RIP Howard Waldrop

News has sadly broken of the passing of Howard Waldrop, a highly-acclaimed author of science fiction and fantasy short fiction, at the age of 77.

Waldrop was born in Houston, Mississippi in 1946. He spent most of his life in Texas, and became a childhood fan of genre fiction and comic books. He began a correspondence with George R.R. Martin via nascent comics fandom in the 1960s and they became lifelong friends.

Waldrop's writing career began in 1972 with the short story "Lunchbox" in Analog. Notably, this was John W. Campbell Jr.'s last discovery before his death. Waldrop was best known for his short fiction, publishing only two full-length novels in his career: The Texas-Israeli War: 1999 (1974) and Them Bones (1984), along with the novella A Dozen Tough Jobs (1989), which some have pondered as an influence on the Coen Brothers O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) (especially as the latter has a character called "Vernon Waldrip").

Waldrop was more at home with short fiction, penning around eighty published stories in his career. "The Ugly Chickens" (1980), about the extinction of the dodo, was probably his most acclaimed work, winning the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards and getting a Hugo nomination. "Night of the Cooters" (1990) was probably his joint-best-known tale. It was adapted for film in 2022 by Vincent D'Onofrio, and produced by Waldrop's friend George R.R. Martin.

His other joint-best-known story also owes something to Martin: in 1987 he contributed "Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!" as the very first Wild Cards story, in the very first collection in the series. The story depicts the adventures of Jetboy as the Wild Card virus is released over New York City and acts as the origin story for the franchise. The story also features the franchise's most-quoted line of dialogue: "I can't die yet! I haven't seen the Jolson Story!" Waldrop was offered the chance to pen more stories but he declined, only allowing that he might return to write the very last story in the series if Martin decided to wrap it up. Alas, that opportunity will now not arise.

His stories were assembled in numerous collections, most notably Things Will Never Be the Same (2007) and Other Worlds, Better Lives (2008). Waldrop's fiction was noted for its sense of humour and he became popular for his lively readings of his stories at conventions, including the annual ArmadilloCon in Austin, Texas. More than once, he was called "the court jester of SF."

A smart and interesting writer of idiosyncratic, lively fiction, Howard Waldrop will be missed.