Mike Resnick
Michael Diamond Resnick (/ˈrɛznɪk/; March 5, 1942 – January 9, 2020) was an American science fiction writer and editor. He won five Hugo awards and a Nebula award, and was the guest of honor at Chicon 7. He was the executive editor of the defunct magazine Jim Baen's Universe,[1][2][3] and the creator and editor of Galaxy's Edge magazine.
For the philosopher of mathematics, see Michael Resnik.
Mike Resnick
Biography[edit]
Resnick was born in Chicago on March 5, 1942. He was a 1959 graduate of Highland Park High School[4][5] in Highland Park, Illinois.[6] He sold his first piece of writing in 1957, while still in high school.[7]: 27 He attended the University of Chicago from 1959 to 1961 and met his future wife, Carol L. Cain, there.[8] The couple began dating in mid-December 1960 and were engaged by the end of the month.[7]: 27 They were married in 1961.[1]
In the 1960s and early 1970s, Resnick wrote over 200 erotic adult novels under various pseudonyms[9] and edited three men's magazines and seven tabloid newspapers.[1] For over a decade he wrote a weekly column about horse racing and a monthly column about purebred collies, which he and his wife bred and showed.[1] His wife was an uncredited collaborator on much of his science fiction and a co-author on two movie scripts they sold, based on his novels Santiago and The Widowmaker.[10][7]: 9 His daughter Laura Resnick is a science fiction and fantasy author.[11]
Resnick lived in Cincinnati from 1976 until his death for cancer on January 9, 2020.[7][12][13][14]
Work and themes[edit]
Two notable motifs are evident in much of Resnick's science fiction work—his love of fable and legend.[7]: 10 The other main subject of his work is Africa,[7]: 9 especially Kenya's Kikuyu people, their history, traditions and culture and colonialism and its aftermath.[7]: 20–22 He visited Kenya often and drew on his experiences there.[7]: 20 [15] Some of his science fiction stories are allegories of Kenyan history and politics;[7]: 21 other stories are actually set in Africa or have African characters.[7]: 21–22
Resnick's style is known for its humor.[7]: 9 He enjoyed collaborating with other writers, especially on short stories.[7]: 23 Through to 2014 he had collaborated with 52 different writers on short fiction, three on screenplays, and three on novels. Late in life, he began writing and selling a series of mystery novels as well, featuring detective Eli Paxton.[16][17] He had also sold screenplays based on his novels to Miramax, Capella, and Jupiter 9, and often had multiple properties under option to Hollywood studios.[7]: 9, 27–54
His work has been translated into: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Russian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Dutch, Latin, Swedish, Romanian, Finnish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Chinese, Catalan, Danish, Croatian, and Greek.[18] Resnick's papers are in the Special Collections Library of the University of South Florida in Tampa.[1][19]
Editing[edit]
Resnick worked as an editor for National Insider from 1966 to 1969,[7] and also as editor-in-chief of National Features Syndicate from 1967 to 1968.[7] He was a publisher and editor for Oligarch Press from 1969 onwards.[7] From 1988 on Resnick edited over 40 fiction anthologies.[2] He was an editorial consultant for BenBella Books from 2004 to 2006 and executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe from 2007 through 2010.[7]: 25 From 2011 he was the series' editor for The Stellar Guild series published by Phoenix Pick.[7]: 25–26 The series pairs lesser-known science fiction and fantasy authors with best-selling veterans of the genre.[7]: 26 Beginning in 2013, he was the editor of the bi-monthly magazine Galaxy's Edge, published by Arc Manor, which reprints work by major names in the field along with new stories by new and lesser-known writers.[7]: 25–26
Fandom[edit]
Resnick and his wife were participants in science fiction fandom from 1962.[7]: 8 As of 2012 Resnick had been the guest of honor at some 42 science fiction conventions and toastmaster at a dozen others.[7] Resnick's wife created costumes in which she and Resnick appeared at five Worldcon masquerades in the 1970s, winning four out of five contests.[10][20]