Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) 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 ...

fan, author, editor, and writing instructor.

Background and discovery of fandom

Carr was born in

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. The population was 39,189 at the 2020 census. History Early Hudson's Bay Company hunt ...

. He attended the

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a State school#United States, public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

from 1954 to 1959. Carr discovered

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of

fanzines A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the

Carl Brandon Society The Carl Brandon Society is a group originating within the science fiction fandom, science fiction community "dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy and Horror fictio ...

takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at

ConFederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

in 1986.

Professional work

Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

, establishing the '' Ace Science Fiction Specials'' series which published, among other novels, '' Behold the Man'' and '' The Warlord of the Air'' by Michael Moorcock, ''

The Left Hand of Darkness ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fictiona ...

'' by

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

and ''

Rite of Passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

'' by

Alexei Panshin Alexei Panshin (August 14, 1940 – August 21, 2022) was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel ''Rite of Passage''Nicholls 1979, p. 447 ...

. After conflicts with Ace head

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...

, he worked as a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

. He edited an original story anthology series called ''Universe'', and a popular series of ''

The Best Science Fiction of the Year The Best Science Fiction of the Year was a series of annual paperback anthologies edited by Terry Carr. It was published by Ballantine Books from 1972 to 1980, Pocket Books from 1981 to 1983, Baen Books in 1984, and Tor Books from 1985 to 1987. ...

'' anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won. Terry Carr commissioned a first novel from

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...

for the second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials, shortly after the Denver WorldCon, 1981. The purpose of the series was to give attention to first-time novelists. Gibson's fellow Ace Specials first-timers were

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born 18 November 1950) is an American fantasy and science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began with short stories, starting in 1980 when he published "Ginungagap ...

Lucius Shepard Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism. Career Shepard was a native of Lynchburg, Virginia where ...

Carter Scholz Carter Scholz (né Robert Carter Scholz; born 1953) is an American speculative fiction author and composer of music. He lives in California. Biography Scholz grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey and graduated from Tenafly High School in 1971. He also ...

, and

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Personal life Though born in Houston, Mississippi, Waldrop has spent ...

. William Gibson mentions Carr in the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of the book: "Having been talked into signing a contract (by the late Terry Carr, without whom there would certainly be no

Neuromancer ''Neuromancer'' is a 1984 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. Considered one of the earliest and best-known works in the cyberpunk genre, it is the only novel to win the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and ...

) . . ." Carr taught at the

Clarion Workshop Clarion is a six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writers' Conference, held at their home in Milford, Pennsylvania, United States, it was founded i ...

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in 1978, where his students included

Richard Kadrey Richard Kadrey (born August 27, 1957) is a San Francisco-based novelist, freelance writer, and photographer. Kadrey was born in New York City, New York. Fiction Kadrey has written fifteen novels, including ''The New York Times'' Best Seller ...

and Pat Murphy.

Personal life

Carr married a fellow science fiction fan, Miriam Dyches, in 1959. They were divorced in 1961. Later that year, Carr married Carol Stuart. He remained married to her until his death. Under her married name of Carol Carr, his widow has also sold science fiction: "You Think You've Got Troubles" (1969), "Inside" (1970), "Some Are Born Cats" (1973, with Terry Carr), "Wally a Deux" (1973), and "Tooth Fairy" (1984).

Death

On April 7, 1987, Carr died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. A memorial gathering of the science fiction community was held in

Tilden Park Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park, also known as Tilden Park or Tilden, [], is a regional park in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo Ri ...

in [ erkeley, California on May 30. An original anthology of science fiction, ''Terry's Universe'', was published the following year; all proceeds went to his widow. His papers and his large collection of fanzines (71 linear feet and almost 2000 titles) have become part of the Eaton collection of Science Fiction at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

Published works

Novels

* '' Warlord of Kor'' (1963) * ''

Invasion From 2500 ''Invasion from 2500'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Ted White and Terry Carr in 1964 under the pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs ...

