Editor Brian Thomsen died 21 September 2008 of an apparent heart attack; his age is variously reported as somewhere in his 40s or 50s. He was one of the founding editors of Warner/Popular Library’s Questar sf line in the 1980s, and later ran the fantasy book and periodcials lines at TSR. At the time of his death, he was a consulting editor for Tor. He was a nominee for the Best Professional Editor Hugo Award in 1987, and a judge for the World Fantasy Awards in 1993.
Thomsen was also an author, writing many books and short stories. He was the co-author, with Julius Schwartz, of the latter’s autobiography, Man of Two Worlds: My Life in Science Fiction and Comics (2000). Thomsen’s novels include Once Around the Realms (1995) and The Mage in the Iron Mask (1996). His nonfiction books—as author, co-author, or editor—include The Civil War Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant (2002), Shadows of Blue & Gray: The Civil War Writings of Ambrose Bierce (2002), Ireland’s Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Celtic Pride, Fantastic Folklore, and Oddities of the Emerald Isle (2005), The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked (2006), Beyond Shock and Awe: Warfare in the 21st Century (2007), Oval Office Occult: True Stories of White House Weirdness (2008), and Pasta Fazool for the Wiseguy’s Soul: Heartwarming Stories of Family Life (2008). Amazon lists more than 70 books that Thomsen either wrote or collected at this link.
Viewings will be at the Ralph Aievoli Funeral Home, 1275 65th St (at 13th Avenue), Brooklyn, NY 11219 (718-331-2100) on Wednesday 24 September and Thursday 25 September, 2-4:30PM and 7-9:30PM each day.
The funeral mass will be held on Friday 26 September, tentatively scheduled at 10:15AM at Our Lady of Angels Church, 7320 4th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209 (718-836-7200). For directions, see this page.
Following are links to other memories and obituaries of Thomsen. To add to the list, either e-mail us (see the “Contact Us” link above) or comment below.
Ed Greenwood’s memories of Thomsen on Tor.com
Pablo Defendini’s memories and updates on Tor.com
Patrick Nielsen Hayden’s thoughts on Making Light