In Memoriam

Artist Cheri Streimikes died on October 4. Streimikes was a digital artist whose work appeared in On Spec.

Author Terry A. Garey died on October 6. Garey began publishing poetry in 1978 with “For the Women of Science Fiction” and fiction in 1985 with the story “As Lovely as a Tree.” Most of her fiction appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated, and her poetry was collected in The Cat Star and Other Poems. She edited two poetry anthologies.

Author James Hetley (b.1947) was killed in a bicycle accident on October 8. Hetley was the author of The Summer Country and the Stonefort series, the first two of which were nominated for the Gaylactic Spectrum Award. He wrote the Bladesmith novels under the name James A. Burton.

Author Ronald T. Jones (b.1967) was killed in a hit-and-run on October 11. Jones began publishing science fiction in 2010 with the story “The Shrien” in the anthology Genesis and had his fiction appear in several different anthologies over the years.

Author Flora Speer (b.1933) died on October 15. Speer wrote Venus Rising, which kicked off the Dulan’s Planet series, as well as the Charlemagne Time Travel series. Her standalone novels included Love Just in Time and Timestruck.

Artist Ron Tiner (b.Ronald Tickner, 1940) died on October 18. In addition to art and illustrations in comics, he also worked on The Encyclopedia of Fantasy & Science Fiction Art, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, and wrote the text for Mass: The Art of John Harris.

Author Robert R. Chase (b.1948) died on October 20. Chase published the novels Shapers, The Game of Fox and Lion, and Crucible, as well as 45 short stories, mostly in Analog and Asimov’s. The Game of Fox and Lion was nominated for the Crook Award and his story “The Wellness Plague” was a Sturgeon finalist.

Editor Keith “Doc” Raymond died on October 21. Raymond was a co-founder of the e-zine SavagePlanets and served as its fiction editor.

Author Ingmar Knutsen (b.1944) died on October 24. Knutsen began as a Norwegian fan and in 1975 published the collection Dimension S. In the years since, Knutsen published about 30 novels, mostly within genre.

Author Celeste Rita Baker (b.1958) died on October 30. Baker’s fiction appeared in Lightspeed, F&SF, Strange Horizons, and Genesis: An Anthology of Black Science Fiction. She won the World Fantasy Award for her short story “Glass Bottle Dancer.”

Academic Colin Duriez (b.1947) died on November 1. Duriez published A Field Guide to Narnia and several other books about C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings.

Bookseller Manolo Molero died on November 4. Molero founded the Futurama bookstore in Valencia in 1981, which was the largest comic book shop in Valencia.

Artist and author Alexander Okun (b.1949) died on November 6. Okun is primarily known as an artist, but also wrote and translated. His young adult novel Placebo has elements of the fantastic.

Bookseller Jim Hamilton (b.1958) died on November 9. Hamilton was the co-owner of Forbidden Planet Scotland and Forbidden Planet International. He recently relaunched Forbidden Planet Glasgow.

Author Mary Caraker (b.1929) died on November 15. Caraker’s genre novels included Water Song, The Faces of Ceti, and the Seven Worlds series.

Author and academic Jean-Louis Trudel (b.1967) died on November 16. Trudel wrote the series Les mystères de Serendib and Les îles du Zodiaque, the latter in collaboration with Yves Meynard. He received the Grand Prix de la Science-Fiction et du Fantastique Québécois and multiple Prix Aurora.

Reviewer Sue Granquist (b.1966) died on November 18. Granquist began writing for Black Gate with the third print issue and eventually wrote the “Goth Chick” column for the online version of the zine for 16 years.

Bookseller Penny Syber died on November 25.  Syber owned a bookstore in Victoria, Australia, which closed in August of 2025.

Author Angel Torres Quesada (b.1940) died on November 30. Writing under the name A Thorkent, Quesada wrote Wyharga, Los vientos del olvido, and Un paraiso llamado Ara, as more than fifty other novels. He won the Premio Ignotus in 2004.

Author Aleksey Ustimenkob (b.1948) died on December 7. Ustimenko was an Uzbeki author who wrote historical fiction in addition to genre work. He wrote the science fiction novel Za kolsami dalekogo Saturna.

