SFWA’s In Memoriam marks the loss of writers and other science fiction and fantasy creators by celebrating their literary legacies and their contributions to the publishing community. The person whose loss we are marking does not have to be a SFWA member. It is enough that they contributed to the world of SFF and leave behind people who wish to honor their life and work. Please contact publications@sfwa.org if you wish for us to add an entry for a recently lost creator to the list.
In Memoriam: Tom Dupree
Tom Dupree (November 27, 1949–February 7, 2022), a SFWA member, worked as a senior editor at Bantam Spectra during the 1990s, where he line-edited their Star Wars novels among many other titles and worked with authors such as Dan Simmons…
In Memoriam: J. Brian Clarke
J. Brian Clarke (May 23, 1928–January 17, 2022) was a SFWA member, a well-known writer of science fiction, a fellow of the British Planetary Association, and a past president of the Calgary center of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. …
In Memoriam: Ron Goulart
Ron Goulart (January 13, 1933–January 14, 2022) was a Nebula Award nominee in 1966, and the SFWA Vice President and Grievance Chair from 1969–1971. His writing debuted in the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1952, and he wrote…
In Memoriam: Dave Wolverton
Dave Wolverton (May 15, 1957–January 14, 2022), who primarily wrote fiction as David Farland, was an award-winning and bestselling science fiction and fantasy author, editor, professor, and mentor. Wolverton’s first publication was in 1985, the short story “The Sky is…
In Memoriam: John Joseph Miller
John Joseph Miller (March 28, 1954–January 5, 2022) served as SFWA Secretary from 1996–1998. John was a founding member of the Wild Cards Consortium, and is perhaps best known for his work in the Wild Cards shared universe series, first…
In Memoriam: Anne Rice
Bestselling novelist Howard Allen Frances O’Brien Rice (b.1941), known as Anne Rice, passed away on Saturday, December 11, at the age of 80. She was most known for her thirteen-book-plus Vampire Chronicles series, beginning with Interview With the Vampire, published…
In Memoriam: Jim Fiscus
The SFWA Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers are saddened to learn of the sudden and unexpected death of long-time volunteer James W. Fiscus. Known by his fellow volunteers and peers as Jim, he was an instrumental part of the…
In Memoriam: L. Neil Smith
L. Neil Smith (b.1946) died on August 27. Smith began publishing in 1980 with the story “Grimm’s Law” that appeared in Stellar 5. That same year, he published his first novel, The Probability Broach, which launched his North American Confederacy…
In Memoriam: Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
Patricia Kennealy-Morrison’s (b. Patricia Kennely, 1946) death was announced on July 22. Kennealy-Morrison got her start as a music journalist, serving as the editor-in-chief of Jazz & Pop and becoming one of the first female rock critics. In the 1980s, Kennealy-Morrison…
In Memoriam: Don Sakers
Don Sakers (b.1958) died from a heart attack on May 17. Sakers began publishing short fiction in 1983 and published two novels in the PsiScouts series with Phil Meade as well as the stand alone novel The Curse of the…
In Memoriam: Marvin Kaye
Anthologist Marvin Kaye (b.1938) died on May 13. After working as a journalist, Kaye became a senior editor at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich before going freelance in 1970. His anthologies included the World Fantasy Award winning The Fair Folk, The Dragon Quintet, Witches and Warlocks, and Forbidden Planets….
In Memoriam: Jan Stirling
Jan Stirling (b.1950) died on May 8. Stirling published her first story, “Were-Wench” in 1995 in the anthology Chicks in Chainmail and went on to publish stories in three additional volumes of the series. She published a total of five solo…
In Memoriam: Norton Juster
Author Norton Juster (b.1929) died on March 8. Juster was working as an architect when he began work on a book on urban planning aimed at children. The book eventually became The Phantom Tollbooth, which has been adapted for the screen…
In Memoriam: Mary Elizabeth Sheridan
Mary Elizabeth Sheridan (b.1938) died on January 17. Sheridan served as the administrator for the Clarion Writers Workshop in East Lansing, Michigan for three decades. Sheridan worked as a liaison between the workshop and the university, arranging to make sure everything…
In Memoriam: Storm Constantine
Storm Constantine (b.1956) died on January 14 following a long illness. Constantine published her first novel, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, in 1987, kicking off her long-running Wraeththu series, which is comprised of multiple trilogies as well as several…