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Judy-Lynn del Rey néeBenjamin (January 26, 1943 – February 20, 1986) was ascience fictioneditor.[1]
She was a fan and regular attendee atscience fiction conventions and worked her way up thepublishing ladder, starting with work at the science fiction magazineGalaxy.[1] She was Managing Editor ofGalaxy magazine from July 1969 until July 1971, whilst also working onIf magazine.[2]
Judy-Lynn was a friend ofLester del Rey, marrying him on March 21, 1971, after the death of his third wife.[3] After moving toBallantine Books, she revitalized the publisher's once-prominent science fiction line, and soon after brought in Lester to edit Ballantine's fantasy line. With their success, she was given her ownimprint, calledDel Rey Books. She also edited an original science fiction anthology series,Stellar, one of which,Stellar #2, won theLocus Award for "Best Anthology" in 1976.[4] As an editor, she was known for her rapport with authors.Philip K. Dick called her a "master craftsman" and "the best editor I've ever worked with", andIsaac Asimov described her as "incredibly intelligent, quick-witted, hard-driving" and "generally recognised (especially by me) as one of the top editors in the business".[5] She was also instrumental in obtaining the rights to publish novels based onGeorge Lucas's then-unreleased movieStar Wars, which would earn Ballantine/Del Rey several million dollars.
Judy-Lynn Del Rey was born withdwarfism.[citation needed]
She suffered abrain hemorrhage in October 1985 and died several months later.[6] In 1986, she was posthumously awarded theHugo Award forBest Professional Editor, but Lester del Rey declined the award in her name, saying that she would have objected to the award being given to her just because she had recently died.
On October 1, 2024, PBS premiered a documentary about her,Judy-Lynn del Rey: The Galaxy Gal,[7] which also aired as an episode of the 2021 television seriesRenegades.
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