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. The Spring 2015 semester begins my fifty-first year. Since 1978, I have published 219 books with 54 co-editors/authors and 54 publishers. Until recently, the majority of my work has been 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, 14 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 I ultimately did 193 books with Marty and 80 with Isaac. 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; 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 experiences 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.