Janrae Frank R.I.P.

Daverana Enterprises is reporting that Janrae Frank, who since 1980 has been at the forefront of writing about women and feminism in speculative fiction, as well as recurring themes such as gender ambiguity, passed away yesterday, January 12. Frank had been hospitalized late last year and recently suffered a stroke. The author of nearly twenty books in the dark fantasy, science-fiction, and horror genres, (including the Dark Brothers of the Light series) Frank also occasionally wrote short fiction and journalism, including the seminal Dead in Suburbia, or Whatever Happened to Feminism in SF?

In a statement on the publisher’s website, her daughter said, “She understood, however, that for many writers, it is their negative life experiences which fuel their creativity. She used this to full effect in her own works, and encouraged others for whom this would be the case and had the ability to turn their sorrow into beauty.”