Editing Gene Wolfe

{{Short description|American SF and fantasy writer (1931–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Gene Wolfe
| image = Gene Wolfe, 2005.png
| imagesize = 
| caption = Wolfe at the 2005 [[Nebula Award]]s
| pseudonym = 
| birth_name = Gene Rodman Wolfe
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|5|7|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|4|14|1931|5|7|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]], [[Illinois]], U.S.
| occupation = Novelist, short story writer
| period = {{circa|1966}} – 2019
| genre = {{hlist|[[Fantasy literature|Fantasy]]|[[science fiction]]}}
| notableworks = {{ubl|''[[The Book of the New Sun]]''|''Solar Cycle''<ref name="isfdb-cycle" />|''[[Soldier of Sidon]]''}}
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Texas A&M University]]|[[University of Houston]]}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Rosemary Wolfe|1952|2013|reason=d}}
| awards = [[Gene Wolfe#Awards|''See subsection'']]
| subject = 
| movement = 
| signature = 
| website = 
}}

'''Gene Rodman Wolfe''' (May 7, 1931 – April 14, 2019) was an American [[science fiction]] and [[fantasy]] writer. He was noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his [[Catholic]] faith. He was a prolific [[short story]] writer and novelist who won many literary awards.<ref name=SFAwards/> Wolfe has been called "the [[Herman Melville|Melville]] of science fiction",<ref name=new-yorker-2015/><ref name=SFE/> and he was honored as a [[Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award|Grand Master]] by the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]].<ref name=guardian-2012/>

Wolfe is best known for his ''[[The Book of the New Sun|Book of the New Sun]]'' series (four volumes, 1980–1983), the first part of his "Solar Cycle".<ref name="isfdb-cycle"/> In 1998, ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' magazine ranked it the third-best fantasy novel published before 1990 based on a poll of subscribers that considered it and several other series as single entries.{{efn|name=alltime|group=notes|1=''Locus'' subscribers voted only two [[Middle-earth]] novels by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] ahead of Wolfe's ''New Sun'', followed by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]]'s ''[[Earthsea]]'' series.<ref name=locus1998>{{cite web |url= http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_1998_Fantasy |title=Locus Magazine, Best All-Time Fantasy Novel, 1998 |work=[[Science Fiction Awards Database]] |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=September 18, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ay.cgi?Lc1998 |title=1998 Locus Poll Award |work=[[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] |access-date=September 18, 2021}}</ref> Third and fourth ranks were exchanged in the 1987 rendition of the poll, "All-Time Best Fantasy Novels", which considered as single entries Wolfe's ''The Shadow of the Torturer'' and Le Guin's ''A Wizard of Earthsea'', the first volumes of ''New Sun'' and ''Earthsea''.<ref name=locus1987>{{cite web |url= http://www.sfadb.com/Locus_1987_Fantasy |title=Locus Magazine, Best All-Time Fantasy Novel, 1987 |work=[[Science Fiction Awards Database]] |publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation |access-date=September 18, 2021}}</ref>}}

==Personal life==
Wolfe was born in New York City, the son of Mary Olivia ({{Nee|Ayers}}) and Emerson Leroy Wolfe.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.bookrags.com/Gene_Wolfe/ |title=Gene Wolfe Summary |publisher=BookRags.com |date=November 2, 2010 |access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref> He had [[polio]] as a small child.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/interviews/wolfe46interview.htm |title=Larry McCaffery, "On Encompassing the Entire Universe: An Interview with Gene Wolfe" |publisher=Depauw.edu |access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref> He and his family moved to Houston when he was 6, and he went to high school and college in [[Texas]], attending [[Lamar High School (Houston)|Lamar High School]] in Houston. While attending [[Texas A&M University]], he published his first speculative fiction in ''The Commentator,'' a student literary journal.{{efn|name=two1951|group=notes|1=The [[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] catalogs two 1951 stories.<ref name=isfdb/>}} Early in his writing career, Wolfe exchanged correspondence with [[J. R. R. Tolkien]].<ref>''The Annotated Hobbit'', 2002 revised and expanded edition, p. 146 n.9; see also Wolfe's [http://home.clara.net/andywrobertson/wolfemountains.html "The Best Introduction To The Mountains"] {{webarchive|url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20040113063643/http%3A//home.clara.net/andywrobertson/wolfemountains.html |date=January 13, 2004 }}</ref> 

