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Howard Waldrop

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Howard Waldrop
Waldrop in 2007
Waldrop in 2007
Born(1946-09-15)September 15, 1946
Houston, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJanuary 14, 2024(2024-01-14) (aged 77)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
OccupationFiction writer
GenreScience fiction
Notable works"The Ugly Chickens", "Night of the Cooters"
Notable awardsNebula Award (1980)
World Fantasy Award (1981)

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.

Early life

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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]

Career

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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).[4]

Waldrop was one of three writer Guests of Honor at the 1995 World Fantasy Convention[5] held in Baltimore and at Readercon 15[6] held in Burlington, Massachusetts, in 2003.[7]

Waldrop was Professional Writer Guest of Honor at Loscon 46 in Los Angeles, California, in 2019.[8]

In 2004 he started writing movie reviews with Lawrence Person for Locus Online.[9]

Waldrop died from a stroke in Austin, on January 14, 2024, at the age of 77.[10][11]

Style

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Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternative history, American popular culture, the American South,[12] 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.[13]

Film adaptations

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Several of his stories are being adapted to film.[14]

Bibliography

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Novels and novellas

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  • The Texas-Israeli War: 1999 (with Jake Saunders, 1974) (Ballantine mass market, 1986, ISBN 0-345-33994-0)
  • Them Bones (Ace, 1984, ISBN 0-441-80557-4)
  • A Dozen Tough Jobs (novella) (Mark V Ziesing hardcover, 1989, ISBN 0-929480-01-5)
  • The Search for Tom Purdue (announced)[15]
  • The Moone World (announced)[16]

Short story collections

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Short stories

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Chapbooks

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Clute, John; Nicholls, Peter (July 22, 2021). "Waldrop, Howard". In Clute, John; et al. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz.
  2. ^ "The Infinite Matrix | Howard Waldrop | Week 12". www.infinitematrix.net. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Clarion Workshop Writers 2003". Archived from the original on August 17, 2003.
  4. ^ "Con History – F.A.C.T." Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  5. ^ "History of the World Fantasy Conventions". Archived from the original on December 31, 2008.
  6. ^ "Readercon15 Program". Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  7. ^ "Readercon 15". Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  8. ^ "2019 Loscon Guests of Honor Announced". September 15, 2018.
  9. ^ "Lawrence Person's Bibliography". www.lawrenceperson.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "Howard Waldrop: 1946-2024 « Lawrence Person's Futuramen". Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  11. ^ "Howard Waldrop (1946–2024)". Locus. January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  12. ^ "Why George R.R. Martin Broke the "Cardinal Rule of Hollywood" for a Childhood Friend". Yahoo Entertainment. December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  13. ^ "Howard Waldrop Awards". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus Science Fiction Foundation. December 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Ford, Lily (December 5, 2024). "Why George R.R. Martin Broke the "Cardinal Rule of Hollywood" for a Childhood Friend". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ "Locus Online: Howard Waldrop interview excerpts". www.locusmag.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  16. ^ [1]
  17. ^ a b "Howard Waldrop - Old Earth Books".
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "2014 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 28, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
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