Terry Bisson
American science fiction and fantasy author
About Terry Bisson
Lived 1942 – 2024 (aged 81). Terry Bisson was an American writer, novelist, science fiction writer and fantasy author.
Terry Ballantine Bisson (February 12, 1942 – January 10, 2024) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was best known for his short stories, including "Bears Discover Fire", which won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and "They're Made Out of Meat".
Biography Terry Ballantine Bisson was born on February 12, 1942,
While a student at Grinnell College (Iowa) in 1961, Bisson was one of a group of students who traveled to Washington, D.C., during the Cuban Missile Crisis supporting U.S. President John F. Kennedy's "peace race". Kennedy invited the group to the White House (the first time protesters had ever been so recognized) and they met for several hours with McGeorge Bundy. The group received wide press coverage, and this event is regarded as the start of the student peace movement. Over time, they came to be known as the Grinnell 14.
After leaving Grinnell College, Bisson graduated from the University of Louisville in 1964. He lived "on and off" in New York City for most of the next four decades, before moving to Oakland, California, in 2002. He became a "working" writer in 1981. A self-identified member of the New Left, he operated Jacobin Books, a "revolutionary" mail-order book service, from 1985 to 1990, in partnership with Judy Jensen.
Bisson was married three times. He and his first wife, Deirdre Holst, had three children. His second marriage was to Mary Corey. Bisson married his "longtime companion" Judy Jensen on December 24, 2004; the couple had one daughter, and Bisson was stepfather to Jensen's two children.
In the 1960s, early in his career, Bisson collaborated on several comic book stories with Clark Dimond, and he edited Major Publications' black-and-white horror-comics magazine Web of Horror, but left before the fourth issue.
Bisson's first novel was Wyrldmaker, a science fiction novel influenced by James Blish's The Seedling Stars.
Bisson died in the early morning on January 10, 2024, at the age of 81.
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Important facts
People in Terry Bisson's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Terry Bisson's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Terry Bisson?
American science fiction and fantasy author (1942–2024)
When was Terry Bisson born?
Terry Bisson was born on 12 February 1942 in Madisonville.
When did Terry Bisson die?
Terry Bisson died on 10 January 2024 in Berkeley.
What was Terry Bisson's occupation?
Terry Bisson was a writer, novelist, science fiction writer and fantasy author.
What nationality was Terry Bisson?
Terry Bisson was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Terry Bisson. https://biography.guide/terry-bisson/
MLA: "Terry Bisson." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/terry-bisson/.
Chicago: "Terry Bisson." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/terry-bisson/.
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