Wikipedia

Howard Waldrop

Howard Waldrop(September 15, 1946 – January 14, 2024) was an Americanscience fictionauthor who worked primarily inshort fiction.He received theWorld Fantasy Award for Life Achievementin 2021.

Howard Waldrop
Waldrop in 2007
Waldrop in 2007
Born(1946-09-15)September 15, 1946
Houston, Mississippi,U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 2024(2024-01-14)(aged 77)
Austin, Texas,U.S.
OccupationFiction writer
GenreScience fiction
Notable works"The Ugly Chickens", "Night of the Cooters"
Notable awardsNebula Award(1980)
World Fantasy Award(1981)

Personal life

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Though born inHouston, Mississippi,[1]Waldrop spent most of his life inTexas.He moved toWashingtonstate for several years, but returned toAustin.As a child, he corresponded withA Game of ThronesauthorGeorge R. R. Martinabout their shared love of comic books. He was an avidfly fisherman.He was a member of theTurkey City Writer's Workshop,attended theRio Hondo Writing Workshop,[2]and taught at theClarion Workshop.[3]

Waldrop died from a stroke in Austin, on January 14, 2024, at the age of 77.[4][5]

Professional life

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Waldrop was a frequent attendee ofArmadilloCon,the local science fiction convention held annually in Austin. He was theToastmasterat the inaugural ArmadilloCon #1 (1979) and again at ArmadilloCon #29 (2007); he was Guest of Honor at ArmadilloCon #5 (1983).[6]

Waldrop was one of three writer Guests of Honor at the 1995World Fantasy Convention[7]held inBaltimoreand atReadercon15[8]held inBurlington, Massachusetts,in 2003.[9]

Waldrop was Professional Writer Guest of Honor atLoscon46 inLos Angeles,California,in 2019.[10]

In 2004 he started writing movie reviews withLawrence PersonforLocus Online.[11]

Style

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Waldrop's stories combine elements such asalternative history,Americanpopular culture,theAmerican South,old movies (andcharacter actors),classical mythology,androck 'n' rollmusic. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical:Night of the Cootersis apasticheofH. G. Wells'The War of the Worldstold from the perspective of a small townTexassheriff (a homage toSlim Pickens) who faces a Martian cylinder crashing down near his town; "Heirs of the Perisphere" involves roboticDisneycharacters waking up in the far future; "Fin de Cyclé" describes theDreyfus affairfrom the perspective of bicycle enthusiasts.

Waldrop's work is frequently out-of-print, though still available for saleonline;several of his books have been reprinted inomnibus editions.

Several of his stories have been nominated for the genre's awards; "The Ugly Chickens" — about the extinction of thedodo— won aNebula Awardfor best novelette in 1980, and also aWorld Fantasy Award for Short Fictionin 1981; this is perhaps his best known work. In 2021, he won theWorld Fantasy Award for Life Achievement.[12]

Bibliography

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Novels & novellas

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  • The Texas-Israeli War: 1999(withJake Saunders,1974) (Ballantinemass market, 1986,ISBN0-345-33994-0)
  • Them Bones(Ace, 1984,ISBN0-441-80557-4)
  • A Dozen Tough Jobs(novella) (Mark V Ziesing hardcover, 1989,ISBN0-929480-01-5)
  • The Search for Tom Purdue(announced)[1]
  • The Moone World(announced)[2]

Short story collections

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Short stories

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Chapbooks

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  • The Soul-Catcher(self-published, 1967)
  • YouCouldGo Home Again(Cheap Streetsigned/numbered/tray cased very limited hardcover edition, 1993)
  • Custer's Last Jump(withSteven Utley) (Ticonderoga Publications,1996)
  • Flying Saucer Rock and Roll(Cheap Streetsigned/numbered tray cased very limited hardcover edition, 2001)
  • A Better World's in Birth!(Golden Gryphon,2003)
  • The Horse of a Different Color (You Rode In On)/The King of Where-I-Go(WSFA,2006); saddle-stitched trade paperback given out to members of the 2005Capclave,though not printed in time to be distributed there (not available/sold separately after publication)

References

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  1. ^Clute, John;Nicholls, Peter(July 22, 2021)."Waldrop, Howard".In Clute, John; et al. (eds.).The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction(3rd ed.). Gollancz.
  2. ^"Waldrop, Howard. (2004, August 1). The 1954 Racing Form, Sci-Fi Style".
  3. ^"Clarion Workshop Writers 2003".Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2003.
  4. ^"Howard Waldrop: 1946–2024".
  5. ^"Howard Waldrop (1946–2024)".Locus. January 15, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 15,2024.
  6. ^"Con History".
  7. ^"History of the World Fantasy Conventions".Archived fromthe originalon December 31, 2008.
  8. ^"Readercon15 Program".Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2018.RetrievedNovember 27,2011.
  9. ^"fanac.org ReaderCon 15".
  10. ^"2019 Loscon Guests of Honor Announced".September 15, 2018.
  11. ^"Lawrence Person's Bibliography".
  12. ^"Howard Waldrop Awards".Science Fiction Awards Database.Locus Science Fiction Foundation. December 21, 2021.
  13. ^ab"Howard Waldrop - Old Earth Books".
  14. ^DeNardo, John (February 14, 2013)."TOC:Old MarsEdited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois ".SF Signal.Archived fromthe originalon December 24, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 26,2014.
  15. ^Bedford, Robert H. (October 8, 2013)."Mars as We Thought it Could Be:Old Mars,edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois ".Tor.Macmillan.RetrievedSeptember 26,2014.
  16. ^"2014 Locus Awards Winners".Locus.June 28, 2014.RetrievedSeptember 26,2014.
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