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Jack Wodhams Jack Wodhams i(A20050 works by) (a.k.a. Herbert Jack Wodhams)
Also writes as: Trudy Rose ; Caroline Edwards
Born: Established: 3 Sep 1931 Dagenham, London,
c
England,
c
c
United Kingdom (UK),
c
Western Europe, Europe,
; Died: Ceased: 3 Aug 2017
Gender: Male
Heritage: English
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BiographyHistory

A barman, mechanic, welder and postal worker, Jack Wodhams lived in Caboolture (Queensland) whilst writing some of Australia's best known Sci-Fi short stories. Although his work has appeared in overseas magazines such as Twilight Zone, Amazing, Rigel, Galaxy and Omega, it was the many stories which were published by Analog that helped to consolidate 'his position as one of Australia's leading science fiction writers'. Sold to Analog in 1967, 'There Is a Crooked Man' was the first Wodhams story to appear in this ground-breaking Sci-Fi magazine. In the course of his 'prolific writing career', Wodhams also published widely in Australian Sci-Fi fanzines such as The Brightlight Cafe, and his works appeared in anthologies in Germany and Hungary (Galaktika 1982, 1983).

Receiving 'widespread acclaim' for the short story, 'One Clay Foot', Wodhams is known for his 'dialogue-driven' writing which is 'usually laced with bleak humour'. He has also been praised for his ability to capture the military campaign as a setting. Although he has been described as 'primarily a short story writer whose style does not easily suit novel-length works', Wodhams has published three novels: The Authentic Touch (1971), Looking for Blucher (1980) and Ryn (1982). He has also written on the life and times of Moses: Magus Malefic: A Fresh Analysis of the Life of Moses (1998).

(Sources: Paul Collins (ed.) Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1998; Wodhams, Future War, 1982)

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • ASFF and CA both list that Wodhams immigrated to Australia in 1955; however, the author's book Future War indicates that he arrived as a child. (Sources: Paul Collins (ed.) Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1998; Contemporary Authors Online, 2001)

  • Eric Lindsay's collection of audio tapes, which include recorded talks given by Jack Wodhams, are held in the Science Fiction Oral History Association Archives.
  • In 2000, Wodhams and his co-writer Paul Collins were nominated for a Ditmar Award for Best Short Story for 'Generation X' (published in Cicada): this publication has not been traced and so has not been indexed.

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Vanilla Slice Kid Ormond : Ford Street , 2015 9129476 2015 single work children's fiction children's

'Archie Cunningham is a shy boy who has three things – incredibly mean and greedy parents, no friends, and an amazing power.

'An uploaded video shows the world what Archie can do, and he suddenly becomes the main ingredient in a recipe for world domination.

'Which is when the fun really begins!' (Publication summary)

2016 shortlisted REAL Awards Fiction for Younger Readers
Generation X 1999 single work short story
— Appears in: Cicada 1999;
2000 shortlisted Ditmar Awards Best Short Story
Armstrong 1981 single work short story science fiction
— Appears in: Distant Worlds 1981; (p. 7-23) SF aus Australien 1982; (p. 201-220)
1982 shortlisted Ditmar Awards Best Short Story
Last amended 4 Sep 2017 15:10:55
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