Howard Waldrop (born September 15, 1946) is a

science fiction author This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) *Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Abn ...

who works primarily in

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. He received the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for Life Achievement in 2021.

Personal life

Though born in

Houston, Mississippi Houston is a city in and one of two county seats of Chickasaw County, in northern Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,623 at the 2010 census. History Native American groups had long used the future Chickasaw County for millennia b ...

, Waldrop has spent most of his life in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He moved to

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

state for several years, but has since returned to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

. He is an avid

fly fisherman Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...

. He is a member of the

Turkey City Writer's Workshop Turkey City Writer's Workshop is a peer-to-peer, professional science fiction writer's workshop in Texas. Founded in 1973 and still ongoing today, it was consciously modeled after the east coast Milford Writer's Workshop.Rio Hondo Writing Workshop, and has taught at the Clarion Workshop.

Professional life

He is a frequent attendee of

ArmadilloCon ArmadilloCon is a science fiction convention held annually in Austin, Texas, USA, since 1979. As the second longest running science fiction convention in Texas, it is sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas and is known for its empha ...

, the local science fiction convention held annually in Austin. He was the Toastmaster at the first ArmadilloCon (1979) and again at #29 in 2007; he was Guest of Honor at ArmadilloCon 5 (1983). Waldrop was one of three writer Guests of Honor at the 1995 World Fantasy Convention held in Baltimore and at Readercon 15 held in Burlington, Massachusetts, in 2003. Waldrop was Professional Writer Guest of Honor at Loscon 46 in Los Angeles, California, in 2019. In 2004 he started writing movie reviews with

Lawrence Person ''Nova Express'' was a Hugo-nominated science fiction fanzine edited by Lawrence Person. ''Nova Express'' is named after William S. Burroughs' ''Nova Express'' and the fictional magazine ''Nova Express'' in Alan Moore's ''Watchmen ''Watchmen' ...

for ''

Locus Online ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

''.

Style

Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternative history, American

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

, the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, old movies (and

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

s), classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical: ''Night of the Cooters'' is a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

The War of the Worlds'' told from the perspective of a small town

sheriff (a homage to Slim Pickens) who faces a Martian cylinder crashing down near his town; "Heirs of the Perisphere" involves robotic

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

characters waking up in the far future; "Fin de Cyclé" describes the

Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...

from the perspective of bicycle enthusiasts. Waldrop's work is frequently out-of-print, though still available for sale on-line; several of his books have been reprinted in omnibus editions. Several of his stories have been nominated for the genre's awards; "The Ugly Chickens" — about the extinction of the

dodo The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...

— won a

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

for best novelette in 1980, and also a

for Short Fiction in 1981; this is perhaps his best known work. In 2021, he won the

for Life Achievement.

Bibliography

Novels & novellas

*'' The Texas-Israeli War: 1999'' (with

Jake Saunders Sir John Anthony Holt Saunders, CBE, DSO, MC (widely known as "Jake") (29 July 1917 – 4 July 2002) was chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (now HSBC Holdings plc), at a time of rapid and turbulent development of the Hong ...

, 1974) (Ballantine mass market, 1986, ) *''

Them Bones "Them Bones" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It is the opening track and the second single from their second album, ''Dirt'' (1992). "Them Bones" peaked at No. 24 on ''Billboards Mainstream Rock chart and at No. 30 on the A ...

'' (Ace, 1984, ) *'' A Dozen Tough Jobs'' (novella) (Mark V Ziesing hardcover, 1989, ) *''The Search for Tom Purdue'' (announce

*''The Moone World'' (announce

Short story collections

*'' Howard Who?'' (Doubleday hardcover, 1986) (2006 trade paperback reprint from

Small Beer Press Small Beer Press is a publisher of fantasy and literary fiction, based in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was founded by Gavin Grant and Kelly Link in 2000 and publishes novels, collections, and anthologies. It also publishes the zine ''Lady Churc ...

