# Lee Harding (writer)

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Australian photographer and author (1937–2023)

Lee Harding Born Lee John Harding (1937-02-19)19 February 1937 Colac, Victoria, Australia Died 19 April 2023(2023-04-19) (aged 86) Perth, Western Australia, Australia Pen name Harold G. Nye Occupation Photographer, writer Nationality Australian Period 1958–1997 Genre Science fiction

**Lee John Harding** (19 February 1937 – 19 April 2023) was an Australian freelance photographer, who became a writer of [science fiction](/source/Science_fiction) novels and short stories.

## Career

Harding was born on 19 February 1937, in [Colac, Victoria](/source/Colac%2C_Victoria).[1] He was a fan of science fiction and was among the founding members of the [Melbourne Science Fiction Club](/source/Melbourne_Science_Fiction_Club).[2]

Harding's first published work appeared in the Sydney photographic magazine *Photo Digest* in 1958: a photographic coverage of the filming of *[On the Beach](/source/On_the_Beach_(1959_film))*, a 1959 adaptation of [Nevil Shute](/source/Nevil_Shute)'s novel *[On the Beach](/source/On_the_Beach_(novel))*, in [Melbourne](/source/Melbourne) and [Frankston](/source/Frankston%2C_Victoria) locations, accompanied by a personal written record of his adventures. This led to a request for a regular monthly column for the magazine on 35mm photography, and a subsequent photographic and written coverage of the filming of *[The Sundowners](/source/The_Sundowners_(1960_film))* in [Cooma](/source/Cooma).

In 1961 Harding's first published short story, *Displaced Person*, was published in *[Science Fantasy](/source/Science_Fantasy_(magazine))*.[2] He continued to write and submit stories to a range of magazines, including *[New Worlds](/source/New_Worlds_(magazine))*, *[Science Fantasy](/source/Science_Fantasy_(magazine))*, and *[Science Fiction Adventures](/source/Science_Fiction_Adventures_(British_magazine))* (UK). In 1966, he became an editorial partner for the [fanzine](/source/Fanzine) *Australian SF Review* (ASFR).[2] In 1969 Harding then went on to write for the joint Australian/UK SF magazine *Vision of Tomorrow*, set up by Ron Graham, plus had stories published in US magazines *[Galaxy Science Fiction](/source/Galaxy_Science_Fiction)*, *[If](/source/If_(magazine))* and *Odyssey*, and also Australian magazines, including the *Melbourne Sun* newspaper. For [ABC Education Radio](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation), he wrote two 12–part science fiction serials, *Journey Into Time* and *The Legend of New Earth*, and dramatised the H.G. Wells story "[The Man Who Could Work Miracles](/source/The_Man_Who_Could_Work_Miracles_(short_story))" for the same programme.

From 1972 Harding switched from photography to writing full-time. He published four short paperback novels in [Cassell Australia](/source/Cassell_(publisher))'s education series for reluctant readers: *The Fallen Spaceman*, *Children of Atlantis*, *The Frozen Sky*, and *Return to Tomorrow*. His first adult novel, *A World of Shadows* was published in 1975 and in the same year he edited the Australian science fiction anthologies *Beyond Tomorrow* and *The Altered I*, with assistance from Rob Gerrand and [Ursula K. Le Guin](/source/Ursula_K._Le_Guin). In 1978 he edited *Rooms of Paradise*, which was also published in the US and UK. Several stories from the latter were also re-printed in the annual US publication, *[The Year's Best Science Fiction](/source/The_Year's_Best_Science_Fiction)*. Four novels followed, including *[Displaced Person](/source/Displaced_Person_(novel))*, adapted from his earlier short story, for which he received the 1980 Australian Children's Book of The Year Award.[3] In 1997, he published the non-science fiction novel *Heartsease*.[4] Harding has also written short stories using the pseudonym, *Harold G Nye*.[4]

Harding died on 19 April 2023, in [Perth, Western Australia](/source/Perth%2C_Western_Australia).[1][5]

## Awards

- 1970 – [Ditmar Award](/source/Ditmar_Award_results): Best Australian Science Fiction for *Dancing Gerontius*[6]

- 1972 – Ditmar Award: Best Australian Fiction for *Fallen Spaceman*[6]

- 1978 – Alan Marshall Short Story Award for an unpublished manuscript *Displaced Person*[7]

- 1980 – Winner of the Australian Children's Book of the Year Award for *Displaced Person*[3]

- 2006 – Australian Science Fiction Foundation, [Chandler Award](/source/Chandler_Award) in gratitude for his life's work.[2]

Harding also received three Australia Council Fellowships from the [Australian Council for the Arts Literature Board](/source/Creative_Australia).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Bibliography

