Kate Wilhelm, award-winning science fiction writer, dies

EUGENE, Ore. — Award-winning science fiction writer Kate Wilhelm has died at 89.

Her son Richard Wilhelm said in a Facebook post that his mother died March 8 in Eugene, Oregon, following a brief illness.

Kate Wilhelm wrote more than 60 works in science fiction, fantasy and mystery, including the Hugo Award-winning novel “Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang.”

Richard Wilhelm told The Register-Guard newspaper of Eugene that his mother started writing science fiction when the field was dominated by men. Rather than spaceships and gadgets, he says his mother was focused on characters, and why they were in particular situations.

Wilhelm was also known for writer workshops she established with her late husband Damon Knight.

Wilhelm and Knight are both members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.