Martin Morse Wooster (1957-2022)

Fan and writer Martin Morse Wooster, 64, died November 12, 2022 in Williamsburg VA, the victim of a hit-and-run. He was attending an ale convention and was struck while walking back to his hotel from the event. He was a regular Locus correspondent, sending us news, letters, and corrections for decades, and will be greatly missed.

Wooster was a founding member of the Potomac River Science Fiction Society (PRSFS). He ...Read More

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Ned Dameron (1943-2022)

Artist Ned Dameron, 79, died October 20, 2022 of ALS. Dameron was best known for his book covers and interiors, and for roleplaying game artwork.

A native of Louisiana, born May 7, 1943, Edward Palfrey IV was always known personally as well as professionally as “Ned.” He was born in Rio and grew up in Hammond and Baton Rouge, and while still in high school he apprenticed as a draughtsman ...Read More

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J.G. “Huck” Huckenpöhler

Fan J.G. “HUCK” HUCKENPÖHLER, 81, died August 26, 2022 in Washington DC. Huck­enpöhler was active in fandom for more than 50 years, and was the recording secretary for the Burroughs Bibliophiles for over 30 years. He attended his first Worldcon in 1967, and often created the calligraphy certificates handed out at Worldcon Masquerades.

Huckenpöhler earned a PhD in history from George Washington University and was an expert in military ...Read More

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Tom Maddox (1945-2022)

SF writer Tom Maddox, 77, died of a stroke on October 18, 2022.

Daniel Thomas Maddox was born in October 1945 and attended the Evergreen State College, graduating in 1975. He earned his PhD at American University, and later taught literature at Evergreen.

He began publishing work of genre interest with “The Mind Like a Strange Balloon” (Omni 6/85) and produced several more stories in the ’80s and early ’90s. ...Read More

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Robert A. Madle (1920-2022)

Fan, collector, and bookseller Robert A. Madle, 102, died peacefully in his sleep on October 8, 2022. Madle was a founder and the first president of First Fandom (and the last survivor of the original membership), and was a warm and familiar presence in the field since the 1930s.

Robert Albert Madle was born June 2, 1920 in Philadelphia PA. He enlisted in the Army in July 1942, serving three-and-a-half ...Read More

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Hilary Mantel (1952-2022)

Author Hilary Mantel, 70, died September 22, 2022. She was best known for historical novels, including the celebrated Wolf Hall trilogy about the life of Thomas Cromwell, but she also wrote a few works of genre interest, including debut novel Every Day Is Mother’s Day (1985), Fludd (1989), and Beyond Black (2005).

Mantel was born July 6, 1952 in Glossop, Derbyshire, England. She attended the London School of Economics and ...Read More

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Matthew Mather (1969-2022)

SF writer Matthew Mather, 52, died suddenly on September 13, 2022. He was best known for his technothrillers, including CyberStorm (2013).

Mather was born September 28, 1969 in Sheffield UK and raised in Montreal, Canada. As an adult, he split his time between Montreal and Charlotte NC. In addition to writing, he worked in cybersecurity and as a hardware and software developer and technology consultant.

His first novel was The ...Read More

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Maureen Kincaid Speller (1959-2022)

Editor and critic Maureen Kincaid Speller, 63, died September 18, 2022 in Folkestone, Kent, England. She had cancer.

Maureen Speller was born in Oxford on March 23, 1959. She was active in UK fandom from around 1980, and was the partner of writer Paul Kincaid since 1986; they were married in 1993, and he survives her.

She founded Acnestis, a UK amateur press association, in 1992, administrating it until its ...Read More

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Wayne McCalla (1968-2022)

Fan WAYNE McCALLA, 53, died June 14, 2022 in Evansville IN following a long illness. McCalla was a frequent convention attendee and collector, and a close friend of artists Donald Maitz & Janny Wurts. Wayne Leland McCalla, Jr. was born June 20, 1968, and is survived by two sisters, a brother, and nieces and nephews.

While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time ...Read More

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Bruce Taylor (1947-2022)

Writer Bruce Taylor, 75, died August 31, 2022 in Seattle WA after a brief hospital stay. He had a heart condition and was in poor health recently. Known as “Mr. Magic Realism,” Taylor was the author of hundreds of stories and two novels, and was a beloved figure in the Pacific Northwest fandom and writing communities.

Bruce Bradley Taylor was born May 28, 1947. He attended the University of Washington, ...Read More

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Peter Straub (1943-2022)

 

Author Peter Straub, 79, died September 4, 2022 after a long illness. Straub was a celebrated, influential, and bestselling author of literary horror, dark fantasy, and psychological thrillers.

