
In 1975, soon after graduating with a
B.A.
in
geography
, she was actively involved in a feminist reading group in
Madison, Wisconsin
, 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
,
Janus
(later
Aurora SF
). Gomoll was initially recruited as an artist and designer, but became a writer and co-editor by the third issue.
[2]
Janus
was to be repeatedly nominated for the
Hugo Award for Best Fanzine
(1978, 1979 and 1980);
[3]
this led to accusations that if
Janus
had not been feminist, it would not have been nominated.
[4]
She has worked with
WisCon
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
feminist science fiction
fandom.
"An Open Letter to Joanna Russ"
[
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]
Gomoll is the author of "An Open Letter to Joanna Russ", a famous
[5]
and oft-reprinted essay
[6]
revisiting
Joanna Russ
' influential critiques of
science fiction
and the suppression in literary history of the role of women in writing (especially
How to Suppress Women's Writing
). The essay was a response to
Bruce Sterling
's exclusion of women's writing of the 1970s from his introduction to
cyberpunk
anthology
Burning Chrome
. Gomoll's
open letter
not only challenged Sterling's account, but recounts the history of women's involvement in science fiction writing and fandom during the 1970s.
[6]
Professional work
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Gomoll is a professional artist still based in
Madison
. From September 1979?July 2003, she was employed by the
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
as a
graphic designer
, also serving as illustrator of publications such as
Nature's Recyclers Coloring Book
[7]
and
Butterflies & Roadways: How Rights of Way Maintenance Can Help Endandered Species
.
[8]
In 2018 she retired and closed her
graphic design
business, Union Street Design.
[9]
Selected bibliography
[
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]
- 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
(#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
- 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
[
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]
- Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist
nomination, (1978, 1979, 1980)
- Hugo Award for Best Fanzine
nomination, (1978, 1980)
- FFAN awards, fan editor (1979, 1980)
- Armadillocon
guest of honor (GoH) (1979)
- AutoClave
GoH (1979)
- Aquacon
GoH (1981)
- Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund
delegate, 1987?1988
- Hugo Award for Best Related Work
nomination, (1992)
- Reinconation
GoH (2000)
- WisCon
24 GoH (2000)
- Apollocon
GoH (2011)
- Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service
(2011)
- Guest of honor,
72nd World Science Fiction Convention
(LonCon 3; 2014)
Notes
[
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]
- ^
Armadillocon (1979), Autoclave (1979), Aquacon (1981), Reinconation (2000),
WisCon
24 (2000),
Apollocon
(2011).
- ^
Simmons, Adrian. "Founding Mothers: The Jeanne Gomoll Interview"
Archived
2013-10-08 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Strange Horizons
(September 15, 2008)]
- ^
Hugo Nominee List
Archived
2011-09-20 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Merrick, Helen. "From female man to feminist fan: uncovering herstory in the annals of SF fandom," in
Women of Other Worlds: Excursions Through Science Fiction and Feminism
Helen Merrick and Tess Williams, eds. Univ. of Western Australia Press, 1999, p. 129-ff.
- ^
Duchamp, L. Timmel
,
"That Only a Feminist: Reflections on Women, Feminism and Science Fiction, 1818-1960"
Archived
2009-07-30 at the
Wayback Machine
(2002).
- ^
a
b
Jeanne 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
.
- ^
Nature's Recyclers Coloring Book
(Madison: Wis. Department of Natural Resources, 1993; 15 pages)
- ^
Butterflies & Roadways: How Rights of Way Maintenance Can Help Endandered Species
(Madison: Bureau of Forestry, Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 2001; Jeanne Gomoll and Wisconsin Karner Blue Butterfly HCP-Communications Team)
- ^
Union Street Design website
Additional references
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]
- Interviews and Profiles
- Databases
- Additional references
- Lefanu, Sarah
,
In the Chinks of the World Machine: Feminism and Science Fiction
. London:
The Women's Press
, 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.