We are saddened to report the death of author Lucius Shepard, who passed away on March 18th at the age of 66. Shepard began publishing short stories in 1983 and his first novel, Green Eyes, appeared in 1984. In 1985 he won the John Campbell Award for Best New Writer; over the course of his career he won the Nebula for his novella “R&R,” the Hugo for his novella “Barnacle Bill the Spacer,” and the Shirley Jackson Award for his novella “Vacancy” in 2008.

Shepard wrote in many different genres, including science fiction and fantasy, cyberpunk, magical realism, poetry, and non-fiction. He was influenced by his life in Central America, writing stories in a more magical realist vein. He also rode the rails for a time to research freight train culture in America, and reviewed films in a regular column for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

With his complex body of genre-bending work, Lucius Shepard’s voice added immeasurably to our community. He will be sorely missed.