William Tenn
(May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010)
William Tenn was the penname of London-born Philip Klass who moved to the US as a child. He began writing in 1945 after being discharged from the Army, and his first story, "Alexander the Bait," was published a year later. His stories and articles have been widely anthologized, a number of them in best-of-the-year collections.
He attended the Nebula Weekend at least twice — once as Author Emeritus at the 1999 Nebula Awards Weekend in Pittsburgh, and again as a speaker at the 2003 Nebula Awards Weekend in Philadelphia.
He was a professor of English at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, where he taught — among other things — a popular course in science fiction. One of his students was David Morrell, who dedicated his first Rambo novel "First Blood" to him.
He retired to Pittsburgh, PA, and was a regular Confluence attendee. He was married to Fruma Klass for many years; they had a daughter Adina.
- Website
- Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
- New York Times obituary by Gerald Jonas
- FindAGrave
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1976 -- Disclave 20
- 1978 -- MileHiCon 10
- 1979 -- Windycon VI
- 1981 -- Toastmaster at Norwescon IV
- 1982 -- Rovacon 7
- 1983 -- Westerchron
- 1992 -- Confluence '92
- 1999 -- SFWA Author Emeritus
- 2001 -- Boskone 38 (NESFA Press Guest)
- 2003 -- Capclave 2003, Boskone 40 (NESFA Press Guest)
- 2004 -- Noreascon 4
- 2005 -- Best Related Book Hugo nominee for his book of essays and interviews Dancing Naked.
- 2006 -- Loscon 33, Forry Award
| Person | 1920—2010 |
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