Wolfe dropped out during his junior year and subsequently was drafted to fight in the [[Korean War]].<ref name="AutobiographicalSketch">[http://www.baens-universe.com/authors/Gene_Wolfe Autobiographical sketch] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20061021102340/http://www.baens-universe.com/authors/Gene_Wolfe |date=October 21, 2006 }}</ref> After returning to the United States, he earned a degree from the [[University of Houston]] and became an industrial engineer. He was a senior editor on the staff of the journal ''[[Plant Engineering]]'' for many years<ref>See the article "Gene Wolfe's time at Plant Engineering", on the [http://ultan.org.uk/plant-engineering/ Ultan's Library] website.</ref> before retiring to write full-time, but his most famous professional engineering achievement is a contribution to the machine used to make [[Pringles]] potato chips.<ref name="PersonInterview">{{cite journal|title=Suns new, long, and short: an interview with Gene Wolfe |author=Lawrence Person |date=Fall–Winter 1998 |journal=Nova Express |volume=5 |issue=1 |url=http://home.roadrunner.com/~lperson1/wolfe.html |access-date=December 17, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916170648/http://home.roadrunner.com/~lperson1/wolfe.html |archive-date=September 16, 2009 }}</ref>

Wolfe lived in [[Barrington, Illinois]], a suburb of [[Chicago]], with his wife Rosemary where they raised four children. Wolfe also has three granddaughters. The Wolfes moved to [[Peoria, Illinois]] in 2013. Wolfe underwent double [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|bypass]] surgery on April 24, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|author=Locus Publications |url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2010/04/gene-wolfe-recovering-from-heart-surgery/ |title=Locus Online News » Gene Wolfe Recovering from Heart Surgery |publisher=Locusmag.com |date=April 27, 2010 |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> 

Wolfe also underwent cataract surgery on his right eye in early 2013. Wolfe's wife, Rosemary, died on December 14, 2013, after a series of illnesses<ref>{{cite web|author=Michael Swanwick |url=http://floggingbabel.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-farewell-to-rosemary.html |title=Flogging Babel: A Farewell to Rosemary |publisher=Floggingbabel.blogspot.com |date=December 16, 2013 |access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Rosemary Wolfe (b.1931) |url=http://www.sfsite.com/news/2013/12/16/obituary-rosemary-wolfe/ |title=SF Site News » Obituary: Rosemary Wolfe |publisher=Sfsite.com |date=December 16, 2013 |access-date=December 30, 2013 |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417105954/https://www.sfsite.com/news/2013/12/16/obituary-rosemary-wolfe/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> including [[Alzheimer's disease]]. Wolfe said, "There was a time when she did not remember my name or that we were married, but she still remembered that she loved me."<ref name="new-yorker-2015">{{cite news|last1=Bebergal|first1=Peter|title=Sci-Fi's Difficult Genius|url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/sci-fis-difficult-genius|magazine=The New Yorker|date=April 24, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210610150027/https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/sci-fis-difficult-genius|archive-date=June 10, 2021}}</ref>

Wolfe died at his Peoria home from [[cardiovascular disease]] on April 14, 2019, at the age of 87.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pjstar/obituary.aspx?n=gene-wolfe&pid=192401181&fhid=14962|title = Gene Wolfe Obituary (1931 - 2019) Peoria Journal Star|website = [[Legacy.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2019/04/15/gene-wolfe-in-memoriam-1931-2019/|title=Author and Grand Master Gene Wolfe, 1931-2019|last=Tor.com|date=April 15, 2019|website=Tor.com|language=en-US|access-date=April 15, 2019}}</ref>

==Literary works==
Wolfe's first published book was the [[Paperback|paperback original]] novel ''Operation Ares'' ([[Berkley Books|Berkley Medallion]], 1970).<ref name=isfdb/> He first received critical attention for ''[[The Fifth Head of Cerberus]]'' ([[Charles Scribner's Sons|Scribner's]], 1972) that examined a "colonial mentality within an orthodox science fiction framework".<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Stringer |editor-first=Jenny |date=1996 |title=The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_HEoxN_I4NAC&pg=PA731 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=731 |isbn=9780191727573 |access-date=December 5, 2023 }}</ref> It was published in German and French-language editions within the decade.<ref name=isfdb/>

His best-known and most highly regarded work is the multi-volume novel ''[[The Book of the New Sun]]''. Set in a bleak, distant future influenced by [[Jack Vance]]'s ''[[Dying Earth]]'' series, the story details the life of [[Severian (character)|Severian]], a journeyman torturer, exiled from his guild for showing compassion to one of the condemned. The novel is composed of the volumes ''The Shadow of the Torturer'' (1980), ''The Claw of the Conciliator'' (1981; winner of the [[Nebula Award]] for [[Nebula Award for Best Novel|Best Novel]]), ''The Sword of the Lictor'' (1982), and ''The Citadel of the Autarch'' (1983). A coda, ''[[The Urth of the New Sun]]'' (1987), wraps up some loose ends but is generally considered a separate work. Several of Wolfe's essays about writing the ''Book of the New Sun'' series were published in ''[[The Castle of the Otter]]'' (1982; the title refers to a misprint of the fourth book's title in ''[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]]'' magazine).

In 1984, Wolfe retired from his engineering position and was then able to devote more time to his writing. In the 1990s, Wolfe published two more works in the same universe as ''The Book of the New Sun''. The first, ''[[The Book of the Long Sun]]'', consists of the novels ''Nightside the Long Sun'' (1993), ''Lake of the Long Sun'' (1994), ''Caldé of the Long Sun'' (1994), and ''Exodus From the Long Sun'' (1996). These books follow the priest of a small parish as he becomes wrapped up in political intrigue and revolution in his city-state. Wolfe then wrote a sequel, ''[[The Book of the Short Sun]]'', composed of ''On Blue's Waters'' (1999), ''In Green's Jungles'' (2000), and ''Return to the Whorl'' (2001), dealing with colonists who have arrived on the sister planets Blue and Green. The four ''Sun'' works (''The Book of the New Sun'', ''The Urth of the New Sun'', ''The Book of the Long Sun'', and ''The Book of the Short Sun'') are often referred to collectively as the "Solar Cycle".

Wolfe also wrote many stand-alone books. His first novel, ''[[Operation Ares]]'', was published by Berkley Books in 1970 and was unsuccessful. He subsequently wrote two novels held in particularly high esteem, ''[[Peace (novel)|Peace]]'' and ''The Fifth Head of Cerberus''. The first is the seemingly-rambling narrative of Alden Dennis Weer, a man of many secrets who reviews his life under mysterious circumstances. ''The Fifth Head of Cerberus'' is either a collection of three novellas or a novel in three parts, dealing with colonialism, memory, and the nature of personal identity. The first story, which gives the book its name, was nominated for the [[Nebula Award for Best Novella]].

==Style==

Wolfe's writing frequently relies on the first-person perspectives of [[unreliable narrator]]s. He said: "Real people really are unreliable narrators all the time, even if they try to be reliable narrators."<ref name="PersonInterview"/> The causes for the unreliability of his characters vary. Some are naive, as in ''Pandora by Holly Hollander'' or ''The Knight''; others are not particularly intelligent<ref>''Shadows of the New Sun'', p. 112 – "I wanted to present a protagonist who isn't very intelligent.  Green isn't."</ref> (''There Are Doors''); Severian, from ''The Book of the New Sun'', tells his story from the perspective of his younger, ignorant self; and Latro of the ''Soldier'' series suffers from amnesia.

Wolfe wrote in a letter, "My definition of a great story has nothing to do with 'a varied and interesting background.' It is: ''One that can be read with pleasure by a cultivated reader and reread with increasing pleasure.''"<ref>"From a Chain letter to George R. R. Martin and Greg Benford", July 10, 1982; as published in Gene Wolfe, ''Castle of Days'' (1992) [italics in source]</ref> In that spirit, Wolfe also left subtle hints and [[Lacuna (manuscripts)|lacunae]] that may never be explicitly referred to in the text. For example, a backyard full of [[morning glories]] is an intentional foreshadowing of events in ''Free Live Free'', but it is apparent only to a reader with a horticultural background, and a [[story within a story|story-within-the-story]] provides a clue to understanding ''Peace''.

