Gardner Dozois (b. 1947) died on May 27, 2018.  Dozois won fifteen Hugo Awards for his editing and back-to-back Nebula Awards for his short stories “The Peacemaker” and “Morning Child.”  He had a long career as an author and was one of the most influential editors the field has seen, publishing Year’s Best anthologies for more […]

Mary Rosenblum (b.1952) was killed on March 11 when the small plane she was piloting crashed near Battle Ground, Washington. Rosenblum’s debut novel, The Drylands, received the Compton Crook Award and was followed up by novels Chimera, The Stone Garden, Water Rites, and Horizons. Beginning in 1999, she also began publishing mysteries under her maiden […]

Kate Wilhelm (b.1928) died on March 8.  Wilhelm was one of the founders of SFWA. Two years ago, SFWA named the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award in her honor. Wilhelm began publishing science fiction in 1956 with her short story “The Pint-Sized Genie” and published her first science fiction novel, The Clone, co-written with Theodore L. Thomas, in […]

Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) died on January 22. Le Guin was named a Damon Knight Grand Master by the SFWA in 2003. Le Guin’s wrote for all ages and her Earthsea cycle, beginning with The Wizard of Earthsea, introduced many readers to fantasy and the wizard Ged. She wrote novels such as The Left […]

Author Julian May (b.1931) died on October 17. May entered fandom in her late teens and published the fanzine Interim Newsletter. Her first professional sale, “Dune Roller,” appeared in Astounding in 1951, including original illustrations by May. In 1952, she chaired the TASFIC in Chicago, becoming the first woman to chair a Worldcon.

Dr. Yoji Kondo, known to science fiction readers as Eric Kotani, passed away yesterday at the age of 84. Yoji Kondo was an astrophysicist at NASA/GSFC, where he served as Director of the NASA International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite observatory, among other prestigious appointments, and had formerly served as the head of the astrophysics laboratory […]

ElizaBeth A. Gilligan (Lace), died in her sleep on the morning on October 9, 2017 after a battle with cancer.  Gilligan published her first short story, Evolution,” in 1990 and began writing as a columnist for Midnight Zoo in 1991. Subsequent short stories appeared in Witch Fantastic, Sword and Sorceress, Black Gate, and other anthologies.  Her story “Iron Joan” made the Nebula preliminary […]

Kit Reed (b.1932) died on September 24, several months after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.  Reed published the story “The Wait” in 1958 and was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best New Author of 1958, a forerunner of the John W. Campbell, Jr. Award. 

Former SFWA President Jerry Pournelle (b.1933) died on September 8.

Brian Wilson Aldiss OBE (August 1925 – August 2017) was a SFWA Grand Master, writer and editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss was the vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society. Named a Grand Master by SFWA in 2000 and inducted by the Science […]