January 17, 2004
Jack Cady
Jack Cady, an award-winning author of speculative fiction, died on Jan. 14 from complications of bladder cancer. He was 71.
The Columbus, Ohio, native served with the Coast Guard in Maine, then earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Cady spent much of his life working as a truck driver, auctioneer, college professor and landscaper, but he always found time to pull out his Royal manual typewriter and create stories.
In 1965, he won the Atlantic Monthly's Atlantic First Award for his short story, "The Burning." Although Cady claimed the award was a fluke, he continued to hone his craft and win prizes for his fiction. His novella, "The Night We Buried Road Dog," won a Nebula and a Bram Stoker Award, and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award and a Hugo. He took home the World Fantasy Award in 1993 for his collection, "The Sons of Noah: And Other Stories."
Cady published nine novels, including "The Off Season," "Ghosts of Yesterday" and "The Hauntings of Hood Canal." He wrote the nonfiction book, "The American Writer: Shaping a Nation's Mind," in 1999, and published fantasy, horror and science fiction stories in literary and genre magazines.
Cady, who also wrote under the pseudonym Pat Franklin, was married to author Carol Orlock.
• Read an Excerpt From "Lady With a Blind Dog"
Posted on January 17, 2004 4:55 AMJack Cady saved my soul after I returned to the University of Washington after attending the University of the Tet Offensive. He just knew stuff about people and life that you don't get from reading, and he found the good in my writing and taught me how to make it tell the stories that were killing me inside. He was my hero before he became my friend, and I don't believe I will ever know a better man. Hey, and the guy could write! - Tom Juvik
Posted by Tom Juvik on October 24, 2006 1:12 AM