Wolfe's language can also be a subject of confusion for the new reader. In the appendix to ''The Shadow of the Torturer,'' he says:

<blockquote>In rendering this book—originally composed in a tongue that has not achieved existence—into English, I might easily have saved myself a great deal of labor by having recourse to invented terms; in no case have I done so. Thus in many instances I have been forced to replace yet undiscovered concepts by their closest twentieth-century equivalents. Such words as ''peltast'', ''androgyn'', and ''exultant'' are substitutions of this kind, and are intended to be suggestive rather than definitive.<ref>{{cite book | last = Wolfe | first = Gene | title = Shadow & Claw | publisher = [[Tor Books]] | isbn = 978-0-312-89017-9 | page = [https://archive.org/details/shadowclaw0000wolf/page/211 211] | year = 1994 | url = https://archive.org/details/shadowclaw0000wolf/page/211 }}</ref></blockquote>

This character of the fictional "translator" of his novel provides a certain insight into Wolfe's writing: all of his terms—''[[fuligin]]'', ''[[Wikt:carnifex|carnifex]]'', ''[[thaumaturge]]'', and so on—are real words.

==Reception==
Although he was not a best-selling author, Wolfe is highly regarded by critics{{efn|Such as [[John Clute]], who writes: "Though neither the most popular nor the most influential author in the sf field, Gene Wolfe is today quite possibly the most important. The inherent stature of his work is deeply impressive and he wears the fictional worlds of sf like a coat of many colors."<ref name=SFE/><!-- quoted in http://thegravelpit.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/reflections-on-gene-wolfes-shadow-and-claw-anthology/ -->}} and fellow writers. He was often considered to be not only one of the greatest science fiction authors, but one of the best American writers regardless of genre. In 2003, award-winning science fiction author [[Michael Swanwick]] said: "Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today. Let me repeat that: Gene Wolfe is the greatest writer in the English language alive today! I mean it. [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] was a better stylist, [[Herman Melville|Melville]] was more important to American letters, and [[Charles Dickens]] had a defter hand at creating characters. But among living writers, there is nobody who can even approach Gene Wolfe for brilliance of prose, clarity of thought, and depth in meaning."<ref name="SwanwickInterview">{{cite web|url=http://www.themodernword.com/features/interview_swanwick.html |title=Michael Swanwick interview |publisher=Themodernword.com |date=September 26, 2003 |access-date=December 30, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207152110/http://themodernword.com/features/interview_swanwick.html |archive-date=December 7, 2013 }}</ref>

[[Patrick O'Leary (writer)|Patrick O'Leary]] has credited Wolfe for inspiration. He has said: "Forget 'Speculative Fiction.' Gene Wolfe is the best writer alive. Period. And as Wolfe once said, 'All novels are fantasies. Some are more honest about it.' No comparison. Nobody – I mean nobody – comes close to what this artist does."<ref name="OLearyInterview">{{cite web|url=http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/nonfiction/intpol.htm |title=Interview with Patrick O'Leary |publisher=Infinityplus.co.uk |date=November 11, 2000 |access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref> O'Leary also wrote an extensive essay concerning the nature of Wolfe's artistry, entitled "If Ever A Wiz There Was",<ref name=wiz>{{Cite web |url=http://web.mac.com/paddybon/Site/a_tribute_to_Gene_Wolfe.html |title="If Ever A Wiz There Was" |access-date=June 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616151502/http://web.mac.com/paddybon/Site/a_tribute_to_Gene_Wolfe.html |archive-date=June 16, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> originally published in his collection ''Other Voices, Other Doors''. [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] is frequently quoted on the jackets of Wolfe's books as having said "Wolfe is our Melville."

[[Harlan Ellison]], reviewing ''[[The Shadow of the Torturer]]'', wrote: "Gene Wolfe is engaged in the holy chore of writing every other author under the table. He is no less than one of the finest, most original writers in the world today. His work is singular, hypnotizing, startlingly above comparison. ''The Shadow of the Torturer'' breaks new ground in American literature and, as the first novel of a tetralogy, casts a fierce light on what will certainly be a lodestone landmark, his most stunning work to date. It is often said, but never more surely than this time: This book is not to be missed at peril of one's intellectual enrichment."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.apocalypsebooks.com/books/urth-book-new-sun-shadow-torturer/ |title=The Shadow of the Torturer - Gene Wolfe |access-date=June 29, 2018 |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404072753/http://www.apocalypsebooks.com/books/urth-book-new-sun-shadow-torturer/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Wolfe's fans regard him with considerable dedication, and one Internet mailing list<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.urth.net/|title=URTH: Discussion of the works of Gene Wolfe|website=www.urth.net|access-date=April 15, 2019}}</ref> (URTH, begun in November 1996) dedicated to his works amassed over ten years and thousands of pages of discussion and explication. Similarly, much analysis and exegesis has been published in fanzine and small-press form (e.g. ''Lexicon Urthus'' {{ISBN|0-9642795-9-2}}).

