Michael G. Coney

Michael G. Coney (1932-2005) was a British-born science fiction novelist who worked as an accountant, hotel manager, and forestry official before turning to writing full time. Born in Birmingham, he published his first story in 1969 and his debut novel, Mirror Image, in 1972, before relocating to British Columbia in 1973, where he remained for the rest of his life. He is best known for Hello Summer, Goodbye and for Brontomek!, which won the British Science Fiction Association Award in 1977; other key novels include The Celestial Steam Locomotive and Gods of the Greataway. His fiction often centered on ordinary people in small, isolated communities confronting environmental or human threats, and his novelette "Tea and Hamsters" was a Nebula Award finalist.