American author of science fiction (1946–2024)
Howard Waldrop (September 15, 1946 – January 14, 2024) was an American
science fiction author who worked primarily in
short fiction . He received the
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021.
Personal life
Though born in
Houston, Mississippi ,
[1] Waldrop spent most of his life in
Texas . He moved to
Washington state for several years, but returned to
Austin . As a child, he corresponded with
A Game of Thrones author
George R. R. Martin about their shared love of comic books. He was an avid
fly fisherman . He was a member of the
Turkey City Writer's Workshop , attended the
Rio Hondo Writing Workshop ,
[2] and taught at the
Clarion Workshop .
[3]
Waldrop died from a stroke in Austin, on January 14, 2024, at the age of 77.
[4]
[5]
Professional life
Waldrop was a frequent attendee of
ArmadilloCon , the local science fiction convention held annually in Austin. He was the
Toastmaster at 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 1995
World Fantasy Convention
[7] held in
Baltimore and at
Readercon 15
[8] held in
Burlington, Massachusetts , in 2003.
[9]
Waldrop was Professional Writer Guest of Honor at
Loscon 46 in
Los Angeles ,
California , in 2019.
[10]
In 2004 he started writing movie reviews with
Lawrence Person for
Locus Online .
[11]
Style
Waldrop's stories combine elements such as
alternative history , American
popular culture , the
American South , old movies (and
character actors ),
classical mythology , and
rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical: Night of the Cooters is a
pastiche of
H. G. Wells '
The War of the Worlds told from the perspective of a small town
Texas sheriff (a homage to
Slim Pickens ) who faces a Martian cylinder crashing down near his town; "Heirs of the Perisphere" involves robotic
Disney characters waking up in the far future; "Fin de Cyclé" describes the
Dreyfus affair from the perspective of bicycle enthusiasts.
Waldrop's work is frequently out-of-print, though still available for sale
online ; several of his books have been reprinted in
omnibus editions .
Several of his stories have been nominated for the genre's awards; "The Ugly Chickens" — about the extinction of the
dodo — won a
Nebula Award for best novelette in 1980, and also a
World Fantasy Award for Short Fiction in 1981; this is perhaps his best known work. In 2021, he won the
World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement .
[12]
Bibliography
Novels & novellas
Short story collections
Howard Who? (Doubleday hardcover, 1986) (2006 trade paperback reprint from
Small Beer Press ,
ISBN
1-931520-18-6 )
All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past (Ursus Imprints, signed/numbered/slipcased hardcover, 1987), (Ace mass market, 1991,
ISBN
0-441-16069-7 ); mass-market UK edition reprinted under the title Strange Things In Close-Up , 1991
Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories (Zeising/Ursus Imprints hardcover, 1990) (Ace mass market, 1993,
ISBN
0-441-57473-4 )
Going Home Again (Eidolon trade paperback, 1997,
ISBN
0-9586864-0-8 )
Dream Factories and Radio Pictures (e-book, 2001 at
http://www.electricstory.com
Archived January 17, 2020, at the
Wayback Machine ; printed trade paperback from Wheatland Press, 2003)
Custer's Last Jump and Other Collaborations (Golden Gryphon hardcover, 2003,
ISBN
1-930846-13-4 ) (includes Waldrop's collaborations with
Steven Utley ,
Bruce Sterling ,
Leigh Kennedy ,
George R. R. Martin , and others.)
