Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author and former college professor. He is best known for his novel ''

The Forever War ''The Forever War'' (1974) is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story about human soldiers fighting an interstellar war against an alien civilization known as the Taurans. It won the N ...

'' (1974), which was inspired by his experiences as a combat soldier in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have won

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

awards, including the

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 (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

and

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

. He received the SFWA Grand Master for career achievements. In 2012, he was inducted as a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. 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 university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(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 List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. His family traveled and he lived in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Bethesda (Maryland) and

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

(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, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

and

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

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, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

in 1967. He was immediately drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. Serving 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 warfare, tunnel and l ...

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, ...

. He struggled to adjust to civilian life after returning home. His wartime experience inspired 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 pu ...

, ''War Year;'' his later novels such as ''The Hemingway Hoax'' and ''The Forever War,'' continued to explore the experience of soldiers in wartime and after returning home. In 1975, he received a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree in

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, 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 int ...

Writers' Workshop. Haldeman has resided alternately in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

, and

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

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

(MIT). He set his 2007 novel, '' The Accidental Time Machine'' at MIT. 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 hormone A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "se ...

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 ...

in May 1972. The novel was sold with the help of fellow writer

Ben Bova Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. 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 Fac ...

. It was based on his letters home from Vietnam and was marketed as mainstream and

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

. His most famous novel is his second, ''

'' (

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...

, 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 graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

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

Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

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. Originally a poll ...

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 Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...

paperback originals under the pen name Robert Graham. Haldeman also wrote two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' television series universe, ''

Planet of Judgment ''Planet of Judgment'' (1977) is a science fiction novel by American writer Joe Haldeman, a List of Star Trek novels, tie-in of the TV series ''Star Trek''. Plot summary The crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Starship Enterprise detects a ...

'' (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 appearance ...

'', 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 series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

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

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 Association (SFWA) to a living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was first awarded in 1975, to Robert Heinlein. ...

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 and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

(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. The genre has a ni ...

song "The Ballad of Stan Long (a sexist epic)" received a Pegasus Award in 2005. He received the

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

in 1991.

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 (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

* ''

'' (1976) – novel * "Tricentennial" (1977) – short story * '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) – novella * " None So Blind" (1995) – short story * '' Forever Peace'' (1998) – novel

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, was an annual award presented to the author of the best science fiction novel published in English in the preceding calendar year. It was given by s ...

* ''Forever Peace'' (1998)

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

* ''

'' (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. Originally a poll ...

* ''

'' (1976) – SF novel

Rhysling Award NOTOC The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best speculative poetry, science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the bl ...

* "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 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

* ''

'' (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 ''

'') * '' 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 ''

'' 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 ''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 Cla ...

'') – 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) * ''Supertanks'' (1987) (with Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg) * ''Space-Fighters'' (1988) (with Charles G. Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg) * ''Future Weapons of War'' (2007) (with Martin H. Greenberg)

Comics

* ''

'' drawn by Mark van Oppen (better known as Marvano) (original edition ''La Guerre éternelle'' (1988–1989)) * ''Forever Free'' drawn by Marvano (original edition ''Libre à jamais'' (2002)) * ''

Dallas Barr Dallas Barr is a comic book series (or "graphic novel") by Belgian artist Marvano (Mark van Oppen) adapted from American science fiction author Joe Haldeman's 1989 novel ''Buying Time''. The protagonist, Dallas Barr, is 132 years old. The ser ...

'' 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, United States, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then ...

(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 Inkpot Award winners Presidents of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association

Life

Work

Major awards

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 (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

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. Originally a poll ...

Rhysling Award __NOTOC__ The Rhysling Awards are an annual award given for the best speculative poetry, science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the bl ...

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

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 speculative poetry, science fiction, fantasy, or horror poem of the year. The award name was dubbed by Andrew Joron in reference to a character in a science fiction story: the bl ...