Spider Robinson | |
|---|---|
 Robinson at the 2004 Necronomicon | |
| Born | November 24, 1948 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Genre | Science fiction |
Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian science fiction author. He has won a number of awards for his hard science fiction and humorous stories, including the Hugo Award 1977 and 1983, and another Hugo with his co-author and wife Jeanne Robinson in 1978. [1] [2]
Robinson was born in the Bronx, New York City; his father was a salesman. [3] [4] He was an avid reader of science fiction, and it was his early childhood exposure to the juvenile novels of Robert A. Heinlein that later influenced him to become a writer. [5] He attended a Catholic high school, spending his junior year in a seminary; this was followed by two years in a Catholic college, and five years [6] at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in the 1960s, [7] where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. [3] While at Stony Brook, Spider entertained at campus coffeehouses and gatherings, strumming his guitar and singing in harmony with his female partner. [8] It was at this time that his friends, at his request, stopped calling him his childhood nickname of "Robbie" (a simple contraction of his last name, Robinson) and gave him the nickname "Spider", which he eventually adopted as his official first name. [9] [ failed verification ] [10] Robinson adopted the name partially out of admiration for blues musician "Spider" John Koerner. [11]
In 1971, just out of college, Robinson took a night job guarding sewers in New York City, and wanting a career change, began writing science fiction. He made his first short-story sale in 1972 to Analog Science Fiction magazine. [12] The story, "The Guy with the Eyes" (Analog, February 1973), was set in a bar called Callahan's Place; Robinson would, off-and-on, continue to write stories about the denizens of Callahan's into the 21st century. The stories have been collected into a number of published books. [13] [14]
In 1973, Robinson moved to Nova Scotia and began writing full-time. [4] He made several short-story sales to Analog, Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, and others, earning the John Campbell Award for best new writer in 1974. [4]
In 1975, he married Jeanne Robinson, a choreographer, dancer, and Sōtō Zen monk, with whom he later co-wrote the Stardance Trilogy. [15] [3]
He worked as a book reviewer for Galaxy magazine during the mid-to-late 1970s. In 1978–79, he contributed book reviews to Jim Baen's original anthology series Destinies . For several years after he reviewed books for Analog, including reviews of Heinlein's later work.
Robinson's first published novel, Telempath (1976), was an expansion of his Hugo Award–winning novella By Any Other Name. [4] Over the following three decades, Robinson on average released a book a year, including short story anthologies.
In 1977, Robinson released Callahan's Crosstime Saloon , a collection of short stories in his long-running Callahan's series. These stories, and later novels, make frequent reference to the works of mystery writer John D. MacDonald; his character Lady Sally McGee reflects Travis McGee, the central character in MacDonald's mystery novels. The lead character in Lady Slings the Booze frequently refers to Travis McGee as a role model. In Callahan's Key the patrons make a visit to the marina near Fort Lauderdale where the Busted Flush was usually moored in the McGee series. Similarly important to Robinson is writer Donald E. Westlake [16] and Westlake's most famous character, John Dortmunder.
In 1992, Robinson was master-of-ceremonies for the Hugo Awards at MagiCon, the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Orlando, Florida. [17] From 1996 to 2005, he served as a columnist in the op-ed section (and briefly in the technology section) of The Globe and Mail . [18]
In 2004, Robinson began working on a seven-page 1955 novel outline by the late Robert A. Heinlein to expand it into a novel. The book, titled Variable Star , was released on September 19, 2006. [19] [20] Robinson had previously written of his admiration for Heinlein in his 1980 essay "Rah, Rah, R.A.H.!", in the 1998 "Mentors", and in his book The Free Lunch. [21] In an afterword to Variable Star, he recounts the story of how reading Rocket Ship Galileo , and soon after, Heinlein's other Heinlein juvenile novels, helped set the direction for his life, and how he came to write the novel. [22] The novel reflects the very different writing styles of both Heinlein and Robinson; reviews of the books were mixed, praising Robinson's handling of a difficult task and the lively story, but criticizing the unlikely plot twists and trite romantic scenes. [23]
Robinson has resided in Canada for nearly 40 years, primarily in the provinces of Nova Scotia and British Columbia. He and his wife Jeanne had a daughter, Terri Luanna da Silva, who once worked for Martha Stewart, [9] and one granddaughter.
