Keith Ferrell (1953-2020)

Editor and author Keith Ferrell, 66, died April 11, 2020 of heart failure. He was editor-in-chief of Omni from 1990-96, and also wrote SF. His debut novel Passing Judgment appeared in 1996, and he published short fiction in the 2000s, including “River” (2006), a collaboration with Jack Dann. With Orson Scott Card he co-edited Black Mist and Other Japanese Futures (1997). He also published numerous essays and some non-fiction books of genre interest, including H.G. Wells: First Citizen of the Future (1983) and George Orwell: The Political Pen (1985).

Henry Keith Ferrell was born July 7, 1953 and grew up in Raleigh NC. He attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he met his wife Martha Sparrow, married 1974; they had a son in 1978. The family relocated to Glade Hill VA in 1998. He worked as a bookseller, publisher sales rep, editor of The Professional Upholsterer trade journal, and as a feature writer for Compute! magazine before joining Omni. He is survived by his wife and their son.