Janet Asimov | |
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![]() Janet Asimov with her husband, Isaac | |
Born | Janet Opal Jeppson August 6, 1926 Ashland, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | February 25, 2019 92) New York City, U.S. [1] | (aged
Pen name | J. O. Jeppson |
Occupation |
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Education | |
Genre | Science fiction |
Spouse |
Janet Opal Asimov (née Jeppson; August 6, 1926 – February 25, 2019), usually writing as J. O. Jeppson, was an American science fiction writer, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst.
She started writing children's science fiction in the 1970s. She was married to Isaac Asimov from 1973 until his death in 1992, and they collaborated on a number of science fiction books aimed at young readers, including the Norby series. She died in February 2019 at the age of 92. [2] [3]
Jeppson earned a B.A. degree from Stanford University (first attending Wellesley College), her M.D. degree from New York University Medical School, completing a residency in psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital. In 1960, she graduated from the William Alanson White Institute of Psychoanalysis, where she continued to work until 1986. [4] After her marriage to Isaac Asimov, she continued to practice psychiatry and psychoanalysis under the name Janet O. Jeppson, and she published medical papers under that name.
Janet Asimov's first published writing was a "mystery short" sold to Hans Stefan Santesson for The Saint Mystery Magazine , which appeared in the May 1966 issue. [4] Her first novel was The Second Experiment in 1974; [5] Asimov wrote mostly science fiction novels for children throughout her career. [6] As a psychiatrist she incorporated aspects of psychoanalysis, human identity, and other psychiatry-related ideas in her writing. [6] According to Isaac Asimov, the books that Janet Asimov wrote in association with him were 90 percent Janet's, and his name was wanted on the books by the publisher "for the betterment of sales". [7] After Isaac's death, she took on the writing of his syndicated popular-science column in the Los Angeles Times . [2] [8]
Janet Jeppson began dating Isaac Asimov in 1970 immediately following his separation from Gertrude Blugerman. [9] They were married on November 30, 1973, two weeks after Asimov's divorce from Gertrude. [10] Despite Jeppson's upbringing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, [11] their marriage was officiated by a leader of Ethical Culture, a humanist religious group that Janet later joined. [12] On the same day, she learned that her first novel, The Second Experiment, would be published (under her maiden name). [10]
Their marriage lasted until Isaac's death in 1992 from complications relating to HIV, contracted from a 1983 blood transfusion during bypass surgery. [13] Janet reportedly consulted medical texts after Isaac began exhibiting symptoms, and she requested an HIV test be performed. His doctors insisted she was wrong and only tested Isaac for the infection after he became seriously ill. She wanted the information made public, but doctors insisted upon not disclosing it, even after Isaac died. After the doctors advising silence had all died, Janet Asimov went public with the knowledge. [14]
Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction.
The Foundation series is a science fiction book series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories and novellas in 1942–50, and subsequently in three books in 1951–53, for nearly thirty years the series was widely known as The Foundation Trilogy: Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), and Second Foundation (1953). It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov later added new volumes, with two sequels, Foundation's Edge (1982) and Foundation and Earth (1986), and two prequels, Prelude to Foundation (1988) and Forward the Foundation (1993).
It's Been a Good Life (2002) is a book edited by Janet Jeppson Asimov. The book, published by Prometheus Books (ISBN 1-57392-968-9), is a collection of Isaac Asimov's diaries, personal letters, and a condensation of his three earlier autobiographies:
Jack Carroll "Jay" Haldeman II was an American biologist and science-fiction writer. He was the older brother of SF writer and MIT writing professor Joe Haldeman.
Daniel Keys Moran, also known by his initials DKM, is an American computer programmer and science fiction writer.
This is a bibliography of the books written or edited by Isaac Asimov, arranged alphabetically. Asimov was a prolific author, and he engaged in many collaborations with other authors. This list may not yet be complete. The total number of books listed here is over 500. Asimov died in 1992 at age 72; a small number of his books were published posthumously.
Lynn Flewelling is an American fantasy fiction author.
Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot is the first book in the Norby series by American authors Janet Asimov and Isaac Asimov. In it, Jefferson Wells and Norby stop Ing from taking over the Solar System with the help of Jeff's brother Fargo Wells, police officer Albany Jones, and Admiral Boris Yobo. According to Isaac Asimov, although Janet Asimov did 90% of the work, his "name was wanted on the book for the betterment of sales [and he] went over the manuscript and polished it a bit." It, along with its sequel, was illustrated for Boys' Life.
Norby is a fictional robot created by Janet Asimov and Isaac Asimov who stars in his own series of children's science fiction books, The Norby Chronicles. His first appearance was in the 1983 book Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot, in total he appeared in 11 novels in the 'Norby' series. According to Isaac Asimov, although Janet Asimov did 90% of the work, his "name was wanted on the book for the betterment of sales [and he] went over the manuscript and polished it a bit."
Shawna Lee McCarthy is an American science fiction and fantasy editor and literary agent.
In science fiction, hyperspace is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel. In its original meaning, the term hyperspace was simply a synonym for higher-dimensional space. This usage was most common in 19th-century textbooks and is still occasionally found in academic and popular science texts, for example, Hyperspace (1994). Its science fiction usage originated in the magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 and within several decades it became one of the most popular tropes of science fiction, popularized by its use in the works of authors such as Isaac Asimov and E. C. Tubb, and media franchises such as Star Wars.
Lucky Starr is the hero of a series of science fiction books by Isaac Asimov, using the pen name "Paul French" and intended for children.
Kevin O'Donnell Jr. was an American science fiction author. He was the son of Kevin O'Donnell, who served as director of the Peace Corps in 1971–72.
"Unto the Fourth Generation" is a fantasy short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (F&SF) and has been reprinted in the collections Nightfall and Other Stories (1969) and The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (1986). It is Asimov's most explicitly Jewish story.
Charles A. Spano Jr., sometimes bylined without his middle initial, is an American writer who co-wrote one of the first original novels based on the universe of the Star Trek television series. Spock, Messiah!, co-authored by Theodore R. Cogswell and Spano Jr. It was first published by Bantam Books in 1976, and reissued in October 1984 (ISBN 0-553-24674-7) and by the Bantam imprint Spectra in September 1993.
Lisa Mason is an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, and urban fantasy.
List of the published work of Robert Silverberg, American science fiction author and editor. A complete list would include over 500 books.
Tales from the Spaceport Bar is an anthology of science fiction club tales edited by George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer. It was first published in paperback by Avon Books in January 1987. The first British edition was issued in paperback by New English Library in 1988.
Isaac Asimov wrote three volumes of autobiography. In Memory Yet Green (1979) and In Joy Still Felt (1980) were a two-volume work, covering his life up to 1978. The third volume, I. Asimov: A Memoir (1994), published after his death, was not a sequel but a new work which covered his whole life. This third book won a Hugo Award.
Depending on the counting convention used, and including all titles, charts, and edited collections, there may be currently over 500 books in Isaac Asimov's bibliography—as well as his individual short stories, individual essays, and criticism. For his 100th, 200th, and 300th books, Asimov published Opus 100 (1969), Opus 200 (1979), and Opus 300 (1984), celebrating his writing.