, ) *''All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past'' (Ursus Imprints, signed/numbered/slipcased hardcover, 1987), (Ace mass market, 1991, ); mass-market UK edition reprinted under the title ''Strange Things In Close-Up'', 1991 *''Night of the Cooters: More Neat Stories'' (Zeising/Ursus Imprints hardcover, 1990) (Ace mass market, 1993, ) *''Going Home Again'' (Eidolon hardcover, 1997, ) *''Dream Factories and Radio Pictures'' (e-book, 2001 at http://www.electricstory.com; printed trade paperback from Wheatland Press, 2003) *''Custer's Last Jump and Other Collaborations'' (Golden Gryphon hardcover, 2003, ) (includes Waldrop's collaborations with Steven Utley,

Bruce Sterling Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the ''Mirrorshades'' anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre. Sterling's first ...

Leigh Kennedy Leigh Kennedy (born June 4, 1951, in Denver, Colorado) is an American science fiction writer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1985. Kennedy's story " Her Furry Face" was a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Short Story. She was marrie ...

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

, and others.) *''Heart of Whitenesse'' (Subterranean Press, hardcover, 2005, ) *''Things Will Never be the Same: Selected Short Fiction 1980-2005'' ("best of" collection from

Old Earth Books Old Earth Books is a specialty publisher which specializes in out-of-print and niche books, primarily in the science fiction genre. The name comes from the Cordwainer Smith ''Lords of the Instrumentality'' series. It is located in Baltimore, MD. I ...

, 2007, , trade paperback; for 300-copy limited edition hardcover) *''Other Worlds, Better Lives: Selected Long Fiction 1989-2003'' (

, 2008, , trade paperback; for 300-copy signed/limited edition hardcover) *''Horse of A Different Color: Selected Stories'' (2008-2013)

trade paperback, )

Short stories

*"Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!" lead off story in Wild Cards I: Wild Cards, Bantam, 1986 (multiple volume ongoing series currently in print from

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 ...

.) *"Thin, On the Ground" i
''Cross Plains Universe''

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 ...

, 2006. *"The Dead Sea-Bottom Scrolls" in '' Old Mars'' (anthology),

, 2013. Nominated for a

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

. *"

Ike at the Mike "Ike at the Mike" is an alternate history short story by Howard Waldrop. It was first published in '' Omni'', in June 1982. Synopsis Decades after he decided to pursue music rather than attend West Point, an elderly Dwight Eisenhower — now a ...

" ('' Omni'', June 1982)

Chapbooks

*''The Soul-Catcher'' (self-published, 1967) *''You ''Could'' Go Home Again'' ( Cheap Street signed/numbered/tray cased very limited hardcover edition, 1993) *''Custer's Last Jump'' (with Steven Utley) (

Ticonderoga Publications Ticonderoga Publications is an Australian independent publishing house founded by Russell B. Farr in 1996 and now run by Farr and Liz Grzyb. The publisher specializes in collections of science fiction short stories. History and current Tico ...

, 1996) *''Flying Saucer Rock and Roll'' ( Cheap Street signed/numbered tray cased very limited hardcover edition, 2001) *''A Better World's in Birth!'' (

Golden Gryphon Golden Gryphon Press was an independent publishing company, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy and cross-genre novels. It was founded in 1996 by Jim Turner, former editor at Arkham House, and was operated by his brother Gary a ...

, 2003) *''The Horse of a Different Color (You Rode In On)/The King of Where-I-Go'' ( WSFA, 2006); saddle-stitched trade paperback given out to members of the 2005 Capclave, though not printed in time to be distributed there (not available/sold separately after publication)

References

External links

*
A Woodsman's Guide to Howard Waldrop

(online at lexal.net)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldrop, Howard 1946 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers American alternate history writers Nebula Award winners World Fantasy Award-winning writers Novelists from Texas American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers People from Houston, Mississippi 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers