For the initial five issues, Meskys – at the time a professor and a member of The Tolkien Society at the now-defunct Belknap College in Center Harbor, New Hampshire – edited Niekas by himself, after which he was joined by Felice Rolfe and Anne Chatland. The latter left after issue #8.[5] By the late 1980s he was editing the fanzine by himself. It originated as an apazine before being expanding to a full-fledged fanzine. Meskys continued publication when his employment moved to Mankato State University (now Minnesota State University, Mankato) in Mankato, Minnesota.
Meskys later wrote, "I started a separate mailing-comments zine for the APA, and changed its name to Niekas and started the numbering over again with the June 1962 issue.... Since there was no Tolkien fanzine being published I decided to devote Niekas to Tolkien and try to run at least one Tolkien related piece in each issue."[6] The fanzine played a prominent role in the early development of Tolkien fandom in the United States.[7] Issue #7 included a letter from C. S. Lewis to Meskys that mentions The Lord of the Rings.
A "Glossary of Middle Earth" by Al Halevy was an ongoing feature,[5] as was material by Robert Foster, who later published The Complete Guide to Middle-earth,
In 1968, Niekas ceased publication after issue #20, but was revived in 1977 for issue #21.[5] By 1995, Meskys – who had become blind – was the fanzine's editor-in-chief, with Mike Bastrow listed as editor and designer.[5] The final issue of Niekas, #48, described itself as published by Meskys and edited by Joe R. Christopher.
References
^"Society History". Mythopoeic Society. When, in 1972, Ed Meškys was unable to continue running The Tolkien Society of America (originally the New York Tolkien Society founded by Richard Plotz in 1965), its assets and memberships were absorbed by The Mythopoeic Society.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
