Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have won

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 uni ...

awards, including the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. He was awarded the

SFWA Grand Master The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to no more than one living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was inaugurated in 1975 when Robe ...

for career achievements. In 2012 he was inducted as a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Many of Haldeman's works, including his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

''War Year'' and his second novel ''The Forever War'', were inspired by his experiences in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. Wounded in combat, he struggled to adjust to civilian life after returning home. From 1983 to 2014, he was a professor teaching writing at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT).

Life

Gay Haldeman at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki in 2017, alt= Haldeman was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, Oklahoma. His family traveled and he lived in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Bethesda (Maryland) and Anchorage (Alaska) as a child. He had to repeatedly start classes as a new kid in local schools. In 1965, Haldeman married Mary Gay Potter, known as Gay Haldeman. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1967. He was immediately drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, where he served as a

combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tas ...

in the

. He was wounded in combat and received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. His wartime experience inspired his first novel ''War Year''. In his later books such as '' The Hemingway Hoax'' and ''Old Twentieth'', he continued to explore through fiction the experience of combat soldiers in Vietnam and other wars, during the wars and after return home. In 1975, he received a Master of Fine Arts degree in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

Writers' Workshop. Haldeman has resided alternately in Gainesville, Florida and

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. From 1983 until his retirement in 2014, he has been an adjunct professor of writing at the

(MIT). MIT serves as the setting for his 2007 novel, '' The Accidental Time Machine''. Haldeman is also a painter. In 2009 and 2010, Haldeman was hospitalized for

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...

Work

Haldeman's first book was a 122-page novel, ''War Year'', published by

Holt, Rinehart and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...

in May 1972. The novel was sold with the help of fellow writer Ben Bova. It was based on his letters home from Vietnam and was marketed as mainstream and Young Adult. His most famous novel is his second, '' The Forever War'' ( St. Martin's Press, 1974), which was inspired by his Vietnam experiences and originated as his MFA thesis for the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative W ...

. It won the year's "Best Novel" Hugo, Nebula and

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 ...

s. He later wrote

sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

. In 1975, two Attar novels were published as

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing ...

paperback originals under the pen name Robert Graham. Haldeman also wrote two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s '' Star Trek'' television series universe, ''

Planet of Judgment ''Planet of Judgment'' (1977) is a '' Star Trek'' tie-in novel, written by Joe Haldeman. Plot summary The crew of the Starship Enterprise detects a rogue planet (dubbed ''Anomaly'') orbited by a miniature black hole. This seems to contravene ...

'' (August 1977) and '' World Without End'' (February 1979). In a college creative writing class in 1967, Haldeman wrote the first two SF stories which he (later) sold. "Out of Phase" was published in the September 1969 ''Galaxy'' magazine, and "the other worked its way down to a penny-a-word market, ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'' and netted me all of $15 – but then years later it was adapted for ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

'', for fifty times as much. Not bad for a story banged out overnight to meet a class deadline."Autobiographical ramble
by Joe Haldeman Haldeman has written at least one produced Hollywood movie script. The film, a low-budget science fiction film called ''

Robot Jox ''Robot Jox'' is a 1990 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Mecha science fiction film, science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo. Co-written by scien ...

'', was released in 1990. He was not entirely happy with the product, saying "to me it's as if I'd had a child who started out well and then sustained brain damage". In a 2016 interview, Haldeman said, "Jack of all trades, master of none I think. It's a way to go. Not all writers go that way, but many of them do. On a day-to-day basis I wake up in the morning and I can do anything I feel like doing. I don't say, uh oh, I've gotta get back to that damn novel again. I can always write a poem or something. ... "

Major awards

The Science Fiction Writers of America officers and past presidents selected Haldeman as the 27th SFWA Grand Master in 2009, and he received the corresponding

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to no more than one living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was inaugurated in 1975 when Rob ...

for lifetime achievement as a writer during Nebula Awards weekend in 2010. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame inducted him in June 2012. He has also won numerous annual awards for particular works. He is a lifetime member of the

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 nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whil ...

(SFWA), and past-president. His

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defi ...

song "The Ballad of Stan Long (a sexist epic)" received a

Pegasus Award The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF). Awards The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...

in 2005.

Hugo Award

* "Hero" (1972) – novella * '' The Forever War'' (1976) – novel * "Tricentennial" (1977) – short story * '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) – novella * '' None So Blind'' (1995) – short story * '' Forever Peace'' (1998) – novel * "Four Short Novels" (2003) – short story

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

* ''Forever Peace'' (1998)

Nebula Award

* '' The Forever War'' (1975) – novel * '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1990) – novella * "Graves" (1993) – short story * '' Forever Peace'' (1998) – novel * ''

Camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

'' (2004) – novel

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 ...

* '' The Forever War'' (1976) – SF novel

Rhysling Award NOTOC The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...

* "Saul's Death" (1984) – long poem * "Eighteen Years Old, October Eleventh" (1991) – short poem * "January Fires" (2001) – long poem

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

* " Graves" (1993) – Short Fiction

James Tiptree, Jr. Award

* ''

'' (2004)

Pegasus Award The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF). Awards The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...

