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| Terry Bisson | |
Terry Bisson, author, editor, and activist, died on January 10. He was 81.
Bisson began his career in the 1960s "scripting comics and saucer tales for tabloids and serving as editor of Web of Horror and True Intimate Confessions," as recounted by Locus. From 1976 to 1985, he was an editor and copy chief at Berkley and Ace, and then became a full-time writer. He also was a consultant to HarperCollins and Avon in the 1990s, taught in the writing program at the New School in New York City and at Clarion and Odyssey.
His novels included Wyrldmaker (1981), World Fantasy finalist Talking Man (1986), Fire on the Mountain (1988), Voyage to the Red Planet (1990), Pirates of the Universe (1990), The Pickup Artist (2001), and Any Day Now (2012). He completed the late Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s Saint Leibowitz and the Wild Horse Woman (1997), co-wrote YA novels with Stephanie Spinner, wrote children's books about NASCAR racing as T.B. Calhoun, produced numerous film and TV novelizations and media tie-ins, and wrote nonfiction titles, notably On a Move: The Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal (2001).
Bisson's short stories included "Bears Discover Fire" (1990), which won Hugo, Sturgeon, Locus, and Nebula awards, as well as many finalists and nominees for the same awards. Novellas included Dear Abbey (2003) and Planet of Mystery (2008), and his short fiction has been collected in Bears Discover Fire (1993), In the Upper Room and Other Likely Stories (2000), Numbers Don't Lie (2003), Greetings & Other Stories (2005), Billy's Book (2009), and TVA Baby (2011). The Left Left Behind (2009) includes the title story, a play, and an interview and autobiography. Bisson also wrote the “This Month in History” micro-fiction series that has run in Locus for more than 20 years.
Locus added: "We will deeply miss his creativity, wry humor, and friendship. The field is lesser without him."
PM Press lauded Bisson, noting that he was "a crucial part of our radical publishing project, having a hand in dozens of PM books including David Gilbert's Love and Struggle, Robert Hillary King's From the Bottom of the Heap, a range of fiction and nonfiction books, his own published works, and as editor of the Outspoken Authors Series.
"Terry also touched our lives with his generosity and inspired our work with his dedication to justice. He stood with humanity and showed up where it mattered most," PM Press wrote.
On Saturday, March 30, in San Francisco, PM Press, City Lights, and others are hosting An Outspoken Authors celebration of the life and work of Terry Bisson.