Bio:Charles G. Waugh

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I was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 18, 1943. I am an only child. My mother was Isabelle D. Waugh (an English teacher) and my father was Gordon B. Waugh (an electrical engineer). During World War II my father served as a naval officer. I spent the first year of my life in Boston, MA (where he was stationed), and the second in Portland, ME (where he was transferred). From two until twelve I lived in the country community of Laurel Lake, NJ. Dad started working for IBM, and a few years later was reassigned to its home base in Endicott, NY. After attending high school there, I was accepted at Syracuse University where I earned a B.S. in speech in 1965 (with minors in English and Economics) and an M.A. in psychology in 1969. I spent two years in graduate school at Kent State where I majored in communication and minored in sociology (eventually finishing my Ph.D. dissertation in 1982), then took a job at the University of Maine at Augusta in the fall of 1971. I am still there and since 1981 have been a full professor of communication and psychology.

Since January 1965 I have taught on the college level at Syracuse University, Ithaca College, Kent State University, and the University of Maine at Augusta. My fifty-first year begins this Spring 2015 semester.

Since 1978 I have published 219 books with 54 co-editors/authors and 54 publishers. The majority of my work has been, until recently, in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. But now, after a ten year break, I'm back and working mainly in other genres. So far I've 15 anthologies out, 15 in press, and a slew more on the way. (Oddly enough, publishing is a career I probably would not have had but for a coincidence. In 1974 I met Martin Harry Greenberg, who knew Isaac, at a Boston Science Fiction convention where we both had gone to hear Dr. Asimov speak. One thing led to another and ultimately I was Marty's most frequent collaborator (193 books) and and Isaac's second most frequent collaborator (80 books). Both of them gave me much help and encouragement, for which I'll forever be indebted. And, perhaps because of that, I have consistently tried to help others as I, myself, was helped.)

I have two children, two stepchildren, three grandchildren, and four grand-stepchildren. My son, Eric-Jon Rossel Tairne (nee: Waugh) has done about thirty books and my granddaughter, Tara Nicole Azarian, about fifty feature films. My first wife (1968-2000), Carol-Lynn Rossel, is a very talented woman: an author, photographer, musician, and doll artist. My second wife (2001- ), Kathy Chazin, is the love of my life. A wonderful companion, she is a LPN, a LCSW, and, since her retirement, a frequent co-editor of mine.

Personally, I'm just a country boy and a very simple person. I've always thought of my body as a vehicle for carrying my head from room to room, and am so square (no drinking, drugs, gambling, partying, running around, or smoking); colleagues have called me a cube. My success as anthologist and author, in addition to Marty and Isaac's boost, has resulted from the creative mind and good memory with which I was blessed, the work ethic my family instilled in me, and a great ability to structure things acquired from my stretches in debate (12 years) and teaching public speaking (50 years).

In summary, I am a happy, stable person--who has been lucky enough to have had a full, rich and tranquil life.

I can't imagine you'd want to know more about me--but if you do, consult Volume 126 of Contemporary Authors. It contains a long phone interview they did with me. Or, better yet, just drop me an e-mail.