I heard with sadness today that Charles N. Brown, longtime publisher of Locus, passed away in his sleep yesterday. Charlie—as we were allowed to call him for many years, before he started insisting on Charles—was a fixture of every SF/fantasy editor’s life. Reviews in Locus were coveted; news coverage even more so; so we all wined and dined Charlie, shared gossip with him, accepted invitations to his lively house parties in Oakland, did our best to introduce him to aspiring fantasy authors even though his oft-expressed preference was for science fiction. It was a thrill to have him call up and ask for an early copy of a manuscript, and we would always hand one over.
Charlie was free with his knowledge of the SF/fantasy publishing field and shared it even with the younger, less influential editors (my status for years!). He was opinionated, stubborn, about as easy to shift in his ways as a rock—but charming, smart, and so deeply caring about the field. We will miss him tremendously. For more information, see this link.
Very well said, Betsy. RIP Charles.