Joseph Neil Schulman (; April 16, 1953 – August 10, 2019) was an American novelist who wrote ''

Alongside Night ''Alongside Night'' is a dystopian novel by science fiction writer J. Neil Schulman intended to articulate the principles of Agorism, a political philosophy created by Samuel Edward Konkin III, to whom Schulman dedicated the work. It was first p ...

'' (published 1979) and '' The Rainbow Cadenza'' (published 1983) which both received the

Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newl ...

, a

libertarian science fiction Libertarian science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the politics and social order implied by right-libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private ownership of the means of production—and in so ...

award. His third novel, ''Escape from Heaven'', was also a finalist for the 2002 Prometheus Award. His fourth and last novel, ''The Fractal Man,'' was a finalist for the 2019 Prometheus Award.

Biography

Schulman was born in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeas ...

on April 16, 1953. He was the author of nine other books currently in print, including a short story collection, ''Nasty, Brutish, and Short Stories'', ''Stopping Power: Why 70 Million Americans Own Guns'', and ''The Robert Heinlein Interview and Other Heinleiniana''. He wrote the '' Twilight Zone'' episode " Profile in Silver", first broadcast on CBS March 7, 1986. Schulman died on August 10, 2019 at the age of 66, three days after suffering a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...

Filmmaking

Schulman was the writer, director, executive producer (along with

Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in ''Star Trek'' and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was g ...

) of the movie, ''

Lady Magdalene's ''Lady Magdalene's'' is a film directed, written and produced by J. Neil Schulman and starring Nichelle Nichols (who also received an executive producer credit). The movie was J. Neil Schulman's debut as a director, and Nichelle Nichols' debut as ...

'' which was produced by Schulman's own company Jesulu Productions. The movie won three film-festival awards: "Best Cutting Edge Film" at the 2008 San Diego Black Film Festival, "Audience Choice – Feature-Length Narrative Film" at the 2008 Cinema City International Film Festival held on the Universal Hollywood Citywalk, and "Special Jury Prize for Libertarian Ideals" at the 2011 Anthem Film Festival/FreedomFest held at Bally's Las Vegas. In 2013, Schulman completed production on a feature-film of ''Alongside Night'', starring

Kevin Sorbo Kevin David Sorbo (born September 24, 1958) is an American actor. He had starring roles in two television series: as Hercules in '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', and as Captain Dylan Hunt in '' Andromeda''. Sorbo is also known for actin ...

Jake Busey William Jacob Busey is an American actor. Among his most prominent roles have been serial killer Johnny Bartlett in 1996's ''The Frighteners'', Ace Levy in 1997's ''Starship Troopers'', Kyle Brenner in 2001's '' Tomcats'', Aiden Tanner in the 20 ...

, Tim Russ,

Garrett Wang Garrett Richard Wang () (; born December 15, 1968) is an American actor. Wang is known for his role in '' Star Trek: Voyager'' as Ensign Harry Kim. Early life Wang was born in Riverside, California, to Taiwanese immigrant parents. He has one s ...

Mara Marini Mara Marini is a Canadian actress best known for her reoccurring role as Brandi Maxxxx in the NBC comedy series ''Parks and Recreation''. She has performed in several independent films and plays in the Los Angeles theater scene, as well as making ...

, and

Gary Graham Gary Graham (born June 6, 1950) is an American actor, musician, and author. He may be best known for his starring role as Detective Matthew Sikes in the television series '' Alien Nation'' (1989–1990) and five subsequent ''Alien Nation'' televi ...

. The movie premiered in 2014 and had a limited theatrical release. It was released for streaming on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

and

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

and as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack.

Views

Schulman was a known proponent of the anarchist philosophy

agorism Agorism is a social philosophy that advocates creating a society in which all relations between people are voluntary exchanges by means of counter-economics, engaging with aspects of nonviolent revolution. It was first proposed by American liber ...

, which was developed by Samuel Edward Konkin III. Though originally a supporter of the

War on Terror The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, he was opposed to U.S. military occupations or operations in the Middle East. Schulman also supported free trade and was against tariffs.

Books

Schulman is author of: * ''Alongside Night'' (Crown Publishers, 1979; Pulpless.Com 1999) Libertarian Futurist Society gold medallion winner, 1989 * ''The Rainbow Cadenza'' (Simon & Schuster, 1983; Pulpless.Com, 2017) 1984 Prometheus Award winner for Best Libertarian SF Novel * ''Self Control Not Gun Control'' (Synapse-Centurion, 1995; Pulpless.Com 1999) * ''Profile in Silver and Other Screenwritings'' (Pulpless.Com, 1999) * ''The Frame of the Century?'' (Pulpless.Com, 1999) * ''Escape from Heaven'' (Pulpless.Com, 2002) 2003 Prometheus Award finalist for Best Libertarian SF Novel * ''The Heartmost Desire'' (Pulpless.Com, 2013) * ''Unchaining the Human Heart – A Revolutionary Manifesto'' (Pulpless.Com, 2017) * ''I Met God – God without Religion, Scripture, or Faith'' (Pulpless.Com, 2017) * ''Atheist to Believer'' (Pulpless.Com, 2017) * ''J. Neil Schulman's The Book of Words'' (Pulpless.Com, 2017) * ''The Fractal Man'' (Steve Heller Publishing, 2018) 2019 Prometheus Award finalist for Best Libertarian SF Novel * ''Origitent: Why Original Content Is Property'' (Steve Heller Publishing, 2018) * ''Why Original Content Is Property – Kindle edition by J. Neil Schulman, Wendy McElroy, Samuel Edward Konkin III, Stephan Kinsella, Steve Heller.''

References

External links

Official Website
*
Appearances
on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schulman, J. Neil 1953 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers Agorists American libertarians American male novelists American male screenwriters American male short story writers American science fiction writers Deaths from pulmonary embolism Former atheists and agnostics Non-interventionism People from Forest Hills, Queens Screenwriters from California Writers from Queens, New York