Todd J. McCaffrey (born April 27, 1956 as Todd Johnson) is an American science fiction writer known for continuing the ''
Dragonriders of Pern
''Dragonriders of Pern'' is a science fantasy series written primarily by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with A ...
'' series in collaboration with his mother
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey (1 April 1926 – 21 November 2011) was an American writer known for the ''Dragonriders of Pern'' science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction (Best Novella, ''Weyr Search'', 1968) an ...
.
Life
Todd Johnson was born 27 April 1956 in
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...
as the second son and middle child of Horace Wright Johnson (died 2009
[A Letter From Anne]
(17 December 2009). pernhome.com (c) Todd McCaffrey. Confirmed 2011-07-12.), who worked for
DuPont
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to:
People
* Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
, and Anne McCaffrey (deceased 2011
2012-11-21. pernhome.com (c) Todd McCaffrey. Confirmed 2011-11-24.), who had her second short story published that year. He has two siblings: Alec Anthony, born 1952, and Georgeanne ("Gigi", Georgeanne Kennedy), born 1959.
["Anne's Biography"]
. Anne McCaffrey. pernhome.com (c) Todd McCaffrey. Confirmed 2011-07-07.
Except for a six-month DuPont transfer to
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
, Germany, the family lived most of a decade in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
, until a 1965 transfer to New York City when they moved to
Sea Cliff, Long Island. All three children were then in school and Anne McCaffrey became a full-time author, primarily writing science fiction. About that time, Todd became the first of the children to read science fiction, the ''Space Cat'' series by
Ruthven Todd
Ruthven Campbell Todd (pronounced 'riven') (14 June 1914 – 11 October 1978) was a Scottish poet, artist and novelist, best known as an editor of the works of William Blake, and expert on his printing techniques. During the 1940s he also wrote ...
. He attended his first science fiction convention in 1968,
Lunacon in New York City.
Soon after the move, Todd was directed to lower his voice as an actor in the
fourth-grade school play, with his mother in the auditorium. That was the inspiration for ''Decision at Doona'' (1969) which she dedicated "To Todd Johnson—of course!" The story is set on "an overcrowded planet where just talking too loud made you a social outcast".
Anne McCaffrey divorced in 1970 and emigrated to Ireland with her two younger children, soon joined by her mother. During Todd's school years the family moved several times in the vicinity of Dublin and struggled to make ends meet, supported largely by child care payments and meager royalties.
Todd finished
secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
in Ireland and returned to the United States in 1974 for a summer job before matriculation at
Lehigh University
Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
. He studied
engineering physics
Engineering physics (EP), sometimes engineering science, is the field of study combining pure science disciplines (such as physics, mathematics, chemistry or biology) and engineering disciplines (computer, nuclear, electrical, aerospace, medic ...
and discovered computers but remained only one year. Back in Dublin he earned a Mechanical Engineering degree at the
College of Technology (Bolton Street). Later he earned a degree at
Trinity College Dublin
Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
.
[2009 Literary Guest of Honor: Todd McCaffrey]
. CONDOR (San Diego convention). Updated 2011-07-13. Reprinted with "20 Questions" and answers by Todd McCaffrey a
"Biography: A super short history (by Angel Adams)"
Pern Home (official site (c) Todd McCaffrey). Retrieved 2011-07-13. See especially questions 4 and 12–13.
Before Trinity College, Todd Johnson served in 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 ...
from 1978 to 1982, stationed in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, Germany, and determining to pursue civilian life. After Trinity he returned to the US hoping to work in the aerospace industry but found employment in
computer programming
Computer programming or coding is the composition of sequences of instructions, called computer program, programs, that computers can follow to perform tasks. It involves designing and implementing algorithms, step-by-step specifications of proc ...
beginning 1986. He earned a pilot's license in 1988 and spent a lot of time flying, including solo trips across North America in 1989 and 1990. Meanwhile, he sold his first writings and contributed "Training and Fighting Dragons" to the 1989 ''
Dragonlover's Guide to Pern'',
[Jody Lynn Nye with Anne McCaffrey, ''The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern'', Ballantine, 1989, pp54-65.] using his military and flight experience. Next year he quit his job to write full-time and in 1992 he attended the
Clarion Workshop
The Clarion Workshop is an American six-week workshop for aspiring science fiction and fantasy writers. Originally an outgrowth of Damon Knight's and Kate Wilhelm's Milford Writer's Workshop, Milford Writer's Conference, held at their home in Milfo ...
for new science fiction and fantasy writers.
