Phyllis Gotlieb Dies at 82

One of the first science fiction novels I ever read (aside from Neuromancer, Brave New World, 1984, and the Handmaid’s Tale) was Phyllis Gotlieb’s Sunburst, for which the Canadian science fiction award, the Sunburst, is named after. The novel revolves around a group of preteens that develop superpowers after being exposed to radiation from the Three Mile Island incident. While the novel may appear a little dated by today’s standards it was way ahead of its time when it was published back in the 1960s

Simply put, Canadian science fiction would not be where it is today without Phyllis Gotlieb. Born in Toronto in 1926, Gotlieb graduated from the University of Toronto with degrees in literature in 1948 (BA) and 1950 (MA). While it was not uncommon to see women writers in the science fiction field in the sixties and seventies, what was uncommon was to see a Canadian getting published by the major science fiction publishers in the US. As a result, her works have often been seen as a source of inspiration for many of today’s SF writers in Canada.

An active participant at lectures and conventions and the only Canadian there when the SFWA was formed many years ago, Phyllis Gotlieb, as Robert J. Sawyer put it only his blog, was “mother of science fiction”. There’s no doubt in my mind that she will be gravely missed. Below are some article remembering Phyllis Gotlieb.

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