Terry Carr


Terry Gene Carr was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor.

Background and discovery of fandom

Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of San Francisco and the University of California, Berkeley from 1954 to 1959.
Carr discovered science fiction fandom in 1949, where he became an enthusiastic publisher of fanzines, which later helped open his way into the commercial publishing world. Despite a long career as a science fiction professional, he continued to participate as a fan until his death. He was nominated five times for Hugos for Best Fanzine, winning in 1959, was nominated three times for Best Fan Writer, winning in 1973, and was Fan Guest of Honor at ConFederation in 1986.

Professional work

Though he published some fiction in the early 1960s, Carr concentrated on editing. He first worked at Ace Books, establishing the Ace Science Fiction Specials series which published, among other novels, Behold the Man and The Warlord of the Air by Michael Moorcock, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin.
After conflicts with Ace head Donald A. Wollheim, he worked as a freelancer. He edited an original story anthology series called Universe, and a popular series of The Best Science Fiction of the Year anthologies that ran from 1972 until his death in 1987. He also edited numerous one-off anthologies over the same time span. He was nominated for the Hugo for Best Editor thirteen times, winning twice. His win in 1985 was the first time a freelance editor had won.
Terry Carr commissioned a first novel from William Gibson for the second series of Ace Science Fiction Specials, shortly after the Denver WorldCon, 1981. The purpose of the series was to give attention to first-time novelists. Gibson's fellow Ace Specials first-timers were Kim Stanley Robinson, Michael Swanwick, and Howard Waldrop. William Gibson mentions Carr in the introduction to the 20th Anniversary Edition of the book: "Having been talked into signing a contract ..."
Carr taught at the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University in 1978, where his students included Richard Kadrey and Pat Murphy.

Personal life

Carr married a fellow science fiction fan, Miriam Dyches, in 1959. They were divorced in 1961. Later that year, Carr married Carol Stuart. He remained married to her until his death. Under her married name of Carol Carr, his widow has also sold science fiction: "You Think You've Got Troubles", "Inside", "Some Are Born Cats", "Wally a Deux", and "Tooth Fairy".

Death

On April 7, 1987, Carr died of congestive heart failure. A memorial gathering of the science fiction community was held in Tilden Park in Berkeley, California on May 30. An original anthology of science fiction, Terry's Universe, was published the following year; all proceeds went to his widow. His papers and his large collection of fanzines have become part of the Eaton collection of Science Fiction at the University of California, Riverside.

Published works

Novels

[World's Best Science Fiction]