J. A. Lawrence

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Judith Ann Lawrence
BornJudith Ann Lawrence
(1934-12-14) December 14, 1934 (age 89)
New York City, US
Pen nameJ. A. Lawrence, Judy Blish
NationalityAmerican
GenreScience fiction
Years active1968–2009
Spouse
​
(m. 1964)​
[1]

Judith Ann Blish (née Lawrence; born December 14, 1934)[2] is an American sketch artist and short fiction writer, known professionally as Judith L. Blish, Judy Blish, and J. A. Lawrence. From 1967 to 1978, she co-wrote a sequence of short story adaptations based on episodes of Star Trek with her husband, James Blish.

Since 1975, Lawrence has been active in preserving and promoting her husband's work.[citation needed]

Early life[edit]

Lawrence was born on December 14, 1934, to pulp-fiction writers Jack Lawrence and Muriel Bodkin.[2][3]

She and James Blish met sometime after his divorce from Virginia Kidd, in 1963. Lawrence and Blish married in November 1964.[1] In 1968, she and Blish moved to Oxford, England. Her mother followed sometime later.[3]

After her husband's death, in 1975, Lawrence spent considerable time in Athens, Greece. She settled there permanently in 1977.[4]

Career[edit]

Lawrence illustrated the covers to editions of Black Easter and The Day After Judgment. She also sketched the cover of Fugue for a Darkening Island by Christopher Priest. She contributed two covers to the Kalki: Studies in James Branch Cabell fanzine, for which she served as Art Director from 1967 to 1971.[5] Lawrence created the cover for the April 1972 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.[6][7] Lawrence's short fiction was regularly published by Galaxy Science Fiction, and was included in several short-fiction anthologies.

In 1975, James Blish was unable to complete his commission to adapt Star Trek episodes for Bantam Books. Lawrence completed the adaptations which were published in 1977. Lawrence and her mother, Muriel, had contributed to Blish's Star Trek adaptations since 1972.[8] However, Lawrence was not credited until Star Trek 12 (1977).[9] The last volume in the series, Mudd's Angels, was released in 1978. It included two episode adaptations credited to James Blish that featured the popular Harry Mudd character. Included was an original novella by Lawrence, The Business, as Usual, During Altercations. In the introduction to Mudd's Angels, it is stated Blish left the adaptations incomplete and Lawrence "finished them."

Further information: Star Trek (Bantam Books) § Episode novelizations

Bibliography[edit]

Cover art and illustrations[edit]

  • Black Easter (September 1969), by James Blish. Doubleday.
  • Kalki: Studies in James Branch Cabell, Vol. II, No. 4(a) (1968).
  • The Vanished Jet (1968), by James Blish. Weybright & Talley.
  • Kalki: Studies in James Branch Cabell, Vol. V, No. 2 (1971).
  • The Day After Judgment (January 1971), by James Blish. Doubleday.
  • Fugue for a Darkening Island (21 February 1972), by Christopher Priest. Faber and Faber ISBN 0-571-09794-4.
  • The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Vol 42, No. 4 (Apr 1972).
  • Jack of Eagles (18 June 1973), by James Blish. Faber and Faber ISBN 0-571-10276-X.

Short fiction[edit]

Star Trek (1977–78)[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Olendorf, Donna, ed. (October 1981). "BLISH, James (Benjamin) 1921–1975". Something About the Author. Vol. 66. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research, Inc. p. 21. ISBN 9780810322769. ISSN 0276-816X.
  2. ^ a b "Petition for Naturalization by Muriel Bodkin Lawrence on behalf of John Lawrence" (1942-03-30). Naturalization Records, ID: 232758. Waltham, Massachusetts: National Archives at Boston.
  3. ^ a b Hanley, Terence E. (January 18, 2019). "Muriel Cameron Bodkin (1903-1994)". Tellers of Weird Tales. Retrieved March 2, 2020 – via Blogspot.
  4. ^ Ayers, Jeff (July 30, 2010). "Read Long and Prosper". In Goldberg, Lee (ed.). Tied In. Calabasas, California: International Association of Media Tie-In Writers (published July 30, 2010). p. 169. ISBN 9781453716106.
  5. ^ "Kalki Issues: Tables of Contents". The Silver Stallion: The James Branch Cabell Website. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  6. ^ "Summary Bibliography: J. A. Lawrence". ISFDB. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Lawrence, J A". The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  8. ^ Ayers, Jeff (November 14, 2006). Voyages of Imagination : The Star Trek Fiction Companion. New York: Pocket Books. p. 9. ISBN 9781416503491.
  9. ^ Ketterer, David (September 1987). Imprisoned in a Tesseract: The Life and Work of James Blish. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press. p. 25. ISBN 9780873383349.

External links[edit]

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