Author John Varley (b.1947) died on December 10. Varley began publishing in 1974 with the stories “Picnic on Nearside” and “Scoreboard.” His first novel was The Ophiuchi Hotline. Varley won the Hugo and Nebula for the novellas “The Persistence of Vision” and “Press Enter []” and a Hugo for “The Pusher.”

Author Sophie Kinsella (b.1969) died on December 10. Kinsella wrote the novel Twenties Girl as well as the Fairy Mom and Me series of picture books.

Author Yevgeny Drozd (b.1947) died on December 13. Drozd wrote the novel Vampiry tozhe lyudi. His stories were collected in three volumes. He also translated Brian W. Aldiss’s Malacia Tapestry into Russian.

Author Terence M. Green (b.1947) died on December 19. Green began publishing in 1978 with the story “The Night Above the Dingle Starry” and wrote the novels Barking Dogs, Shadow of Ashland, and St. Patrick’s Bed. He was a multiple Aurora and World Fantasy finalist.

Translator Natalia Rakhmanova (v.1930) died on December 21.Ralhmanova translated numerous works of science fiction and fantasy from English to Russian. Her most famous translation is the first Russian translation of The Hobbit, but she also translated works by Asimov, Simak, and H.G. Wells.

Agent Patrick Delahunt (b.1953) died on December 23. Delahunt worked as an agent representing Karen Joy Fowler and Kim Stanley Robinson. Before retiring, Delahunt helped his clients find appropriate new agents.

Bookseller Richard Van der Voort died in late December. Van der Voort ran At the Sign of the Dragon and frequently sold in dealers’ rooms at UK cons.

Author Pierre Bordage (b.1955) died on December 26. Bordage began published the Rohel the Conqueror series in 1992. He won the Prix Cosmos 2000 for the novel La Citadelle Hyponéros and the Cezam Prix Liitéraire Inter CE for Porteur d’âmes.

Author Anatoly Korolyov (b.1946) died on December 29. Korolyov wote the novels Blyustiteli neba, Instinkt # pyat, and Dom bliznetsov

Editor Tim Kask (b.1949) died on December 30. Kask was the first employee hired by TSR and served as the editor of The Strategic Review and The Dragon.  After leaving TSR in 1980, he published Adventure Gaming magazine before leaving the industry in 1983. In 210, he founded Eldritch Enterprises.

Author Shoshana Edwards died in December. Edwards is the author of the novels Death Lives in the Water, Deathly Waters, and The Madness of Trees, as well as short fiction, some set in Eric Flint’s Assiti Shards universe.Edwards was Emma Randall in the SCA.

Author Sergey Slyusarenko (b.1955) died on January 6. Slyusarenko held patents in optical holography, liquid crysal physics, and laser physics. He wrote 13 sf novels in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

Author M. Christian died in early January.  Christian wrote the Running Dry series and the novels The Very Bloody Marys, Me2, and Painted Doll. His short fiction was collected in several volumes and he edited anthologies with Maxim Jakubowski, Jean Marie Stine, Todd Gregory, and Sage Vivant.

Author Erich von Däniken (b.1935) died on January 10. Van Däniken wrote the best seller Chariots of the Gods, which popularized the pseudoscientic theory that human culture was established by visiting aliens.

Author Jean Rabe (b.1957) died on January 19. Rabe worked for TSR as head of the RPGA and editor of Polyhedron. She wrote for many gaming lines and wrote both gaming tie-in novels and original novels. Rabe served as the editor of the SFWA Bulletin for several years.

Author Hudson Talbott (b.1949) died on January 22.  Talbott wrote and illustrated the book We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Tale and also wrote Into the Woods, which Stephen Sondheim adapted into a musical.

Author James Sallis (b.1944) died on January 27.  Sallis worked as an assistant editor on New Worlds and his fiction appeared in Orbit, Analog, and New Worlds. He wrote the novel Renderings. His story “The Creation of Bennie Good” was nominated for a Nebula Award. His novel World’s Edge was published posthumously.

Artist Bob Layzell (b.1940) died on January 29. Layzell began doing cover art in 1976 for The History of the Science Fiction Magazine: 1946-1955.  He used a variety of materials and did covers for publishers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Author Jeffrey A. Carver (b.1949) died on February 6. Carver is the author of the Chaos Chronicles, beginning with Neptune Crossing, and the Star Rigger Series, beginning with Panglor. His novel Eternity’s End was nominated for a Nebula and his short fiction as collected in two volumes.

