Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American

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 ...

fan, author, editor, and writing instructor.

Background and discovery of fandom

Carr was born in

Grants Pass, Oregon Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The population was 39,189 ...

. He attended the

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franc ...

and the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

from 1954 to 1959. Carr discovered

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. (He was one of the two fans responsible for the hoax fan 'Carl Brandon' after whom the Carl Brandon Society takes its name.) Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine (1959–1961, 1967–1968), winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer (1971–1973), winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at

ConFederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...

in 1986.

Professional work

Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scien ...

, establishing the ''

Ace Science Fiction Specials Ace Science Fiction Specials are three series of science fiction and fantasy books published by Ace Books between 1968 and 1990. Terry Carr edited the first and third series, taking the "TV special" concept and adapting it to paperback marketing. T ...

'' series which published, among other novels, '' Behold the Man'' and ''

The Warlord of the Air ''The Warlord of the Air'' is a 1971 British alternate history novel written by Michael Moorcock. It concerns the adventures of Oswald Bastable, an Edwardian era soldier stationed in India, and his adventures in an alternate universe, in his ...

'' by Michael Moorcock, ''

The Left Hand of Darkness ''The Left Hand of Darkness'' is a science fiction novel by U.S. writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Published in 1969, it became immensely popular, and established Le Guin's status as a major author of science fiction. The novel is set in the fictional ...

'' by

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

and ''

Rite of Passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of social status, status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisat ...

'' by

Alexei Panshin Alexei Panshin (August 14, 1940 – August 21, 2022) was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel ''Rite of Passage''Nicholls 1979, p. 447 ...

. After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called ''Universe'', and a popular series of ''

The Best Science Fiction of the Year The Best Science Fiction of the Year was a series of annual paperback anthologies edited by Terry Carr. It was published by Ballantine Books from 1972 to 1980, Pocket Books from 1981 to 1983, Baen Books in 1984, and Tor Books from 1985 to 1987. T ...

'' anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times (1973–1975, 1977–1979, 1981–1987), winning twice (1985 and 1987). His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won. Terry Carr commissioned a first novel from

William Gibson William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, hi ...

for the second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials, shortly after the Denver WorldCon, 1981. The purpose of the series was to give attention to first-time novelists. Gibson's fellow Ace Specials first-timers were

Kim Stanley Robinson Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...

, Michael Swanwick, Lucius Shepard, Carter Scholz, and Howard Waldrop. William Gibson mentions Carr in the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of the book: "Having been talked into signing a contract (by the late Terry Carr, without whom there would certainly be no Neuromancer) . . ." Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

in 1978, where his students included

Richard Kadrey Richard Kadrey (born August 27, 1957) is a San Francisco-based novelist, freelance writer, and photographer. Kadrey was born in New York City, New York. Fiction Kadrey has written fifteen novels, including ''The New York Times'' Best Seller ...

and Pat Murphy.

Personal life

Carr married a fellow science fiction fan, Miriam Dyches, in 1959. They were divorced in 1961. Later that year, Carr married Carol Stuart. He remained married to her until his death. Under her married name of Carol Carr, his widow has also sold science fiction: "You Think You've Got Troubles" (1969), "Inside" (1970), "Some Are Born Cats" (1973, with Terry Carr), "Wally a Deux" (1973), and "Tooth Fairy" (1984).

Death

On April 7, 1987, Carr died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

. A memorial gathering of the science fiction community was held in

Tilden Park Charles Lee Tilden Regional Park, also known as Tilden Park or Tilden, [], is a regional park in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It is between the Berkeley Hills and San Pablo R ...

in [ erkeley, California on May 30. An original anthology of science fiction, ''Terry's Universe'', was published the following year; all proceeds went to his widow. His papers and his large collection of fanzines (71 linear feet and almost 2000 titles) have become part of the Eaton collection of Science Fiction at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban dist ...

Published works

Novels

* '' Warlord of Kor'' (1963) * ''

Invasion From 2500 ''Invasion from 2500'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Ted White and Terry Carr in 1964 under the pseudonym Norman Edwards. It was published by Monarch Books Monarch Books was an American publishing firm in the late 1950s/early 1 ...

'' (1964, with Ted White using the joint pseudonym Norman Edwards) * ''Cirque'' (1977)

Collections

* '' The Incompleat Terry Carr'' (1972, 1988) * '' The Light at the End of the Universe'' (1976) * '' Fandom Harvest'' (1986)

Anthologies

World's Best Science Fiction

*'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1965'' (1965 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1966'' (1966 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1967'' (1967 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1968'' (1968 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1969'' (1969 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1970'' (1970 with Donald A. Wollheim) *'' World's Best Science Fiction: 1971'' (1971 with Donald A. Wollheim)

The Best Science Fiction of the Year The Best Science Fiction of the Year was a series of annual paperback anthologies edited by Terry Carr. It was published by Ballantine Books from 1972 to 1980, Pocket Books from 1981 to 1983, Baen Books in 1984, and Tor Books from 1985 to 1987. T ...

*''

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...

*'' Universe 1'' (1971) *'' Universe 2'' (1972) *'' Universe 3'' (1973) *'' Universe 4'' (1974) *'' Universe 5'' (1975) *'' Universe 6'' (1976) *'' Universe 7'' (1977) *'' Universe 8'' (1978) *'' Universe 9'' (1979) *'' Universe 10'' (1980) *'' Universe 11'' (1981) *'' Universe 12'' (1982) *'' Universe 13'' (1983) *'' Universe 14'' (1984) *'' Universe 15'' (1985) *'' Universe 16'' (1986) *'' Universe 17'' (1987)

Other anthologies

* ''New Worlds of Fantasy'' (1967) * ''New Worlds of Fantasy#2'' (1970) * ''New Worlds of Fantasy#3'' (1971) * ''Year's Finest Fantasy'' (1978) * ''Year's Finest Fantasy 2'' (July 1979) * ''Fantasy Annual III'' (May 1981) * ''Fantasy Annual IV'' (November 1981) * ''Fantasy Annual V'' (November 1982) * ''Science Fiction for People Who Hate Science Fiction'' (1966) * ''The Others'' (1969) * ''On Our Way to the Future'' (1970) * ''This Side of Infinity'' (1972) * ''Into the Unknown'' (1973) * ''An Exaltation of Stars'' (1973) * ''Fellowship of the Stars'' (1974) * ''Worlds Near and Far'' (1974) * ''Creatures from Beyond'' (1975) * ''Planets of Wonder'' (1976) * ''The Ides of Tomorrow'' (1976) * ''The Infinite Arena'' (1977) * ''To Follow a Star: Nine Science Fiction Stories About Christmas'' (1977) * ''Classic Science Fiction: The First Golden Age'' (1978) * ''Beyond Reality'' (1979) * '' Dream's Edge'' (1980) * ''A Treasury of Modern Fantasy'' (1981) with Martin H. Greenberg * ''100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories'' (1984) with

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

and Martin H. Greenberg

References

* *
Plaid Works: ''Electronic OtherRealms #16''

External links

*

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20020124053557/http://scifan.com/writers/cc/CarrGTerry.asp Bibliographyat SciFan * * *
"Warlord of Kor"
at Project Gutenberg
Carol Carr bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Terry 1937 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers American book editors American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American speculative fiction editors City College of San Francisco alumni Educators from Oregon Hugo Award-winning editors Hugo Award-winning fan writers Michigan State University faculty Novelists from Oregon People from Grants Pass, Oregon Science fiction editors University of California, Berkeley alumni Male speculative fiction editors