Gardner Dozois

The career of Gardner Dozois was defined by his long tenure as editor-in-chief of Asimov's Science Fiction, where he influenced the genre for decades. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1947, he graduated from Salem High School in 1965 before serving in the Army as a journalist, subsequently establishing himself as a fixture in the American science fiction publishing landscape.

Early Career and Writing

After completing his military service, Dozois relocated to New York City to pursue editorial work. His own fiction career began with a publication in the September 1966 issue of If. Throughout the 1970s, he produced short stories that appeared in venues such as Orbit, and he published his first solo novel, Strangers, in 1978. His shorter works garnered recognition, including two Nebula Awards for Best Short Story for "The Peacemaker" in 1983 and "Morning Child" in 1984. He later collaborated on novels including Nightmare Blue with George Alec Effinger and Hunter's Run with George R. R. Martin and Daniel Abraham.

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Editorial Impact

Dozois served as the first associate editor of Asimov's Science Fiction in 1976 before becoming editor-in-chief. During his tenure from 1986 to 2004, he received the Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor 15 times. In the 1970s, he contributed to titles including Galaxy Science Fiction and Worlds of Fantasy. His editorial influence extended to the annual publication of The Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies, a series he helmed from 1984 until 2018. His curation of these volumes earned him consistent recognition from Locus readers, including awards in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2014, and 2015.

Final Years

In 2004, Dozois suffered a significant injury in a taxi accident in Philadelphia. His later years involved several health challenges, including a quintuple bypass surgery in 2007 followed by the implantation of a defibrillator. He continued his literary activity until his death on May 27, 2018, at the age of 70 due to a systemic infection in Philadelphia. Throughout his life, he remained a dedicated proponent of space opera and adventure science fiction, categories he categorized as center-core SF.