A Tribute to Anne McCaffrey

On April 1, 1926 Anne McCaffrey was born into the world, and on November 21, 2011 she left it.


She was an American-born, Irish, science fiction author whose books won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, along with many others. Her book The White Dragon (my personal favorite) was one of the first science fiction novels to ever make its way to the New York Times Best Seller List. The Science Fiction Writers of maerica named her the 22nd Grand Master in 2005, and she was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.

Her series about Pern is twenty-six books long. In total, Anne published 97 books about horses, aliens, telepaths, people, and dragons.

When I was probably eleven- or twelve-years-old, I was at my grandfather's house in Tennessee. I was an avid reader, but had neglected to bring anything to read with me for the visit. My uncle Vaughn (who was roughly my age) agreed to let me borrow his book Dragonseye to read while I was at his house. I remember looking at the cover and thinking that it looked silly, but that I would give it a shot. I sat down, I think maybe I curled up in their dusty blue recliner that used to have a finger tip sized hole on it's left arm, and began to read. Within just a few pages I realized that I was in love.

I went home and told mom I was going to need all of her Anne McCaffrey's dragon books about Pern, and my mother, being the beautiful heart that she is, got them for me over the years. I devoured them, and then moved on to many of her other series. I loved the telepaths of the books following the Rowan, and the alien men and women in the Freedom series, but the dragons and dragonriders of Pern were the ones who claimed my heart first.

Anne made me want to write. She made me want to create a world that was so unique, so engrossing, that the reader couldn't help but forget about the real world and instead get lost in the world she created. I wanted to do that. She is the first inspiration I remember having, and that inspiration carried on until now, when I am one day shy of completing my Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. Even today, when I think about the books that really shaped my love of, and appreciation for, writing, Anne McCaffrey is always at the top of the list.

This blog is a small thank you to the woman who created Pern, thread that fell from the sky and ate everything it touched, and the dragons who ate stone and breathed fire onto it to protect the planet. The Pern series, and all the other beautiful books she wrote, will forever hold a place of honor in my heart, and on my shelf.