John Brunner

(September 24, 1934 – August 25, 1995)

John Kilian Houston Brunner was a British fan and pro writer active from the early 1950s. His first novel, Galactic Storm, appeared in 1951, but the second didn't appear until 1959. It was followed by over 50 more with most appearing before 1975. He was a regular convention attendee from the London SF Con of 1952 and was on the committees of Loncon I (the 1957 Worldcon) and Galactic Fair 1969. He was also a member of OMPA and was one of the group that brainstormed the idea of TAFF.

He was GoH at ConStellation, the 1983 Worldcon.

After initially specializing in literate space operas, by the late 1960s, he tended towards sf dystopias — Stand on Zanzibar may be his most famous novel. (The combination of his decidedly left-wing politics and the dystopias may account for his comparative lack of later popularity.) He also wrote fantasy; The Traveler in Black is outstanding.

He died at Intersection, the 1995 Worldcon in Glasgow, and was eulogized with considerable feeling by Robert Silverberg at the Hugo Ceremony.

• Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
• “The 1968 sci-fi that spookily predicted today” by Hephzibah Anderson, BBC, May 10, 2019.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Nandu [mid-50s]
• A New Settlement of Old Scores [1983]
• Noise Level [1954–58] (for OMPA)
• Pogrom [1955] (for OMPA)
• Stopgap [1957] (for OMPA)

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1965 -- 1965 Best Novel Hugo nominee
• 1966 -- 1966 Best Novel Hugo nominee
• 1967 -- Briscon
• 1968 -- BSFA Award
• 1969 -- 1969 Best Novel Hugo for Stand on Zanzibar
• 1970 -- Toastmaster at Heicon '70, BSFA Award
• 1972 -- Eurocon 1, Philcon 1972, 1972 Best Novella Hugo nominee
• 1976 -- SfanCon 7
• 1977 -- Novacon 7
• 1978 -- Boskone 15
• 1979 -- 4th International SF Festival
• 1981 -- Faircon '81, Doc Weir Award
• 1983 -- ConStellation, Cymrucon 3
• 1986 -- Loscon 13th
• 1987 -- Picocon 5
• 1989 -- Finncon 1989
• 1991 -- Lunacon 34
• 1992 -- Freucon XII
• 1993 -- Helicon
• 1994 -- Eurocon 1994
• 2002 -- Memorial GoH at Readercon 14
• 2004 -- The Shockwave Rider was Book of Honor at Potlatch 13

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Person

1934—1995

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