Heinlein Resources, 2009
Something the organizers of the Centennial found a little puzzling was that the spectrum of Heinlein-related resources seemed to diminish after the 2007 event — including resources that had nothing to do with the Centennial, our organization or anyone much connected with either. Web sites vanished, forums dried up, organizations collapsed. Although we know that many things are happening in more obscure locations, the more general, public and participatory aspects of Heinlein appreciation have drawn down to a minimum.
This page lists all currently known resources that may be of interest to Heinlein fans, scholars, aficionados, and researchers — may it point each of you who visits here in a new and intriguing direction with the legacies of Robert A. Heinlein.
Organizations
With the cessation of Heinlein Centennial, Inc., the California nonprofit corporation that was the legal backbone of the 2007 Centennial, few truly Heinlein-centric organizations remain. These two stalwarts are funded and operated directly by the Heinlein estate.
Heinlein Prize Trust
The Heinlein Prize Trust administers one of the largest portions of the Heinlein estate and awards a $500,000 cash prize to individuals who do the most to advance commercial exploitation of space. The first prize was awarded to Peter Diamandis, sponsor of the X Prize that spurred the first nongovernmental manned space flight, in 2006.
Heinlein Archives
One of the major announcements made at the 2007 Centennial was the opening of the Heinlein Archives to public access. Nearly the entire contents of the UC Santa Cruz holdings of Heinlein's papers was put online (correspondence being the notable exception), and users can download complete manuscripts and other working papers for nominal fees.
Publications
For a complete list of current editions of Heinlein's books, we suggest keeping an eye on Amazon.com's offerings.
The Heinlein Journal
The only completely Heinlein-centric publication in existence, the Heinlein Journal has been published and edited by Heinlein scholar and biographer (and Centennial organizer) Bill Patterson since 1997. Publication has varied from quarterly to annually, with some irregularity due to Bill's involvement with many aspects of Heinlein studies. All back issues are available as is a current subscription.
At this time, all web presence for the Journal has "aged out" but a new web site should be forthcoming this year. In the meantime, the link in the heading provides direct email contact with Bill Patterson.
The Virginia Edition
This complete edition of all of Heinlein's works, with many added materials, has been through a long series of publication and development troubles but finally seems to be on course to complete publication sometime in the next year. It's not inexpensive, but it is definitely the ultimate set for Heinlein aficionados.
Web Sites
There are many web sites devoted to Heinlein, but the vast majority are small, one- or two-note affairs. A good place to start is with the Google link in the right-hand column, which will provide a list of the currently available and popular sites.
Besides wandering Google, the following site is a good general starting point:
site:RAH
The oldest and nominally most complete Heinlein site on the web, site:RAH (aka The Robert A. Heinlein Home Page) contains detailed listings of Heinlein's works and more. (Site editor James Gifford apologizes for it being quite dusty and un-updated for some time, but then, Heinlein is dead. Recent activities don't change the basic info.)
This site also has a fairly good listing of other Heinlein sites worth checking.
Forums
One of the saddest and most dismaying aspects of the past few years has been the virtual disappearence of Heinlein-centric online forums. Once plentiful and vibrant, most have disappeared or gone silent, leaving very few places for Heinlein fans and aficionados to congregate and chat. (It is peculiar that the evolution of the internet and web has decreased the options... but then, pressure against unregulated worldwide chat zones has been unrelenting for the past five or six years.)
alt.fan.heinlein (no direct link available)
The great original and successor to the GEnie, Prodigy and Fidonet forums devoted to Robert Heinlein, Usenet newsgroup alt.fan.heinlein (AFH) has survived several changes of occupancy and focus and remains the eminience grise of online Heinlein discussion. It is, however, part of the Usenet structure, which is under attack from all sides as being a little too free, too open, too porn- and spam-ridden, and — worst of all — completely unregulated and unmoderated. (Horrors!) Usenet has been declining for years, but the coffin has been all but nailed shut by most large internet providers closing down their in-house NNTP servers, cutting off the Usenet access of a great majority of users.
A few core users remain, but it now takes substantial technical expertise (for which there is no convenient tech support or help) and paid access to a third-party NNTP server to access the Usenet groups, including AFH. Meaning, in translation, that Usenet is on life support and is unlikely to recover.
You can find and join AFH by setting up your own newsgroup reader and subscribing to any remaining, available NNTP server, and adding alt.fan.heinlein to your groups list. Good luck to you...
NitroForum
The forums with widespread dissemination and access have been replaced with individual forums on independent web sites — which resembles nothing so much as a return to the earliest days of "Bulletin Board Systems" that one had to dial up with a modem to access. Messaging is not shared between these sites, meaning that each one must be accessed independently, a great inconvenience and limiter to participation.
NitroForum existed for the better part of a decade as one of many Heinlein forums. It now holds up a candle as the last generally accessible Heinlein forum in existence, welcoming the online users cut off from other, defunct sources and providing a home until a better forum option comes along. It even has a special forum intended to be a continuation of alt.fan.heinlein for whatever duration it's needed.
If you're looking for the online Heinlein community, this lonely outpost is where you'll find it. Do come join and participate!
Page Updated 04 January 2009