Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. (1950-2012)
Author Kevin O’Donnell, Jr., 61, died November 7, 2012 in Campbell CA of complications from cancer.
His first story was “The Hand Is Quicker” in Analog (1973), and he published more than 50 SF stories in the following 25 years, as well as mystery fiction and non-fiction articles. First SF novel Bander Snatch appeared in 1979, and he published 10 novels in all, notably four books in the Journeys of McGill Feighan series, beginning with The Journeys of McGill Feighan: Book I: Caverns (1981).
Born November 29, 1950 in Cleveland OH, O’Donnell grew up in nearby Fairview Park, spending a few years as a teenager in Seoul, South Korea. He attended Yale University, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Chinese Studies.
O’Donnell was managing editor of Empire: For the SF Writer from 1979-81, and served as publisher until 1983. He was active in SFWA in the ’90s and 2000s, serving on various committees, and retired as Chairman of the SFWA Grievance Committee in 2005, the same year he received a Service to SFWA Award. He is survived by his wife, Lillian Kia Chou Tchang, married 1974.
For more, see his article in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. A complete obituary will appear in the December issue of Locus.
