TheBanyanTree: One Vivacious Lady...

[Tori Wilfred]

For those of you who knew her:



Robyn Herrington (1961-2004)

Robyn Meta Herrington, active member of both SFWA and SF Canada,
passed away Monday morning, May 3, 2004, in Calgary, Alberta, after a
courageous multi-year battle with cancer.

Robyn's short fiction appeared in such places as On Spec,
Talebones, Adventures of Sword and Sorcery,
Parsec, and in Mike Resnick's DAW Anthologies Return of the
Dinosaurs (her first sale), Women Writing Science Fiction as
Men, and New Voices in Science Fiction; one of her stories
was produced by CBC Radio as part of its "Alberta Anthology" series. 
Her genre poetry appeared in Tesseracts 6 and
Chiaroscuro, and she was working on a novel.

Robyn was an acquisitions editor for Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy,
and was instrumental in bringing Australian writer K. A. Bedford's
first novel, Orbital Burn, to market.

Robyn was a beloved mainstay of Calgary's SF&F workshop, the
Imaginative Fiction Writers Association, where she was known for
insightful, compassionately presented critiques.  She was also a
frequent member of the committee for Con-Version, Calgary's annual SF
convention (including in 2002, when Con-Version was the CanVention --
the Canadian National Science Fiction Convention), and was often
involved with the con's writers' workshop and annual short-story
contest.

Robyn was born in Melbourne in 1961, and grew up in Elizabeth Fields,
South Australia; she moved to Calgary 25 years ago.  She was employed
as a graphics designer by the University of Calgary (and edited the
publication New Currents In Teaching Technology there).  She

was also an accomplished glass blower, and an inveterate traveler.

Robyn had time to draft her own eulogy before passing.  At her
request, it will be read at her funeral by her friend and mentor,
Robert J. Sawyer.  The service will be held later this week in
Calgary.  Robyn is survived by her husband Bruce Herrington,
universally known in Calgary as "the wonder spouse," her parents, and
sister Sandy VanDamme.   

Her home page is at http://www.ucalgary.ca/~rmherrin/