Howard Waldrop Explained

Howard Waldrop
Birth Date:September 15, 1946
Birth Place:Houston, Mississippi, U.S.
Death Place:Austin, Texas, U.S.
Occupation:Fiction writer
Genre:Science fiction
Awards:Nebula Award (1980)
World Fantasy Award (1981)
Notableworks:"The Ugly Chickens", "Night of the Cooters"

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.

Personal life

Though born in Houston, Mississippi, 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,[1] and taught at the Clarion Workshop.[2]

Waldrop died from a stroke in Austin, on January 14, 2024, at the age of 77.[3] [4]

Professional life

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).[5]

Waldrop was one of three writer Guests of Honor at the 1995 World Fantasy Convention[6] held in Baltimore and at Readercon 15[7] held in Burlington, Massachusetts, in 2003.[8]

Waldrop was Professional Writer Guest of Honor at Loscon 46 in Los Angeles, California, in 2019.[9]

In 2004 he started writing movie reviews with Lawrence Person for Locus Online.[10]

Style

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

Bibliography

Novels & novellas

Short story collections

Short stories

Chapbooks

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Waldrop, Howard. (2004, August 1). The 1954 Racing Form, Sci-Fi Style.
  2. Web site: Clarion Workshop Writers 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030817213822/http://www.msu.edu/~clarion/writerinfo/03writerinfo.html. August 17, 2003.
  3. Web site: Howard Waldrop: 1946–2024.
  4. News: Howard Waldrop (1946–2024) . 15 January 2024 . Locus . 15 January 2024.
  5. Web site: Con History.
  6. Web site: History of the World Fantasy Conventions . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081231201820/http://www.worldfantasy.org/retro.html . 2008-12-31 .
  7. Web site: Readercon15 Program. November 27, 2011. August 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180817234645/http://www.readercon.org/previous/r15-prog.htm. dead.
  8. Web site: fanac.org ReaderCon 15.
  9. Web site: 2019 Loscon Guests of Honor Announced. September 15, 2018 .
  10. Web site: Lawrence Person's Bibliography.
  11. Web site: Howard Waldrop - Old Earth Books.
  12. Web site: TOC: Old Mars Edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois . John . DeNardo . . February 14, 2013 . September 26, 2014 . December 24, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141224133311/http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/02/toc-old-mars-edited-by-george-r-r-martin-and-gardner-dozois-2/ . dead .
  13. Web site: Mars as We Thought it Could Be: Old Mars, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois . Robert H. . Bedford . . Macmillan . October 8, 2013 . September 26, 2014.
  14. Web site: 2014 Locus Awards Winners . . June 28, 2014 . September 26, 2014.