Jack L. Chalker

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Jack Laurence Chalker (December 17, 1944 - February 11, 2005) was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for a time. He also was a member of the Washington Science Fiction Association and was involved in the founding of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society.

Jack L. Chalker, www.jackchalker.com, 1998.
Jack L. Chalker, www.jackchalker.com, 1998.

Contents

[edit] Career and family life

He was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. In his books, it said that he was born in Norfolk, Virginia although he later claimed it was a mistake. He earned a BA degree in English from Towson University, where he was a theater critic on the school newspaper TOWERLIGHT, earned a graduate degree in history and a MLA from Johns Hopkins University. He intended to become a lawyer but financial problems led to him teaching instead, he taught history and geography in Baltimore public schools from 1966-1978. He was also a lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution, the National Institutes of Health, and numerous colleges and universities, mostly on science fiction and technology subjects.

He joined the Washington Science Fiction Association in 1958 and in 1963 Chalker and two friends founded the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. He attended every World Science Fiction Convention, bar one, from 1965 until 2004. He published an amateur SF journal, Mirage, from 1960 to 1971, producing ten issues another journal, Interjection, ran 1968-1987 in association with the Fantasy Amateur Press Association. Also, He founded a publishing house, Mirage Press, Ltd., for releasing nonfiction and bibliographic works on science fiction and fantasy.

Chalker married Eva C. Whitley[1] in 1978; they had two sons, David W. Chalker[2] (born December 19, 1981) and Steven L. Chalker[3] (born September 4, 1991).

His stated hobbies included esoteric audio, travel, and working on science-fiction convention committees. He also had a great interest in ferryboats, indeed his marriage was performed on a ferryboat in midriver.

Jack Chalker auctioneering when he was younger.
Jack Chalker auctioneering when he was younger.

[edit] Chalker and science fiction

The writers he liked to read included Eric Frank Russell, James White, some Philip José Farmer, the early work of Raymond F. Jones and Robert A. Heinlein, Jack Vance, and others too numerous to mention. From January 1965 to November 2004, he missed only one World Science Fiction Convention.

Chalker's awards included the Daedalus Award (1983), The Gold Medal of the West Coast Review of Books (1984), Skylark Award (1985), Hamilton-Brackett Memorial Award (1979), as well as others of varying prestige. He was a nominee for the John W. Campbell Award twice and for the Hugo Award twice. He was posthumously awarded the Phoenix Award by the Southern Fandom Confederation on April 9, 2005. In 1967 Chalker founded the Baltimore Science Fiction Society and he was a 3-term treasurer of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Chalker was also the co-author (with Mark Owings) of The Science Fantasy Publishers (third edition in 1991, updated annually), published by Mirage Press, Ltd,[4], a bibliographic guide to genre small press publishers which was a Hugo Award nominee in 1992. The Maryland young writers contest sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society was renamed "'The Jack L. Chalker Young Writers Contest" effective April 8, 2006.

He is perhaps best known for his Well World series of novels, but he also wrote many other novels (most, but not all, part of series), and at least nine short stories. Many of his works involve some physical transformation of the main characters. For instance, in the Well World novels, immigrants to the Well World are transformed from their original form to become a member of one of the thousands of sentient species that inhabit that artificial planet. Another example would be that the Wonderland Gambit series resembles traditional Buddhist jataka-type reincarnation stories set in an SF environment. Steven Chalker announced that Wonderland Gambit might be made into a movie, but supposedly its close resemblance to The Matrix resulted in the project being shelved.[3] At the time of his death, Chalker left behind one unfinished novel, Chameleon, and was planning to write Ripsaw following Chameleon.

Jack at a Bookstore in October 1998, chatting with a couple of people before his session began.
Jack at a Bookstore in October 1998, chatting with a couple of people before his session began.

[edit] Illness and death

On September 18, 2003, during Hurricane Isabel, Chalker passed out and was rushed to the hospital with a diagnosis of a heart attack. He was later released, but was severely weakened. On December 6, 2004, he was again rushed to hospital with breathing problems and disorientation, and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and a collapsed lung. Chalker was hospitalized in critical condition, then upgraded to stable on December 9, though he didn't regain consciousness until December 15. After several more weeks in deteriorating condition and in a persistent vegetative state, with several transfers to different hospitals, he died on February 11, 2005 of kidney failure and sepsis in Bon Secours of Baltimore, Maryland.

Some of his remains are interred in the family plot at Loudon Park Cemetery, with the remainder distributed off several ferryboats and on H.P. Lovecraft's grave (on December 17, 2005).

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] The Saga of the Well World series

[edit] The Watchers at the Well series

[edit] The Four Lords of the Diamond series

[edit] The Dancing Gods series

[edit] The Soul Rider series

[edit] The Rings of the Master series

[edit] The G.O.D. Inc series

  • The Labyrinth of Dreams. Tor Books, March, 1987 (ISBN 0-8125-3306-2)
  • The Shadow Dancers, Tor Books, July, 1987
  • The Maze in the Mirror, Tor Books, January, 1989 (ISBN 0-8125-2069-6)

[edit] The Changewinds series

  • When the Changewinds Blow, Ace - Putnams, September, 1987
  • Riders of the Winds, Ace Books, May, 1988
  • War of the Maelstrom, Ace - Putnams, October, 1988 (ISBN 0-441-10268-9)

[edit] The Quintara Marathon series

[edit] The Wonderland Gambit series

  • The Cybernetic Walrus, Del Rey, trade pb in November, 1995
  • The March Hare Network, 1996
  • The Hot-Wired Dodo, Del Rey, Feb. 1997

[edit] The Three Kings series

  • Balshazzar's Serpent, Baen Books 1999
  • Melchior's Fire, Baen Books, 2001.
  • Kaspar's Box, 2003

[edit] Stand-alone novels

[edit] Collection and anthology

  • Dance Band on the Titanic, Del Rey Books, July, 1988 (short stories)
  • Hotel Andromeda [edited by], Ace, 1994 (ISBN 0-441-00010-X)

Besides the short stories included in Dance Band on the Titanic, Chalker wrote at least one other short story:

[edit] Omnibus collections of novels

  • The Watchers at the Well, Science Fiction Book Club, 1994
  • Changewinds, Baen, August, 1996
  • The Four Lords of the Diamond (Book Club Edition - 1983)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Would you Eva?. Retrieved on June 3, 2004.
  2. ^ Dave: The Game. Retrieved on March 5, 2006.
  3. ^ a b Meteorologist Life. Retrieved on March 5, 2006.
  4. ^ The Mirage Press Ltd. (2004). Retrieved on March 5, 2006.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Chalker, Jack L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chalker, Jack
SHORT DESCRIPTION American science-fiction author
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Baltimore, Maryland
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 2005
PLACE OF DEATH Baltimore, Maryland
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