Remembering Trek Author Ann Crispin, 1950-2013

StarTrek.com is saddened to report the passing of Ann C. Crispin, better known to millions of book aficionados as A.C. Crispin. Crispin, who died today, was the acclaimed, award-winning author of numerous books, including the iconic Star Trek titles Sarek, Yesterday’s Son and Time for Yesterday. Her non-Star Trek work included her own, original StarBridge series, as well as tie-in novels set in the realms of Star Wars, V, Alien and Pirates of the Caribbean. Crispin had waged a long battle with bladder cancer and, on September 3, she took to her Facebook page to thank her fans for their good wishes and prayers, but also to reveal that the end of the battle was near.

StarTrek.com spoke to Crispin in 2011 and asked her, among other things, what she felt she added to the lore of Vulcans in general and to Spock, Sarek and Zar specifically through the Trek novels and comic book she wrote. She replied, “From the beginning I was fascinated -- pardon the pun -- by Mr. Spock and Vulcan. As a child of the 60’s, the idea that Vulcans were strong, and capable, anything but wimps, yet their entire planet embraced pacifism, really inspired me. Also, Mr. Spock was smart, and I identified with his intelligence, yet (also) his “apartness.” He was a character pulled between worlds… this is a characterization a writer can really sink her teeth into! So I worked very hard at being able to set inside the skin of my Vulcan characters, and write them in a way that was true to their nature, yet made them understandable and allowed readers to empathize with them. I also loved Mr. Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of the future. I wanted to go live in that future, and I was able to, at least for as long as it took to write my novels. As for Zar, it seemed to me when I watched “All Our Yesterdays” that the episode cried out for a sequel… so I sat down and wrote it. Regarding adding Trek “lore”… I suppose I was able to add a bit. I recall inventing a rather nasty weapon from the time of Surak that Romulans still used for Sarek… a senapa, I believe it was called. That was fun.”

Crispin, who was in her early 60s, is survived by her husband, the author Michael Capobianco, and a son from a previous relationship. All of us at StarTrek.com extend our condolences to Crispin’s family, friends and many admirers.