Actor, writer, and director Bryan Forbes (b.1926) died on May 8. Forbes started his career as an actor, appearing in films such as Quatermass II: Enemy from Space and Satellite in the Sky. He went on to become a director, whose films included The Stepford Wives. He wrote The Man Who Haunted Himself and as a screenwriter may be best known for Chaplin. In addition to his work in films, Forbes was also a photographer and helped create the album sleeve for Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. Forbes also wrote several novels.
Author Deborah Miller died on May 7. Miller, who published under the name Miller Lau, founded and administered the David Gemmell Legend Award. A protege of Gemmell’s, she published The Last Clansman trilogy. More recently, she published the first volume of the Swarmthief Trilogy and the stand-alone novel The Sin Eater.
Author andrew j. offutt (b.1934) died on April 30. Many of his early works were fantasies in the Robert E. Howard style, including the Cormac mac Art series, the War of the Gods on Earth trilogy, and the War of the Wizards trilogy. He also created the character Hanse Shadowspawn for the Thieves’ World shared universe and wrote three novels about the character. In addition to writing Conan novels, he also wrote numerous science fiction novels under his own name and the house name John Cleve and edited the Swords Against Darkness anthology series. He served two terms as President of SFWA. His son is author Christopher Offutt.
Filed in Authors, Awards, Fan, Industry | Steven H Silver, April 21, 2013 11:53 am | Comments (0)
Tags: DeepSouthCon, JordanCon, Mike Rogers, Pat Gibbs, Phoenix Award, Rebel Award, Regina Kirby, Robert Jordan, Rubble Award
Two awards were presented at DeepSouthCon 51 (combined with JordanCon) on April 20. The Rebel Award is presented to a fan who has done things for Southern fandom and the Phoenix Award is for an SF professional who has done things for Southern fandom.
- Rebel Award: Mike Rogers and Regina Kirby
- Phoenix Award: Robert Jordan
The Rubble Award, for the person doing to most to Southern Fandom, was bestowed upon Atlanta fan Pat Gibbs, who frequently manages DeepSouthCon’s Hearts competition.
The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers has named Ann C. Crispin the 2013 Grandmaster. Crispin has received the award for her work on such franchises as Alien, Zorro, Star Wars, Star Trek, V, and Pirates of the Caribbean. In addition to her tie-in work, Crispin has also written the StarBridge YA series and is one of the forces behind Writers Beware. The award, also known as the Faust, will be presented at a ceremony in July at Comic-Con in San Diego when the IAMTIW presents the annual Scribe Awards for tie-ins.
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Comics author Robert Morales (b.1959) died on April 18. He was the author of the comic Truth: Red, White, and Black, about African-American soldiers given a super serum, based on the Tuskegee experiment. Morales also attended Clarion in the mid-1970s.
Author Nick Pollotta (b.1954) died on April 13. Pollotta has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Pollotta’s novels included Bureau 13, Illegal Aliens, and That Darn Squid God, as well as numerous other humorous novels. In addition, he wrote adventure novels under the house names James Axler and Don Pendleton. His “Satellite Night” series was written under the name Jack Hopkins.
Robert Silverberg has been named the Toastmaster for this year’s Nebula Awards Weekend, scheduled to take place in San Jose, CA the weekend of May 17-19. Named an SFWA Grand Master in 2004, Silverberg is the author of Lord Valentine’s Castle, Dying Inside, and numerous other works of science fiction and fantasy.
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British author Basil Copper (b.1924) died on April 3. Copper’s first story, “The Spider,” appeared in 1964 in the Fifth Pan Book of Horror Stories. Beginning in the 1970s, many of his works were published by August Derleth and Arkham House. Following Derleth’s death, Copper edited Derleth’s Solar Pons stories into a two volume omnibus. In 1975, his collection, From Evil’s Pillow, was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. He also wrote non-fiction works on vampires and werewolves.
Iain M. Banks has announced that he has been diagnosed with late-stage gall bladder cancer and states that he is unlikely to live for more than a year. Originally diagnosed with jaundice, later tests revealed the extent of his illness. Banks has married his long-time companion Adele and has announced the cancellation of all future engagements. The author of The Wasp Factory, Feersum Endjinn, and the Culture series, Banks has been announced as the Guest of Honor for the 2014 Worldcon in London. Banks and Loncon have stated that his attendance is unlikely at the convention.
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