Jack Chalker
(December 17, 1944 – February 11, 2005)
Jack Laurence Chalker, a long-time Baltimore area fan, fanzine publisher, and later pro, discovered fandom in 1957. In his early fannish life, he was a member of the N3F and the SFG.
He was active in local fandom, a member of WSFA and one of the founders of BSFS (of which he was many times an officer) He co-chaired Disclave 26 with his wife, Eva Whitley, and Balticon 2, Balticon 3, and Balticon 4. He was Vice-Chair of Discon II and chaired the Baltimore in '67 bid. He was part of the Philadelphia in 1977 Worldcon bid. He chaired Lunacon 18.
He was twice nominated for the Hugo: the 1963 Best Fanzine Hugo for Mirage (at age 18) and the 1992 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo (with Mark Owings) for The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Critical & Bibliographic History (they also received the 1992 Readercon Award for it). With Owings, he wrote The Revised H. P. Lovecraft Bibliography (1973).
He was a member of SAPS and of FAPA (Viewpoint was his FAPAzine). He published the fanzines Mirage (which was also called Centaur and Kaleidoscope early in its run), Qasar, and Interjection. He also published Ibex, and Everyfan's Guide to the Auctions.
He had a 30-year career as a popular sf writer, writing over 50 books, and was nominated for the 1977 Campbell Award and the 1978 Campbell Award. He was treasurer of SFWA for three terms.
He may have been first to use the initialism SMOF and might be the youngest person ever nominated for a Hugo Award.
- Centaur [1960]
- Everyfan's Guide to the Auctions
- Ibex
- Interjection [1968-87] (for FAPA)
- Kaleidoscope [1961]
- Mirage [1960-71]
- Oh Yeah [1975] (for FAPA and SAPS)
- Qasar [early 70s]
- Viewpoint [1973-] (for FAPA)
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1963 -- 1963 Best Fanzine Hugo nominee for Mirage
- 1977 -- 1977 Campbell Award nominee
- 1978 -- Paracon I, 1978 Campbell Award nominee
- 1979 -- Paracon II, Formerly Artkane, Chattacon 4
- 1980 -- Darkover Grand Council 1980, Disclave 24, Othercon IV, Skylark Award
- 1981 -- Chattacon VI
- 1982 -- Brandycon
- 1983 -- Balticon 17
- 1984 -- Con-Juration
- 1985 -- Halcon 8, ConTact 3
- 1986 -- Xanadu III
- 1987 -- Lunacon 30, Tropicon VI
- 1988 -- MileHiCon 20, Chattacon XIII
- 1989 -- Rivercon XIV, Rustycon 6
- 1990 -- Confluence 3
- 1991 -- Arisia '91
- 1992 -- Readercon Award, 1992 Best Non-Fiction Book Hugo nominee for The Science-Fantasy Publishers -- A Critical & Bibliographic History
- 1993 -- Constellation
- 1994 -- Astronomicon 3, Archon 18
- 1997 -- Con*Stellation XVI, Baycon '97
- 1999 -- Norwescon XXII, StellarCon 23
- 2001 -- Odyssey Con 1
- 2005 -- Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation (posthumously)
- 2019 -- Ghost of Honor at Balticon 53
Mirage Press[edit]
In 1961, Chalker founded and operated Mirage Press, a small press named after his fanzine. After Chalker's writing career became successful, Mirage Press went dormant other than publishing a number of supplements to The Science-Fantasy Publishers.
| Author | Book | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Chalker | The New H. P. Lovecraft Bibliography | 1961 |
| David H. Keller | "A Figment of a Dream" | 1962 |
| W. Paul Cook | H. P. Lovecraft, a Portrait | 1969 |
| L. Sprague de Camp | The Conan Reader (collection of articles from Amra) | 1968 |
| Robert Bloch | Dragons and Nightmares | 1969 |
| L. Sprague de Camp & George Scithers eds. | The Conan Swordbook (collection of articles from Amra) | 1969 |
| Seabury Quinn | Is the Devil a Gentleman? | 1970 |
| Robert Foster | A Guide to Middle Earth | 1971 |
| L. Sprague de Camp & George Scithers eds. | The Conan Grimoire (collection of articles from Amra) | 1972 |
| Neil Goble | Asimov Analyzed | 1972 |
| L. Sprague de Camp | Phantoms & Fancies | 1972 |
| Clark Ashton Smith | Planets and Dimensions | 1973 |
| Mark Owings & Jack L. Chalker | The Revised H. P. Lovecraft Bibliography | 1973 |
| Jack Williamson | H. G. Wells: Critic of Progress | 1973 |
| J. B. Post | An Atlas of Fantasy | 1973 |
| Dennis Rickard | The Fantastic Art of Clark Ashton Smith | 1973 |
| Ruth S. Noel | The Languages of Middle-Earth | 1974 |
| Jack L. Chalker | An Informal Biography of Scrooge McDuck | 1974 |
| Grendel Briarton | The Compleat Feghoot: The Many Lives and Greatest Exploits of History's Punniest Space-Time Traveller | 1975 |
| Irving Binkin & Mark Owings | A Catalog of Lovecraftiana: The Grill/Binkin Collection | 1975 |
| Richard A. Lupoff | Barsoom: Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Martian Vision | 1976 |
| Grendel Briarton | The (Even More) Compleat Feghoot | 1990 |
| Harlan Ellison | The Harlan Ellison Hornbook | 1990 |
| Harlan Ellison | Harlan Ellison's Movie | 1990 |
| Jack Chalker & Mark Owings | The Science-Fantasy Publishers | 1991 |
| Person | 1944—2005 |
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