Peter Francis Straub was born March 2, 1943 in Milwaukee WI. He earned a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin in 1965, an MA from Columbia University in 1966, then returned to Wisconsin to teach English at his former ...Read More

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Eric Flint: The Sweetest Curmudgeon by Kevin J. Anderson

It was all an act, as any of Eric’s closest friends knew: his gruff demeanor, his curmudgeonly comments, but it was nothing more than a thin disguise for the engaged, caring, and mentoring personality that was Mr. Eric Flint. This guy knew what he was talking about.

When I met Eric for the first time (or so I thought), he was already a legend. I sought him out at a ...Read More

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Alexei Panshin (1940-2022)

SF writer and critic Alexei Panshin, 82, died August 21, 2022 in Pennsylvania.

Alexis Adams Panshin was born August 14, 1940 in Lansing MI. Panshin was active in fandom early in his career, and was nominated twice for the Best Fan Writer Hugo Award, winning in 1967. His first professional sale was non-genre story “A Piece of the Pie” (1960), and he began publishing stories of genre interest with “Down ...Read More

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Bob Self (1966-2022)

Publisher, entrepreneur, and showman Robert “Bob” Self, 55, died August 3, 2022, as the result of an accident at Mono Lake in California.

Born August 5, 1966, Bob had a background in the entertainment industry and worked behind-the-scenes with a number of magicians, comedians, and illusionists. In 2003 he and his wife Rani — a professional costume designer for various TV series including The Orville — formed Baby Tattoo, Inc., ...Read More

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Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)

Actor and author Nichelle Nichols, 89, died July 30, 2022 in Silver City NM of heart failure. Nichols was best known for her portrayal of communications officer Lieutenant Uhura in the original series of Star Trek (1966-69) and subsequent film projects. She was one of the first Black women to have a major role on a network television program, and had a profound influence on US culture. She was also ...Read More

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Eric Flint (1947-2022)

SF writer Eric Flint, 75, died July 17, 2022, according to his longtime publisher Baen Books.

Flint was best known for his Assiti Shards Universe, starting with 1632 (2000), in which a modern small town and all its inhabitants are transported back in time. Flint built the series into a sprawling shared universe with books and stories by many authors, including numerous anthologies and the magazine Grantville Gazette. He later ...Read More

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Geoffrey Goodwin (1971-2022)

Writer Geoffrey H. Goodwin, 50, died of heart failure on June 15, 2022 at home in Fly Creek NY. Goodwin was a prolific freelance writer, publishing essays, interviews, fiction, and poetry. His first story of genre interest was “Stoddy Awchaw” in Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet (2002), and he published several other stories in anthologies and ‘zines in the decade that followed.

Geoffrey Harrison Goodwin was born December 30, 1971 in ...Read More

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Dorothy J. Heydt (1942-2022)

SF writer Dorothy J. Heydt, 80, died June 28, 2022.

Heydt was the author of novels The Interior Life (1990, as Katherine Blake) and A Point of Honor (1998), and published over 30 stories. The Witch of Syracuse (2017) collects her stories in the Cynthia, Daughter of Euelpides series, and Stories You Never Heard Of (2020) gathers several out-of-print tales.

Dorothy Jones Heydt was born June 6, 1942, and lived ...Read More

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Barbara Haldeman (1952-2022)

Barbara Haldeman, 69, who wrote as Barbara Delaplace, died July 7, 2022.

She was a prolific author of short fiction, starting with “Legends Never Die” in 1991 and producing at least 25 stories, among them “Modern Mansions”, a Homer Award finalist in 1994. She collaborated with Mike Resnick on “Trading Up” (1992) and with her husband Jack C. Haldeman II on “That’ll Be the Day” (1996).

Barbara Mona Delaplace Haldeman ...Read More

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Ken Kelly (1946-2022)

Artist Ken Kelly, 76, died June 3, 2022. While best known for his album art (including famous covers for rock band Kiss), Kelly was also a prolific SF/F artist who did work for numerous publishers starting in the ’70s.

Kenneth William Kelly was born May 19, 1946 in New London CO. He served in the Marines until 1968, and soon after became a professional artist. He got his start doing ...Read More

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Lygia Fagundes Telles (1918-2022)

LYGIA FAGUNDES TELLES, the grand dame of Brazilian mainstream fiction and a feminist icon, died April 3, 2022 in São Paulo, Brazil. Her story “A Caçada” was in the third Brazilian science fiction anthology, Além do Tempo e do Espaço (1965), and her 1977 story ‘‘Seminário dos Ratos’’ [Rat Seminar] is a mordant allegory of a popular uprising against the violent Brazil­ian military dictatorship of that time. She was ...Read More

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Carlos Emílio C. Lima (1956-2022)

Brazilian author, poet, culture activist, and edi­tor CARLOS EMÍLIO C. LIMA, 65, died on April 2, 2022, in Fortaleza, Ceará (in the North­east Brazil), from an infection following surgery. Carlos Emílio Barreto Corrêa Lima was born in Fortaleza in 1956, and published first book So­lário: Contos Infantis para Adultos [Solarium: Child Stories for Adults] in 1970, when he was 13. In that decade he wrote reviews for major news­papers ...Read More

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Joël Houssin (1953-2022)

French writer JOËL HOUSSIN, 68, died March 23, 2022 in Paris after a long battle with MS.

