Roger Zelazny
Roger Joseph Zelazny was a prominent American author born on May 13, 1937, in Cleveland, Ohio. He is celebrated for his influential contributions to the science fiction and fantasy genres, particularly known for weaving elements of mythology into modern narratives. Zelazny's academic journey began with a B.A. in English from Western Reserve University, followed by advanced studies in drama at Columbia University. He served in the Ohio National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve before embarking on a writing career, publishing his first story in 1962.
His notable works include the acclaimed novels "Lord of Light" and "...And Call Me Conrad," both of which won multiple Hugo Awards. Zelazny's writing often features characters that resonate with mythological themes, and he collaborated with other notable authors like Philip K. Dick and Alfred Bester. Throughout his career, he received numerous accolades, including Nebula Awards and the Prix Apollo, and his works have been translated into twelve languages. Zelazny passed away on June 14, 1995, at the age of fifty-eight, leaving behind a legacy marked by innovation in speculative fiction.
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Roger Zelazny
- Born: May 13, 1937
- Birthplace: Euclid, Ohio
- Died: June 14, 1995
- Place of death: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Biography
Roger Joseph Zelazny was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 13, 1937, the only child of Irish American Josephine Sweet and Polish-born Joseph Frank Zelazny. Roger was educated in Euclid, Ohio, first at Noble School from 1943 to 1949, then at Shore Junior High School (1949- 1952), and Euclid Senior High School (1952-1955), where he was the editor of the school newspaper and joined the creative writing club.
In 1955, he went to Western Reserve University, Cleveland, graduating in 1959 with a B.A. in English after switching from a psycology major. While there, he twice won the Foster Poetry Award, in 1957 and in 1959. He attended Columbia University, New York, from 1959 to 1968, specializing in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, and earned his M.A. in 1962. Zelazny served in the Ohio National Guard from 1960 to 1963 and then in the United States Army Reserve from 1963 to 1966.
Zelazny married Sharon Steberl in 1964. They were divorced in 1966, and later that year he married Judith Callahan. They had two sons, Devin (born 1971) and Trent (born 1976), and a daughter, Shannon (born 1979). The family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1975, where Zelazny lived for the remainder of his life. At the time of his death, he was estranged from his wife Judy and was living with Jane Lindskold.
Zelazny worked for the Social Security Administration first as a claims representative in Cleveland (1963-1965) and then as a claims specialist in Baltimore (1965-1969). In 1969, he became a freelance writer and lecturer.
He began writing at age twelve, but his first published story was “Passion Play,” which appeared in Amazing Stories magazine in 1962. He was a prolific writer, publishing some of his stories under the pseudonym Harrison Denmark. His science fiction was highly influenced by various mythologies, and his work frequently portrays gods or people who become gods. His novels and short stories often involve characters from classical myth as depicted in the modern world.
Zelazny collaborated with Philip K. Dick in Deus Irae (1976), as Dick could not finish the novel himself, and with Alfred Bester in Psychoshop (1998), after Bester had died before completing the work. In the 1990’s, Zelazny published several books with Robert Sheckley. One of the Zelazny’s last works was Wilderness (1994), written with Gerald Hausman.
Zelazny was secretary-treasurer of Science Fiction Writers of America in 1967-1968 and was the recipient of a number of awards. He won Nebulas for his novella He Who Shapes (1965), his novelette “The Doors of His Face, the Lamps of His Mouth” (collected with other stories in 1971), and his novella Home Is the Hangman (1976). Zelazny won six Hugo Awards, two in the novel category for .. . And Call Me Conrad, published as This Immortal, in 1966, and Lord of Light (1967) in 1968. The novella Home Is the Hangman, the novellette “Unicorn Variations” (1982), the story “Twenty-Four Views of Mount Fuji by Hokusai” (1986), and the novelette “Permafrost” (1987) also won Hugos. He was awarded the Prix Apollo in 1972, and he received Locus Awards in 1984 and 1986.
In 1976, Doorways in the Sand (1975) was chosen by the American Library Association as a Best Book for Young Adults. Zelazny’s works have been translated into twelve languages and have been dramatized on stage, screen, and radio. He was guest of honor at the Thirty-Second World Science Fiction Convention in 1974 and the Australian National Science Fiction Convention in 1978. He died at the age of fifty-eight, on June 14, 1995, of kidney failure associated with cancer.