by the SFWA Publications Crew and Emily Bell

Editor’s note: This article is part of the SFWA Presents: Get to Know… series, which includes promotional pieces about SFWA programs, committees, and initiatives, and also interviews with the SFWA volunteers who work to support their fellow writers in the industry.

SFWA’s In Memoriam marks the loss of writers and other science fiction and fantasy creators by celebrating their literary legacies and their contributions to the publishing community. To learn more about this important service, we talked to Emily Bell, who has been writing the SFWA tributes for three years.

SFWA started publishing In Memoriams on its website in 2010. What drew you to the work? Why do you like this role?

I truly love people and am drawn to the mysteries and kinship of a soul who chooses to be a writer. I like this role for many reasons. It feels right to honor the lives of writers from the specific lens of the writing community. I hope it provides some comfort to those who loved them and/or their writing. Also, having found the writing world later in life, and not through traditional channels, I learn more about the remembered writers and enjoy sharing those bonds with others. We are our stories, and I think we best thrive, especially in difficult moments and times, when we remember all the layers of that.

This program now honors not just the achievements of SFWA members, but all who have contributed to the world of science fiction and fantasy. Why does this change matter?

Whatever it is we are writing, we are always writing to create change, so it’s fitting that SFWA itself has changed and will continue to over the years. SFWA has expanded opportunities for membership, has increasingly offered fee waivers to writers in need, even changed its own name and scope, and so it feels natural that we are honoring genre and especially community in a broader sense. It also emphasizes the truth that we, as writers, help and support each other across boundaries of access. I think it is worth noting that the first two of these tributes written for non-members were for people in their twenties: Jubilee Cho and Caitlin Thomas, and I think it adds to the ever-present memory of each, this small but also meaningful opening of perspective.

Every human being leaves a different imprint in their wake: some simple, some complicated. What are the guiding principles for writing tributes respectfully?

The guiding principles are truth and grace. I did not expect this question, but I actually really like it. There are some people who SFWA may choose not to honor, and I believe that’s a good thing. But no person is perfect, and I have learned that when a person acted in ways that many of us view as dated or even harmful, it’s best to just say what it was that they did, factually but without euphemism. The people who may support it or at least acknowledge it say, “Yes, that’s true.” And the people who don’t respect it don’t feel like truths have been dodged. But the point is, this person made a difference. This person was loved. And this person is being honored and remembered for who they really were. All of it.

SFWA’s tributes are different from others in the industry. What are you choosing to highlight while not duplicating those other efforts?

I do feel that the SFWA In Memoriam fills its own space in tributes to those we have gained and then lost. Other memorial pieces are more focused on a bibliography, a historical record, a gathering of community, or on the entirety of a life. The SFWA In Memoriam exists to honor a person as a writer specifically from the viewpoint of the writing community. It is meant to be brief, yet comprehensive. To say both to those who are mourning, as well as to those who are learning: This person lived. And this—this—is what they did, what they wrote, how they connected. I feel each piece in this way, and I hope that conveys.

Tell us about the ending for your tributes. Why do you always write “X lived [number of] years”?

The element I most wanted to bring to these tributes was an emphasis on the writer’s life. While a traditional obituary may start out with a cause of death, this is not an obituary, and also we are creative writers, even in our treatment of non-fiction, and we know the impact of form. I personally think it is important to have a piece that starts with who this person was. What they did. What they loved. Who they touched. What they were known for. And it ends in a recognition—and community cry, even—of the years that were lived. Whether for a shorter or longer time, this person wrote, they connected. They lived.

Once someone has submitted a request for an In Memoriam, what should they expect from this process, and how can they contribute if they cared for the deceased?

I am a volunteer and do not make decisions on which pieces are published or on their final form. All requests are reviewed and approved by SFWA Operations. What I do is read, learn, listen. Talk to people. Try to construct a beautiful remembrance of a life. If people wish to contribute, they can offer a quote. Let me know something they’d wish to see highlighted. I can’t bring in all elements, but I do my best.

The tributes you write, by their very nature, highlight an irreplaceable loss. How does writing these tributes affect you personally?

Painting by Emily Zelasko

Yes, I think about this the entire time. Every single person I write about was real, was held as a baby, was loved. Was felt. Was lost. I have dealt with loss from a young age. My first best friend was being treated for cancer, and I moved, being told she would likely not survive. Then, in the same year when I was a child, I nearly lost my mother and did lose a close friend in a profoundly traumatic manner. And throughout life, I have found bonds, found what I believed to be safety, only to have them ripped away. What I have taken from these experiences is the absolute preciousness of life. I’ve tried to live by and with that ever since, finding my comfort in a larger picture. And so, I know life is fleeting. I honor and I love every day. I even write here with a tiny original painting of the Grim Reaper above my seat. To remember that preciousness. As a fully mentally disabled person and PTSD survivor, I try to view every tribute in that light. That we were here. We lived. And that mattered.

Editor’s note: If people wish to contact SFWA to inquire on the status of or contribute to an In Memoriam for a recent passing, they can reach out directly to the In Memoriam coordinator at edebell@sfwa.org or edebell on the SFWA Discord. Please keep in mind that quotes from the community are meant to be representative, so while only a few are featured, further recollections and discussion are welcome on the SFWA forums.

E.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) is a fantasy writer and small press editor. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Her works are quiet and queer and often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan, where she writes stories, revels in garlic, and manages the creative side of her indie press, Atthis Arts. You can follow eir adventures at edebell.com.