Heinlein Society

Last updated
The Heinlein Society
Formation1997
Membership (2007)
800 [1]
Website heinleinsociety.org

The Heinlein Society is a United States organization devoted to the study and promotion of the American science fiction author Robert Heinlein.

The Heinlein Society was founded in 1997 with the assistance of Robert Heinlein's widow, Virginia Heinlein, and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established in California. [2] [3] [4] The "semi-scholarly" society exists to "preserve the legacy of renowned writer Robert Anson Heinlein left"; according to it, it accomplishes this through promoting "Heinlein blood drives", distributing copies of Heinlein's works to U.S. military personnel, awarding scholarships, and promoting scholarly research on Heinlein. [5] [6] The society also sponsors the Robert A. Heinlein Award. [7]

In 2016 the organization paid for a bronze bust of Heinlein for display in the Missouri State Capitol, following the author's induction into the Hall of Famous Missourians. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Bova</span> American writer and editor (1932–2020)

Benjamin William Bova was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, for which he won a Hugo Award six times, and an editorial director of Omni; he was also president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrest J Ackerman</span> American writer and collector (1916–2008)

Forrest James Ackerman was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a prominent advocate of the Esperanto language; and one of the world's most avid collectors of genre books and film memorabilia. He was based in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Pournelle</span> American science fiction writer, journalist, and scientist (1933-2017)

Jerry Eugene Pournelle was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s and early 1970s, he worked in the aerospace industry, but eventually focused on his writing career. In an obituary in Gizmodo, he is described as "a tireless ambassador for the future."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poul Anderson</span> American science fiction writer (1926–2001)

Poul William Anderson was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson also wrote historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert A. Heinlein</span> American author and aeronautical engineer (1907–1988)

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.

<i>Starship Troopers</i> 1959 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Written in a few weeks in reaction to the US suspending nuclear tests, the story was first published as a two-part serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction as Starship Soldier, and published as a book by G. P. Putnam's Sons on November 5, 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory Benford</span> American science fiction author and astrophysicist

Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is professor emeritus at the department of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He is a contributing editor of Reason magazine.

<i>Stranger in a Strange Land</i> 1961 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians, and explores his interaction with and eventual transformation of Terran culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Cherryh</span> American speculative fiction author (born 1942)

Carolyn Janice Cherry, better known by the pen name C. J. Cherryh, is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has written more than 80 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award–winning novels Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988), both set in her Alliance–Union universe, and her Foreigner series. She is known for worldbuilding, depicting fictional realms with great realism supported by vast research in history, language, psychology, and archeology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider Robinson</span> Canadian science fiction author (born 1948)

Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-author and wife Jeanne Robinson in 1978.

George Edgar Slusser was an American scholar, professor and writer. Slusser was a well-known science fiction critic. A professor emeritus of comparative literature at University of California, Riverside, he was the first curator of the Eaton collection.

The exploration of politics in science fiction is arguably older than the identification of the genre. One of the earliest works of modern science fiction, H. G. Wells’ The Time Machine, is an extrapolation of the class structure of the United Kingdom of his time, an extreme form of social Darwinism; during tens of thousands of years, human beings have evolved into two different species based on their social class.

Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropology" and speculates about human behavior and interactions.

"Water is for Washing" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in Argosy. It is based on the premise that an earthquake had catastrophically shattered the range of alluvial deposits separating the Imperial Valley from the Gulf of California, precipitating a tsunami moving north to transiently drown these lowlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farah Mendlesohn</span> British academic historian and writer

Farah Jane Mendlesohn is a British academic historian, writer on speculative fiction, and active member of science fiction fandom. Mendlesohn is best-known for their 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy, which classifies fantasy literature into four modes based on how the fantastic enters the story. Their work as editor includes the Cambridge Companions to science fiction and fantasy, collaborations with Edward James. The science fiction volume won a Hugo Award. Mendlesohn is also known for books on the history of fantasy, including Children's Fantasy Literature: An Introduction, co-written with Michael Levy. It was the first work to trace the genre's 500-year history and won the World Fantasy Award.

Advent:Publishers is an American publishing house. It was founded by Earl Kemp and other members of the University of Chicago Science Fiction Club, including Sidney Coleman, in 1955, to publish criticism, history, and bibliography of the science fiction field, beginning with Damon Knight's In Search of Wonder.

The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company. (ARTC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, performing, and educating people about the art of audio theatre.

<i>Saturns Children</i> (novel) 2008 novel by Charles Stross

Saturn's Children is a 2008 science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross. Stross called it "a space opera and late-period [Robert A.] Heinlein tribute", specifically to Heinlein's 1982 novel Friday.

The Heinlein Centennial Convention was held in Kansas City from July 6 through July 8, 2007, coincident with the 100th anniversary of Robert A. Heinlein's birth in Butler, Missouri on July 7, 1907. The Guests of Honor were Robert and Virginia Heinlein, in absentia and deceased. The keynote speakers were:

The Robert A. Heinlein Award was established by the Heinlein Society in 2003 "for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space". It is named for renowned science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein and is administered by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. It is generally given annually to one or more recipients.

References

  1. Timberg, Scott (December 9, 2007). "The descent of a sci-fi guru". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  2. "Heinlein Room". Butler Public Library. City of Butler . Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  3. Patterson, William (2014). Robert A. Heinlein, Vol 2: In Dialogue with His Century Volume 2: The Man Who Learned Better. Macmillan. p. 476. ISBN   978-0765319616.
  4. "C2771002 THE HEINLEIN SOCIETY". Business Entities. California Secretary of State . Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  5. Booker, Keith (2015). Literature and Politics Today. ABC-CLIO. p. 133. ISBN   978-1610699365.
  6. "The Heinlein Society". Heinlein Society. Heinlein Society. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  7. McAleer, Neil (2013). Sir Arthur C. Clarke: Odyssey of a Visionary: A Biography. Rosetta Books. ISBN   978-0984811809.
  8. Ballentine, Summer (August 23, 2016). "Science Fiction Author Heinlein Honored as Famous Missourian". KMOX-AM . Associated Press . Retrieved December 27, 2016.