James Blish

James Benjamin Blish (23 May 1921 – 30 July 1975) was a prominent American author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. As a teenager in 1936, he and his friend William Miller corresponded briefly with H. P. Lovecraft.
Blish was born in East Orange, New Jersey. In high school, he published a fanzine called Planeteer that ran for six issues. Blish asked Lovecraft to contribute to it, and was sent the poem "The Wood"; the issue that it was to appear in, however, never appeared.An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, "Blish, James (1921-1975)," by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz (Hippocampus Press, 2004). Blish also got Lovecraft to clarify some dates in his fictional history of the Necronomicon.Discovering Lovecraft, "H. P. Lovecraft: The Books," (Wildside Press, 1995).
Blish went on to acclaim as a science fiction writer, with his A Case of Conscience winning the Hugo Award for best novel in 1959. His story "More Light," which attempted to provide a version of Robert W. Chambers' fictional play The King in Yellow, was described by writer Elizabeth Bear as "my favorite Lovecraftian story" and "one of the creepiest things I have ever read."Tor.com, "Why We Still Write Lovecraft Pastiche," by Elizabeth Bear, August 20, 2013.
Blish worked as a writer for the Tobacco Institute, a lobby for the cigarette industry. He died of lung cancer in 1975.Wikipedia, "James Blish."
== Resources ==
Category:Lovecraft's Correspondents
Category:Deceased (Real World)