View source for Daniel Keyes

{{short description|American author}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox writer
| image        = Daniel keyes 2.jpg
| imagesize    =
| name         = Daniel Keyes
| caption      = Daniel Keyes
| birth_name   =
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1927|8|9}}
| birth_place  = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2014|6|15|1927|8|9}}
| death_place  = [[Boca Raton, Florida]], U.S.
| occupation   = Fiction writer
| period       = 1952–2014
| alma_mater   = [[New York University]]<br>[[Brooklyn College]]
| genre        = Science fiction
| subject      =
| movement     =
| notableworks = ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]'' (1959)<br />''[[The Minds of Billy Milligan]]'' (1981)
| spouse       = Aurea Georgina Vazquez
| children     = 
| influenced   =
| awards       = [[Hugo Award]] (1960)<br />[[Nebula Award]] (1966)<br />[[Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis|Kurd Lasswitz Award]] (1986)<br />[[Seiun Award]] (1993)
| website      = {{URL|www.danielkeyesauthor.com}}
}}

'''Daniel Keyes''' (August 9, 1927 – June 15, 2014) was an American writer best known as the author of the novel ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]''. Keyes was given the [[Author Emeritus]] honor by the [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] in 2000.<ref name="sfwa140617"/>

==Biography==

===Early life and career===
Keyes was born in [[New York City]], New York.<ref name=playsofbook/> His family was [[Jewish]].<ref>''The National Jewish Monthly'', B'nai B'rith, vol. 82-83 (1967), p. 172</ref><ref>''Research Studies'', Washington State University, vol. 40 (1972), p. 53</ref> He attended [[New York University]] briefly before joining the [[United States Maritime Service]] at 17, working as a ship's purser on oil tankers.<ref name=playsofbook /> Afterward he returned to New York and in 1950 received a [[bachelor's degree]] in psychology from [[Brooklyn College]].<ref name=playsofbook />

A month after graduation, Keyes joined publisher [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]]'s magazine company, [[Magazine Management]].<ref name=playsofbook /> He eventually became an editor of their [[pulp magazine]] ''Marvel Science Stories''<ref name="budrys196608">{{Cite magazine
 |last=Budrys
 |first=Algis
 |date=August 1966
 |title=Galaxy Bookshelf
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/Galaxy_v24n06_1966-08#page/n185/mode/2up
 |magazine=Galaxy Science Fiction
 |pages=186–194
}}</ref> ([[cover-date]]d Nov. 1950 – May 1952) after editor Robert O. Erisman,<ref name="tran06"/> and began writing for the company's [[comic-book]] lines [[Atlas Comics (1950s)|Atlas Comics]], the 1950s precursors of [[Marvel Comics]]. After Goodman ceased publishing pulps in favor of [[mass market paperback|paperback books]] and [[men's adventure]] magazines, Keyes became an associate editor of Atlas<ref name="sfwa140617"/> under editor-in-chief and [[art director]] [[Stan Lee]]. Circa 1952, Keyes was one of several staff writers, officially titled editors, who wrote for such [[horror fiction|horror]] and science fiction comics as ''Journey into Unknown Worlds'', for which Keyes wrote two stories with artist [[Basil Wolverton]].<ref name=gcd />

As Keyes recalled, Goodman offered him a job under Lee after ''Marvel Science Stories'' ceased publication:

{{quote|Since my $17.25-a-month rent was almost due, I accepted what I considered a detour on my journey toward a literary career. Stan Lee ... let his editors deal with the scriptwriters, cartoonists, and [[letterer|lettering]] crew. Writers turned in plot synopses, Stan read them, and as a matter of course, would accept one or two from each of the regulars he referred to as his "stable." As one of his front men, I would pass along comments and criticism. ... Because of my experience editing ''Marvel'' and because I'd sold a few science fiction stories by then, Stan allowed me to specialize in the horror, fantasy, suspense, and science fiction comic books. Naturally, I began submitting story ideas, getting freelance assignment, and supplementing my salary by writing scripts on my own time.<ref name=autobiop79-80/>}}

One story idea Keyes wrote but did not submit to Lee was called "Brainstorm", the paragraph-long synopsis that would evolve into ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]''. It begins: "The first guy in the test to raise the I.Q. from a low normal 90 to genius level ... He goes through the experience and then is thrown back to what was." Keyes recalled, "something told me it should be more than a comic book script."<ref name=autobiop79-80/>

From 1955 to 1956, Keyes wrote for [[EC Comics]], including its titles ''Psychoanalysis'', ''Shock Illustrated,'' and ''Confessions Illustrated'', under both his own name and the pseudonyms '''Kris Daniels''' and '''A.D. Locke'''.<ref name=gcd/>

