Bob Shaw

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(You probably weren't looking for theFake Bob Shaw or some other bosh, but seeBosh (Disambiguation) just in case....)


Bob Shaw.
Drawing byDoug Chaffee, from theDSC 50PB, courtesyGuy Lillian III.

(December 31, 1931 – February 11, 1996)

Robert Shaw, often calledBoSh, was afan,fan writer,fan artist,novelist, structural engineer, aircraft designer, and journalist fromNorthern Ireland, noted for his originality and wit. He was one of theWheels of IF and a great and influential fan. He won theHugo Award forBest Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980.


Pro[edit]

Professionally, he published his first story in 1954 inNebula Science Fiction, and is best known for "Light of Other Days" (ASF, August 1966), the story that introduced the concept of slow glass. It was aHugo Award nominee in 1967.Orbitsville and its two sequels deal with the discovery of a habitable shell completely surrounding a star, and the consequences for humanity. The first in this trilogy won him the 1976British SF Association Award. His novelThe Ragged Astronauts was a1987 Best Novel Hugo nominee.

He was introduced toscience fiction as a pre-teen by reading anA. E. van Vogt short story inAstounding. He later described the experience as being more significant and long-lasting than taking LSD.

His work was the subject of a book by Richard Howard:Space for Peace: Fragments of the Irish Troubles in the Science Fiction of Bob Shaw andJames White (Liverpool UP, 2021).

Fan[edit]

In 1950, he joined the groupIrish Fandom that met atJames White's house. The group was very influential infandom and produced thefanzinesSlant (to which Shaw contributed a large part of theartwork and "TheFansmanship Lectures", starting with #5, Spring 1951; #6, Winter 1951/2, contained his short story) and its successor,Hyphen (which besides other Shawfanwriting ran 30 installments of hiscolumn "The Glass Bushel"). He acquired the nickname "BoSh" during this period. Following his early membership of Irish Fandom, he formed theBelfast Triangle, living inOblique House withWalt Willis andJames White and in 1951 he attendedFestivention with the other Irish fans. When he was leaving for London in 1952, they andVin¢ Clarke producedBob Shaw Appreciation Magazine.

He was the world's greatest practitioner ofFansmanship and did the drafting for the design of theTucker Hotel. He received theDoc Weir Award in 1980 and threeFAAn Awards for Best Fan Writer. He was a world-championGhoodminton player, always ranking in the top 3-4 worldwide.

He was well-loved and sought after, wearing both hisfan andpro hats. TheBoSh Fund was created to bring him toNoreascon andThe Shaw Fund to bring him toAussiecon 2.

Fanwriting and Speeches[edit]

Shaw always remained a keen reader of and contributor tofanzines. WithWalt Willis, Shaw co-wroteThe Enchanted Duplicator, arguably the most revered piece of fanwriting ever, in 1954.

The Glass Bushel[edit]

“The Glass Bushel” was Shaw’s regularcolumn inHyphen. He said modestly that a glass bushel was the only sort he was prepared to hide his light under. There were 30 instalments in all. The column was revived under the same title in 1984 forRichard E. Geis'sScience Fiction Review, which published two installments in that year.

Thirteen columns were collected byRob Jackson in 1979 asThe Best of the Bushel (seeThe Complete BoSh), with a new introduction byWalt Willis and an introductory note to each column by Shaw. A different selection of fourteen Bushel columns (with some overlap) was published byBruce Pelz in 1995 as14 Bob the Bushel.The Full Glass Bushel (Ansible Editions, 2020) contains all the columns plus additional articles fromHyphen (seeThe Complete BoSh).

Eastercon Speeches[edit]

From 1974–90, atEastercon, Shaw would deliver ahumorous speech, often one of hisSerious Scientific Talks (which weren't), such as "The Bermondsey Triangle Mystery."

Five early examples were collected asThe Eastercon Speeches (1979) edited byRob Jackson (seeThe Complete BoSh); three more asSerious Science (published in 1984 byEve Harvey andMarc Ortleib); ten, including the entire contents of the earlier collections, asA Load of Old BoSh (1995); and fourteen -- including all those previously collected -- asThe Serious Scientific Talks (2019), anAnsible Editions ebook. At least one more talk, delivered in 1995, remains untraced and uncollected.

Other Collections[edit]

Almost all Shaw’s previously uncollected fanwriting has since been brought together asSlow Pint Glass (Ansible Editions, 2020).

Personal Life[edit]

Shaw was born and raised in Belfast, the eldest of three sons of a policeman, Robert William Shaw, and his wife Elizabeth (née Megaw). He attended Belfast College of Technology. Originally trained as a structural engineer, Shaw worked as an aircraft designer for Short and Harland, then as science correspondent forThe Belfast Telegraph and then as publicity officer for Vickers Shipbuilding before starting to write full-time.

Shaw nearly lost his sight through illness and suffered migraine-induced visual disturbances throughout his life. He and his first wife,Sadie (née Sarah Gourley, m. 1954), and their son and two daughters, lived inCanada from 1956–58. In April 1973, during the Troubles, they moved from Northern Ireland toEngland, where he produced the majority of his work. Sadie died suddenly in 1991.

Shaw died of cancer. He was already ill when he married longtimeAmerican fanNancy Tucker in December 1995 and went to theUnited States to live with her. They returned to England for medical care in February 1996, and he died a few days later.

Fanzines andApazines:

Awards, Honors and GoHships:


Person1931—1996
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