KRin Pender-Gunn
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | KRin Pender-Gunn |
| Alias(es): | Karen Pender, The Pink Lady |
| Type: | fans, fanzines, conventions, clubs |
| Fandoms: | science fiction |
| Communities: | Melbourne Science Fiction Club, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy |
| Other: | fancraft, charities |
| URL: | Eclectic Omnibus |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
KRin Pender-Gunn (formerly Karen Pender) is a fan who has been active in the Australian science fiction community for many years. She has been involved in SF conventions, fanzines, and clubs. She has been called the Pink Lady because of her fondness for that colour.[1]
KRin is an Arctophile; she loves Teddy Bears and lives with so many at her home, that she has given up counting them.[1]
Born and raised in Sydney, she is now a Melbourne fan. James 'Jocko' Allen writes of her introduction into fandom:
I first met her in March 1984, at an Australian Media Science Fiction convention in North Sydney, called Medtrek 2. She was with other fans of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, some of whom I knew slightly through letters of comment. I met her again the next year in Melbourne, at Aussiecon 2, which is where I introduced her to Ian Gunn... Karen, as she was then, also had three different colours in her hair and yes, one part was pink.[1]
KRin and Ian became partners from 1988 until his death in 1998, and they married shortly before his passing:
Ian and I did marry, in the hospital 36 hours before his death. We had planned to get married quietly in the next week, but the doctors told us he wouldn't make it. Friends and family, with the help of Box Hill Hospital chaplain pulled together a wedding in two days.[2]
She acknowledges that his impact upon her life can be seen even in her name changes:
When I started living with Ian around 1988, I took his surname as a sign of respect as we didn't intend to get married then. I changed my first name to KRin in June 2001 as a sign that I had started a new phase of my life after Ian's death, and it wasn't too big a change from Karen really. I didn't want to offend my parents, who took time to choose my name in the first place.[3]
Science Fiction Accomplishments
She chaired Huttcon in Melbourne in 1989, co-chaired Basicon 2 in 1997 and worked on a variety of other conventions.[4]
She joined the Melbourne Science Fiction Club and served a number of offices; being awarded Life Membership in 1994.[1]
Fanzines and Apazines
- Ethel the Aardvark (1998–June 1999)
- Oh to be in England, In the Summertime, With my Love (1999 - with Ian Gunn)
- Pink (1988-1998)
- Pinkette (1995-)
- Space-Time Buccaneers (1999 - with Ian Gunn)[4]
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
Murray McLachlan reports that: "Ian and Krin Pender Gunn stayed with us in 1994 when they were on the FFANZ tour of New Zealand, very rare that I’ve got on so very, very well with people so very quickly indeed."[5]
- 1995 -- 1995 GUFF joint winner (with Ian Gunn), Australian Science Fiction Media Awards for Best Fan Writer
- 1996 -- Best Australasian Media Fan Writer
- 1997 -- Best Australasian Media Fan Writer
- She has received multiple Ditmar Award nominations.[4]
Charities
For some years, KRin Pender-Gunn operated the Ian Gunn Memorial Fund. She still uses Ian's cartoons (estimated between 3,000 to 5,000 in the collection) to raise funds for charity and to share his talents with others.[6]
She has been a long-time creator and seller of fancraft for a variety of charities. She notes: "During my time in Science Fiction fandom I did a lot of toys for arts shows. These included a felt Alien (from the film of the same name) and a felt Deep Space 9 ship (Star Trek). Recently, I have been doing small felt bears"[3] Even US fan visitors to Australia report buying KRin's Australian craftwork creatures at Aussiecon 4, the 4th Australian World Science Convention in Melbourne.[7]
Jocko praises KRin and her volunteer work:
KRin ... looks after the cartoon legacy of Ian Gunn, who was her partner for ten years before his untimely death. And she makes and sells stuffed toys and jewellery. You can usually find her at National convention in the hucksters room with various toys, earings [sic] and cartoon filled DVDs for sale from her table.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e James 'Jocko' Allen, Untitled Introduction to KRin Pender-Gunn, Ethel the Aardvark, June-July 2016 No 181, p. 3
- ^ Personal email correspondence between Krin Pender-Gunn and Geoff Allshorn, 1 April 2024.
- ^ a b KRin Pender-Gunn, KRin's Bio, The Eclectic Omnibus.
- ^ a b c d Fancyclopedia 3.
- ^ Interview with Murray McLachlan (transcript of podcast) in The Megaloscope #4, December 2022, p. 20.
- ^ KRin Pender-Gunn, The Ian Gunn Memorial Fund, Eclectic Omnibus.
- ^ Guy and Rose-Marie Lillian, The Aboriginal Route, 2010, p. 22.