Joseph Edward "Jay" Lake, Jr. (June 6, 1964 – June 1, 2014) 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 unive ...
and
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
writer. In 2003 he was a quarterly first-place winner in the
Writers of the Future
Writers of the Future (WOTF) is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was established by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. A sister contest, Illustrators of the Future, presents awards for science fiction art. Hubbard characterized th ...
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, and worked as a product manager for a voice services company.
Lake's writings appeared in numerous publications, including ''
Postscripts
''Postscripts'' was a quarterly British magazine of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime fiction, first published in June 2004.Realms of Fantasy
''Realms of Fantasy'' was a professional bimonthly fantasy speculative fiction magazine published by Sovereign Media, then Tir Na Nog Press, and Damnation Books, which specialized in fantasy fiction (including some horror), related nonfiction (wit ...
Strange Horizons
''Strange Horizons'' is an online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and nonfiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables.
History and profile
It was launched in September 2000, and ...
'', ''
Asimov's Science Fiction
''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...
'', ''
Nemonymous
''Nemonymous'' was a short fiction publication that labeled itself a "megazanthus" (a portmanteau of magazine and anthology). It was published in the United Kingdom from 2001–2010, and edited by British writer D. F. Lewis.
This publication wa ...
The Internet Review of Science Fiction
''The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' was an American webzine devoted to science fiction criticism. It featured critical articles as well as reviews of short fiction and novels.
History
The magazine was published from 2004 to 2010 and publi ...
''.
Personal life
Lake was born in Taipei,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
; he was the eldest of three children born to
Joseph Edward Lake
Joseph Edward Lake (born October 18, 1941) is an American career diplomat who, in 1990, became the first resident U.S. Ambassador to the Mongolian People's Republic (the first U.S. ambassador to Mongolia, Richard L. Williams, was not a resident ...
(a U.S. foreign service officer serving in Taiwan at the time). As a child he lived in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
; Dahomey (now called
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
); Canada;
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
; and returned to Taiwan for a number of years when his father was posted there a second time. He attended high school at
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ranked as the second best boarding school and third best private high ...
(in Connecticut) and later graduated from the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in 1986.
Lake publicly revealed his advanced case of
colon cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...
. He was diagnosed in April 2008, and it then "progressed from a single tumor to metastatic disease affecting the lung and liver, recurring after multiple surgeries and chemotherapy courses." He used
crowd funding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by cro ...
through
YouCaring
YouCaring was a crowdfunding website for personal, medical, and charitable causes. The company was a Certified B corporation based in San Francisco, California. YouCaring did not take a percentage of funds raised on its site, or charge those rais ...
to pay for
whole genome sequencing
Whole genome sequencing (WGS), also known as full genome sequencing, complete genome sequencing, or entire genome sequencing, is the process of determining the entirety, or nearly the entirety, of the DNA sequence of an organism's genome at a s ...
, towards the "small possibility that the results of such a test...may suggest a treatment path." Lake died of the illness on June 1, 2014, just five days before his 50th birthday.
Lake is the subject of a documentary called ''Lakeside – A Year With Jay Lake'' by Waterloo Productions. The film, which follows Lake's fight against cancer, had a special work-in-progress screening August 30, 2013, at the
World Science Fiction Convention
Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...
in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
. , it is in post-production and is scheduled to premier at Sasquan in Spokane Washington during the 73rd World Science Fiction Convention on August 21, 2015.
His posthumously published collection ''Last Plane to Heaven'' was honored with the 2015
Endeavour Award
The Endeavour Award, announced annually at OryCon in Portland, Oregon, is awarded to a distinguished science fiction or fantasy book written by a Pacific Northwest author or authors and published in the previous year.
Pacific Northwest is home to ...
Night Shade Books
Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ''T ...
Night Shade Books
Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ''T ...
()
* '' Reign of Flowers'' (forthcoming)
In addition to these three novels there are at least two more stories set in the City Imperishable:
* "The Soul Bottles" from the anthology ''Leviathan 4: Cities'' (ed. by
Forrest Aguirre
Forrest Aguirre (born July 29, 1969) is an American fantasy and Horror fiction, horror author, and winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award for his editing work on ''Leviathan 3'', for which he was also a Philip K. Dick Award nominee. He recently ed ...
,
Night Shade Books
Night Shade Books is an American, San Francisco–based imprint, formerly an independent publishing company, that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Among its publications have been the U.S. edition of Iain M. Banks' novel ''T ...
, Nov. 2004) is the first published story of The City Imperishable.
* "Promises: A Tale of the City Imperishable" (2008) in '' Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy'' (ed.
Ekaterina Sedia
Ekaterina Sedia (born July 9, 1970) is a Russian fantasy writer. She immigrated to the United States and attended college in New Jersey to obtain her Ph.D. Her most famous work is ''The Alchemy of Stone'', a steampunk novel that examines sexism a ...
)
''Mainspring'' universe
* ''
Mainspring
A mainspring is a spiral torsion spring of metal ribbon—commonly spring steel—used as a power source in mechanical watches, some clocks, and other clockwork mechanisms. ''Winding'' the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores energy in ...
