Wolfgang Jeschke


Wolfgang Jeschke was a German science fiction author and editor at Heyne Verlag. In 1987, he won the Harrison Award for international achievements in science fiction.

Biography

Jeschke was born in 1936 in Děčín. After the expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II, he grew up in Asperg near Ludwigsburg. After graduating from high school, he trained as a toolmaker and worked in mechanical engineering. In 1959, he went back to complete the Abitur and studied German, English literature, and philosophy at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. He completed a publishing internship at the publisher C.H. Beck. In 1969, he was hired as editorial assistant for Kindlers literature encyclopedia, and later became an editor.
In 1970, author Herbert W. Franke offered Kindler a science fiction novel; the publisher remembered Jeschke's interest in science fiction and asked him for his opinion. The result was Science Fiction für Kenner under the imprint Lichtenberg Verlag, which included not only Franke's novel, Zone Null, but also Jeschke's own short story collection, Der Zeiter.
This imprint published a number of important authors in German for the first time, including Robert Silverberg, Thomas M. Disch, and Brian W. Aldiss. In late 1972, Jeschke became science fiction consultant and editor at Heyne Verlag. After Franke's departure in 1979, Jeschke was the sole science fiction editor at Heyne, where he remained until his retirement in 2002. He continued to live in Munich, where he continued to work on the Science Fiction Jahrbuch, with.

Work

Jeschke was one of the first members of the Science Fiction Club Deutschland, founded in 1955. His first short stories appeared in fanzines and semi-professional publications, and together with Peter Noga, he published his own fanzine, Ad Astra. He wrote little during his years as consultant and editor, and his body of work remains relatively small. His science fiction is known for its themes of time travel and paradox. His first novel, Der letzte Tag der Schöpfung, was widely translated. He also wrote radio plays.

Novels

  • 1981 Der letzte Tag der Schöpfung
  • 1993 Midas oder Die Auferstehung des Fleisches
  • 1997 Meamones Auge
  • 1997 Osiris Land
  • 2005 Das Cusanus-Spiel oder Ein abendländliches Kaleidoskop
  • 2013 Dschiheads

Short fiction

  • 1959 Die Anderen
  • 1970 Der Zeiter
  • 1993 Schlechte Nachrichten aus dem Vatikan

Collected Stories

  • 2006 Der Zeiter
  • 2008 Partner fürs Leben
  • 2011 Orte der Erinnerung

Non-fiction

  • 2003 Marsfieber

Anthologies/Magazines

  • Heyne Science Fiction Jahresband.
  • Heyne Science Fiction Magazin.
  • Bibliothek der Science Fiction Literatur.
  • Das Science Fiction Jahr.
  • Science Fiction Story Reader.
  • Titan.