Jerry Oltion
Encyclopedia
Jerry Oltion is a science fiction
author from Eugene, Oregon
, known for numerous novels and short stories, including books in the Star Trek
series. He is a member of the Wordos
writers' group and also writes under the pen name "Ryan Hughes."
series with the books Alliance and Humanity (both in 1990). His work can also be found in numerous anthologies, such as Quest to Riverworld (1993) and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
(1995).
Oltion has also written several Star Trek
novels, including
Twilight's End (1995), Mudd in your Eye (1996), and the New Earth novel, The Flaming Arrow
(2000), the latter written in collaboration with his wife, Kathy. He also wrote a novel in Star Treks Captain's Table series, Where Sea Meets Sky (1998).
ing system with an electromechanical star tracking drive. He publicly described the trackball in the August, 2006 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine, and on his website. He placed the patent-able portions of his design in the public domain
, making them more easily accessible to other telescope makers.
for Best Novella for "Abandon in Place". He was also nominated for the Nebula Award two other times, for his 1993 novella "Contact", and his 2000 novella, "The Astronaut from Wyoming".
He won the 2006 Endeavor Award for best novel by a Northwest Author ("Anywhere But Here").
He was also nominated twice for the Hugo Awards for Best Novella, first for "Abandon in Place" in 1997, and then for "The Astronaut from Wyoming" in 2000, but did not win either time.
In 2007, Oltion and Adam-Troy Castro
won the Seiun Award
for Best Foreign Language Short Story of the Year for "The Astronaut from Wyoming."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author from Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, known for numerous novels and short stories, including books in the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
series. He is a member of the Wordos
Wordos
The Wordos is a writing workshop based in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Its members meet once a week to critique stories and discuss the art, craft, and business of writing. It is a long-running speculative fiction critique group, and has a high concentration of published authors. However, having...
writers' group and also writes under the pen name "Ryan Hughes."
Writing career
His novels include Frame of Reference (1987), Abandon In Place (2000), The Getaway Special (2001), Paradise Passed (2004), and Anywhere But Here (2005). His work has been compiled in the collections, Love Songs of a Mad Scientist: The Collected Stories of Jerry Oltion Volume One (1993), Singing in the Rain, The Collected Stories of Jerry Oltion Volume Two (1998), and Twenty Questions (2003). He contributed to Isaac Asimov's Robot CityIsaac Asimov's Robot City
Isaac Asimov's Robot City is a series of novels written by various authors and loosely connected to Isaac Asimov's Robot Series. It takes place between The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire...
series with the books Alliance and Humanity (both in 1990). His work can also be found in numerous anthologies, such as Quest to Riverworld (1993) and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
Tales From the Mos Eisley Cantina
Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is an anthology of short stories set in the fictional Star Wars universe. The book is edited by Kevin J. Anderson.- Contents :- External links :**...
(1995).
Oltion has also written several Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
novels, including
Twilight's End (1995), Mudd in your Eye (1996), and the New Earth novel, The Flaming Arrow
The Flaming Arrow
The Flaming Arrow is a Star Trek: New Earth novel written by Kathy Oltion and Jerry Oltion.-Synopsis:Belle Terre is a new human colony set up on a vitally strategic new planet. It is to be a much-needed stop-over point for human expansion...
(2000), the latter written in collaboration with his wife, Kathy. He also wrote a novel in Star Treks Captain's Table series, Where Sea Meets Sky (1998).
Astronomy
Oltion is the inventor of the trackball telescope, a light weight equatorial mountEquatorial mount
An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that follows the rotation of the sky by having one rotational axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras...
ing system with an electromechanical star tracking drive. He publicly described the trackball in the August, 2006 issue of Sky and Telescope magazine, and on his website. He placed the patent-able portions of his design in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, making them more easily accessible to other telescope makers.
Short fiction
- "Abandon in place" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
91/6 [546] (Dec 1996) - "Abridged edition" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
87/1 [518] (Jul 1994) - "Away in a manger" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
115/15 (mid-Dec 1995) - "Biosphere" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
96/6 [574] (Jun 1999) - "Course changes" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
113/11 (Sep 1993) - "Crackers" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
127/4 (Apr 2007) - "Dedication" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
113/12 (Oct 1993) - "Deus X" with Kristine Kathryn RuschKristine Kathryn RuschKristine Kathryn Rusch is an American writer. She writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, and mainstream....
F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
93/4-5 [556] (Oct/Nov 1997) - "The difference between science fiction and fantasy: a mathematical analysis" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
92/3 [549] (Mar 1997) - "Dutchman's gold" with Kent Patterson F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
89/3 [532] (Sep 1995) - "Fermat's lost theorem" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
114/15 (mid-Dec 1994) - "The firefly farce" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
114/6 (May 1994): 75-81 - "The grass is always greener" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
84/2 [501] (Feb 1993) - "The great Martian pyramid hoax" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
88/1 [524] (Jan 1995) - "Holiday spirits" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
117/1 (Jan 1997) - "If only we knew" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
127/1&2 (Jan/Feb 2007) - "In the autumn of the Empire" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
129/10 (Oct 2009) - "The jolly old boyfriend" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
129/12 (Dec 2009) - "A jug of wine and thou" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
129/4 (Apr 2009) - "The love song of Laura Morrison" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
- "The miracle" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
95/6 [568] (Dec 1998) - "A new generation" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
128/1&2 (Jan/Feb 2008) - "Outside the box" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
128/7&8 (Jul-Aug 2008 - "The Pandora probe" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
114/14 (Dec 1994) - "The plight before Christmas" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
90/1 [536] (Jan 1996) - "Salvation" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
127/12 (Dec 2007) - "Schrödinger's kiln" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
115/3 (Feb 1995) - "Space aliens taught my dog to knit" AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
130/6 (Jun 2010) (with Elton Elliott) - "There goes the neighbourhood" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
91/2 [543] (Aug 1996) - "Uncertainty" F&SFThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science FictionThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
89/6 [535] (Dec 1995) - "Waterworld" with Lee Goodloe AnalogAnalog Science Fiction and FactAnalog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
114/4 (Mar 1994)
Awards
Oltion won the 1998 Nebula AwardNebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
for Best Novella for "Abandon in Place". He was also nominated for the Nebula Award two other times, for his 1993 novella "Contact", and his 2000 novella, "The Astronaut from Wyoming".
He won the 2006 Endeavor Award for best novel by a Northwest Author ("Anywhere But Here").
He was also nominated twice for the Hugo Awards for Best Novella, first for "Abandon in Place" in 1997, and then for "The Astronaut from Wyoming" in 2000, but did not win either time.
In 2007, Oltion and Adam-Troy Castro
Adam-Troy Castro
Adam-Troy Castro is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer living in Miami, FL. He has more than eighty stories to his credit and has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Stoker. These stories include four Spider-Man novels, including the Sinister Six trilogy,...
won the Seiun Award
Seiun Award
The is a Japanese science fiction award for the best science fiction published in Japan during the preceding year, as voted by attendees of the Japan Science Fiction Convention. "Seiun" is the Japanese word for "nebula", but the award is not related to the American Nebula Award. It was named after...
for Best Foreign Language Short Story of the Year for "The Astronaut from Wyoming."