Juanita Coulson

(1933 –)

An actifan, fanzine editor and filksinger, Juanita Coulson (née Wellons) has been widely known in filk music circles since the 1950s for her singing and songwriting. At NorthAmeriCon she managed to out-sing a riverboat whistle.

Juanita and her husband, Buck Coulson, were FGoHs at the 1972 Worldcon, L.A.Con.

For thirty-three years, she co-edited the mimeographed science fiction fanzine Yandro with her husband Buck. Yandro was nominated for a Hugo Award every year from 1958–1967; it won the award in 1965, thus making Coulson one of the very first women editors to be so honored.

She co-edited Vandy with Buck Coulson and also published the early Star Trek fanzine, ST-Phile. She was extremely skilled at handstencilling fanartists' illos. She was of the EISFA and ISFA clubzines. She was a member of STF League of Indiana.

The Coulsons were the beneficiaries of the Coulsons to Newcastle fanfund to send them to Seacon '79.

She is also an sf and fantasy pro. Her first novel, Crisis on Cheiron, came out in 1967. During her writing career, she has collaborated with other authors such as Marion Zimmer Bradley. One of her better-known novel series is the Children of the Stars books. Several of her novels concern the exploitation of "primitive" intelligent species or first contact.

Her role in establishing filk as part of SF conventions was huge. Barry Childs-Helton said, "It's all her fault. She was always instigating people to come on into the fold and join the tradition." She sang with GoH Theodore Sturgeon and Ted Cogswell as a warm-up to the masquerade at the 1962 Chicon III, setting a precedent for filk as an official part of convention activities.

She was nominated for DUFF in 1972 and 2012, losing both times, before being nominated again and winning in 2014.

She is the mother of Bruce Coulson.

See Juanita Coulson's Reminiscence of Fandom in 1953.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1972 -- L.A.Con
• 1977 -- Minicon 12
• 1980 -- Hoosier Con 1
• 1981 -- ChambanaCon 11, WisCon 5, FilkCon III, Filkcon West, MunchCon I
• 1982 -- Marcon XVII
• 1984 -- Empiricon V, Okon '84, ConClave IX
• 1985 -- ConQuesT 16
• 1986 -- MileHiCon 18
• 1991 -- Con*Stellation X, ConChord 7, Marcon 26
• 1994 -- OVFF 10
• 1995 -- Rivercon XX
• 1996 -- Filk Hall of Fame
• 1997 -- Marcon 32
• 1998 -- DeepSouthCon 36, ConClave XXIII
• 1999 -- GAFilk 1
• 2001 -- Boskone 38
• 2004 -- ChambanaCon 34
• 2005 -- Consonance 2005, Apollocon 2005
• 2010 -- ReConStruction, ConClave 35, Toastmaster at Conterpoint 2010
• 2011 -- OVFF 27
• 2012 -- Big Heart Award at Chicon 7, Pegasus Award for Best Writer/Composer
• 2014 -- DUFF
• 2018 -- Marcon 53
• first recipient of the N3F's Ralph M. Holland Award.

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Person

1933—

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