Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois was a prominent figure in the science fiction community, known primarily for his influential role as an editor. Born on July 23, 1947, in Salem, Massachusetts, he developed a passion for reading early in life, seeking an escape from his small-town upbringing. After serving in the United States Army as a military journalist from 1966 to 1969, he began a career in writing, publishing his first short story in 1966. His editorial career took off in the early 1970s, leading to a significant position as the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1985 to 2004, during which he earned numerous accolades, including fifteen Hugo Awards.
In addition to his editorial work, Dozois was a talented writer, winning Nebula Awards for his short stories and producing both solo and collaborative novels. Notably, he co-authored the novel "Hunter's Run" with Daniel Abraham and George R. R. Martin. Dozois contributed to the genre through anthologies and was a respected faculty member at the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshops. He was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2011. Dozois passed away on May 27, 2018, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most influential editors in science fiction history.
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Gardner Dozois
- Born: July 23, 1947
- Birthplace: Salem, Massachusetts
- Died: May 27, 2018
- Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Biography
The son of Raymond and Dorothy McSwiggin Dozois, Gardner Dozois was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on July 23, 1947. Dozois was an avid reader in his formative years; he stated in interviews that this was because he desired an escape from the provincialism of his hometown. After graduation from high school, he served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969, spending part of that time as a military journalist in Germany. He also published his first short story in 1966, though he did not pursue a fiction-writing career further until after his stint in the military.
In the early 1970s, Dozois performed freelance editorial work for science-fiction publications including Galaxy, Worlds of Fantasy, and Worlds of Tomorrow. Along with writers Jack Dann and Michael Swanwick, fellow members of what was subsequently to become known as the “Fiction Factory,” Dozois coauthored short pieces of speculative fiction for sale to pulp magazines. He also authored an in-depth look at the works of James Tiptree Jr., published in 1977. The central course of his career, however, changed in 1985 when he became the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine (ASF), a major journal in the field; he held that influential position until 2004.
Dozois established himself as perhaps the premier editor in science fiction in the 1980s and 90s, not only for his work on ASF but also for multiple collections of similarly themed stories, such as Timegates and Space Soldiers, and for the annual anthology series The Year’s Best Science Fiction. For his editing, he won fifteen Hugo Awards, the annual prizes given for literary achievement by the World Science Fiction Society. During this same period, Dozois was also a frequent faculty member at the annual Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers’ Workshops. A book-length interview of Dozois by Swanwick, Being Gardner Dozois, was published in 2001 and was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book. From 2008 to 2018, Dozois reviewed short fiction for Locus magazine. He was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2011, and in 2016 he won the New England Science Fiction Association's Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction, a lifetime-achievement award for those who have made a significant contribbution to science fiction.
Although he was best known as an editor, Dozois also gained some recognition as a writer. Two of his short stories—“The Peacemaker,” which focuses on the dilemma of a young boy who witnesses the submersion of the East Coast in a great flood for which he feels partial responsibility and for which he seeks a means of reversal, and “Morning Child,” which features a conflict between two men in the aftermath of a war that neither understands—won the Nebula Award from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 1983 and 1984 respectively. His short story collection Slow Dancing through Time (1990) won the Readercon Award in 1991, and his novelette "Counterfactual" (2006) won a Sidewise Award for best alternate-history short story. He wrote one solo novel, Strangers (1978), and several collaborative novels, including Hunter's Run (2008) with Daniel Abraham and best-selling fantasy author George R. R. Martin. Dozois and Martin went on to coedit a series of cross-genre anthologies of short stories between 2009 and 2015.
He was married to Susan Casper, with whom he collaborated on some of his books, until her death in 2017. The couple settled in Casper's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Dozois remained until his death on May 27, 2018.
Bibliography
Dozois, Gardner. Being Gardner Dozois. Interview by Michael Swanwick. Old Earth Books, 2001.
Dozois, Gardner. "A Conversation with Gardner Dozois." Interview by Jayme Lynn Blaschke. SF Site, 1999, www.sfsite.com/11b/gd93.htm. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
Dozois, Gardner. "An Interview with Gardner Dozois." Interview by Alex Telander. Book Banter, 4 Sept. 2010, bookbanter.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/an-interview-with-gardner-dozois/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
"Dozois, Gardner." The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 21 Oct. 2018, www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dozois‗gardner. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
"Gardner Dozois (1947–2018)." Locus, 27 May 2018, locusmag.com/2018/05/gardner-dozois-1947-2018/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.