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: 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…
In Memoriam: James Gunn
SFWA Grand Master James E. Gunn (b.1923) died on December 23, 2020. Gunn served as SFWA President from 1971-1972. Gunn began publishing science fiction in 1949 with the short story “Communications”, using the byline Edwin James. Over the years, he built…
In Memoriam: Phyllis Eisenstein
Phyllis Eisenstein (b.1946) died on December 7. Eisenstein’s novels included Sorcerer’s Son, In the Red Lord’s Reach, and Shadow of Earth. Eisenstein published two volumes in the Tales of Alaric the Minstrel series and two volumes of the Book of Elementals trilogy. She…
In Memoriam: Dean Ing
Dean Ing (b.1931) died on June 21. Ing published his first two stories in the 1950s. In the 1970s, he published several short stories and his first novel, Soft Targets. In 1979, his novelette “Devil You Don’t Know” was nominated for…
In Memoriam: Ben Bova
Former SFWA President Ben Bova (b.1932) died from COVID-19 related pneumonia and a stroke on November 29. Bova served two consecutive terms as SFWA President from 1990-1992. Bova published his first novel, The Star Conquerors in 1959 and published several novels and…
In Memoriam: Debra Doyle
Debra Doyle (b.1952) died at her home from a cardiac arrest on October 31st. She published her first co-written story, “Bad Blood,” in 1988 with husband James Macdonald. Doyle and Macdonald co-wrote all of their works, which included numerous young…
In Memoriam: Rachel Caine
Rachel Caine (b.1962) died on November 1 after being diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in 2018. Caine, the primary nom de plume for Roxanne Longstreet Conrad, began publishing novels and short stories in 1990. At one time a professional musician…
In Memoriam: Terry Goodkind
Terry Goodkind (b.1948) died on September 17. Goodkind, who suffered from dyslexia, published his first novel, Wizard’s First Rule, in 1994 after a career as a woodworker and artist. Wizard’s First Rule was the first volume in Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series. Most of his other novels…