[
Writing under the name Todd Johnson until 1997/98 he specialized in ]military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction and military fiction that depicts the use of science fiction technology, including spaceships and science fiction weapons, weapons, for military purposes and usually principal characters ...
, contributing one story each to several collective works.[Todd McCaffrey– – Summary Bibliography]
Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2011-07-13.["Publications"]
(no date). Todd McCaffrey blog. – McCaffrey's own list posted sometime 2010 or 2011.
Dragons
As a boy, Todd accompanied his mother to her meetings with writers, editors, publishers, and agents; and had attended conventions from age 12. He was exposed to Pern before its beginning: soon after the move to Long Island when he was nine, his mother asked him what he thought of dragons; she was brainstorming about their "bad press all these years". The result was a "technologically regressed survival planet" whose people were united against a threat from space, in contrast to America divided by the Vietnam War. "The dragons became the biologically renewable air force."
About thirty years later, Todd McCaffrey recalls,
the editor at Del Rey asked me to write a "sort of scrapbook" about Mum partly to prevent Mum from writing her autobiography instead of more Pern books. That was ''Dragonholder'' 999 999 or triple nine most often refers to:
* 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries
* 999 (number), an integer
* AD 999, a year
* 999 BC, a year
Media
Books
* 999 (anthology), ''99 ...
The editor had also pitched it to me that someone ought to continue Mum's legacy when she was no longer able. At the time I had misgivings and no story ideas.
Soon after selling his first stories, he had contributed the chapter "Training and Fighting Dragons" to ''The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern'' (1989).[ (responses 18 and 20). The title may be ''Dragon's School'', a forthcoming audiobook title liste]
at Amazon.com)
an
at BN.com
Retrieved 2011-07-14.
Todd McCaffrey was a Guest of Honor along with his mother at 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 ...
2008, the annual sci-fi convention in Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
. He was Literary Guest of Honor at ConDor 2009 in San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
[ and at AggieCon 2009 in ]College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States, situated in East-Central Texas in the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin, ...
. Todd attended DragonCon
Dragon Con (previously Dragon*Con and sometimes DragonCon) is a North American List of multigenre conventions, multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place annually over the Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
in Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
(September), where the 2011 Artist Guest of Honor was Michael Whelan
Michael Whelan (born June 29, 1950) is an Americans, American artist of imaginative Realism (arts), realism. For more than 30 years, he worked as an illustrator, specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art. Since the mid-1990s, he has ...
, creator of cover art for some early Pern books including ''The White Dragon''.[''Dragonholder'' 107.]
In February 2018 Todd was the Literary Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 36th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fantasy arts symposium.
Publications
McCaffrey recalls that he was first paid for writing in 1988: "an animated screenplay ''I got them ol' Reptilon Blues Again Mommasaur''" and the book ''Slammers Down!'' in a "choose your own adventure" series for Ace Books
Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...
.[ He published under his given name Todd Johnson until the late 1990s.]
Pern
* "Training and Fighting Dragons" (1989), in ''The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern''Dragonheart
''Dragonheart'' (stylized as ''DragonHeart'') is a 1996 fantasy adventure film directed by Rob Cohen and written by Charles Edward Pogue, based on a story created by him and Patrick Read Johnson. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, ...
''(2008)
* '' Dragongirl ''(2010)
* '' Dragon's Time'' (2011), Anne and Todd McCaffrey
* '' Sky Dragons'' (2012), Anne and Todd McCaffrey
Other
As Todd Johnson[
* ''Slammers Down! (Combat Command: In the World of David Drake's Hammer's Slammers)'' (1988)
* "The Archimedes Effect", ''The War Years #1: The Far Stars War'' (1990)
* "Dasher", ''The War Years #3: The Jupiter War'' (1991)
* "Ploughshare", ''Bolo: Honor of the Regiment'' (1993)
* "Legacy", ''Bolos 2: The Unconquerable'' (1994)
* "A Question of Valor", ''Bolos: Last Stand'' (1997)
As Todd McCaffrey]
Notes
References
*Todd McCaffrey (1999). ''Dragonholder: The Life and Dreams (So Far) of Anne McCaffrey by her son''. New York: Ballantine.
External links
Pern Home
((c) Todd McCaffrey)
Anne McCaffrey
official website at Pern Home
Todd McCaffrey
official website at Pern Home
* – summary bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaffrey, Todd
1956 births
Living people
Anne McCaffrey
American science fiction writers
21st-century American novelists
Writers from Montclair, New Jersey
Writers from Wilmington, Delaware
People from Sea Cliff, New York
American male novelists
21st-century American male writers
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin