Phyllis Gotlieb, 1926-2009.

Novelist and poet Phyllis Fay Gotlieb, one of the first published writers of contemporary Canadian science fiction, has passed away. A quintessential Canadian writer, preoccupied with what constitutes identity and communication between peoples, Gotlieb first came to prominence as a poet before trying her hand at SF to cure a bout of writer's block. Following years of rejections, Gotlieb broke through in 1964 with her first SF novel, Sunburst, for which the annual Canadian prize for SF literature is named.