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Ann Crispin, one of the founders of Writer Beware, died this morning.
Her death comes three days after she posted a farewell on Facebook:
“I want to thank you all for your good wishes and prayers. I fear my condition is deteriorating. I am doing the best I can to be positive but I probably don’t have an awful lot of time left. I want you all to know that I am receiving excellent care and am surrounded by family and friends.”
Newbie writers have lost one of the best friends they could ever have had.
Buy and read her books. Recommend them to your friends. Name and shame the scammers.
I am so sorry to hear the news of her passing. While I hadn't met her in person, her work impacted me in so many positive ways. Thank you, Ann. Thank you so much.
What I said to her on Facebook: What you did with your life made a difference in the lives of others, and a good one. She was a mensch.
Well said, Patrick. One can't ask for a better eulogy.
I only met Ann once, but she was so kind to me and it was the kind of thoughtless kindness that speaks volumes about a person's character.
I was at Capclave last year and didn't know many people and wasn't hugely interested in a lot of panels so I spent a lot of time sitting in the lobby knitting by myself. During one of these lobby knitting sessions, another knitter sat next to me and we got to talking, after a while, some of their friends wandered over, too. Ann was in this group. They started talking about where they were going to go to get a meal and as the decision was being made, Ann asked me if I was coming along. I wasn't, but just the fact that she asked me if I was coming--that she included me in the group--meant the world to me.
Her work was--and is--so very important. She'll be missed. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
I followed the Writer Beware blog for years, and I'm sorry to see her go. The publishing industry has lost a great person and moral champion.
Sad news indeed. She was a nice person.
Gentle journey Ann. WriterBeware and P&E saved me from the clutches of Publish America. You wrote sci-fi and Trek when it wasn't cool for women. You were tireless and kind and funny. The world is less bright today. You are treasured and remembered.
Terri
Anyone who is or aspires to be published has lost a great friend. I'm so sad to hear this.
Ann did a tremendous amount for me as both a boy with writerly dreams, and a grown-up fumbling around with the beginning of a writing career. I liked her a lot, I probably owe her a great deal, and I'm very, very sorry to see her go.
Damn, damn, damn. Fuck cancer. I didn't know her that well, but I had a great admiration and respect for her.
Thank you for everything you did for the newbie writers, Ann. We will not forget you.
I loved her Han Solo novels very, VERY much, and have a very healthy respect for her Star Trek novels as well. The SF/F genre is poorer for her loss. Many condolences to her loved ones and fans. :(
I met Ann Crispin at Glasgow Worldcon (Intersection) in 1995 - at a kaffeeklatch, where she graciously coped with me being interested in her Starbridge novels while everyone else was there because of "V". Time for a re-read - those and her Star Trek novels - and maybe get around to reading "V".
Sympathies to all those who knew her properly.
She made a difference. That's the best kind of eulogy to have.
Fly with the sparks, Ann.
My thoughts to you, Ann, and your family and friends.
My husband and I sat next to her at the Lord of the Rings marathon at the Uptown theater in DC, the day they released the third movie. She was so nice.
A reporter interviewed us and then her, and then asked for our names and I recognized hers. I gushed about the Writer Beware website and tried to make the reporter realize that he had stellar interview fodder here, but the reporter was an idiot and printed a lame quote from a teenager about "we all know each other from Renn Faire".
I've since been outraged on her behalf. Her work really deserved a wider audience. She probably just laughed it off.
That marathon stands out as one of the better days of my life, and Ann was a big part of it. She noticed things in the movies - not just funny little mistakes that we could have a laugh at or particularly gorgeous *ahem*... anyhow, she noticed little moments of authenticity that passed me by, and by bringing them to my attention made the movies I had already seen a dozen times seem fresh, and made the new movie leap off the screen.
She was a very perceptive person, with exquisite taste.
My condolences to Ann's family. Ann will be much missed by the literary community.
My condolences to her family. I am a fan of her work.
What a loss. I referred countless young/new writers to the wit and wisdom of Ann on Writer Beware. She will be missed.
Damn. Condolences to those who knew her. Condolences to all of us who read her.
Sincere condolences to those who knew her. If she cofounded Writer Beware, we have all benefited from her work.
And yes, cancer sucks. Death to cancer, forever and ever.
Oh, dear. This is the point at which I think: "Dammit, the world needs more people like Ann Crispin, not one fewer!"
I am so sorry to hear about her passing. Rest in peace, Ann -- and thank you for your willingness to help others.
I always liked her StarBridge books. Thank you, Ann.
My condolences to her friends and family.
I never read any of her fiction, but (co-)founding Writer Beware is a huge legacy in itself.
The sheer amount of hard work and decency that WB puts into protecting the naive from scammers and creeps is one of the wonders of the modern world.
Ohmighosh. Ann was a friend of mine, but we didn't keep in touch that much. I didn't know she was ill, I am so sorry to hear of her death. My condolences to her family.
A phenomenally gentle and generous woman. She'll be deeply missed. Rest in the light, Ann.
I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but admired both her fiction and her crusade against scammers trying to crush the dreams of young writers.
Condolences to all her people. She did good work.
*heartbroken*
As much as cancer sucks, I'm grateful that the manner of her passing allowed her an opportunity to say a farewell, and to give us an opportunity to send her our thanks and love over the past few days. If it felt weird to say "I'm going to miss you" to someone who was still alive, it was only because usually the way things go I end up saying it to everyone else after it's too late to say it to the one person I wish could hear it.
...and because I'm no exception to this reluctance we have, as a society, to acknowledge death's inevitability, I guess.
She made a difference, and she was a gracious, kind woman. May her memory always be a blessing.
Jesus, Facebook just suggested that I friend her.
Even if you didn't know her personally, you have to know how she touched and changed and made a difference in writers' lives.
For those of us who knew and loved her, it was not only her humanity but her deep laughter, and her honesty that shone.
Yeah, she was a solid and popular writer. Kudos and honors for that work. But she put a lot of her career on hold to do a job that needed doing. Thr writers' angel.
She sent her own valedictory, but we were the ones blessed by it.
Goodbye, Annie. You always did fight the good fight
Jane
Really good Washington Post obituary here.
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