'' (1964, with Ted White using the joint pseudonym Norman Edwards) * ''Cirque'' (1977)

Collections

* '' The Incompleat Terry Carr'' (1972, 1988) * '' The Light at the End of the Universe'' (1976) * '' Fandom Harvest'' (1986)

Anthologies

World's Best Science Fiction

*'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1965'' (1965 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1966'' (1966 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1967'' (1967 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1968'' (1968 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1969'' (1969 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1970'' (1970 with

) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1971'' (1971 with

)

The Best Science Fiction of the Year The Best Science Fiction of the Year was a series of annual paperback anthologies edited by Terry Carr. It was published by Ballantine Books from 1972 to 1980, Pocket Books from 1981 to 1983, Baen Books in 1984, and Tor Books from 1985 to 1987. ...

*''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

*''

Universe 1 ''Universe 1'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, and illustrated by Alicia Austin, the initial volume in a Universe (anthology series), series of seventeen. It was first published in paperback by Ace Bo ...

'' (1971) *''

Universe 2 ''Universe 2'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr and illustrated by Alicia Austin, the second volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published ...

'' (1972) *'' Universe 3'' (1973) *''

Universe 4 ''Universe 4'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fourth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Random House in March 1974, with a Science F ...

'' (1974) *''

Universe 5 ''Universe 5'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fifth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Random House in November 1974, with a Science ...

'' (1975) *''

Universe 6 ''Universe 6'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the sixth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in April 1976, with a paperback ...

'' (1976) *''

Universe 7 ''Universe 7'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the seventh volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in January 1977, with a Scienc ...

'' (1977) *''

Universe 8 ''Universe 8'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the eighth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday (publ ...

'' (1978) *''

Universe 9 ''Universe 9'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the ninth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday (publi ...

'' (1979) *''

Universe 10 ''Universe 10'' is an American anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the tenth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Double ...

'' (1980) *''

Universe 11 ''Universe 11'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the eleventh volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in June 1981, with a paperback ...

'' (1981) *''

Universe 12 ''Universe 12'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the twelfth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday (p ...

'' (1982) *''

Universe 13 ''Universe 13'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the thirteenth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday ...

'' (1983) *''

Universe 14 ''Universe 14'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fourteenth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday ( ...

'' (1984) *'' Universe 15'' (1985) *'' Universe 16'' (1986) *'' Universe 17'' (1987)

Other anthologies

* ''New Worlds of Fantasy'' (1967) * ''New Worlds of Fantasy#2'' (1970) * ''New Worlds of Fantasy#3'' (1971) * ''Year's Finest Fantasy'' (1978) * ''Year's Finest Fantasy 2'' (July 1979) * ''Fantasy Annual III'' (May 1981) * ''Fantasy Annual IV'' (November 1981) * ''Fantasy Annual V'' (November 1982) * ''Science Fiction for People Who Hate Science Fiction'' (1966) * ''The Others'' (1969) * ''On Our Way to the Future'' (1970) * ''This Side of Infinity'' (1972) * ''Into the Unknown'' (1973) * ''An Exaltation of Stars'' (1973) * ''Fellowship of the Stars'' (1974) * ''Worlds Near and Far'' (1974) * ''Creatures from Beyond'' (1975) * ''Planets of Wonder'' (1976) * ''The Ides of Tomorrow'' (1976) * ''The Infinite Arena'' (1977) * ''To Follow a Star: Nine Science Fiction Stories About Christmas'' (1977) * ''Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age'' (1978) * ''Beyond Reality'' (1979) * ''

Dream's Edge ''Dream's Edge'' is an anthology of short science fiction stories about the "future of Planet Earth". It is edited by collector Terry Carr. It was published in 1980 by Sierra Club Books (San Francisco) with . The short stories included are: *" ...

'' (1980) * ''A Treasury of Modern Fantasy'' (1981) with

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ov ...

* ''100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories'' (1984) with

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

and Martin H. Greenberg

References

* *
Plaid Works: ''Electronic OtherRealms #16''

External links

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20020124053557/http://scifan.com/writers/cc/CarrGTerry.asp Bibliographyat SciFan * * *
"Warlord of Kor"
at Project Gutenberg
Carol Carr bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Terry 1937 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers American book editors American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American speculative fiction editors City College of San Francisco alumni Educators from Oregon Hugo Award-winning editors Hugo Award-winning fan writers Michigan State University faculty Novelists from Oregon People from Grants Pass, Oregon Science fiction editors University of California, Berkeley alumni Male speculative fiction editors