Don Sakers (1958-2021)
SF writer and editor Don Sakers, 62, died May 17, 2021 of a heart attack in Maryland. He published many novels and stories beginning in the ’80s, and was a review columnist for Analog starting in 2009. He was also a frequent convention guest.
Sakers was born June 16, 1958 in Yokosuka Japan, though he grew up in the US. He worked as a librarian at the Anne Arundel County public library in Maryland for 42 years until his retirement. His Analog column was called “Guest Reference Library”.
He began publishing SF with “Gamester” (1981), and produced stories occasionally until 2014, including Analog Readers Poll winner “The Cold Solution” (1991). Much of his work is part of the Scattered Worlds series, beginning with Compton Crook Award finalist The Leaves of October (1983; expanded 1988), and also including Dance for the Ivory Madonna (2002), collection A Voice in Every Wind (2003), novella Weaving the Web of Days: A Tale of the Scattered Worlds (2004), A Rose from Old Terra: A Novel of the Scattered Worlds (2007), The Eighth Succession (2013), and Children of the Eighth Day (2014). Other works include Curse of the Zwilling (2003), collection Meat and Machine (2014), non-fiction The SF Book of Days (2004), and gay YA novels Act Well Your Part (1986) and Lucky in Love (1988).
He edited shared-world anthology Carmen Miranda’s Ghost Is Haunting Space Station Three (1990). His anthologies Gaylaxicon Sampler 2006 (2006) and QSpec Sampler 2007 (2007) were both Gaylactic Spectrum Award finalists.
Sakers is survived by spouse Thomas Atkinson.
