Pioneering Sci-Fi/Fantasy Writer Anne McCaffrey Has Died
Prolific and beloved fantasy and science fiction author Anne McCaffrey--the first woman to win a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award--has died at age 85. She had been living in Ireland, where she raised show horses.
The author of dozens of novels, she was best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series, about the elite riders of genetically engineered dragons on the planet Pern, which has been settled by colonists from Earth. McCaffrey began the series in 1967 and later shared writing duties with her son, Todd.
Among the two dozen novels and novellas in the series:
After writing a few short stories in the 1950s, McCaffrey began writing novels in the 1960s, once her three children started attending school. Her Dragonriders series was an international success. Other series include "The Brain & Brawn Ship Series" and "The Crystal Universe."
She influenced and encouraged many up-and-coming science fiction writers, including Neil Gaiman, who met McCaffrey at a writers' convention in the 1980s. Gaiman told the Washington Post that McCaffrey took him under her wing offered advice over the years.
"I liked her as a writer," he said. "I adored her as a person.”
You can read McCaffrey's biography on her Dragons of Pern website.
>Watch this space for more about Anne McCaffrey's legacy, and see all of her books at Amazon.com
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