Jean Rabe (19 June 1957–19 January 2026) was a prolific multi-genre prose and game writer, editor, anthologist, mentor, and journalist across a wide variety of media and interests. Rabe was the head of the Role Playing Game Association for many years. She was honored by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers as both an award nominee and Grandmaster.
In her service to SFWA, Rabe was the business manager and editor of the SFWA Bulletin for several years. Rabe resigned her editorial position after the publication of a sexist article that she had voiced concerns about and been disempowered to halt. She then bore the brunt of community response without organizational support. SFWA apologizes for the wound this unkind treatment left Jean, her friends, and her family to overcome.
“Rabe deserves to be remembered for the years of excellent creator uplift she provided to her community in SFF, through SFWA and beyond,” said SFWA President Kate Ristau. “Rabe left a legacy of joy in expansive shared universes.”
Rabe published dozens of novels and more than one hundred short stories, in original as well as tie-in worlds. Enamored with and intrigued by multiple genres, she wrote in fantasy, mystery, and thriller, in both original secondworld and contemporary settings. Her first novel was a Forgotten Realms story: Red Magic, and she went on to write extensive and beloved works for Dragonlance, Greyhawk, Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons, and BattleTech. Rabe was known for acts of welcome in gaming spaces, for her kindness and generosity, and for her encouragement to new writers and new players to pursue their dreams all while finding the joy within them.
Ed Greenwood, creator and SFWA Lifetime Active Member, remembers Jean Rabe as follows:
“Soft-spoken, kind, gentle, and smiling. Always smiling. Jean Rabe was my friend, and a wonderful head of the Roleplayers Game Association, and a writer whose books I could always curl up with and enjoy, but she was also one of those lights in the world that make it a better, more welcoming place for anyone who ever ventured near her. She was full of encouragement for any tale-teller, from prose writers to socially-awkward Dungeon Masters nervous about running their first table at a convention, or their first self-penned adventure in public. Setting at ease, treating everyone as an equal and not someone lesser to shower with advice. A guide, not talking down from on high. I remember dinners at conventions where we talked about everything, not about our latest books and what we were going to do. We talked about little things, the moments that make lives richer, and lift hearts. Thank you, Jean. I will miss those hugs. I will miss that smile.”
Jean Rabe lived 68 years.