* "The Ballad of Stan Long (a sexist epic)" (2005) – Best Space Opera Song

Bibliography

Non-series

* ''War Year'' (1972) – nongenre Vietnam War novel, hardcover and paperback endings differ * ''Mindbridge'' (1976) – Hugo nominee, placed second in annual ''Locus'' Poll * ''All My Sins Remembered'' (1977) * ''There is No Darkness'' (1983) – cowritten with Jack C. Haldeman II * '' Tool of the Trade'' (1987) * ''Buying Time'' (1989) – published in the UK as ''The Long Habit of Living'' * '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1990) * ''1968'' (1994) (novel) – Vietnam War novel * ''The Coming'' (2000) – Locus SF nominee, 2001 * ''Guardian'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) – Nebula Award winner, 2005 * ''Old Twentieth'' (2005) * '' The Accidental Time Machine'' (2007) – Nebula Award nominee, 2007; placed fifth in annual ''Locus'' Poll * ''Work Done For Hire'' (2014)

''Forever War'' series

* '' The Forever War'' (1974) (Nebula Award winner, 1975; Hugo and Locus SF Awards winner, 1976) * "A Separate War" (1999, short story; appeared first in 1999 in the anthology '' Far Horizons''; collected in 2006 in ''War Stories'' and ''A Separate War and Other Stories'') (The story of Marygay Potter after she parts with William Mandella in '' The Forever War'') * '' Forever Free'' (1999) (a direct sequel to the first novel)

''Attar'' (the Merman) series

* ''Attar's Revenge'' (1975) (published under the pseudonym Robert Graham) * ''War of Nerves'' (1975) (published under the pseudonym Robert Graham)

''Star Trek'' novels

* ''

'' (1977) * '' World Without End'' (1979)

''Worlds'' series

* '' Worlds'' (1981) * '' Worlds Apart'' (1983) * ''Worlds Enough and Time'' (1992)

''Forever Peace'' series

* '' Forever Peace'' (1997) (Nebula Award winner, 1998; John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel winner, 1998; Hugo Awards winner, 1998) (while thematically linked to Haldeman's '' The Forever War'' series, ''Forever Peace'' is not set in the same universe) * "Forever Bound" (2010, short story; appears in the anthology ''Warriors'') (a prequel to '' Forever Peace'', it tells the story of Julian Class being drafted and trained as a soldierboy while falling in love with Carolyn)

''Marsbound'' trilogy

* ''Marsbound'' (2008) (also serialized in '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'') – placed fifth in annual ''Locus'' Poll) * ''Starbound'' (2010) * ''Earthbound'' (2011)

Short fiction collection

* ''Infinite Dreams'' (1978) * ''Dealing in Futures'' (1985) * ''Vietnam and Other Alien Worlds'' (1993) * '' None So Blind'' (1996) * ''A Separate War and Other Stories'' (2006) * ''The Best of Joe Haldeman'' (2013)

Anthologies edited

* ''Cosmic Laughter'' (1974) * '' Study War No More'' (1977) * '' Nebula Award Stories Seventeen'' (1983) * ''Body Armor: 2000'' (1986) (with Charles G. Waugh and

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 ...

) * ''Supertanks'' (1987) (with Charles G. Waugh and

) * ''Space-Fighters'' (1988) (with Charles G. Waugh and

) * ''Future Weapons of War'' (2007) (with

)

Comics

* '' The Forever War'' drawn by Mark van Oppen (better known as Marvano) (original edition ''La Guerre éternelle'' (1988–1989)) * ''Forever Free'' drawn Marvano (original edition ''Libre à jamais'' (2002)) * '' Dallas Barr'' drawn by Marvano based on ''Buying Time'' (1996–2005)

Poetry

;Collections * ;List of poems

References

External links

* *
"Autobiographical Ramble"
16,600 words
Daily diary on sff.net

Blog on LiveJournal
* at the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

(archived 2013-05-10) * *
Complete list of sci-fi award wins and nominations by novel

Review of War Stories

Joe Haldeman
at Fantastic Fiction *
Robert Graham
at LC Authorities (no records)

Interviews

* as part of th

(2007)
Interview
conducted by Roger Deforest (2006)
The Craft of Science Fiction
hosted b
MIT Communications Forum
(2006)
All of Joe Haldeman's audio interviews on the podcast ''The Future And You''
(in which he describes his expectations of the future) {{DEFAULTSORT:Haldeman, Joe 1943 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people Asimov's Science Fiction people Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School alumni Filkers Hugo Award-winning writers Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty Military science fiction writers Nebula Award winners Novelists from Florida Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from Oklahoma Rhysling Award for Best Long Poem winners Rhysling Award for Best Short Poem winners SFWA Grand Masters Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers University of Maryland, College Park alumni World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Gainesville, Florida Writers from Oklahoma City

Life

Work

Major awards

Hugo Award

Nebula Award

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 ...

Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...

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

James Tiptree, Jr. Award

Pegasus Award The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF). Awards The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...

Bibliography

Non-series

''Forever War'' series

''Attar'' (the Merman) series

''Star Trek'' novels

''Worlds'' series

''Forever Peace'' series

''Marsbound'' trilogy

Short fiction collection

Anthologies edited

Comics

Poetry

See also

References

External links

Interviews

Rhysling Award NOTOC The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. Unlike most literary awards, which are named for the creator of the award, the subject of the award, or a noted member of t ...