We at FOGcon don't limit our admiration to living authors. Every year we name one post-mortem Honored Guest whose work exemplifies our theme and our mission. We've recognized Fritz Leiber, Mary Shelley, Anthony Boucher, and James Tiptree, Jr.
This year's selection was difficult. So many authors have written compelling speculative fiction that deals with the Traveler. But one voice stood out. One writer's superlatively funny, incisive, and insightful fiction traversed worlds, time, gender, language, and the very difficult journey from inside the closet to out.
We are proud to announce that Joanna Russ (February 22, 1937 – April 29, 2011) is the Honored Ghost for FOGcon 5 in 2015.
Russ was the author of eight novels including the pioneering feminist classic The Female Man, as well as three story collections, a children's book, and an impressive number of books of literary criticism and feminist theory.
Her writing won praise and awards including the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus Readers Poll Award. Both her novel The Female Man and her short story "When It Changed" won retrospective James Tiptree Jr. Awards, given to only five works which were published before the award was established in 1990.
To give you a taste of her work, here is a quotation from her sly, hilarious story "Useful Phrases for the Tourist":
AT THE PARTY:
- Is that you?
- Is that all of you? How much (many) of you is (are) there?
- I am happy to meet your clone
- Are you edible? I am not edible.
Come celebrate the life and work of Joanna Russ at FOGcon. Member registration is open, and tickets to FOGcon make a wonderful holiday gift.