===''Flowers for Algernon''===
{{Main|Flowers for Algernon}}
The short story and subsequent novel, ''Flowers for Algernon'', is written as progress reports of a mentally disabled man, Charlie, who undergoes experimental surgery and briefly becomes a genius before the effects tragically wear off. The story was initially published in the April 1959 issue of ''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]'' and the expanded novel in 1966.<ref name="nyt140617"/> The novel has been adapted several times for other media, most prominently as the 1968 film ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'', starring [[Cliff Robertson]] (who won an [[Academy Award]] for Best Actor) and [[Claire Bloom]]. Keyes also won the [[Hugo Award]] in 1959 and the [[Nebula Award]] in 1966 for the story.<ref name="sfwa140617"/><ref name="wapo140618"/>

The inspiration for ''Flowers for Algernon'' came from Keyes's experiences as a teacher. When he was teaching at a high school, he taught both mentally gifted and challenged students. One particular experience with a boy in his mentally challenged class sparked the inspiration to begin writing  Flowers for Algernon. He was wondering what would happen if it was possible for a person to gain intelligence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meet American writer Daniel Keyes |url=https://clas.wayne.edu/english/spotlight/meet-american-writer-daniel-keyes-72970#:~:text=Like%20his%20heroes%20Anton%20Chekhov,%2Dyear%2Dold%20ship%20purser |website=Wayne State University |access-date=5 May 2023}}</ref>

===Later career===
Keyes taught creative writing at [[Wayne State University]], and in 1966 he became an English and creative writing professor at [[Ohio University]], in [[Athens, Ohio]], where he was honored as a professor emeritus in 2000.{{r|budrys196608}}<ref name="wint03"/><ref name="ohio02"/>

===Death===
Keyes died at his home in [[Boca Raton]] on June 15, 2014, due to complications from [[pneumonia]].<ref name="nyt140617"/><ref name="wapo140618"/><ref name="loc140617"/><ref name="star140618"/> His wife Aurea Georgina Vazquez, whom he married in 1952, had died on May 14, 2013.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/palmbeachpost/name/aurea-keyes-obituary?id=18237696 | title=Aurea KEYES Obituary (2013) - Boca Raton, FL - the Palm Beach Post | website=[[Legacy.com]] }}</ref> They had two daughters.<ref name="nyt140617"/>

== Awards ==

=== Won ===
* 1960: [[Hugo Award]] for the story "[[Flowers for Algernon]]"<ref name="hugo60"/>
* 1966: [[Nebula Award]] for the novel ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]''<ref name="sfwa140617"/>
* 1986: [[Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis|Kurd Lasswitz Award]] for ''[[The Minds of Billy Milligan]]''<ref name="kurd01"/>
* 1993: [[Seiun Award]] (Non-Fiction of the Year) for ''[[The Minds of Billy Milligan]]''<ref>{{Cite web|title = sfadb: Seiun Awards 1993|url = http://www.sfadb.com/Seiun_Awards_1993|website = www.sfadb.com|access-date = 2015-10-15}}</ref>
* 2000: [[Author Emeritus]] Award from [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]]

=== Nominated ===
* 1967: [[Hugo Award]] for the novel ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]''<ref name="hugo67"/>
* 1982: [[Edgar Award]] for Best Fact Crime for ''[[The Minds of Billy Milligan]]''<ref name="eddb"/>
* 1987: Edgar Award for the American Association of Mystery Writers for ''Unveiling Claudia''<ref name="eddb"/>
* 2001: [[Locus Award]] for [[Locus Award for Best Non-fiction|Best Non-fiction]] for ''Algernon, Charlie and I: A Writer's Journey''

==Bibliography==
=== Novels ===
* ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]'' (novel, 1966) adapted for cinema as ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'', 1968, and as ''[[Flowers for Algernon (film)|Flowers for Algernon]]'', 2000
* ''The Touch'' (1968; re-edited and published as ''The Contaminated Man'', 1977)<ref name="locus9706"/>
* ''The Fifth Sally'' (1980)<ref name="locus9706"/>
* ''Until Death'' (1998)
* ''The Asylum Prophecies'' (2009)

=== Short fiction ===
{|class='wikitable sortable' width='90%'
|-
!width=25%|Title
!|Year
!|First published
!|Notes
|-
|"Precedent"
|rowspan=3| 1952
|''[[Marvel Science Stories|Marvel Science Fiction]]'', Vol. 3, No. 6
|
|-
|"Robot Unwanted"
|''[[Other Worlds, Universe Science Fiction, and Science Stories|Other Worlds]]'', #19
|
|-
|"Something Borrowed"
|''[[Fantastic Story Quarterly|Fantastic Story]]'', Vol. 4, #1
|
|-
|"The Trouble With Elmo"
|1958
|''[[Galaxy Science Fiction|Galaxy]]'', XVI, 4
|
|-
|"[[Flowers for Algernon]]"
|1959
|{{cite journal |author=Keyes, Daniel |date=April 1959 |title=Flowers for Algernon |journal=[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction|F&SF]] |volume=16 |issue=4 }}
|Expanded as a novel, 1966.
|-
|"Crazy Maro"
|rowspan=2| 1960
|''[[The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction]]'', Vol. 18, 4
|Paired with the essay "What Do Characters Cost?"
|-
|"The Quality of Mercy"
|''[[If (magazine)|IF]]'', Vol. X, 5
|
|-
|"A Jury of its Peers"
|1963
|''[[Worlds of Tomorrow (magazine)|Worlds of Tomorrow]]'', Vol. 1, No. 3
|
|-
|"Spellbinder"
|1967
|''[[North American Review]]'', Vol. 4 No. 4
|
|-
|"Mama's Girl"
|1993
|''Daniel Keyes Collected Stories''
|
|-
|}

