Fred Patten

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

Fred Patten (born 1940) is considered one of the founders of the furry fandom. He was the official editor of the Rowrbrazzle APA from 1989 to 2005, having joined the APA in 1984. He has also been active in Furthest North Crew and North American Fur, amongst other places. He has been the furry book reviewer for Yarf! (1990-2003), Claw & Quill (2004-2005), Anthro (2005-present), and Renard's Menagerie (2008-present) magazines. He was the founder of the Ursa Major Awards in 2001, and won its award for Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work in 2003 for the furry anthology Best In Show.

Outside of furry fandom, Patten is also considered one of the founders of anime fandom in the United States, and one of the country's leading experts on anime and manga. He has been a long-time member of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (whose clubhouse has often been used for collating issues of Rowrbrazzle), and was a founding member of the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization; the founders of ConFurence were also members of C/FO.

Patten's activities in fandom were curtailed by a stroke he suffered in March 2005. As of February 2008, he was recovering, but still under medical care at a convalescent hospital. He has donated hundreds of boxes containing his library of furry books and fanzines to the University of California, Riverside library.

Kay Shapero maintains a page of the latest news about Fred.