Heart of Whitenesse (Subterranean Press, hardcover, 2005,
ISBN
1-59606-018-2 )
Things Will Never be the Same: Selected Short Fiction 1980-2005 ("best of" collection from
Old Earth Books , 2007,
ISBN
1-882968-36-0 , trade paperback;
ISBN
1-882968-35-2 for 300-copy limited edition hardcover)
[13]
Other Worlds, Better Lives: Selected Long Fiction 1989-2003 (
Old Earth Books , 2008,
ISBN
1-882968-38-7 , trade paperback;
ISBN
1-882968-37-9 for 300-copy signed/limited edition hardcover)
[13]
Horse of A Different Color: Selected Stories (2008-2013)
Small Beer Press trade paperback,
ISBN
978-1-61873-073-2 )
H'ard Starts: The Early Waldrop (
Subterranean Press , 2023,
ISBN
978-1-64524-116-4 for 750-copy signed/limited edition hardcover)
Short stories
Chapbooks
The Soul-Catcher (self-published, 1967)
You Could Go Home Again (
Cheap Street signed/numbered/tray cased very limited hardcover edition, 1993)
Custer's Last Jump (with
Steven Utley ) (
Ticonderoga Publications , 1996)
Flying Saucer Rock and Roll (
Cheap Street signed/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 2005
Capclave , though not printed in time to be distributed there (not available/sold separately after publication)
References
^
Clute, John ;
Nicholls, Peter (July 22, 2021).
"Waldrop, Howard" . In Clute, John; et al. (eds.).
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz.
^
"Waldrop, Howard. (2004, August 1). The 1954 Racing Form, Sci-Fi Style" .
^
"Clarion Workshop Writers 2003" . Archived from
the original on August 17, 2003.
^
"Howard Waldrop: 1946–2024" .
^
"Howard Waldrop (1946–2024)" . Locus. January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024 .
^
"Con History" .
^
"History of the World Fantasy Conventions" . Archived from
the original on December 31, 2008.
^
"Readercon15 Program" . Archived from
the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2011 .
^
"fanac.org ReaderCon 15" .
^
"2019 Loscon Guests of Honor Announced" . September 15, 2018.
^
"Lawrence Person's Bibliography" .
^
"Howard Waldrop Awards" .
Science Fiction Awards Database . Locus Science Fiction Foundation. December 21, 2021.
^
a
b
"Howard Waldrop - Old Earth Books" .
^ DeNardo, John (February 14, 2013).
"TOC: Old Mars Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois" .
SF Signal . Archived from
the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014 .
^ 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.com . Macmillan. Retrieved September 26, 2014 .
^
"2014 Locus Awards Winners" .
Locus . June 28, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014 .
External links
1975–2000
"
Pages from a Young Girl's Journal " by
Robert Aickman (1975)
"
Belsen Express " by
Fritz Leiber (1976)
"
There's a Long, Long Trail A-Winding " by
Russell Kirk (1977)
"
The Chimney " by
Ramsey Campbell (1978)
"
Naples " by
Avram Davidson (1979)
"
Mackintosh Willy " by
Ramsey Campbell (1980, tie)
"
The Woman Who Loved the Moon " by
Elizabeth A. Lynn (1980, tie)
"
The Ugly Chickens " by
Howard Waldrop (1981)
"
The Dark Country " by
Dennis Etchison (1982, tie)
"
Do the Dead Sing? " by
Stephen King (1982, tie)
"
The Gorgon " by
Tanith Lee (1983)
"
Elle Est Trois, (La Mort) " by
Tanith Lee (1984)
"
The Bones Wizard " by
Alan Ryan (1985, tie)
"
Still Life with Scorpion " by
Scott Baker (1985, tie)
"
Paper Dragons " by
James Blaylock (1986)
"
Red Light " by
David J. Schow (1987)
"
Friend's Best Man " by
Jonathan Carroll (1988)
"
Winter Solstice, Camelot Station " by
John M. Ford (1989)
"
The Illusionist " by
Steven Millhauser (1990)
"
A Midsummer Night's Dream " by
Neil Gaiman and
Charles Vess (1991)
"
The Somewhere Doors " by
Fred Chappell (1992)
"
Graves " by
Joe Haldeman (1993, tie)
"
This Year's Class Picture " by
Dan Simmons (1993, tie)
"
The Lodger " by
Fred Chappell (1994)
"
The Man in the Black Suit " by
Stephen King (1995)
"
The Grass Princess " by
Gwyneth Jones (1996)
"
Thirteen Phantasms " by
James Blaylock (1997)
"
Dust Motes " by
P. D. Cacek (1998)
"
The Specialist's Hat " by
Kelly Link (1999)
"
The Chop Girl " by
Ian R. MacLeod (2000)
2001–present
International National Academics People Other