Joan Winston (19 June 1931 – 11 September 2008) 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, p ...

Trekker who helped organize the first ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' fan convention and became a key figure in the subculture.

Life and career

Fellow fans compare her level of devotion to

Betty Jo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom w ...

, the fan who led the campaign to keep ''Star Trek'' on the air.Grimes, William (September 20, 2008)
Joan Winston, ‘Trek’ Superfan, Dies at 77.
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Winston attended the filming of what would be the final episode and impressed everyone on set, including creator

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

. Winston was able to secure Roddenberry's attendance at the first convention, and she also arranged for tapes of 15 episodes, a blooper reel, and a truck of space memorabilia from NASA. After helping to coordinate the first four conventions, Winston became a sought-after guest in her own right at the many rival conventions that popped up.Burns, John F. (February 12, 1976). Earthly Rivalries Have 'Star Trek' Promoters in Orbit. ''

'' She wrote ''

Star Trek Lives! ''Star Trek Lives!'' is a 1975 book, co-written by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak, and Joan Winston, which explored the relationship between the ''Star Trek'' television series and the fandom that emerged following the series' cancellati ...

'' in 1975 with

Jacqueline Lichtenberg Jacqueline Lichtenberg (born March 25, 1942, Flushing, Queens, New York (state), New York) is an American science fiction author. Many of her early novels are set in the Sime~Gen Universe, which she first described in a short story in 1969. Writ ...

and

Sondra Marshak Sondra Marshak (née Hassan; born June 15, 1942) is an American science-fiction writer. She is most well known for her work co-written with Myrna Culbreath. She was a co-writer of ''Star Trek Lives!'' (1975), with Jacqueline Lichtenberg, and tel ...

and ''The Making of the Trek Conventions'' in 1977, as well as numerous fan publications for the original and subsequent series. Winston died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winston, Joan 1931 births 2008 deaths Star Trek fandom Deaths from dementia in New York (state) Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in New York (state) Fan labor