Mythopoeic Society

02/14/2026

Lee Alan Speth

12/3/1944 - 2/3/2026

Lee Alan Speth, was born December 3, 1944 in Los Angeles, California. He passed away peacefully on February 3, 2026 in Alhambra, California where he was born and raised.

Lee was born to Jack and Josephine Buchea the second of 4 children. He is preceded in death by his brother Roy and Sister Dana. Lee attended Alhambra schools, graduating from San Gabriel Mission High School in 1962. In keeping with his lifelong interest in the printed word, Lee briefly attended John Bosco Tech in Los Angeles where he studied printing, and then attended Cal State University in Los Angeles where he graduated with a BA in US and European History, specializing in American, English, and French studies.

Lee had a 44 year career with the Voter of Registrars as an Election Supervisor. Lee often corresponded with friends and family on election history, predictions and results.

Lee is survived by his wife Dolores Espinosa Speth of 41 years, his brother Terry Speth, his Niece Lea Thorin, husband Ian Sullivan, their children Jasmine and Brendan, Lorena Speth-Jung, husband Michael Jung, Nephew Marc Speth, and his wife Sadaf Hosseini, Sister-in-Law Maryellen Forman and was Uncle Lee to many great nieces and nephews.

Lee’s passion for fraternal organizations was far and wide. He was a longtime member and former office holder of the Mythopoeic Society. Additionally, We shall miss his acute intelligence and occasional wicked sense of humor.

He was an avid fan and member of the Wizard of Oz Club and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lee also belonged to the Gourmet Club and the Friends of Freddy. As a devout Catholic, Lee’s interests included affiliation with Catholic Charities and Peter’s Pence, and sharing his Faith with others.

Lee was truly one of a kind, with his acute intelligence and occasional wicked sense of humor. He leaves behind a large hole no one person will ever be able to fill.

A funeral mass will take place on Tuesday February 17th, 2026 at 1:30pm at Holy Family Catholic Church at Holy Family Catholic Church - 1501 Fremont Ave. South Pasadena 91030.

A reception to follow at Charlie's Trio - 5769 Huntington Dr. N. Los Angeles 90032 - less than a mile from the church starting around 3pm.

Dolores has requested no flowers. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Peter's Pence, United Way or UNICEF - in Lee's name.

02/08/2026

Reposted from Lee Speth's timeline: Hello friends of Lee. As many of you are hearing, Lee passed away on 2/3 surrounded by his wife Dolores, his brother Terry, sister in law Maryellen, and his nieces, Lea and Lorena.

A funeral mass will take place on Tues. 2/17/2026 - 1:30pm at Holy Family Catholic Church. 1501 Fremont Ave. South Pasadena. 91030.

A reception will follow at Charlie's Trio - 5769 Huntington Dr. N. Los Angeles 90032 - less than a mile from the church. I imagine we'll start gathering around 3pm.

Dolores has requested no flowers - in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Peter's Pence, United Way or UNICEF in Lee's name.

Thank you for all the memories and pictures, keep them coming. I'll be to share with Dolores. This is Maryellen - Dolores's Sister. Please continue to reach out here, as I am using Lee's laptop to communicate all things Lee.

01/18/2026

We have a big announcement: Our new members area is now live! You can now log into our website and update your membership information whenever you want. You can also set your membership to auto-renew if you are like the social media steward and have continuously let your membership lapse because it's hard to remember to renew it 😅

The new members area can be found at https://mythsoc.org/members/login.htm

If you are a current member, or have been in the recent past, you likely already have a login! (it's probably the email address associated with your PayPal, which can be changed after you log in) Just request a password reset and you'll receive an email with login information. If you think you should already have an account but cannot figure out what email address might be associated with it, reach out to [email protected] for assistance!

Megan, our longtime Mythprint editor and new Secretary has recorded a short video to explain the login process (and how to sign up for this year's Mythcon!

