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. The person whose loss we are marking does not have to be a SFWA member. It is enough that they contributed to the world of SFF and leave behind people who wish to honor their life and work. Please contact publications@sfwa.org if you wish for us to add an entry for a recently lost creator to the list.
Techno-thriller author Tom Clancy (b.1947) died on October 1 at Johns Hopkins. Clancy joined SFWA on the basis of his first novel, The Hunt for Red October, in 1984. That book introduced the world to Clancy’s protagonist Jack…
Author A. C. Crispin (b.1950) died on September 6 after a year-long battle with cancer. Crispin began publishing in 1983 with the Star Trek novel Yesterday’s Son. She continued writing media tie-in novels, including for the television show V and the films Star Wars, Alien, and The Pirates of the…
Polymath and former SFWA President Frederik Pohl (b.1919) died on September 2 after entering the hospital in repiratory distress earlier in the day. Pohl joined science fiction fandom in the 1930s and quickly became an integral part of the…
Richard Matheson (b.1926) died on June 23. His varied career as an author began with his first published short story, the instantly classic “Born of Man and Woman,” which was published in the Spring 1950 issue of Fantasy and…
Harold Parke Godwin (b.1929) died of natural causes on June 19, 2013. Better known as Parke Godwin, the name under which he wrote, Godwin was known as “Pete” by his friends. His novella “The Fire When It Comes” won…
Scottish author Iain M. Banks (b.1954) died on June 9, a little over two months after announcing that he was suffering from late-stage gall bladder cancer.
SFWA Grand Master Jack Vance (b.1916 as John Holbrook Vance) died on May 26.
Vance wrote more than sixty novels, including the sequels to The Dying Earth, his five volume Demon Princes series, the Alastor series, the Cadwal Chronicles, The…
Former SFWA President andrew j. offutt (b.1934) died on April 30. Offutt began publishing in 1954 when his story “And Gone Tomorrow” was published in If. Although he had previously published novels under the house names J. X. Williams and John Cleve,…
Devoted husband and faithful friend. As the author of ten published novels and over seventy published short stories and articles, Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. won literary awards and had a devoted following of readers. He chaired SFWA’s Nebula Award Committee, ran…
Author Josepha Sherman (b.1946) died on August 23 following a year of deteriorating health. Sherman began publishing in 1986 with a “Find Your Fate” adventure book and the novel Golden Girl and the Crystal of Doom.
Harry Harrison (March 12, 1925-August 15, 2012) passed away early today. Best known for the film Soylent Green, Harry was also a SFWA Grand Master, a pioneer of genre, and a colorful personality. He will be greatly missed.
“Simply put, it is the end of an era. Ray was more than just an author, more than just a Grand Master. He was one of the pillars of our community.” ~John Scalzi, SFWA President
Oklahoma author K. D. Wentworth (b.1951) died on April 18 of complications from cancer and pneumonia. Wentworth began her career winning the Writers of the Future Contest in 1989 with her short story “Daddy’s Girls.”
Author Mark Bourne, 50, died Saturday February 25, 2012.
His short fiction appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, and numerous anthologies.
