Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of ''

Analog Science Fiction and Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William ...

'', for which he won a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

six times, and an editorial director of '' Omni''; he was also president of both the National Space Society and the

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy Fantas ...

Personal life and education

Ben Bova was born on November 8, 1932, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. He graduated from

South Philadelphia High School South Philadelphia High School is a public secondary high school located in the Lower Moyamensing neighborhood of South Philadelphia, at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of t ...

in 1949. In 1953, while attending

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

in Philadelphia, he married Rosa Cucinotta; they had a son and a daughter. The couple divorced in 1974. That year he married Barbara Berson Rose. Barbara Bova died on September 23, 2009. Bova dedicated his 2011 novel ''Power Play'' to Barbara. In March 2013, he announced on his website that he had remarried, to Rashida Loya. Bova was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and was critical of what he saw as the unquestioning nature of

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

. He wrote an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. ...

piece in 2012, in which he argued that atheists can be just as moral as religious believers. He went back to school in the 1980s, earning a Master of Arts degree in communications in 1987 from the

State University of New York at Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...

and a

Doctor of Education The Doctor of Education (Ed.D. or D.Ed.; Latin ''Educationis Doctor'' or ''Doctor Educationis'') is (depending on region and university) a research or professional doctoral degree that focuses on the field of education. It prepares the holder for a ...

degree from California Coast University in 1996. Bova died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

-related pneumonia and a stroke on November 29, 2020, at the age of 88.In Memoriam: Ben Bova
at

; published November 30, 2020; retrieved November 30, 2020

Career

Bova worked as a technical writer for

Project Vanguard Project Vanguard was a program managed by the United States Navy Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), which intended to launch the first artificial satellite into low Earth orbit using a Vanguard rocket. as the launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral ...

in the 1950s and later for the

Avco Avco Corporation is a subsidiary of Textron which operates Textron Systems Corporation and Lycoming. History The Aviation Corporation was formed on March 2, 1929, to prevent a takeover of CAM-24 airmail service operator Embry-Riddle Compa ...

Everett Research Laboratory in the 1960s when they conducted research in

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The ...

s and

fluid dynamics In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...

. At Avco Everett he met Arthur R. Kantrowitz (later of the Foresight Institute). In 1972, Bova became editor of ''

Analog Science Fact & Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', after

John W. Campbell John Wood Campbell Jr. (June 8, 1910 – July 11, 1971) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of ''Astounding Science Fiction'' (later called ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') from late 1937 until his death ...

's death in 1971. At ''Analog'', Bova won six

s for Best Professional Editor. Bova served as the science advisor for the television series '' The Starlost'' (1973)'','' resigning as he lacked the "contractual right to remove his name from the credits." His novel ''The Starcrossed'', loosely based on his experiences, featured a characterization of his friend and colleague

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

as "Ron Gabriel". In 1974, he co-wrote the screenplay for an episode of the children's

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 ...

television series '' Land of the Lost'', titled "The Search". After leaving ''Analog'' in 1978, Bova went on to edit '' Omni'', from 1978 to 1982. Bova held the position of President Emeritus of the National Space Society and served as President of

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction an ...

(SFWA). In 2000, he attended the 58th World Science Fiction Convention (Chicon 2000) as the Author Guest of Honor. In 2007, Stuber/Parent Productions hired him as a consultant to provide insight into what the world may look like in the near future, for their film '' Repo Men'' (2010) starring

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

and

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his f ...

. Also in 2007 he provided consulting services to

Silver Pictures Silver Pictures is an American film production company founded by Hollywood producer Joel Silver in 1980. The Silver Pictures logo, also called The Chip, is modeled on a block pattern that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the exteriors of the ...

on the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Richard K. Morgan Richard Kingsley Morgan, (born 24 September 1965) is a British science fiction and fantasy author of books, short stories, and graphic novels. He is the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for his 2003 book '' Altered Carbon'', which was adap ...

hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...

science-fiction novel '' Altered Carbon'' (2002). He was awarded the

Robert A. Heinlein Award The Robert A. Heinlein Award was established by the Heinlein Society in 2003 "for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings to inspire the human exploration of space." It is named for prolific science fiction author Rob ...

in 2008 for his work in science fiction.

Bibliography

, Bova had written over 124 books in various genres. He edited several works, including ''

The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two ''The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two'' is an English language science fiction two-volume anthology edited by Ben Bova and published in the U.S. by Doubleday (publisher) , Doubleday in 1973, distinguished as volumes "Two A" and "Two B" ...

'' (1973) and '' Nebula Awards Showcase 2008''. He wrote the ''Grand Tour'' novel series about

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

and colonization of the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

by humans. Reviewing a collection of 12 of the series published in 2004, ''The New York Times'' described Bova as "the last of the great pulp writers".

References

External links

* * * * * * * *
Obituary
at ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bova, Ben 1932 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century essayists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century essayists American atheists American male essayists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American writers of Italian descent American science fiction writers American speculative fiction editors Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Anthologists California Coast University alumni Critics of religions Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida Deaths from pneumonia in Florida Hugo Award-winning editors Inkpot Award winners The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from Pennsylvania People from West Hartford, Connecticut Science fiction critics Science fiction editors Science fiction fans Technical writers Temple University alumni Writers about religion and science Writers from Philadelphia Writers of books about writing fiction