Steve Miller (July 31, 1950 – February 20, 2024) was an American

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 ...

writer from

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. A college town, the city is home to Colby College, a New England Small College Athletic Conference, NESCAC college, and Thomas College. As ...

, best known for his works set in the

Liaden universe Liaden Universe ( or ) is an ongoing science fiction series written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The books are primarily space operas with elements of Regency romance, novels of manners, and supernatural abilities. As of July 2024, the se ...

, written in collaboration with his wife Sharon Lee.

Background

Steve Miller was born on July 31, 1950, in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Franklin High School in Reisterstown, Maryland, graduating in 1968; and the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

in the late 1960s and 1970s, where he was news editor and managing editor of the campus newspaper, ''The Retriever'' and founding president of the Infinity Circle, the school's first science fiction club. He served as founding Curator of the UMBC Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery's science fiction research collection. Miller was an active member of

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 ...

for many years, serving as Director of Information of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society for some years, and as vice-chair of the bid committee to hold the 38th World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore (they lost to Boston). Miller married Baltimore-area science fiction fan Sue Nice in 1975; they divorced in 1979. He and Sharon Lee were married in 1980. In 1988, they relocated to central Maine, living for some time in

Winslow, Maine Winslow is a town and census-designated place in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, along the Kennebec River across from Waterville. The population was 7,948 at the 2020 census. History Winslow was originally an Indian settlement named ...

. In early 2018, they moved "into town" to nearby Waterville (on the other side of the

Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki language, Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 natural river within the U.S. state of Ma ...

). Steve Miller died in Waterville on February 20, 2024, at the age of 73.

Writing

In 1973, Miller attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop. He sold short fiction to semi-professional markets, and wrote for

science fiction fanzines A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" w ...

, before selling a short story, "Charioteer" to ''

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 ...

'' (May 1978 issue). He has since published dozens of novels and over 50 short stories, as well as

book reviews A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, an opinion piece, a summary review, or a scholarly view. B ...

, essays and other non-fiction; much (though not all) in collaboration with Lee. He has also collaborated with Lee on some non-Liaden works.

On fan fiction

Miller and Lee strongly oppose

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

written in their universe. In Lee's words:

I don't want "other people interpreting" our characters. Interpreting our characters is what Steve and I do; it's our job. Nobody else is going to get it right. This may sound rude and elitist, but honestly, it’s not easy for us to get it right sometimes, and we've been living with these characters ... for a very long time ... We built our universes, and our characters; they are our intellectual property; and they are not toys lying about some virtual sandbox for other kids to pick up and modify at their whim. Steve and I do not sanction fanfic written in our universes; any such work that exists, exists without our permission, and certainly without our support.

Publishing

Miller ran a small press from 1995 through 2012, specializing in chapbooks containing two to three short stories set in the

Liaden Universe Liaden Universe ( or ) is an ongoing science fiction series written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. The books are primarily space operas with elements of Regency romance, novels of manners, and supernatural abilities. As of July 2024, the se ...

, and other settings from books by him, Sharon Lee and other authors. The works published under this imprint by Miller and Lee have been published as ebooks in editions from

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

following the termination of operations of SRM Publishers, Ltd.

Works

Liaden Universe novels

''(coauthored with Sharon Lee)'' ;Agent of Change Sequence *''Agent of Change'' (1988) *''Conflict of Honors'' (1988) *''Carpe Diem'' (1989) *''Plan B'' (1999) *''I Dare'' (2002) *''Local Custom'' (2002) *''Scout's Progress'' (2002) *''Mouse and Dragon'' (2010) ;Omnibus Editions *''Partners in Necessity'' (Omnibus edition of ''Agent of Change'', ''Conflict of Honors'', and ''Carpe Diem'') (2000) *''Pilot's Choice'' (Omnibus edition of ''Local Custom'' and ''Scout's Progress'') (2001) *''The Dragon Variation'' (Omnibus edition of ''Local Custom'', ''Scout's Progress'' and ''Conflict of Honors'') (2010) *''The Agent Gambit'' (Omnibus edition of ''Agent of Change'', ''Carpe Diem'') (2011) *''Korval's Game'' (Omnibus edition of ''Plan B'' and ''I Dare'') (2011) ;The Great Migration Duology *''Crystal Soldier'' (2005) *''Crystal Dragon'' (2006) *''The Crystal Variation'' (Omnibus edition of ''Crystal Soldier'', ''Crystal Dragon'' and ''Balance of Trade'') (20110901) ;Other *''Balance of Trade'' (2004) *''Trade Secret'' (2013) *''Fledgling'' (2009) *''Saltation'' (2010) *''Ghost Ship'' (2011) *''Dragon Ship'' (2012) *''Necessity's Child'' (2014) *''Dragon in Exile'' (2015) *''Alliance of Equals'' (2016) *''The Gathering Edge'' (2017) *''Neogenesis'' (2018) *''Accepting the Lance'' (2019) *''Trader's Leap'' (2020)

Liaden Universe Short Story Collections

*''A Liaden Universe Constellation'' (2013) *''A Liaden Universe Constellation, Volume 2'' (2014) *''A Liaden Universe Constellation, Volume 3'' (2015) *''A Liaden Universe Constellation, Volume 4'' (2019) *''A Liaden Universe Constellation, Volume 5'' (2022)

The Fey Duology

''(coauthored with Sharon Lee)'' *''Duainfey'' *''Longeye''

Other Novels coauthored with Sharon Lee

*''The Tomorrow Log (2003)'' *''The Sword of Orion (2005)''

Anthology co-edited with Sharon Lee

*''Low Port (2003)''

Awards and honors

Miller (along with Lee) has received various literary awards. Miller, usually with Lee, has been a Guest of Honor or Special Guest at a number of science fiction conventions, including: SiliCon (1998); SheVaCon (2000, 2003);

Albacon Albacon is the Albany science fiction convention, held each year in the Albany, New York area, also called the Capital District. Albacon is the largest "Con" in upstate New York, United States. It is hosted by LASTSFA, or Latham-Albany-Sche ...

(2002); Balticon and MarsCon (2003); PortConME (2004, 2010);

CONduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit cur ...

and Trinoc*coN (2004);

Penguicon Penguicon is a convention in southeastern Michigan designed originally to mix the communities of the science fiction fandom and Linux user groups. In addition to educational panels on science fiction in the media, attendees participate in profe ...

and COSine (2006); Stellarcon (2009);

DucKon DucKon was an annual science fiction science fiction convention, convention held every May or June in the Chicago area between 1992 and 2014. The name is a shortening of DuPage County, Illinois, DUpage County KONvention. DucKon served as a fu ...

and Oasis (2010);

ConQuesT Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

and Chattacon (2012); and

RavenCon RavenCon is an annual American science fiction convention founded in 2006 and held in Richmond, Virginia. The name RavenCon was chosen as a tribute to author Edgar Allan Poe, who lived in Richmond for a time. The convention runs over 300 hours ...

(2016).

References

External links

* (Liad universe, Sharon Lee, and Miller) *
Steve Miller
in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

'', 3rd ed. {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Steve 1950 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers American romantic fiction writers American science fiction writers Novelists from Maine Novelists from Maryland People from Reistertown, Maryland People from Waterville, Maine People from Winslow, Maine Writers from Baltimore