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NEWS
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Jerome Bixby, 1923 - 1998 Writer and editor (Drexel) Jerome (Lewis) Bixby died April 28th in San Bernardino, California, from complications following quadruple bypass heart surgery. He was 75. Bixby was a prolific short story writer whose work included Westerns as well as SF, fantasy, and horror. Of his SF stories, most published in the decade following his 1949 debut, the best known was ''It's a Good Life'', first published in 1953 in Frederik Pohl's Star Science Fiction Stories #2 and widely reprinted since. The story was adapted for Rod Serling's Twilight Zone TV series in the early 1960s, was chosen for the first Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthology edited by Robert Silverberg in 1970, and was remade as a segment, directed by Joe Dante, of the 1983 film Twilight Zone: The Movie. Bixby used several pseudonyms for his magazine stories, including Jay B. Drexel, D. B. Lewis, Harry Neal, and Alger Rome, the latter in collaboration with Algis Budrys. His SF and fantasy stories were collected in two books, Space by the Tale (1964) and Devil's Scrapbook (1964). Bixby edited Planet Stories from Summer 1950 to July 1951, launched its companion magazine Two Complete Science-Adventure Books, and did work on Galaxy Science Fiction, Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Startling Stories. Bixby may be best known to media-oriented SF fans as the writer or co-writer of several of the original Star Trek episodes, including ''Mirror, Mirror'' and ''Requiem for Methuselah'', and as co-writer of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage (as Jay Lewis Bixby), which was later novelized by Isaac Asimov. Bixby claimed that Asimov's 1987 sequel, Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain, was based on a treatment by him. He is survived by three sons, Emerson, Leonard, and Russell, and four grandchildren. A wake/service was held on Sunday May 2nd in Crestline, California, in the San Bernardino mountains. The ashes will be scattered in Lake Gregory, Antarctica, and in the Pacific Ocean off the Santa Monica coast. (posted Tue 5 May; amended Thu 7 May) Nebula Awards Winners were announced at the Nebula Awards banquet in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Saturday evening May 2nd. Grand MasterIn addition, Nelson S. Bond was announced as this year's Author Emeritus, and Robin Wayne Bailey was presented with a special award for Service to SFWA. This year's Nebulas are the first for Oltion and Yolen and the third each for McIntyre and Kress. Anderson has won Nebulas for individual works three times: ''The Queen of Air and Darkness'' (novelette, 1971), ''Goat Song'' (novelette, 1972), and ''The Saturn Game'' (novella, 1981). (posted Sat 2 May; amended Mon 4 May) 1998 SFWA Election Results Results were announced Monday, May 4th. President: Robert J. Sawyer (posted Tue 5 May) Analog, Asimov's Readers Awards Winners of the 12th annual polls of Asimov's and Analog readers were announced Saturday, May 2nd, during a breakfast at the Nebula Awards weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Awards include a certificate and cash prize of $100. Analog Science Fiction and Fact AnLab Winners Asimov's Science Fiction 12th Annual Readers' Award WinnersAll are first-time winners except Darryl Elliott, who won in the same category last year. Bob Eggleton has won these readers' polls most often, 5 times as Asimov's cover artist and 2 times for Analog covers. Four writers have won the readers' polls 4 times: Michael F. Flynn (2 stories and 2 fact articles in Analog); Nancy Kress (4 stories in Asimov's); Connie Willis (ditto); and James Patrick Kelly (3 stories and 1 poem in Asimov's). (posted Wed 6 May) Sidewise Nominations Nominations have been announced for the 1997 Sidewise Awards for excellence in alternate history fiction. Winners will be announced at Bucconner, the 1998 World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore, Maryland this August. long-form alternate history This is the third year of the Sidewise Awards, which are named after Murray Leinster's 1934 story ''Sidewise in Time''. Previous winners are Paul J. McAuley, Stephen Baxter, and Walter Jon Williams, while L. Sprague de Camp received a lifetime achievement award in 1996. Complete nominations and winners are given on the Sidewise Awards website. (posted Mon 4 May) Beyond Omni: Event Horizon The four former editors of recently-folded Omni Online have announced plans for a new SF/Fantasy/Horror fiction webzine, Event Horizon, scheduled to make its debut this August. They plan to publish both original and reprint work, but are not open to submissions at this time. Pamela Weintraub will be Publisher, with Ellen Datlow as Editor, Robert K. J. Killheffer as Art Director and Non-Fiction Editor, and Kathleen Stein as Marketing Director. Ellen Datlow also plans to do more freelance editing. (posted Mon 4 May, from the May issue of Locus magazine) Alex Schomburg, 1905 - 1998
Schomburg's most prolific SF period was the early '50s, when he became known for his marvelous space scenes, space stations, spaceships, and – during the UFO craze – flying saucers. He also had an earlier career in the '40s as one of the leading artists for Golden Age comics. His most famous works are probably the endpapers for the Winston Juvenile series in the 1950s. This collection of SF icons defined the field for nearly all those who started reading SF as teenagers in the '50s, '60s, and early '70s.
The largest gathering of Schomburg's work is Chroma: The Art of Alex Schomburg, a 1986 art book with text by art historian Jon Gustafson with introductions by Harlan Ellison, Stan Lee, and Kelly Freas. Shown here: covers from F&SF Jan 1953, Asimov's Aug 1979. Here's a link to a non-SF cover for The Fighting Yank. (posted Sun 26 Apr; excerpted from the May issue of Locus magazine)
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Alex Schomburg, 92, the only SF artist whose career spanned seven decades, died April 7th in the Maryville Nursing Home in Beaverton, Oregon.
Schomburg was nominated for a 1962 Hugo Award for Best SF Artist, and received a special Hugo Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. Other honors: the first Doc Smith Lensman Award in 1978, and a 1984 Frank R. Paul Award for work in the field.
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