Niekas

A fanzine published from 1962–1998 by Ed Meskys, frequently with others. It won the 1967 Best Fanzine Hugo and was nominated for the Best Fanzine Hugo in 1966, 1967, and 1989. The name come from the Lithuanian (Meskys is of Lithuanian extraction) for "nothing" or "nobody".

Editorial credits are complicated. Felice Rolfe was co-editor with Meskys for many early issues (including the Hugo-winning issues) and in later years Meskys had a host of co-editors, art editors, deputy publishers and nearly every other title, though he usually held the title of "Editor-in-chief". The table below barely scratches the surface of the complicated credits.

Meskys wrote, "I started a separate mailing-comments zine for N'APA, and changed its name to Niekas and started the numbering over again with the June 1962 issue... Since there was no Tolkien fanzine being published I decided to devote Niekas to Tolkien and try to run at least one Tolkien related piece in each issue."

Contributors included Piers Anthony, ATom, John Boardman, Vaughn Bodé, Anthony Boucher, Marion Zimmer Bradley ("Bloodthirsty for Power: Vampirism in Hambly's Those Who Hunt the Night"), Charles N. Brown, Don D'Ammassa, Philip K. Dick ("Naziism and the High Castle"), an ongoing "Glossary of Middle Earth" by Robert Foster, who later published Tolkien's World From A to Z: The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, Clyde Kilby, Jack Gaughan, Jack Harness, Ben Indick, S. T. Joshi, Tim Kirk, Fred Lerner, Dave Locke, Sam Moskowitz, Andrew J. Offutt, Diana Paxson, Bruce Pelz, Darrell Schweitzer, Bjo Trimble, and Roger Zelazny ("Song of the Ring" [a poem]).

Niekas also published a number of special issues including A Silverlock Companion and...

When Niekas won the 1967 Best Fanzine Hugo, following the custom of the time NYCon 3 awarded only a single Hugo trophy which wound up with co-editor Felice Rolfe. In 1998, the Ditto 11 organizers got a spare Hugo rocket from Bruce Pelz and created a replica Hugo base and presented Ed Meskys with his own long-overdue Hugo trophy.

Issue	Date	Pages	Editors	-Notes
1	June 1962		Ed Meskys	Meskys'mailing comments apazine for N'APA. In N'APA 13
2	1962	17	"
3	December 1962	12	"	In N'APA 15
4	March 1963	32	"
5	June 1963	26	"
6	September 1963		Ed Meskys and Felice Rolfe	By this issue it had become a real genzine. in N'APA 18
7	December 1963	48	"
8	March 1964	33	"	in N'APA 20
9	September 1964	80	"	in N'APA 22
9.5	Fall 1964	10	"	Titled Fractional Nieka
10	December 1964	54	"	in N'APA 23
11	March 1965	82	"	in N'APA 24
12	June 1965	84	"	in N'APA 25
13	September 1965	46+	"
14	December 1965	76	"	in N'APA 27
15	March 1966	68	Felice Rolfe and Ed Meskys
16	June 1966	100	"
17	November 1966	90	Ed Meskys and Felice Rolfe
18	Late Spring 1967	68	"	Includes Tolkien interview
19	December 1968		"	Green Dragon #3 was bound in
20	Fall 1968	110	Ed Meskys, Felice Rolfe, Charlie Brown, Marsha Brown
21	1977	37	Sherwood Frazier, Ed Meskys, and Margaret Shepard
22	February 1980	60	Ed Meskys, Sherwood Frazier, Mike Bastraw, and Raphael Folch-Pi	Contributors from Jack Gaughan, Isaac Asimov, and John Brunner (short letter)
23	August 1980	62	"
	August 1980			A Niekas Sampler (not an issue)
24	November 1980	62	"
25	February 1981	76	"
26	May 1981	64	Ed Meskys, Sherwood Frazier, and Mike Bastraw
27	August 1981	78	"
28	November 1981	72	"
29	February 1981	74	"
30	May 1982	84	"
31	September 1983	80	Ed Meskys
32	February 1984	106	"
33	1985	68	"
34	1986	58	"
35	1987	60	"
36	1988	64	"
37	August 1988	64	"
38	1989	76	"	Arthurian issue
39	1989	56	"
40	August 1989	56	Anne J. Braude	Andre Norton issue
41a	January 1990	46	Anthony S. Magistrale and Robert H. Knox	In a half-width format; Obsessions issue
41b	1990	64	Ed Meskys, Anne J. Braude, Todd E. Frazier	In a half-width format; Bradbury issue
42	1990	76	Ed Meskys
43a	1991	104	Fred Lerner	In a half-width format; Sam Moskowitz "After All These Years"
43b				Never published
43c	1991	1	Ed Meskys	A supplement inserted into #43a
44	March 1994	92	"	Kipling issue
45	1998	128	Joe R. Christopher	Special Dark Fantasy issue
46	February 2001	68	"	Strange sports issue
47
48

Niekas online at fanac.org

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Publication

Website

1962—2001

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