When asked the "Most overrated" and "Most underrated" authors, [[Thomas M. Disch]] identified [[Isaac Asimov]] and Gene Wolfe, respectively, writing: "...all too many have already gone into a decline after carrying home some trophies. The one exception is Gene Wolfe...Between 1980 and 1982 he published ''The Book of the New Sun'', a tetralogy of couth, intelligence, and suavity that is also written in [[VistaVision]] with [[Dolby Laboratories|Dolby Sound]]. Imagine a ''[[Star Wars]]''–style [[space opera]] penned by [[G. K. Chesterton]] in the throes of a religious conversion. Wolfe has continued in full diapason ever since, and a crossover success is long overdue."<ref>From an article first published in ''American Heritage'' May–June 1999. Pg 211 of ''Overrated/underrated: 100 experts topple the icons and champion the slighted'', ed. by the editors of [[American Heritage (magazine)|''American Heritage'']] magazine. 2001, {{ISBN|1-57912-163-2}}, 256 pages, hardcover.</ref>

[[Michael Dirda]] included Wolfe's ''Book of the New Sun'' in his "Science Fiction Reading List", writing: "If [[Marcel Proust|Proust]], while listening to [[Late string quartets (Beethoven)|late Beethoven string quartets]], wrote ''[[I, Claudius]]'' and set it in the future, the result might resemble this measured, autumnal masterpiece."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dirda |first=Michael |title=Bound to Please |publisher=[[W. W. Norton]] |year=2005}}</ref>

[[Neil Gaiman]] introduced Wolfe at the [[World Horror Convention]], where Wolfe was the Guest of Honor. He offered some advice on how to read Wolfe, noting: "There are two kinds of clever writer. The ones that point out how clever they are, and the ones who see no need to point out how clever they are. Gene Wolfe is of the second kind, and the intelligence is less important than the tale. He is not smart to make you feel stupid. He is smart to make you smart as well."<ref>{{cite web| last=Gaiman| first= Neil| title=How to Read Gene Wolfe| date=2002| url=https://www.sfsite.com/fsf/2007/gwng0704.htm}}</ref> Gaiman  wrote about Wolfe for the "My Hero" feature in ''[[The Guardian]]'': <blockquote> I've met too many of my heroes, and these days I avoid meeting the few I have left, because the easiest way to stop having heroes is to meet them, or worse, have dinner with them. But Gene Wolfe remains a hero to me. He's just turned 80, looks after his wife Rosemary, and is still writing deep, complex, brilliant fiction that slips between genres. He's my hero because he keeps trying new ways of writing and because he remains as kind and as patient with me as he was when I was almost a boy. He's the finest living male American writer of SF and fantasy – possibly the finest living American writer. Most people haven't heard of him. And that doesn't bother Gene in the slightest. He just gets on with writing the next book.<ref>{{cite news | last=Gaiman| first=Neil| date=May 13, 2011| title= My Hero: Gene Wolfe| work= The Guardian| url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/may/13/gene-wolfe-hero-neil-gaiman-sf}}</ref></blockquote>

===Awards===
Wolfe won the [[World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement]] in 1996, a judged award at the annual [[World Fantasy Convention]].<ref name=SFAwards/> He was inducted by the [[EMP Museum#Science Fiction Hall of Fame|Science Fiction Hall of Fame]] in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gene Wolfe |url=https://nebulas.sfwa.org/grand-masters/gene-wolfe/ |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=The Nebula Awards |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] named him its 29th [[:Category:SFWA Grand Masters|SFWA Grand Master]] in December 2012; the annual [[Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award]] was presented to Wolfe during Nebula Awards weekend, May 16–19, 2013.<ref name="SFWA-wolfe">{{cite web|title=2012 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awarded to Gene Wolfe|url=http://www.sfwa.org/2012/12/2012-damon-knight-memorial-grand-master-awarded-to-gene-wolfe/ |publisher=SFWA press release |date=December 13, 2012 |access-date=December 13, 2012}}</ref><ref name=guardian-2012>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/14/gene-wolfe-grand-master-award |title=Gene Wolfe wins grand master award for science fiction and fantasy |work=[[The Guardian]] |author=Alison Flood |date=December 14, 2012 |url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210308203732/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/14/gene-wolfe-grand-master-award|archive-date=March 8, 2021}}</ref><ref name=SFWA>[http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701114233/http://www.sfwa.org/nebula-awards/nebula-weekend/events-program/grandmaster/ |date=July 1, 2011 }}. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved April 3, 2013.</ref>