Houssin was born in Paris on August 29, 1953. His first genre novel, Locomotive Rictus, was published by Editions OPTA in 1975. Soon after, he joined the famous ‘‘Anticipation’’ imprint of Editions Fleuve Noir, where he published no fewer than ten novels between 1981 and 1983. One, Blue, became the ...Read More

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Valerio Evangelisti (1952-2022)

Italian SF, fantasy, and horror writer VALERIO EVANGELISTI, 69, died April 18, 2022. He was best known for his bestselling Nicolas Eymerich series and the Nostradamus trilogy. Born June 20, 1952 in Bologna, Italy, he earned a political science degree in 1976. He worked as an academic and for the Italian ministry of finance before turning to fiction writing in the 1990s. Debut novel Nicolas Eymerich, inquisitore (1993) won the ...Read More

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Robert Charles Cornett (1952-2022)

Author ROBERT C. CORNETT, 69, died April 1, 2022 at home in Albuquerque NM. Cornett was a prolific author of SF, military, and adventure fiction.

His work of genre interest includes the Time Mercenaries series with Kevin D. Randle: Remember the Alamo! (1980), Remember Gettysburg! (1988), and Remember the Little Bighorn! (1990), and the Fifty Million Years War series, also written with Randle: Seeds of War (1986), The Aldebaran ...Read More

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Patricia A. McKillip (1948-2022)

Author Patricia A. McKillip, 74, died May 6, 2022. She was best known for her fantasy novels for children and young adults, including the Riddle-Master trilogy.

Patricia Anne McKillip was born February 29, 1948 in Salem OR. She attended the College of Notre Dame, Belmont, and San Jose State University in California, receiving a BA in 1971 and an MA in English in 1972.

Her first publications were short children’s ...Read More

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Sergey Dyachenko (1945-2022)

Russian-Ukrainian SF writer Sergey Dyachenko, 77, died May 5, 2022 in California. Dyachenko was best known for co-authoring over 30 titles with his wife, Marina Dyachenko (née Shirshova), notably Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire winner Vita Nostra (2007), translated into English in 2018.

Sergey Sergeyevich Dyachenko was born  April 14, 1945 in Kyiv, Ukraine, then part of the USSR. He earned a master’s in biology, then a medical degree, and worked ...Read More

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Priscilla Tolkien (1929-2022)

PRISCILLA TOLKIEN, 92, died February 28, 2022 after a brief illness. She was the youngest, and last surviving, child of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s, and was vice president of the Tolkien Society from 1986.

Priscilla Mary Anne Reuel Tolkien was born June 18, 1929 in Oxford, England, where her father taught. She had a stuffed teddy bear named Bingo as a child, and in early drafts of The Lord of ...Read More

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Bill Johnson (1956-2022)

SF writer Bill Johnson, 65, died March 17, 2022. He had Marfan syndrome.

Johnson attended the Clarion workshop in 1975, and his first publication was “Stormfall” in 1977. He published around 30 stories in all, including Hugo Award winner and Nebula Award finalist “We Will Drink a Fish Together” (1997). Some of his work is collected in Dakota Dreamin’ (1999). He co-wrote “Three Can Keep a Secret” with his college ...Read More

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Shirley Hughes (1927-2022)

Author and artist Shirley Hughes, 94, died February 25, 2022. She was a prolific writer and illustrator of children’s books, with a career that spanned more than six decades. She wrote more 50 books for children, and illustrated over 200,

Hughes was born July 16, 1927 and grew up in West Kirby, Wirral, England. She attended Liverpool College of Art, then worked as a set builder and costume designer for ...Read More

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Andy Remic (1971-2022)

SF writer Andy Remic, 50, died February 26, 2022 of cancer. Remic was a prolific author of SF and fantasy novels.

His debut novel Spiral (2003) launched the Spiral series, which includes Quake (2004) and Warhead (2005). The Combat-K sequence is War Machine (2007), BioHell (2008), Hardcore (2010) and Cloneworld (2011). His Clockwork Vampire Chronicles has Keli’s Legend (2009), Soul Stealers (2010), and Vampire Warlords (2011). The Books of the ...Read More

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