Don Sakers (June 16, 1958 – May 17, 2021) was an American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
writer and
fan who lived in
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, and wrote several novels and edited a short story collection. In 2009 he succeeded
Thomas Easton
Thomas A. Easton (born 17 July 1944) is a teacher and well-known science fiction critic and author. He retired as a professor from Thomas College of Maine in 2014 and now teaches part-time at Mount Ida College in Newton, MA.
Easton holds a Bachel ...
as book reviewer for
Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Sakers is probably best known in the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
community as a frequent guest speaker at
science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expre ...
s.
When asked about the reaction to the diversity elements in his SF, Sakers said:
Writing career and SF fandom
Sakers was the author of SF novels ''Dance for the Ivory Madonna'' (2002) and companion titles ''The Leaves of October'' (1988), ''A Voice in Every Wind'' (2003), ''Weaving the Web of Days'' (2004), and ''A Rose From Old Terra'' (2007); and dark fantasy novel ''Curse of the Zwilling'' (2003). He was also author of the short story "The Cold Solution" (
''Analog'', 1991) and other short fiction. Sakers was editor of ''Carmen Miranda's Ghost Is Haunting Space Station Three'' (1990), an anthology of stories based on
Leslie Fish
Leslie Fish is a folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist.
Music
Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recording, ''Solar S ...
's song of the same name; the ''SF Book of Days'' (2004); and the ''Gaylaxicon 2006 Sampler''. Sakers was also the author of two gay young adult novels: ''Act Well Your Part'' (1986) and ''Lucky in Love'' (1988).
Melissa Scott
Melissa Scott (born 1960, in Little Rock, Arkansas) is an American science fiction and fantasy author noted for her science fiction novels featuring LGBT characters and elaborate settings.
Biography
Scott studied history at Harvard College and B ...
called him "a left wing
Heinlein
Heinlein or Henlein is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Karl Heinlein (1892–1960), Austrian former footballer
* Klaus Heinlein (born 1953), German former footballer
* Konrad Henlein (1898–1945), Nazi German politici ...
."
A member of the
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whil ...
, he wrote numerous obituaries for their web site, including that of
Lisa A. Barnett.
''Dance for the Ivory Madonna''
According to a ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' review, ''Dance for the Ivory Madonna'' is about when;
Sakers described the book as being about "a lot of things: friendship, toleration, a celebration of the creative spirit, a paean to unconventionality. It's about what's wrong with today's world, what's right with today's world, and what hope there is for the future. It's about how our technology affects us, and about the decisions we can make regarding those effects."
''Dance for the Ivory Madonna'' was a
Spectrum Award
The Spectrum Awards were established in 1994 by Cathy Fenner and Arnie Fenner to recognize the best in fantasy, science fiction, and horror artwork created each year. Spectrum Award categories
* Grand Master
* Advertising
* Book
* Comics
* Concept ...
finalist.
Science fiction conventions
Sakers was guest of honor at the 1995
Gaylaxicon, and was a frequent guest speaker at other Gaylaxicons,
Albacon,
Arisia
Arisia is a Boston-area, volunteer-run science fiction convention, named for a planet in the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. The name was chosen in response to an older Boston-area con, Boskone, which took the typical ending for a conve ...
, and
Boskone
Boskone is an annual science fiction convention ("con") run by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. In the words of the convention organizers, "Boskone is a regional Science Fiction ...
.
Personal life
Sakers was born in
Yokosuka
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
, the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region.
The city ...
,
Japan, but grew up in the United States.
He was openly
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and had
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
and
autism. He shared a home in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, wh ...
with his spouse, costumer Thomas Atkinson. Their house, known as Meerkat Meade, was featured in ''Weird Maryland''. His self-described "
day job
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
" was with the
Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
public library, where he worked for 42 years. Sakers was an active blogger.
Profile at Blogger.com
Accessed January 23, 2008.
Sakers died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
on May 17, 2021, aged 62.
Bibliography
Novels
;Scattered Worlds Mosaic
#
#
#
#
#
# [A collection of two short stories.]
#
# ''The Leaves of October'' (started as a short story in August 1983's ''Analog
Analog or analogue may refer to:
Computing and electronics
* Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable
** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals
*** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
'', and was expanded as a novel in 1988)
Short fiction
;Collections
* [Includes some non-fiction pieces.]
;Stories[Short stories unless otherwise noted.]
Review columns
———————
;Notes
References
External links
Official web site
Scattered Worlds web site
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakers, Don
1958 births
2021 deaths
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American short story writers
American librarians
American male novelists
American male short story writers
American science fiction writers
Analog Science Fiction and Fact people
American gay writers
American LGBT novelists
People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Science fiction fans
20th-century American male writers
21st-century American male writers
People on the autism spectrum
21st-century LGBT people