He was Guest of Honor at the [[1985 World Science Fiction Convention]] and he received the 1989 [[Edward E. Smith Memorial Award]] (or "Skylark") at the New England convention [[Boskone]]. In March 2012 he was presented with the first Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award, for outstanding contribution to literature by a Chicago author.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chicagoliteraryhof.wordpress.com/what-is-the-fuller-award/ |title=What is the Fuller Award? &#124; Honoring Gene Wolfe |publisher=The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame |date= February 3, 2012 |author=Valya Dudycz Lupescu |author-link=Valya Dudycz Lupescu |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> After his death, Wolfe was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame in a ceremony on September 21, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=locusmag|date=August 19, 2021|title=Wolfe Inducted into Chicago Literary Hall of Fame|url=https://locusmag.com/2021/08/wolfe-inducted-into-chicago-literary-hall-of-fame/|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=Locus Online|language=en-US}}</ref> Wolfe was the first Fuller Award recipient to be inducted; and though he was part of the 2019 class, the ceremony to honor him did not occur until 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gene Wolfe: Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Winner|url=https://chicagoliteraryhof.org/inductees/profile/gene-wolfe|access-date=February 7, 2022|website=chicagoliteraryhof.org}}</ref>

He also won many awards for individual works:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Work
!Form
!Award<ref name=SFAwards/>
|-
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;" |"The Death of Doctor Island"
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;" |Novella
| 1974 [[Nebula Award]]
|-
| 1974 [[Locus Award]]
|-
| ''The Computer Iterates the Greater Trumps''||Long Poem||1978 [[Rhysling Award]]
|-
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|''The Shadow of the Torturer''
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|Novel
| 1981 [[BSFA Award]]<ref name="worldswithoutend1981">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1981 |title=1981 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 1981 [[World Fantasy Award]]<ref name="worldswithoutend1981"/>
|-
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|''The Claw of the Conciliator''
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|Novel
| 1981 Nebula Award<ref name="worldswithoutend1981"/>
|-
| 1982 Locus Award
|-
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|''[[The Sword of the Lictor]]''
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|Novel
| 1983 Locus Award<ref name="worldswithoutend1983">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1983 |title=1983 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 1983 [[August Derleth Award]]
|-
| ''The Citadel of the Autarch''||Novel||1984 [[John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel|Campbell Award]]<ref name="worldswithoutend1984">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1984 |title=1984 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| ''Soldier of the Mist''||Novel||1987 Locus Award<ref name="worldswithoutend1987">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1987 |title=1987 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| ''[[Storeys from the Old Hotel]]''||Collection||1989 World Fantasy Award
|-
| ''Golden City Far''||Novella||2005 Locus Award
|-
| ''[[Soldier of Sidon]]''||Novel||2007 World Fantasy Award<ref name="worldswithoutend2007">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2007 |title=2007 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|''The Best of Gene Wolfe''
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align: top;"|Collection
| 2010 Locus Award<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2010/06/2010-locus-awards-winners/|title=2010 Locus Awards Winners|date=June 26, 2010|work=Locus Online|publisher=Locus Publications|access-date=June 27, 2010}}</ref>
|-
| 2010 World Fantasy Award<ref>{{cite web|author=World Fantasy Convention |year=2010 |title=2010 World Fantasy Award Winners & Nominees |url=http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/ |access-date=February 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027005155/http://www.worldfantasy.org/awards/ |archive-date=October 27, 2012 }}</ref>
|}

Wolfe also amassed a long list of nominations in years when he did not win, including sixteen Nebula award nominations and eight [[Hugo Award]] nominations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/author.asp?ID=158#books |title=Gene Wolfe &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Authors |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>

==Works==
{{main|Gene Wolfe bibliography}}

This is a partial list of works by Wolfe, focusing on those which won awards.

