Gary K. Wolfe

Gary K. Wolfe (born Gary Kent Wolfe in 1946) is an American science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is Professor of Humanities in Roosevelt University's Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies.

Life

Wolfe was born on March 24, 1946, in Sedalia, Missouri. He moved to Carrollton, Missouri, at age 12, and to Springfield, at 14, where he finished high school. He began attending Southwest Missouri State College (now University), transferred to University of Kansas, where he earned a B.A. in English in 1968, and worked for his honors thesis under Professor James Gunn.

From there, he transferred to University of Chicago, where Wolfe earned a Ph.D. in English, in 1971.

He was married to Ellen "Dede" Weil, a teacher and community service activist, in 1996. They held another wedding celebration at the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) in a pool-side party, attended by many of their friends and colleagues, in March, 1997. Wolfe and Weil were happily married until her death in 2000. Before her death they collaborated on a book about Harlan Ellison, and often attended the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, in Florida.

Writing career

Wolfe has written extensively about science fiction and fantasy literature; he is recognized as one of the experts in the field.

He has had a monthly review column in Locus since December, 1991 and has written for Salon and other sites.

In 2016, he taught the course How Great Science Fiction Works for The Great Courses.

Honors

1979 - Eaton Award from the Eaton Conference on Science Fiction for The Known and the Unknown: the Iconography of Science Fiction

1987 - Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Science Fiction Research Association

2005 - British Science Fiction Association Award for nonfiction for Soundings: Reviews 1992-1996

Wolfe has earned the Distinguished Scholarship Award from the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. He has twice been nominated for the Hugo Award.