Author James K. Burk (b.1944) died on February 7. Burk worked at Rector’s Bookstore for two decades and helped run AmberCon in the 1970s. He published the short story “Mirror, Mirror” in 2000 and his first novel, High Rage, in 2004.

Author John Flanagan (b.1944) died on February 7. Flanagan was the author of the Ranger’s Apprentice series and Brotherband Chronicles. He also wrote the Storm Peak duology and The Grey Raider. Prior to turning to fantasy, he wrote the sitcom Hey Dad..!

Artist Philip Castle (b.1942) died on February 20. Castle provided cover art for several of Andre Norton’s Witch World novels, as well as an edition of Fritz Leiber’s The Wanderer.

Author Joseph Green (b.1931) died on February 20. Green was the author of Star Probe and Gold the Man. Working for NASA’s Education Office in the 1960s, he hosted Apollo launch parties. In 2018, he won the Phoenix Award.

Author Dan Simmons (b.1948) died on February 21. Simmons won the Hugo Award for his novel Hyperion and the World Fantasy Award for the novel Song of Kali. He was comfortable writing science fiction, horror, and mysteries. In 2013, he was named a World Horror Grandmaster.

Agent Albert Zuckerman (b.1931) died on March 5. Zuckerman represented Octavia Butler, Christopher Paolini, Stephenie Meyer, Tui Sutherlands, and F. Paul Wilson. He founded the Writers House Agency.

Author Lee Martindale died on March 10. Martindale began publishing short fiction in 1992 and edited the anthology Such a Pretty Face. She issued four collections of her writing. A long-time director of SFWA, she received the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service Award in 2019 and was active in the SFWA Musketeers.

Artist  and author Joe Bergeron (b.1955) died on March 14. Bergeron did cover art for NESFA, ISFiC, and Asimov’s. He wrote the Endurian Universe novels as well as The Bronze Portal and The Way of an Eagle. Bergeron was also an amateur astronomer.

Author Len Deighton (b.1929) died on March 15. Deighton was best known as a thriller author, but dipped his foot into the genre with the alternate history novel SS-GB, set in  Nazi-occupied Britain.

Author William C. Deitz (b.1945) died on March 15. Dietz began publishing with War World (a.k.a. Galactic Bounty). He wrote the Legion of the Damned series, the Winds of War series, and several stand-alone novels. Deitz also wrote works for the Star Wars and Starcraft universes.

Author Vitaly Zabirko (b.1951) died on March 23. His first story was “Watchdog” and his first sf novel was Pat’s Option. He published 13 novels over the course of his career was as a member of the National Union of Ukrainian Writers and the Union of Russian Writers.

Author Thomas Tessier (b.1947) died on March 26. Tessier’s first novel, The Fates, was published in 1978. He continued to publish horror novels and short fiction, with his most recent collection, World of Hurt, appearing in 2019. Tessier won the IHG Award for his novel Fog Heart and his collection Ghost Music.

Author Rosemary Edghill (b.1956) died on April 7. Edghill, who was born eluki bes shahar, began publishing with Hellflower under her birthname in 1985. She has collaborated with Mercedes Lackey, Andre Norton, and other authors and has had a successful solo career, publishing several series under both names.

Author Ian Watson (b.1943) died on April 13. Watson was the author of The Embedding, The Jonah Kit, Mockymen, and the Black Current novels. He won two BSFA Awards and an Apollo Award.

Author Jim Comer (b.1966) died on April 29. Comer published short stories and his review and criticism appeared at Cirsova, QueerSciFi, and elsewhere. He also published several sourcebooks for White Wolf.

Editor Ted White (b.1938) died on May 24. White was an assistant editor of F&SF before editing Amazing and Fantastic from 1968-1979. He co-chaired NYCon 3, the 1967 Worldcon, won a Best Fan Writer Hugo in 1968 and was GoH at Aussiecon Two in 1985. White chaired Lunacons 11-13.

Author Jane Yolen (b.1939) died on June 11. She wrote books and novels for all ages, including Briar Rose, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, and The Devil’s Arithmetic.Yolen won two Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, and was named Grand Master by the SFPA and SFWA and a Lifetime Achievement from World Fantasy. She served as SFWA President from 1986-8.