November 21, 2011

Anne McCaffrey (April 1, 1926 to November 21, 2011) won fame as one of the first women to succeed in the literary genre of science fiction and fantasy. Her Dragonriders of Pern is a popular example of her writing: she sketches in that series a world where people have colonized the planet of Pern and live in a world somewhat similar to European medieval times. This prolific author was a graduate of Radcliffe, where she majored in Slavonic languages. She was married for 20 years and emigrated to the country of her forbears after a 1970 divorce. McCaffrey lived in County Wicklow the rest of her life, where she could indulge her love of horses.

Garrison Keillor reminds us " She was the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Hugo Award for Science Fiction, in 1968."

She wrote many popular books but what may be less known is other jobs she had starting out, like:

Advertising copywriter and layout artist, Liberty Music Shops, NYC, 1948–50

and copywriter, then Sec. to Sales Manager, Helena Rubinstein, 1950–52. 

Her honors include the:

Golden Pen Award, 1982; 

Science Fiction Book Club Awards, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997; 

Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement, from the American Library Association, 1999; 

Grand Master, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 2005.

The above is from an article about her in Who's Who. There we also learn her hobbies, and we quote what she told the Who's Who editors:

"Equine events, raising Maine Coon cats, quilting" are her recreations.