Jan Howard Finder (March 2, 1939 – February 26, 2013) was an American academic administrator, career counselor, science fiction writer, filker, hostelling tour guide, cosplayer, and fan.

)[1] Originally from Chicago, Illinois,[2] Finder became a devotee of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien in 1964, when he "spent three straight days curled up at his parents’ house" reading The Lord of the Rings.

[3] He ended up spending most of his life as a career counselor for various employers, including a stint at the United States Army's Fort Drum.

[10] The Wombat was a frequent masquerade judge,[7][11] costumer[12] charity auctioneer, and participant in panel discussions, from Arisia and Albacon in the Northeast United States to Worldcons [13][14] and Lunacon 2007.

[17][18][19] He edited the 1982 anthology Alien Encounters (1982) Taplinger ISBN 0-8008-0168-7,[20] which included short stories by Lynn Abbey, Ben Bova, Lee Killough, David Langford, and Ian Watson, among others.