===Novels===
*''[[The Book of the New Sun]]''
**''[[The Shadow of the Torturer]]'' (1980) BSFA Award & World Fantasy Award winner, 1981;<ref name="worldswithoutend1982">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1982 |title=1982 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> Nebula Award and John W. Campbell Award nominee, 1981<ref name="worldswithoutend1981"/>
**''[[The Claw of the Conciliator]]'' (1981) Nebula and Locus Fantasy winner, 1982; Hugo and World Fantasy Awards nominated, 1982<ref name="worldswithoutend1982"/>
**''[[The Sword of the Lictor]]'' (1982) Locus Fantasy and BFS Winner, 1983; Nebula and BSFA Awards nominee, 1982<ref name="worldswithoutend1982"/> Hugo and World Fantasy Awards nominee, 1983<ref name="worldswithoutend1983"/>
**''[[The Citadel of the Autarch]]'' (1983) John W. Campbell award winner, Nebula and BSFA nominee, 1984;<ref name="worldswithoutend1984"/> Locus Fantasy nominee, 1983<ref name="worldswithoutend1983"/>
*''[[Free Live Free]]'' (1984) BSFA nominee, 1985;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1985 |title=1985 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref> Nebula nominee, 1986<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1986 |title=1986 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*''[[The Urth of the New Sun]]'' (1987) Hugo, Nebula, and Locus SF Awards nominee, 1988<ref name="worldswithoutend1988">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1988 |title=1988 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*The ''Soldier'' series
**''[[Soldier of the Mist]]'' (1986) Locus Fantasy winner, WFA nominee, 1987;<ref name="worldswithoutend1987"/> Nebula nominee 1988<ref name="worldswithoutend1988"/>
**''[[Soldier of Arete]]'' (1989) Locus Fantasy and WFA nominee, 1990<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/novel.asp?ID=751 |title=Soldier of Arete &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
**''[[Soldier of Sidon]]'' (2006) World Fantasy Award winner, Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2007<ref name="worldswithoutend2007"/>
*''[[There Are Doors]]'' (1988) Locus Fantasy nominee, 1989<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1989 |title=1989 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*''[[The Book of the Long Sun]]''
**''Nightside the Long Sun'' (1993) Nebula nominee, 1994<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1994 |title=1994 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
**''Lake of the Long Sun'' (1994)
**''Caldé of the Long Sun'' (1994) Nebula nominee, 1996<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=1996 |title=1996 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
**''Exodus From the Long Sun'' (1996)
*''[[The Book of the Short Sun]]''
**''On Blue's Waters'' (1999)
**''In Green's Jungles'' (2000) Locus SF nominee, 2001<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2001 |title=2001 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
**''Return to the Whorl'' (2001) Locus SF nominee, 2002<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2002 |title=2002 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*''[[The Wizard Knight]]''
**''[[The Knight by Gene Wolfe|The Knight]]'' (2004) Nebula nominee, 2005<ref name="worldswithoutend2005">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2005 |title=2005 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
**''The Wizard'' (2004) Locus Fantasy and World Fantasy Award nominated, 2005<ref name="worldswithoutend2005"/>
*''[[Pirate Freedom]]'' (2007) Locus Fantasy Award nominee, 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2008 |title=2008 Award Winners & Nominees &#124; Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Books by Award &#124; WWEnd |publisher=Worldswithoutend.com |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*''An Evil Guest'' (2008)
*''[[The Sorcerer's House]]'' (2010)
** 2011 Locus Fantasy nominee<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/05/locus-magazine-announces-award-finalists |title=Locus Magazine Announces Award Finalists |publisher=Tor.com |date=May 11, 2011 |access-date=May 27, 2012}}</ref>
*''[[Home Fires (novel)|Home Fires]]'' (2011)
*''[[The Land Across]]'' (2013)
*''[[A Borrowed Man]]'' (2015)
*''Interlibrary Loan'' (2020)

===Story collections===
* ''[[The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories]]'' (1980) (The title story is "The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories". Among others, the collection also includes "The Death of Dr. Island" and "The Doctor of Death Island". "The Death of Dr. Island" won the [[Nebula Award]] for [[Nebula Award for Best Novella|Best Novella]].)
* ''[[Gene Wolfe's Book of Days]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Storeys from the Old Hotel]]'' (1988) (winner of the [[World Fantasy Award]] for best collection)
* ''Endangered Species'' (1989)
* ''Castle of Days'' (1995)
* ''Strange Travelers'' (2001)
* ''[[Innocents Aboard]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Starwater Strains]]'' (2006)
* ''The Best of Gene Wolfe'' (2010)
* ''The Dead Man and Other Horror Stories'' (2023)

