John Holbrook “Jack” Vance
born August 28, 1916 in San Francisco
died May 26, 2013
Vance spent childhoon in San Francisco and then Oakley, CA
attended the University of California, Berkeley
weak eyesight prevented him from entering military service, but in 1943 he became a merchant marine
wrote the stories that would become The Dying Earth during WWII, published in 1950, Hillman Periodicals
Jack Vance didn’t become established as a writer until the 1970’s
won a ton of awards, including a Hugo
he also wrote mysteries and even wrote three books under the name Ellery Queen
Vance most often cited Jeffery Farnol as one of his influences
also P. G. Wodehouse, L. Frank Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert W. Chambers and Jules Verne
George R. R. Martin edited a tribute Songs of the Dying Earth in 2009
Neil Gaiman was a fan
“The Dying Earth”
first collection of short stories that would become The Dying Earth series
Jack Vance himself preferred the title “Mazirian the Magician” for this first collection
published 1950, Hillman Periodicals