Jack Vance

John Holbrook Vance (b. August 28, 1916 in San Francisco, California; various alternative birthdates between 1916 and 1920 have been cited in different sources) is generally described as an American fantasy and science fiction author, though it has been reported that Vance himself objects to that label http://www.vie-tracking.com/cosmo/Vol01No03final.htm#VanceSFAuthor. He writes chiefly under his informal name, Jack Vance. In past years he wrote mysteries under his full formal name and also as Ellery Queen, Alan Wade, Peter Held, and John van See. He has won numerous awards and honors: Hugo Awards — in 1963 for The Dragon Masters and in 1967 for The Last Castle; a Nebula Award in 1966, also for The Last Castle; the Jupiter Award in 1975; the World Fantasy Award in 1984 for life achievement and in 1990 for Lyonesse: Madouc; an Edgar (the mystery equivalent of the Hugo) for the best first mystery novel in 1961 for The Man in the Cage; in 1990 he was named a SFWA Grand Master; and in 1992 he was Guest of Honor at the WorldCon in Orlando, Florida. He is generally highly regarded by critics and colleagues, some of whom have suggested that he transcends genre labels and should be regarded as an important writer by mainstream standards. For instance, Poul Anderson once called him the greatest living American writer "in" science fiction (not "of" science fiction). Frank Herbert and Poul Anderson were among Vance's closest friends in the SF community.

Publication

For most of his career Vance's work suffered the vicissitudes common to most writers in his chosen field: ephemeral publication of stories in magazine form, short-lived softcover editions, insensitive editing beyond his control. As he became more widely recognized conditions improved, and his works became internationally renowned among aficionados. Much of his work has been translated into several languages. A remarkable project, the Vance Integral Edition, a volunteer, nonprofit effort, has collected all of Vance's work into a uniform set of volumes, with scrupulous attention to proofing and restoration of often-corrupt texts to their intended state.

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