==Books about Gene Wolfe==
*''Gene Wolfe (Starmont Reader's Guide, 29)'': Joan Gordon (Borgo Press, 1986, {{ISBN|978-0930261191}}; reprinted as a Special Publication of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, 2008, {{ISBN|978-0930261184}}), an annotated bibliography and criticism on Wolfe's science fiction and non-fiction writing
*''The Wizard Knight Companion: A Lexicon for Gene Wolfe's The Knight and The Wizard'': Michael Andre-Driussi (Sirius Fiction, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-9642795-3-7}}), a dictionary of words and names from Wolfe's [[The Wizard Knight|Wizard Knight]] novels
*''Lexicon Urthus'': Michael Andre-Druissi (Sirius Fiction, 1994, {{ISBN|0-9642795-9-2}}), a dictionary of the archaic words used by Wolfe in ''The Book of the New Sun''
*''The Long and the Short of It: More Essays on the Fiction of Gene Wolfe'': Robert Borski (iUniverse, Inc., 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-595-38645-1}})
*''Solar Labyrinth: Exploring Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun"'': Robert Borski (iUniverse, Inc., 2004, {{ISBN|978-0-595-31729-5}})
*''Attending Daedalus: Gene Wolfe, Artifice, and the Reader'': Peter Wright (Liverpool University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|0-85323-818-9}}): Study of ''The Book of the New Sun'' and ''The Urth of the New Sun''
*''Shadows of the New Sun: Wolfe on Writing / Writers on Wolfe'': Peter Wright (Liverpool University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|978-1-84631-058-4}})
*''Strokes'': John Clute (Serconia Press, 1988, {{ISBN|0-934933-03-0}})
*''Gene Wolfe: An annotated bibliography and criticism on Wolfe's science fiction and non-fiction writing'': Joan Gordon (Borgo Press, 2008, {{ISBN|0-930261-18-6}})
* ''Gate of Horn, Book of Silk: A Guide to Gene Wolfe's The Book of the Long Sun and The Book of the Short Sun'': Michael Andre-Driussi (Sirius Fiction, 2012, {{ISBN|0-964279-55-X}})
* ''Shadows of the New Sun'', an anthology of stories by other authors which are all explicitly based on Wolfe stories (TOR Books, 2013)
* ''Between Light and Shadow: An Exploration of the Fiction of Gene Wolfe, 1951-1986'': Marc Aramini (Castalia House, 2015, ASIN B011YTDGY2), a comprehensive literary analysis of Wolfe's fiction from 1951 to 1986, volume 1 of 2.

==Film adaptations==
* ''The Death of Doctor Island'', 35&nbsp;mm short, 2008.

== See also ==
{{Portal bar|Speculative fiction }}

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
<ref name="isfdb-cycle">
{{isfdb series |11836 |Solar Cycle}} (ISFDB). Retrieved April 24, 2012.</ref>
<ref name=isfdb>
[http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?171 "Gene Wolfe – Summary Bibliography"]. ISFDB. Retrieved April 3, 2013.</ref>
<ref name=SFE>{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wolfe_gene |title= Wolfe, Gene|encyclopedia=[[The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction]]|date=April 5, 2021|publisher= Gollancz|display-editors=2|editor-last=Clute|editor-first=John|editor-link=John Clute|editor2-last=Langford|editor2-first=David|editor2-link=David Langford|editor3-last=Nicholls|editor3-first=Peter (emeritus)|editor3-link=Peter Nicholls (writer)|editor4-last=Sleight|editor4-first=Graham (managing)|editor4-link=Graham Sleight|edition=3rd|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200501221329/http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/wolfe_gene |archive-date=May 1, 2020}}</ref>

<!-- awards refs -->
<ref name=SFAwards>
{{cite web|url= http://www.sfadb.com/Gene_Wolfe|title=Gene Wolfe Awards|work=[[Science Fiction Awards Database]]|publisher=Locus Science Fiction Foundation|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201017163904/http://www.sfadb.com/Gene_Wolfe |archive-date=October 17, 2020}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Sfhof |965 | Gene Wolfe}}
* {{Isfdb name}}
* {{IBList|type=author|id=1079|name=Gene Wolfe}}
* {{IMDb name}}

{{Gene Wolfe|state=expanded}}{{Locus Award Best Novella}}{{Nebula Award Best Novel}}{{World Fantasy Award Best Novel}}{{World Fantasy Award Best Collection}}
{{World Fantasy Award Life Achievement}}
{{Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Awards}}
{{Authority control|state=expanded}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Gene}}
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