John Jakes (31 March 1932 – 11 March 2023) was a prolific, best-selling author known for detailed and character-rich historical fiction, as well as science fiction, fantasy, sword and sorcery, pulp, mystery, and nonfiction. Realizing the inherent power of historical fiction as a source of information, Jakes was known to take the accuracy of his […]

John D. Teehan (11 January 1967 – 23 February 2023), was a writer, publisher, and gamer, known for his warm spirit and generosity. John followed his passion for writing to found the Merry Blacksmith Press, publishing numerous science fiction, fantasy, graphic and prose novels, in addition to his work as a freelance content writer. Teehan […]

Marjorie Nelson Perisho (24 June 1939–29 December 2022), who also wrote under the names Marjorie Nelson and Majliss Larson, was a lifetime SFWA member.  Her Star Trek novel Pawns and Symbols, was published in 1985 and later translated into Serbian. Nelson Parisho earned a doctor of medicine and master’s of public health. For two years, […]

David Sherman Photo supplied by Danielle Ackley-McPhail David Sherman (27 February 1944 – 16 November 2022) was a prolific and beloved writer of science fiction and military fiction. Born in Niles, Ohio, Sherman joined the Marine Corps out of high school and served in Vietnam, receiving numerous medals and citations. Sherman then moved to Philadelphia, […]

Suzy McKee Charnas (22 October 1939–02 January 2023) was a groundbreaking feminist science-fiction and horror writer and beloved Clarion West teacher. Originally from New York City, where she also studied, she lived and wrote from New Mexico for over 60 years. Her work was also influenced by her time in Nigeria. Charnas won the 1980 […]

Harris (b.1964) died on November 17 following a stroke. They wrote under the pennames Anne Harris, Jessica Freely, and Pearl North. Harris began publishing science fiction in 1991 with the short story “Chango Is a Dog.” Their first novel, The Nature of Smoke, followed in 1996.  In 1998, Harris won the inaugural Spectrum Award for their […]

Author and former SFWA President Greg Bear (b.1951) died on November 19 following a stroke after complications during heart surgery. Bear’s first short story, “Destroyers,” appeared in 1967 in Famous Science Fiction and his first novel, Hegira, was published in 1979. Bear won the Nebula Award for his novella “Hardfought” and his novels Moving Mars and Darwin’s Radio. His stories […]

Herbert W. Franke (May 14, 1927–July 16, 2022) was an author, artist, and physicist born in Austria. Franke moved from Vienna to Munich after earning his doctorate in theoretical physics. Throughout the 1950s, he published primarily nonfiction, including works on speleology and computer graphics. During this time he also began creating early computer-assisted pieces of […]

Eric Flint (February 6, 1947–July 17, 2022) was an author, editor, publisher, and a member of SFWA. He won the fourth quarter Writers of the Future contest in 1993 and published his first novel, Mother of Demons, in 1997. In 2000, his bestselling alternate history novel 1632 was released by Baen Books. Over the years, […]

Patricia A. McKillip (February 29, 1948–May 6, 2022) began publishing fantasy in 1973 with the novel The House on Parchment Street and the novella The Throme of the Erril of Sherill. Over the next few years, she published the award-winning The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and the Riddle-Master trilogy, comprised of The Riddle-Master of Hed, […]