In Memoriam
It is with great sadness that we tell you of the passing of Janet Morris, Perseid's co-founder and guiding literary light.
In a time where fiction too often leverages themes of nihilism, Janet was a consistent voice reminding us fiction could be so much more. Storytelling can still provide us with hope to combat the drab meaninglessness so much current publishing relies on. When we stand on Janet's shoulders, we see the trail she blazed and find the courage to follow where she has emboldened us to go.
Perseid will honor Janet Morris and remain true to the vision she has left us. In days to come, we will be sharing insights and new works from her storied career that celebrate her contributions to literature and new and deserving writers in need of publication.
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Best selling author Janet Morris began writing in 1976 and published more than 30 novels, many co-authored with her husband Chris Morris or others. She contributed short fiction to the shared universe fantasy series Thieves World, in which she created the Sacred Band of Stepsons, a mythical unit of ancient fighters modeled on the Sacred Band of Thebes. She created, orchestrated, and edited the Bangsian fantasy series Heroes in Hell, writing stories for the series as well as co-writing the related novel, The Little Helliad, with Chris Morris. She wrote the bestselling Silistra Quartet in the 1970s, including High Couch of Silistra, The Golden Sword, Wind from the Abyss, and The Carnelian Throne. This quartet had more than four million copies in Bantam print alone, and was translated into German, French, Italian, Russian and other languages. In the 1980s, Baen Books released a second edition of this landmark series. The third edition is the Author's Cut edition, newly revised by the author for Perseid Press. Most of her fiction work has been in the fantasy and science fiction genres, although she has also written historical and other novels. Morris has written, contributed to, or edited several book-length works of non-fiction, as well as papers and articles on nonlethal weapons, developmental military technology and other defense and national security topics.
Janet said: 'People often ask what book to read first. I recommend "I, the Sun" if you like ancient history; "The Sacred Band," a novel, if you like heroic fantasy; "Lawyers in Hell" if you like historical fantasy set in hell; "Outpassage" if you like hard science fiction; "High Couch of Silistra" if you like far-future dystopian or philosophical novels. I am most enthusiastic about the definitive Perseid Press Author's Cut editions, which I revised and expanded.'
You can see articles about her characters and writing on the blog The Sacred Bander
You can see an outpouring of appreciation for Janet in the memorial tribute at Black Gate:
Black Gate Tribute
