Obituaries

Longtime fan Genevieve DiModica, 73, known to friends as Gene or Genie, died of natural causes over the weekend of August 28, 2021 at her summer home in Beach Haven NJ. Genie was born in Middletown CT on January 7, 1948. She attended Carnegie Mellon University (then Carnegie Tech) in Pittsburgh PA, where she first became a part of the science fiction community.

There, in the late ’60s, she (together ...Read More

Author Carol Carr, 82, died September 1, 2021 of lung cancer. Carr was the author of several short stories, widow of author and editor Terry Carr, and wife of author Robert Lichtman, who survives her.

Carr began publishing short fiction with “Look, You Think You’ve Got Troubles” in Orbit 5 (1969), and her work also appeared in F&SF and Omni. She collaborated with Terry Carr on “Some Are Born Cats” ...Read More

Author L. Neil Smith, 75, died on August 27, 2021 in Fort Collins, CO.

Lester Neil Smith III was born May 12, 1946 in Denver, CO. He was a former state candidate for the US Libertarian Party, ex-police reserve officer, and a gunsmith. Smith created the Prometheus Awards in 1979 to honor libertarian science fiction.

Smith began publishing science fiction with “Grimm’s Law” for Stellar 5 (1980). He wrote 31 ...Read More

Publisher, editor, bookseller, and fan Erle Korshak, 97, died August 26, 2021. Korshak was best known as an early Worldcon organizer and founder of Shasta Publishers, one of the earliest hardcover science fiction small presses.

Erle Melvin Korshak was born in October 1923, and became a science fiction fan when he discovered an issue of Astounding in 1934; by the late ’30s he was an active collector and involved in ...Read More

Librarian, editor, and fan Lorna Toolis, 68, died August 11, 2021 in Toronto, Canada. Toolis was the long-time head of the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy at the Toronto Public Library and a significant influence on the Canadian SF community.

Toolis was born October 6, 1952 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and grew up in nearby Transcona, where she discovered SF — specifically Andre Norton’s The Stars Are Ours! ...Read More

Author C. Dean Andersson, 75, died in his sleep July 5, 2021 in Dallas TX after a long illness.

Cloyce Dean Andersson was born March 20, 1946 in in Little River KS, and earned degrees from Northern Arizona University and the University of North Texas. He worked in robotics, as a programmer, and as a technical writer, and was a veteran of the US Air Force.

Andersson began publishing with ...Read More

Author and editor J.W. Rinzler, 58, died July 28, 2021 in Albion CA of pancreatic cancer. Rinzler was best known for numerous non-fiction books about the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films.

Jonathan W. Rinzler was born August 17, 1962 and grew up in Berkeley CA. He attended the Parsons School of Design, and graduated from NYU, where he also earned a master’s in comparative literature. In 2001 he began ...Read More

Author, editor, scholar, and frequent Locus contributor Elizabeth Anne Hull, 84, died in the early hours of August 3, 2021.

Elizabeth Ann Hull was born January 10, 1937 in Upper Darby PA. She attended Illinois State University, Northwestern University, and Loyola University, where she earned her MA in 1970 and PhD in 1975. She taught English for over 30 years at William Rainey Harper College in Illinois before retiring and ...Read More

SF writer and music critic Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, 75, died July 23, 2021.

Patricia Kennely was born March 4, 1946 in Brooklyn NY and grew up in Long Island NY. She attended St. Bonaventure University, where she studied journalism, and Binghamton University, graduating with an English Literature BA. After college she worked at Macmillan as a lexicographer and editorial assistant. She was one of the first women rock and roll critics, ...Read More

Author and editor Joe McKinney, 52, died in his sleep July 13, 2021 in San Antonio TX. McKinney wrote horror, crime, and SF.

Joe Clayton McKinney was born September 22, 1968 in Cambridge MA, and was a longtime member of the San Antonio Police Department, where he served as a homicide detective, patrol supervisor, and disaster mitigation specialist.

He was best known for the Dead World series: debut novel Dead ...Read More

Artist and author Stephen Hickman, 72, died of natural causes July 16, 2021 at home in Red Hook NY.

Stephen Forrest Hickman was born April 9, 1949 Washington DC. His father was in the foreign service, and as a child he spent time in the Philippines and Pakistan. Stateside they lived in Texas and Arizona before settling in Alexandria VA.

He studied art at the Richmond Professional Institute of Virginia ...Read More

Author William F. Nolan, 93, died July 15, 2021 in the hospital of complications from an infection. Nolan was best known for the Logan’s Run series of science fiction novels, the first of which was adapted into a film and TV series.

William Francis Nolan was born March 6, 1928 in Kansas City, MO, and moved with his family to California when he was 19. He trained as a visual ...Read More

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 ...Read More

Writer and editor Marvin Kaye, 83, died May 13, 2021 in hospice care in New York. Kaye was best known as a prolific editor and anthologist, and was also an accomplished fiction writer and playwright.

Marvin Nathan Kaye was born March 10, 1938 in Philadelphia PA. He attended Penn State, graduating with a BA in 1960 and a master’s in English literature and theater in 1962. He worked as a ...Read More

Writer Jan Stirling, 71, died May 8, 2021. She was best known for her Terion & Feric stories.

