Marianne Sydow (1944–2013)

Marianne Sydow, née Bischoff, was intensely interested in literature as a child and began writing a novel at age 13. She had to leave high school to help support her family, and worked as a telephone operator, clerk, and veterinary assistant before marrying and having a son. Following a divorce, she began to earn a living as a writer. Her first novel, Das Wesen aus der Retorte (The Essence of the Retort), was published in 1967 under the pen name Garry McDunn. Several more novels under that name followed. Under her real name, she wrote for the Terra Astra and Atlan science fiction series and later became the first woman writer for the weekly Perry Rhodan series. She quit that team in 1992 and devoted herself to her own projects. She and her second husband, Heinz-Jürgen Ehrig, acquired the largest private collection in Europe of fantasy and utopian works, more than 130,000 books plus comics, magazines, movie posters, audio cassettes, and more dating from the 18th century. She archived the collection and worked on a 20-volume catalogue, which was still unfinished at her death.