01/05/2026

The call for nominations for the 2026 Mythopoeic awards is now live! You have until February 15th to provide us with your suggestions for the best in Fantasy (children's, YA, & adult) and Scholarship (Inklings & Myth/Fantasy studies). You can also join our awards committees if you'd like to be a part of the selection process. More information on how to submit works here:

12/26/2025

As 2025 comes to a close, we are pleased to announce that the CFP for 2026's is now live! Mythcon is a hybrid conference, the in-person component being along Route 66 in Weatherford, OK (where our society's archives are kept!) The deadline for proposals is March 31, 2026. Hope to see you there! CFP:

12/16/2025

Mythprint #414 is out! As we use a new system for distribution, please check your promotions and spam folders, and if you don't see it, please email [email protected] to let us know of any issues

12/14/2025

We're pleased to announce a new publication from Mythopoeic Press! The conference proceedings from this year's OMS. Please note that you can also view the recordings of the conference (which includes even more presentations) on our archive: https://dc.swosu.edu/oms/oms4/

Just released! This collection of papers presented at the Mythopoeic Society's 2025 online conference focuses on intersectional feminist approaches to women and gender in fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, and other mythopoeic work. The conference honored the first anthology on women and Tolkien, Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien (2015), edited by Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan. Available in paperback ($10) and e-book ($8).

Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1887726373?tag=mythopoeicsociet
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Online-Midsummer-Seminar-2025-Proceedings-ebook/dp/B0G6HPC5BW/?tag=mythopoeicsociet
Other e-book formats: https://books2read.com/u/3LAkg7

12/01/2025

Soon to be published online, as an ebook, and print-on-demand physical book:

Mythopoeic Society
Seminar Proceedings Series

Online Midwinter Seminar 2025:
More Perilous and Fair: Women and Gender in Mythopoeic Fantasy

Introduction
More Perilous and Fair by Cami Agan, Clare Moore, and Robin A. Reid

Keynote Address
Still Perilous, Still Fair: Perspectives on the Legacy, or How (not)Éowyn and (not)Galadriel Made the Magic Work by Leslie A. Donovan and Janet Brennan Croft

Papers
Belief After the Death of King Arthur: Lev Grossman’s Postsecular Portrayal of Nimue in The Bright Sword by Liz Busby
S*x, the Body, and Learning Gender: Demons in the World of the Five Gods by Erin McBrien
Grendel’s Mother Talks Back: Contemporary Women’s Mythopoeic Revisions by Anna Smol
“Mysterium Tremendum et Fascinans”: Melian’s and Lúthien’s Numinosity by Alexandra (Oleksandra) Filonenko

10/10/2025

New issue of Mythlore is now live!

The Soldier’s Stigmata, Part I: Habitus and Speaking of the Future Otherwise in Lois McMaster Bujold’s “The Borders of Infinity”Andrew Hallam

10/04/2025

Please note that the price of printed (and the hybrid option of print/online) Mythlore will increase with the spring 2026 issue going forward. If your current subscription includes this issue, the price increase will happen at your next renewal. Prices remain the same for the electronic subscription and for all back issues.

More info about mythlore subscriptions: https://mythsoc.org/mythlore/mythlore-subscriptions.htm

Mythlore is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal published by the Mythopoeic Society that focuses on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and the genres of myth and fantasy.

09/01/2025

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Parma Eldalamberon/The Book of the Elven Tongues is the journal of the Mythopoeic Linguistic Fellowship, a Special Interest Group of the Mythopoeic Society, interested in imaginary fantasy languages and all matters linguistic and philosophical, especially the diverse tongues of Middle-earth and the....

09/01/2025

Exciting news for language nerds: The first five issues of Parma Eldalamberon are now available online: https://dc.swosu.edu/parma/ These have long been available only as photocopies of the originals. MythPress hopes to release them in a tidied-up and more legible format in print and ebook in the not-too-distant future, but for now you can access the scans for free.

Parma Eldalamberon/The Book of the Elven Tongues is the journal of the Mythopoeic Linguistic Fellowship, a Special Interest Group of the Mythopoeic Society, interested in imaginary fantasy languages and all matters linguistic and philosophical, especially the diverse tongues of Middle-earth and the....