After living in Vancouver for a decade, [24] he moved to Bowen Island in about 1999. [25] He became a Canadian citizen in 2002, retaining his American citizenship. [26] Jeanne underwent treatment for biliary cancer, and died May 30, 2010. [27] Their daughter Terri died of breast cancer on December 5, 2014. [28]
Robinson suffered a heart attack on August 31, 2013, but recovered. Due to the health issues faced by both himself and his family, he has not published a novel since 2008. In 2013, Robinson reported on his website that work on his next book Orphan Stars was progressing, albeit slowly. [29] Concurrently, he has begun work on his autobiography. [30]
He was named a Guest of Honor at the 76th World Science Fiction Convention in 2018. [31]
| Year | Title | Co-author | Series | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Telempath | |||
| 1977 | Callahan's Crosstime Saloon | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | Collection of linked stories | |
| 1979 | Stardance | Jeanne Robinson | Stardance Trilogy | |
| 1981 | Time Travelers Strictly Cash | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | Collection of linked stories; also contains several non-Callahan's stories | |
| 1982 | Mindkiller | Deathkiller Trilogy | ||
| 1985 | Night of Power [37] | |||
| 1986 | Callahan's Secret | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | Collection of linked stories | |
| 1987 | Time Pressure [38] [39] | Deathkiller Trilogy | ||
| 1989 | Callahan's Lady | Lady Sally's | ||
| 1991 | Starseed | Jeanne Robinson | Stardance Trilogy | |
| 1992 | Lady Slings the Booze | Lady Sally's | An excerpt from Lady Slings the Booze was published in a special edition novella called Kill the Editor in 1991. | |
| 1993 | The Callahan Touch | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | ||
| 1995 | Starmind | Jeanne Robinson | Stardance Trilogy | |
| 1996 | Callahan's Legacy | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | ||
| 1997 | Lifehouse | Deathkiller Trilogy | ||
| 2000 | Callahan's Key | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | ||
| 2001 | The Free Lunch | |||
| 2003 | Callahan's Con | Callahan's/Jake Stonebender | ||
| 2004 | Very Bad Deaths | Russell Walker | ||
| 2006 | Variable Star | Robert A. Heinlein | Based on an outline Heinlein prepared in 1955. | |
| 2008 | Very Hard Choices | Russell Walker | ||
The Hugo Award for Best Novella is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novella award is available for works of fiction of between 17,500 and 40,000 words; awards are also given out in the short story, novelette and novel categories. The Hugo Awards have been described as "a fine showcase for speculative fiction" and "the best known literary award for science fiction writing".
Callahan's Place is a fictional bar with strongly community-minded and empathetic clientele, part of the fictional universe of American writer Spider Robinson. It appears in the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon stories along with its sequels Time Travelers Strictly Cash and Callahan's Secret; most of the beloved barflies appear in the further sequels The Callahan Touch, Callahan's Legacy, Callahan's Key, and Callahan's Con, and the computer game.
Callahan's Lady (1989) is a science fiction novel by American writer Spider Robinson, the fourth in his Callahan's Crosstime Saloon series. It is made up of 11 vignettes, all revolving around a bar and brothel owned by Lady Sally McGee, wife of Mike Callahan. The stories are written in the same fast-paced, pun-laced prose Robinson is noted for.
The 19th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Seacon, was held on 2–4 September 1961 at the Hyatt House Hotel in Seattle, Washington, United States.
Variable Star is a 2006 science fiction novel by American author Spider Robinson, based on the surviving seven pages of an eight-page 1955 novel outline by the late Robert A. Heinlein. The book is set in a divergent offshoot of Heinlein's Future History and contains many references to works by Heinlein and other authors. It describes the coming of age of a young musician who signs on to the crew of a starship as a way of escaping from a failed romance. Robinson posted a note on his website in 2009 noting that his agent had sold a trilogy of sequels based on the novel and its characters.
The Hugo Winners was a series of books which collected science fiction and fantasy stories that won a Hugo Award for Short Story, Novelette or Novella at the World Science Fiction Convention between 1955 and 1982. Each volume was edited by American writer Isaac Asimov, who wrote the introduction and a short essay about each author featured in the book. Through these essays, Asimov reveals personal anecdotes, which authors he's jealous of, and how other writers winning awards ahead of him made him angry. Additionally, he discusses his political beliefs, friendships, and his affinity for writers of "hard science fiction". The first two volumes were collected by Doubleday into a single book, which lacks a publishing date and ISBN.
The 66th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Denvention 3, was held on 6–10 August 2008 at the Colorado Convention Center and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, Colorado, United States.
The 59th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as The Millennium Philcon, was held on 30 August–3 September 2001 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Philadelphia Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
The 9th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Nolacon I, was held 1–3 September 1951 at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
The 20th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known unofficially as Chicon III, was held on 31 August–3 September 1962 at the Pick-Congress Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The 35th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as SunCon, was held on 2–5 September 1977 at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, United States.
The 36th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as IguanaCon II, was held on 30 August–4 September 1978 at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, Adams House, Phoenix Convention Center, and Phoenix Symphony Hall in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Despite the name, this was the first "IguanaCon".
The 42nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as L.A.con II, was held on 30 August–3 September 1984 at the Anaheim Hilton and the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, United States.
The 50th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as MagiCon, was held on 3–7 September 1992 at the Clarion Hotel, The Peabody Orlando, and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, United States.
Nebula Winners Thirteen is an anthology of science fiction short works edited by Samuel R. Delany. It was first published in hardcover by Harper & Row in February 1980, with a paperback edition following from Bantam Books in August 1981.
Jeanne Robinson was an American-born Canadian choreographer who co-wrote three science fiction novels, The Stardance Saga, with her husband Spider Robinson. Stardance won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1978.
Stardance is a science fiction novel by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson, published by Dial Press in 1979 as part of its Quantum science fiction line. The novel's opening segment originally appeared in Analog in 1977 as the novella "Stardance", followed by the serialized conclusion, "Stardance II", in Analog in 1978.
The Best Science Fiction of the Year #7 is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the seventh volume in a series of sixteen. It was first published in paperback by Del Rey Books in July 1978, and in hardcover under the slightly variant title Best Science Fiction of the Year 7 by Gollancz in November 1978.
The 77th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Dublin 2019—An Irish Worldcon, was held on 15–19 August 2019 at the Convention Centre, as well as in The Point Square, Dublin, Ireland.
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