Janet Cathryn Moore was born April 6, 1950 in Milford MA. Her debut story “Were-Wench” appeared in 1995 in Chicks in Chainmail. She published five other stories on her own, plus another half-dozen in collaboration with her husband, SF writer S.M. Stirling (married 1988). Stirling, who lived in New Mexico, was ...Read More

Indian Bengali writer Anish Deb, 69, died April 28, 2021 in Kolkata, India of COVID-19. Born October 22, 1951 in Kolkata, Deb was a major Bengali SF writer. He began publishing in 1968, producing more than 50 books; recent genre work includes story collection Kishore Kalpabigyan Samagra (2005). He also wrote mysteries, thrillers, and popular science. As an editor, Deb produced numerous anthologies of crime, ghost, and horror fiction. His ...Read More

SF writer Margaret Wander Bonanno, 71, died unexpectedly of natural causes on April 8, 2021. She lived near Los Angeles. Bonanno wrote original SF as well as a number of Star Trek tie-ins, along with work in other genres.

Bonanno was born February 7, 1950 in New York City. Her original SF includes The Others series with The Others (1990), Otherwhere (1991), and OtherWise (1993) and the Preternatural series with ...Read More

Author, editor, and publisher John C. Pelan, 63, died April 12, 2021 in Albuquerque NM of an apparent heart attack. He lived in Gallup NM. Pelan was a significant figure in the dark fantasy and horror field, best known for founding numerous small presses and editing anthologies.

Pelan was born July 19, 1957 in Seattle WA. In 1986 he founded Axolotl Press, publishing work by James P. Blaylock, Charles de ...Read More

Editor and fan Wanda June Alexander, 69, died February 14, 2021 in Santa Fe NM. She was an editor for Tor from 1984 until 2006, where she worked with authors including George R.R. Martin. She was active in fandom starting in the ’70s.

Alexander was born June 15, 1951 and grew up in Montrose NY. She worked for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the ’70s, then returned ...Read More

Author Norton Juster, 91, died March 8, 2021 at home in Northampton MA of complications following a stroke. Juster is best known for his first book, children’s classic The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), illustrated by Jules Feiffer and later adapted as a film and a stage musical. Other books include The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1963), collection Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys (1965), AS: A ...Read More

Artist Rowena Morrill, 76, died February 11, 2021 following years of poor health. Morrill was one of the most prominent artists in the field, with an active career that spanned decades. Some of her work has been collected in Hugo Award finalist The Fantastic Art of Rowena (1983) and The Art of Rowena (2000).

Born September 14, 1944, Morrill graduated from the University of Delaware in 1971 with an art ...Read More

Author Kathleen Ann Goonan, 68, died January 28, 2021. She was born May 14, 1952 in Cincinnati OH and at age eight moved to Hawaii for two years while her father worked for the Navy, after which the family moved to Washington DC. She got a degree in English from Virginia Tech in 1975, and earned her Association Montessori International Certification in 1976. She taught school for 13 years, ten ...Read More

Author and publisher Storm Constantine, 64, died January 14, 2021 following a long illness. She was best known as the author of the Wraeththu series, and as the publisher of Immanion Press, founded in 2003, which published her own work and that of other authors including Tanith Lee, Michael Moorcock, and Brian Stableford.

Born October 12, 1956 in Stafford, England, Constantine attended art school in the 1970s, and worked in ...Read More

Artist JAEL, 83, died November 17, 2020. Jael’s artistic career spanned six decades, during which she published hundreds of SF book and magazine cover illustrations, in addition to fine arts work and other commissions. Some of her art was collected in Perceptualistics (2002). She was nominated for eight Chesley Awards from 1985-2002.

Jael Ashton was born October 31, 1937, and grew up in Utah. She worked as a professional ...Read More

Writer Anton Strout, 50, died unexpected on December 30, 2020. Strout was an author of urban fantasy, best known for his Simon Canderous series. He was also the host of the Once and Future Podcast, where he interviewed authors beginning in 2014, producing more than 200 episodes. He worked in publishing as well, as a longtime sales rep for Penguin Random House.

Anton Strout was born January 24, 1970 in ...Read More

Grand Master James Gunn, 97, died December 23, 2020. Gunn was one of the field’s true polymaths, excelling as an SF author, editor, and scholar. Gunn served as President of Science Fiction Writers of America in 1971-1972 and the organization honored him with a Damon Knight Grand Master Award in 2006. He was inducted into the SF Hall of Fame in 2015.

James Edwin Gunn was born July 12, 1923 ...Read More

Author Phyllis Eisenstein, 74, died December 7, 2020. She suffered a stroke in January 2020 and entered hospice care not long after.

Her first SF story was “The Trouble with the Past” (1971), co-written with husband Alex Eisenstein, who collaborated with her on many other works as well. Her debut Born to Exile (1978) collects her stories about Alaric the Minstrel, who also appeared in novel In the Red Lord’s ...Read More

Artist Richard Corben, 80, died December 2, 2020 after heart surgery.

Though best known for his comics work and album art (most famously for Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell, 1977), Corben also created numerous SF book covers, including for titles by Edgar Rice Burroughs, L. Sprague de Camp, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Harry Harrison, Damon Knight, and more. He produced interior art for magazines, and for fanzines devoted ...Read More

SF writer Dean Ing, 89, died July 21, 2020 at home in Ashland OR. He was best known for his technothrillers and near-future survivalist novels.

Ing was born June 17, 1931 in Austin TX. He served in the US Air Force from 1951-55, graduated from Fresno State University in 1956, earned a master’s at San Jose State University in 1970, and got his doctorate at the University of Oregon in ...Read More