Recently a friend asked me to explain the difference between The Heinlein Society (THS) and The Heinlein Prize Trust (HPT). That’s really an interesting question. Both were founded by Virginia Heinlein, but that’s where the similarities end. The Heinlein Society is a charity, and our only source of income is through memberships and donations. We have no paid workers, so all work is done by volunteers.
The Heinlein Prize Trust is totally different. Their mission is to promote the commercialization of space. HPT periodically awards The Heinlein Prize, which is a cash award to individuals that have contributed to the commercialization of space. The Heinlein Prize also includes a reproduction of The Lady Vivamus sword from Glory Road. Three of the previous winners were Peter Diamandis, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. HPT has the publication and media rights to most of Robert Heinlein’s books, so they receive the royalties from those books, movies and/or TV shows. They also publish the Virginia Edition and two graphic novels, Citizen of the Galaxy and Have Spacesuit: Will Travel. They run the Heinlein Store where you can buy the previously mentioned books and also a wide selection of Heinlein related items, such as t-shirts, stickers and coffee mugs.
The primary connection between THS and HPT is that we both promote Heinlein! Oh yes, The Heinlein Prize Trust has donated a full set of the Virginia Edition every year for the past six years to The Heinlein Society so we can give a set away to a lucky member. I hope this answers any questions you may have, but if you have more questions please email .
If you would like more information about The Heinlein Society go to: https://www.heinleinsociety.org/
If you would like to know more about the yearly Virginia Edition give away go to: https://www.heinleinsociety.org/were-giving-away-another-virginia-edition/
If you would like more information on The Heinlein Prize Trust go to: https://www.heinleinprize.com/hall-of-fame
If you have copyright questions concerning Heinlein’s work go to: https://www.heinleinprize.com/contact
If you would like to see pictures of the Lady Vivamus go to: https://imgur.com/gallery/0CNeg
If you would like to shop in the Heinlein Store go to: https://www.heinleinbooks.com/book-store
And finally, if you would like to buy T-Shirts or other gift items from The Heinlein Store go to: https://www.heinleinbooks.com/gift-shop
