from SciFi Wire
SF Author And Publisher Dies
Jack L. Chalker, the award-winning author of more than 60 SF novels and anthologies, died at Bon Secours hospital in Baltimore, Feb. 11, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America announced. Chalker had been hospitalized since Dec. 25 for congestive heart failure and suffered from lung and kidney distress while in the hospital. He was 61.
Chalker is best known for his Well of Souls and Dancing Gods series of novels and frequent columns for Fantasy Review and Pulphouse magazines. He also founded a small publishing company, The Mirage Press, and is the co-author of the widely read reference book The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History.
Born in Baltimore in 1944, Chalker earned a bachelor's degree at Towson University and a graduate degree at Johns Hopkins University. As a lecturer, he spoke about SF and technology at numerous universities and institutions, including the Smithsonian Institute and the National Institutes of Health. He made regular appearances at many annual SF conventions around the world and was a three-term treasurer of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
Chalker's writing earned him the Dedalus Award, the Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books, the Skylark Award and the Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award. He was nominated for the Hugo Award four times.
Chalker is survived by his wife, Eva C. Whitley, and his two sons, David Whitley Chalker and Steven Lloyd Chalker, both of Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sierra Club, Save the Bay/Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Emergency Medical Fund.
