Julian May
Julian May was a notable American author born on July 10, 1931, in Chicago, who made significant contributions to the science fiction genre. She discovered her passion for science fiction in her late teens, publishing her first story, "Dune Roller," in 1951. After marrying Thaddeus Eugene "Ted" Dikty in 1952, she became actively involved in the science fiction community, even chairing the Tenth World Science Fiction Convention. Although she stepped back from writing for a time, May focused on creating thousands of science entries for encyclopedias and published numerous nonfiction titles for children and young adults. In the late 1970s, she returned to adult science fiction, achieving acclaim with her Saga of the Pliocene Exile series, which garnered nominations for prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards. Throughout her career, May published a variety of science fiction works, including collaborative series and trilogies, while also raising three children with her husband. Julian May passed away on October 17, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of over 250 titles that spanned both fiction and nonfiction.
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Subject Terms
Julian May
- Date of birth: July 10, 1931
- Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois
- Date of death: October 17, 2017
- Place of death: Bellevue, Washington
- Also known as: Ian Thorne; Lee N. Falconer
Biography
Julian May was born on July 10, 1931. Growing up in Chicago, May discovered her love for science fiction during her late teenage years, and her first published story, “Dune Roller,” appeared in 1951 in John W. Campbell Jr.’s Astounding Science Fiction. May met Thaddeus Eugene “Ted” Dikty when he asked permission to reprint the story in an anthology, and just one year later, in 1952, May and Dikty married. Also in 1952, May chaired the Tenth World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, and in 1953 she sold the story “Star of Wonder” for publication in Thrilling Wonder Stories, after which she stepped back from science fiction for a time.
Throughout the rest of the decade, May composed thousands of science entries for the World Book encyclopedias, and also worked for Encyclopedia Britannica and Follett publishing. In 1957 May and Dikty founded a company, Publication Associates, to serve the production and editorial needs of small publishers, particularly publishers of nonfiction for children. During the next twenty-four years, May completed numerous nonfiction books for children and young adults, including Popular Mechanics books. In the 1970s she wrote sports biographies of Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and other athletes. In the 1970s and 1980s, May, writing as Ian Thorne, published chapter books about classic sci-fi and fantasy monsters including Frankenstein, Dracula, and Godzilla. By the end of her career she had published more than 250 YA nonfiction titles.
Inspired after attending a 1976 science fiction convention with Dikty, May began writing adult science fiction again. She was nominated for Hugo and Nebula awards for The Many-Colored Land (1981), the first book of her incredibly successful Saga of the Pliocene Exile series, known in the United Kingdom as Saga of the Exiles. After her successful return to the genre, the Seattle resident continued publishing science fiction novels steadily through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the twenty-first century. These included her Galactic Milieu series; the Trillium series with Marion Zimmer Bradley and Andre Norton; the Rampart Worlds series; and her Boreal Moon trilogy, which concluded in 2005 with Sorcerer’s Moon.
May and Dikty had three children, Alan, Barbara, and David, whom they raised in Illinois before moving to the Northwest in the 1970s. The couple were members of the Society for Creative Anachronism. May suffered a heart attack and died on October 17, 2017, at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington. She was eighty-six. In addition to her three children, her survivors include three siblings, Joan May Elias, Robert May, and Daniel May. She was predeceased by Dikti, who died in 1991.
Bibliography
Cashdan, Sonya. “The Saga of Pliocene Exile.” Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature, October 1996, pp. 1–2. Literary Reference Center Plus, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=103331SCI15930175000585&site=lrc-plus. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.
May, Julian. “Interview with Julian May.” By Pan Books. 1982. PanMacmillan, 16 Jan. 2013, www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/science-fiction-and-fantasy/from-the-archives-interview-with-julian-may. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.
O’Donnell, Maureen. “Julian May, Who Weaved Worlds in Sci-Fi, Fantasy Novels, Dead at 86.” Chicago Sun-Times, 31 Oct. 2017, chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/julian-may-who-weaved-worlds-in-sci-fi-fantasy-novels-dead-at-86/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.
T. D. C. “Three Major Novels Show Diversity of Field.” Extrapolation (Kent State University Press), vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 180–186. Literary Reference Center Plus, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=15695625&site=lrc-plus. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.
Weinkauf, Mary S. “So Much for the Gentle Sex.” Extrapolation (Kent State University Press), vol. 26, no. 3, 1985, pp. 231–239. Literary Reference Center Plus, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=15775523&site=lrc-plus. Accessed 29 Mar. 2018.