### Novels

- *The Fallen Spaceman* (Cassell Australia, 1973) (revised & republished in 1979 by Harper & Row)

- *Children of Atlantis* (Cassell Australia, 1974)

- *A World of Shadows* (Hale, 1975)

- *The Frozen Sky* (Cassell Australia, 1975)

- *Return to Tomorrow* (Cassell Australia, 1976)

- *Future Sanctuary* (Laser Books New York #41, Sept. 1976)

- *The Weeping Sky* (Cassell Australia, 1977)

- *[Displaced Person](/source/Displaced_Person_(novel))* (Hyland House, Australia1979) (as *Misplaced Persons* (Harper & Row, May 1979)) (minor revisions, Penguin (1981))

- *The Web of Time* (Cassell Australia, 1980) novelisation of radio play *Journey Into Time*

- *Waiting for the End of the World* (Hyland House, Australia 1983)

- *Heartsease* (HarperCollins, Australia 1997)

### Radio plays

- *Journey Into Time* (Serial: [Australian Broadcasting Corporation](/source/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation), c. 1978)

- *The Legend of New Earth* (Serial: Australian Broadcasting Commission, c. 1979)

- *The Man Who Could Work Miracles* (adaptation of "[The Man Who Could Work Miracles](/source/The_Man_Who_Could_Work_Miracles_(short_story))" by [H. G. Wells](/source/H._G._Wells), Australian Broadcasting Commission, c. 1980)

### Selected short stories

- *"[Fallen Spaceman](/source/Fallen_Spaceman)"* in *If* magazine, May/June 1971

- *"[Dancing Gerontius](/source/Dancing_Gerontius)"* in the collection: *The Second Pacific Book of Science Fiction*, edited by [John Baxter](/source/John_Baxter_(author)) (Angus and Robertson, 1971)

- *"Soul Survivors"* in the collection: *[New Writings in SF 17](/source/New_Writings_in_SF_17)*, edited by [John Carnell](/source/John_Carnell) (Dobson, 1970)

### Edited

- *Beyond Tomorrow : an anthology of modern science fiction* (Wren, 1975)

- *The Altered I : an encounter with science fiction / by Ursula K. Le Guin and others* (Norstrilia Press, 1976)

- *Rooms of Paradise* (Quartet Books, 1978)

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Locusmag_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Locusmag_1-1) ["Lee Harding (1937-2023)"](https://locusmag.com/2023/05/lee-harding-1937-2023/). *Locus Online*. 1 May 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ASFF_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ASFF_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-ASFF_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-ASFF_2-3) ["A. Bertram Chandler Award 2006 presented to Lee Harding"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160107102511/http://asff.org.au/chandler-award-2006-harding.htm). Australian Science Fiction Foundation. Archived from [the original](http://asff.org.au/chandler-award-2006-harding.htm) on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-lib_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-lib_3-1) ["Australian Library Collections"](http://librariesaustralia.nla.gov.au/apps/kss?action=Display&mode=fulldisplay&target=freenbd&queryid=2&startPos=2). National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2007.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-austlit_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-austlit_4-1) ["Harding, Lee (a.k.a. Harding, Lee John)"](http://www.austlit.edu.au/run?ex=ShowAgent&agentId=A%2BEG). Aus tLit. Retrieved 17 September 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Glyer, Mike (20 April 2023). ["Hard to believe he's no longer with us: Lee Harding (1937–2023)"](https://file770.com/hard-to-believe-hes-no-longer-with-us-lee-harding-1937-2023/). *File 770*. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ditspillers_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ditspillers_6-1) ["A Winning History"](https://web.archive.org/web/20060820052416/http://www.ditspillers.com/). *Australian Ditmar Awards*. Tony Plank. Archived from [the original](http://www.ditspillers.com) on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 10 January 2021.(Click on "Winners History" to access relevant page.)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Mid_7-0)** ["Lee Harding - Brief Biography"](http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/hardingl/hardingl.html). Perry Middlemiss. Retrieved 17 September 2007.

## References

- Oxford Companion to Australian Literature Oxford 1985 pp 316–317 613

- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Orbit 1993 pp 541–542

- [A. Bertram Chandler Award 2006 presented to Lee Harding, by Bruce Gillespie](https://web.archive.org/web/20070913043832/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~asff/harding.htm) Australian Science Fiction Foundation, Chandler Award Winners (Retrieved 17 September 2007)

## External links

- [Lee Harding](https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?Lee_Harding) at the [Internet Speculative Fiction Database](/source/Internet_Speculative_Fiction_Database)

- [*Worlds of if* magazine June 1971](http://www.philsp.com/data/images/i/if_197106.jpg)

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND WorldCat National United States Poland Artists Photographers' Identities People LibraryThing Other SNAC

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lee Harding (writer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harding_(writer)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harding_(writer)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.