F. M. Busby

Francis Marion Busby
Born	(1921-03-11)March 11, 1921 Indianapolis,Indiana,U.S.
Died	February 17, 2005(2005-02-17)(aged 83) Seattle,Washington,U.S.
Occupation	Science fictionwriter andfan
Years active	1973-1996
Spouse	Elinor Busby ​ (m.1954⁠–⁠2005)​
Website
fmbusby.com

Francis Marion Busby(March 11, 1921 – February 17, 2005) was an Americanscience fictionwriter andscience fiction fan.In 1960 he was a co-winner of theHugo Award for Best Fanzine.

Early life

Francis Busby was born inIndianapolis,the son of Francis Marion Busby and Clara Nye Busby. The family settled inColfax,in the state ofWashingtonduring 1931 and Busby attended high school there. He subsequently attendedWashington State Collegeuntil he joined theNational Guard.He was subsequently discharged and returned to college. He did not remain long, however, and enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 23, 1943, atSpokane, Washington.

Career

Busby served duringWorld War IIas part of theAlaska Communication System,assigned to the island ofAmchitka.At the end of the war he was discharged from the Army and returned to college to graduate as an engineer. He subsequently returned to the Alaska Communication System to work in a civilian role based inSeattle.

In 1954 Busby marriedElinor Doub,who was also a science fiction author. He had one daughter, Michele. Together with his wife and others he published afan magazinenamedCry of the Namelesswhich won theHugo Award for Best Fanzinein 1960, making Elinor the first woman to win a Hugo.

Busby continued to work for the Alaska Communication System until 1971, when the organization was sold to private industry and renamedRCA Alascomand he took early retirement from the company.

From 1974 to 1976 Busby was Vice President ofScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.At the age of 50 he became afreelancescience-fiction author. He wrote 19 published novels and numerous short stories between 1973 and 1996.

Robert A. Heinleinin part dedicated his 1985 novelThe Cat Who Walks Through Wallsto Busby,and in part dedicated his 1982 novelFridayto Elinor.

Busby ceased writing fiction some time after 1996, claiming in an email:

No, I haven't been writing fiction for some time. Many if not most of us "midlist" writers have been frozen out like a third party on an Eskimo honeymoon. The IRS started it by getting theThor Power Toolsdecision stretched to cover an inventory tax on books in publishers' warehouses (so they don't keep 'em in print no more), and the bookchains wrapped it up by setting one book's GROSS order on that writer's previous book's NET sales. 4–5 books under those rules, and you're road kill; a publisher can't be expected to buy a book the chains won't pay out on.

How real the influence of theThor Power Tooldecision was on Busby's writing career is uncertain, considering a great many of his novels were written and published after it.

Illness and death

In November 2004 Busby was diagnosed with severe intestinal problems. He went into the Swedish Medical Center, Ballard Campus, for surgery and suffered complications. He underwent further surgery before being moved to Health and Rehabilitation ofSeattle,where he died on February 17, 2005.

Bibliography

Series

Demu

• 1.Cage a Man(1973)
• "The Learning of Eeshta" (1973) - short story; also appeared in collectionGetting Home(1987)
• 2.The Proud Enemy(1975)
• 3.End of the Line(1980) - not published separately, but only inThe Demu Trilogy
• The Demu Trilogy(omnibus) (1980) - includes all four titles (including first appearance ofEnd of the Line)

Rissa Kerguelen and Bran Tregare

Rissa Kerguelen

• Rissa Kerguelen(1976, later reissued asYoung RissaandRissa and Tregare)
• Young Rissa
• Rissa and Tregare
• The Long View(1976)
• Zelde M'Tana(1980)
• Renalle Kerguelen(2015, Kindle only)

Hulzein

• The Star Rebel(1984)
• Rebel's Quest(1984)
• The Alien Debt(1984)
• Rebel's Seed(1986)
• The Rebel Dynasty - Volume I(omnibus) (1987) - ContainsStar RebelandRebel's Quest
• The Rebel Dynasty - Volume II(omnibus) (1988) - ContainsThe Alien DebtandRebel's Seed

Slow Freight

• Slow Freight(1991)
• Arrow from Earth(1995)
• The Triad Worlds(1996)

Non-series novels

• All These Earths(1978); book version of the following linked stories:
  • "Pearsall's Return",If,July/Aug. 1973
  • "Search",Amazing,Dec. 1976
  • "Nobody Home",Amazing,July 1977
  • "Never So Lost…",Amazing,Oct. 1977
• The Breeds of Man(1988)
• The Singularity Project(1993)
• Islands of Tomorrow(1994)

Short-Story Collection

• Getting Home(1987) (for some stories, year of first appearance anywhere noted)

"A Gun for Grandfather"

"Of Mice and Otis"

"The Puiss of Krrlik"

"The Absence of Tom Leone"

"Proof"

"The Real World"

"Tell Me All About Yourself" (1973)

"Once Upon a Unicorn" (1973)

"Road Map"

"If This Is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy" (1974)

"Three Tinks on the House"

"The Learning of Eeshta" - Part of the Demu series, and also included inThe Demu Trilogy(1980)

"I'm Going to Get You" (1974)

"2000½: A Spaced Oddity"

"Time of Need"

"Retroflex"

"Misconception"

"The Signing of Tulip"

"Advantage"

"Getting Home"

Other short stories

Busby wrote over 40 short stories, thus leaving over 20 still uncollected, including:

• "First Person Plural" (1980)
• "Backup System" (October 1981) appeared in "Isaac Asimov Science Fiction Magazine"
• "Wrong Number" (December 1981) appeared in "Isaac Asimov Science Fiction Magazine"

Anthologies containing stories by Busby

His work appeared in the following anthologies:

• Clarion III(1973) — "Road Map"
• The Best Science Fiction of the Year 3(1974) – "Tell Me All About Yourself"
• Universe 5(1975) – "If This Is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy"
• 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories(1978)
• The Best of New Dimensions(1979)
• Universe 10(1980) – "First Person Plural"
• Heroic Visions(1983) – "Before the Seas Came"
• 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories(1984)

External links

• F. M. Busbyat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• F.M. BusbyinThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
• F. M. Busby on the Spacelight science fiction author database
• F. M. BusbyonScience Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
• fmbusby.com
• F. M. Busby book-jacket art
• The F. M. Busby Papers(7.5 linear feet) housed at theEaton Collection of Science Fiction and FantasyArchived2018-02-02 at theWayback Machineof theUniversity of California, RiversideLibraries.