We lost Kate Wilhelm last week. She passed on March 8th, exactly three months before her 90th birthday.

She started writing and publishing in the 1950s. She hit her stride in the 1960s 70s, and 80s.  Ya know, back in the days when there were no women science fiction writers. Wilhelm was married to Damon Knight and was active in the Clarion writer’s workshop for many years. I realize that might not endear her to some readers of this blog.  Wilhelm’s nonfiction work on writing, Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More From 27 Years of the Clarion Writer’s Workshop (2005) had a major impact on me, in principle if not so much in practice. In the book, she talked about the need to make writing a habit, something you do every  day until it becomes an ingrained part of your routine that you do without having to force it into your schedule.

I’ve only read her short work, but I’ve found it enjoyable.  She’s not an action and adventure type of writer. Rather her works are character driven and thoughtful.  They’re more like a crock pot in that if you stick with them you’ll be rewarded.  It’s been a while since I read any of her work, and when learned of her passing I bought a collection of her recent short fiction for my ereader and read “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” last night. It’s the title story of the collection.

Although she continued to write short fiction in the science fiction field, in the late 1980s she began to write mysteries and thrillers.  They must have been successful, because she continued to write them for the rest of her career. The most recent Barbara Holloway mystery appeared last year.

Wilhelm was well known for her generosity in the field and for encouraging young writers. In many ways, this might be her greatest contribution to the field.  Dean Wesley Smith has written a tribute here.

Check out Kate’s writing. She has a highly readable style. In rereading “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” lat night, I realized how much I had missed reading her work.