Virginia Kidd passed away in her sleep on January 11, 2003. She was 81. She will be sorely missed.

 Virginia Kidd was born in Philadelphia on June 2, 1921. She was the youngest daughter of a printer. She attended the Berlitz School of Languages and was fluent in Latin, French, German, Italian and Spanish. 

Ms. Kidd successfully worked as a free-lance writer, ghost writer, and proofreader. Then, in 1965, she established the Virginia Kidd Literary Agency in her home, Arrowhead, near the banks of the Delaware River, in Milford, Pennsylvania. She was the first female literary agent in the genre of speculative fiction, and over the next 3 decades represented some of the field’s most important authors, including Ursula K. LeGuin, Anne McCaffrey, Gene Wolfe, R.A. Lafferty, Alan Dean Foster, and many others. She was one of the founding members of the former Vanguard Amateur Press Association (official tyrant, 1948), a Futurian, and a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America. She was the author of many published poems, and a handful of short stories. "Kangaroo Court," published in 1966 in Damon Knight’s Orbit 1, was particularly well received. (It was also published under the title, "Flowering Season." She edited or co-edited several anthologies of speculative fiction, including Saving Worlds (with Roger Elwood, 1973,) The Best of Judith Merril (1976), Millennial Women (1978), Interfaces (1980) and Edges (1980) (the latter two with Ursula K. Le Guin).

 "What I was doing is what I was born for: to be an agent and a good enough writer to search out those who can write better than I can - and to help some of them make careers, money, reputations. ... Being an agent is my life and my joy. It is not a career I could urge on anyone else because it is very hard work. ... But, oh, is it ever fun!"
 
 

"Agent First, Anthologist Sometimes, Writer in the Cracks," Virginia Kidd, in Women of Vision, edited by Denise DuPont, St Martin’s Press, 1988.
 
 

 Virginia Kidd was often described in the press as a feminist. In fact, she refused to be pigeonholed, except by her own hand. She was also passionate in her championing of good writing: "How can one believe there is a female or male writing style? As an elitist, I hold that with regard to writing that is worth reading and having written, there is style and style only. I’m talking about literature. There is also a kind of prefab or ersatz writing that has no style at all, is not memorable, and is bought by the nonthinking to assist them in passing their thoughtless time. Such writing can be distinguished by what sex it is aimed at - that for women gushes, that for men is too hearty - but it cannot be distinguished by the gender of the writer. It may be the stuff of best sellers, but it is not art."

 -- also taken from "Agent First..."

 Kidd was married twice, first to Jack Emden, an operatic singer, (married 1943- 1947), and later to the noted science fiction writer James Blish (married 1947-1963). Kidd was predeceased by her son Asa Blish, and her daughter Karen Anne Emden. She is survived by her son Benjamin Blish, her daughter Elisabeth Blish Genly, grandchildren Steve Ramsdell, Kimberly and Caleb Genly, and two great-grandchildren, Jack and Jane Ramsdell.

 Services will be held Memorial Service will be held on Monday, January 20th, 11 am at The Good Sheppard and St. Johns Episcopal Church, 321 5th St., Milford, Pa 18337
 
 

Photos courtesy of Virginia Kidd Foundation

Arrowhead -1953

Tuscon -1944

James Blish, Karen Anne Emden, Virginia Kidd - 1949

Posted January 16, 2003