Vernor Vinge

(October 2, 1944 – March 20, 2024)

Vernor Steffen Vinge was a pro writer and computer scientist, best known for "True Names", The Peace War, Marooned in Realtime, A Fire Upon the Deep, and A Deepness in the Sky and for writing about and popularizing the idea of the Singularity, notably in a 1993 paper titled “The Coming Technological Singularity: How to Survive in the Post-Human Era” for NASA’s VISION-21 Symposium, published in Whole Earth Review, but he had written about it in Omni a decade earlier. He was a master of hard science fiction in both the short form and novel-length.

He was married from 1972–79 to pro writer Joan D. Vinge. He taught mathematics and computer science at San Diego State University. Vinge was born in Waukesha, WI.

• Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
• Obituary at File 770.

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1982 -- 1982 Best Novella Hugo nominee
• 1985 -- TusCon 12, 1985 Best Novel Hugo nominee
• 1987 -- Windycon XIV, 1987 Best Novelette Hugo, 1987 Best Novel Hugo nominee
• 1988 -- Unicon 12
• 1990 -- ArmadilloCon 12
• 1993 -- 1993 Best Novel Hugo for A Fire Upon the Deep
• 1994 -- DefCon VI, CopperCon 14
• 1995 -- Minicon 30, Westercon 48
• 1997 -- Evolution
• 1999 -- Lunacon 42
• 2000 -- Tropicon XIX, Con-Dor 2K, 2000 Best Novel Hugo for A Deepness in the Sky
• 2001 -- Trinoc*coN 2001, Norcon 17, 2001: A Space Odyssey Con
• 2002 -- ConJosé, 2002 Best Novella Hugo for "Fast Times at Fairmont High"
• 2003 -- ArmadilloCon 25
• 2004 -- 2004 Best Novella Hugo for "The Cookie Monster"
• 2006 -- Synthetic ConFusion, Necronomicon '06
• 2007 -- Bubonicon 39, 2007 Best Novel Hugo Rainbows End
• 2008 -- ICFA 29
• 2009 -- EerieCon 11
• 2010 -- Norwescon XXXIII, Boskone 47
• 2011 -- MileHiCon 43
• 2012 -- CONtraflow II, Loscon 39, Vericon XII
• 2013 -- Boskone 50
• 2014 -- Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
• 2020 -- Robert A. Heinlein Award

---

Person

1944—2024

This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names.