'' (June 2007)
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
()
* ''
Escapement
An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to ...
'' (June 2008)
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
In addition to these three novels there are at least two more novellas set in the Mainspring Universe:
* Chain of Fools (Subterranean, Oct 2008) and
* Chain of Stars (Subterranean, Oct 2009), loose sequel to "Chain of Fools"
''Green'' universe
* ''Green'' (June 2009)
Tor Books
Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
* ''Endurance'' (November 2011)
* ''Kalimpura'' (January 2013)
In addition to these three novels there are at least two more stories set in the world of ''Green'':
* A Water Matter (Tor.com, 2008)
* "The Passion of Mother Vajpai" (with Shannon Page) in ''Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy 2'' (ed. by William Schafer, 2011)
''Sunspin Universe''
* ''Calamity of So Long a Life'' (forthcoming)
* ''Their Currents Turn Awry'' (forthcoming)
* ''The Whips and Scorns of Time'' (forthcoming)
* ''All Our Sins Remembered'' (forthcoming)
* "To Raise a Mutiny Betwixt Ourselves" ( The New Space Opera 2, 2009,
Harper Voyager
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Co ...
)
* Torquing Vacuum (Clarkesworld Magazine, Feb 2010)
* (Is Anybody Out There?, June 2010, DAW Books)
* "To This Their Late Escape" (The Sky That Wraps, August 2010,
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Burton, Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. In addition to publishing novels, short stor ...
Fairwood Press
Fairwood Press is an American small-press publishing company, specializing in speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. It was founded by Patrick and Honna Swenson and is currently located in Kent, Washington.
The company has published work ...
()
* ''Death of a Starship'' (December 2009)
MonkeyBrain Books
MonkeyBrain Books (MonkeyBrain, Inc.) is an independent American publishing house based in Austin, Texas, specialising in books comprising both new content and reprinting online, international, or out-of-print content, which show "an academic ...
(Sunspin Universe)
* ''The Specific Gravity of Grief'' (novella) (June 2010)
Fairwood Press
Fairwood Press is an American small-press publishing company, specializing in speculative fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. It was founded by Patrick and Honna Swenson and is currently located in Kent, Washington.
The company has published work ...
* ''The Baby Killers'' (novella) (August 2010)
PS Publishing
PS Publishing is an independent book publisher based in Hornsea, UK.
Background
PS Publishing was founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther.Original Destiny, Manifest Sin'' (forthcoming)
Collections
* ''Greetings From Lake Wu'', Wheatland Press (November 2003) ()
** ''Greetings from Lake Wu; Signed, numbered, luxury edition'', Traife Buffet (2006) ()
* ''Green Grow the Rushes-Oh'', Fairwood Press (2003) ()
* ''American Sorrows'', Wheatland Press (August 2004) ()
* ''Dogs in the Moonlight'',
Prime Books
Sean Wallace (born January 1, 1976) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologist, editor, and publisher best known for founding the publishing house Prime Books and for co-editing three magazines, '' Clarkesworld Magazine'', '' ...
(August 2004) ()
* ''The River Knows Its Own'', Wheatland Press (September 2007)
* ''The Sky That Wraps'', Subterranean Press (September 2010) ()
* ''Last Plane to Heaven: The Final Collection'', Tor Books (September 2014) ()
Other works
''
METAtropolis
''METAtropolis'' is a series of science fiction audiobook collections.
In 2008, Audible.com released the audiobook anthology ''METAtropolis'', edited by John Scalzi and featuring short fiction in a shared world created by Scalzi, Elizabeth Bear, ...
: The Wings We Dare Aspire'', with
Ken Scholes
Ken Scholes (born January 13, 1968) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer living in Cornelius, Oregon, United States.
He is the author of five novels and over fifty short stories and his work has appeared in print since 2000. His s ...
David Moles
David Moles is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He won the 2008 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for his novelette "Finisterra," which was also a finalist for the 2008 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. He was a finalist for the 2004 ...
Nick Mamatas
Nick Mamatas ( el, Νίκος Μαμματάς) (born February 20, 1972) is an American horror, science fiction and fantasy author and editor for Haikasoru's line of translated Japanese science fiction novels for Viz Media. His fiction has been ...
),
Lethe Press
Lethe Press is an American book publishing company based in Maple Shade, New Jersey.The Exquisite Corpuscle'' (with Frank Wu), Fairwood Press (October 2008)
* ''
Other Earths
''Other Earths'' (2009) is an alternate history, science fiction anthology of all-new stories being edited by Nick Gevers and Jay Lake.
Contents
*Robert Charles Wilson (author), Robert Charles Wilson: ''This Peaceable Land, or, The Unbearable Vis ...
'' (with Nick Gevers), DAW Books (April 2009)
* ''
Footprints
Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hoof, hooves or paws rather than foot, feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by ...
'' (with Eric T. Reynolds), Hadley Rille Books (July 2009) ()
*''Down In The Ship Mines'' (2012) in SQ Mag, Edition 4 ' (ed. Sophie Yorkston)
LiveJournal
LiveJournal (russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary.
American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as ...