Paul Haines (1970-2012)

SF writer Paul Haines, 41, died March 5, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia of cancer.

Haines was an active member of the Australian writing community. He attended the first Clarion South workshop in 2004, and soon after rose to prominence in Australia, winning four Ditmar Awards: for best new talent in 2005, and for best novelella/novelette for “The Last Days of Kali Yuga” (2005), “The Devil in Mr Pussy (Or How I Found God Inside My Wife)” (2007), and “Wives” (2009). “Wives” was also on the Tiptree honor list, and won an Aurealis Award, as did “The Last Days of Kali Yuga” and “Slices of Life — a Spot of Liver” (2009). Many of his other stories were Aurealis and Ditmar nominees.

His collection Doorways for the Dispossessed (2006) won a Sir Julius Vogel Award, and more of his stories were collected in Slice of Life (2009) and The Last Days of Kali Yuga (2011).

Haines was born June 8, 1970 in New Zealand, and was raised in Auckland. He attended university in Otago, and moved to Australia in the ’90s, where he worked as an information technology consultant. He is survived by his wife and daughter.