==== Collections ====
* ''Daniel Keyes Collected Stories'' (Kayakawa, 1993)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the American Short Story |year=2015 |edition=3rd}}</ref>
* ''Daniel Keyes Reader'' (Hayakawa, 1994)<ref name=":0" />

=== Non-fiction ===
* ''[[The Minds of Billy Milligan]]'' (1981)<ref>(film adaptation unproduced {{as of|2014|August|lc=on}}) The film adaptation of ''The Minds of Billy Milligan'', originally announced as ''A Crowded Room'' (under [[James Cameron]]) then as ''The Crowded Room'' (under [[Joel Schumacher]]), was at some point announced for 2008, but did not materialize. {{As of|2014|August}}, the film remains in limbo [http://www.movieinsider.com/m2060/the-crowded-room/] and its [[IMDb]] entry ({{Cite web |title=in-development entry |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411256/ |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129012253/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411256/ |archive-date=November 29, 2010 |access-date=August 8, 2014 |website=[[IMDb]]}}) has been deleted.</ref>
* ''Unveiling Claudia'' (1986)
* ''The Milligan Wars: A True-Story Sequel'' (Hayakawa, 1994)
* ''Algernon, Charlie and I: A Writer's Journey'' (Challcrest Press, 2000)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=autobiop79-80>{{cite book |title=Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey |first=Daniel |last=Keyes |publisher=Challcrest Press Books |location=[[Boca Raton, FL]] |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-547-56408-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PDTD2hPNcjAC&pg=PA79 |pages=79–80}}</ref>
<ref name=playsofbook>{{cite book |editor-first=Robert |editor-last=Chambers |publisher=[[Heinemann (publisher)|Heinemann]] |title=The Play of Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-435-23293-1 |page=vii |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIs9Em38dAoC&pg=PP11 |access-date=June 19, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="tran06">{{cite book | title = Transformations: Volume 2 in the History of Science Fiction Magazine, 1950–1970 | first = Michael | last = Ashley |author-link=Mike Ashley (writer) | publisher = [[Liverpool University Press]] | year = 2005 | isbn =  978-0853237693 | url=https://archive.org/details/transformationsv0000ashl | url-access = registration | quote = daniel Keyes marvel comics. |page = [https://archive.org/details/transformationsv0000ashl/page/42 42]}}</ref>
<ref name=gcd>{{cite web |url=http://comics.org/search.lasso?type=writer&query=daniel+keyes&sort=chrono&Submit=Search |title=Daniel Keyes |publisher=[[Grand Comics Database]] |access-date=June 19, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="ohio02">{{cite web |first=Dwight |last=Woodward |work=Ohio Today |publisher=[[Ohio University]] |title='Algernon' lives on |url=http://www.ohio.edu/ohiotoday/fall00/departments/wall/algernon.html |date=Fall 2000 |access-date=June 17, 2014 |archive-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915025435/https://www.ohio.edu/ohiotoday/fall00/departments/wall/algernon.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="wint03">{{cite web |first=Rae |last=Winters |title=Keyes Biography |url=http://academic.depauw.edu/aevans_web/HONR101-02/WebPages/Fall2009/Rae/Daniel%20Keyes's%20Flowers%20for%20Algernon/pages/keyes_biography.htm |date=December 1, 2009 |access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="kurd01">{{Cite web |url=http://www.kurd-lasswitz-preis.de/1981-1990/KLP_1986_Preistraeger.htm |publisher=[[Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis]] |title=KLP 1986 Preisträger |access-date=June 18, 2014 |language=de |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403061958/http://www.kurd-lasswitz-preis.de/1981-1990/KLP_1986_Preistraeger.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="hugo60">{{Cite web |url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1960-hugo-awards/ |title=1960 Hugo Awards |publisher=[[Hugo Award]]s |access-date=June 18, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507164541/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1960-hugo-awards/ |archive-date=May 7, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>
<ref name="hugo67">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1967-hugo-awards/ |title=1967 Hugo Awards |publisher=[[Hugo Award]]s |access-date=June 18, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211162725/http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/1967-hugo-awards/ |archive-date=February 11, 2012 }}</ref>
<ref name="eddb">{{Cite web |url=http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php |title=Edgar Award Winners and Nominees Database |publisher=[[Mystery Writers of America]] |access-date=June 18, 2014 |archive-date=September 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927165310/http://www.theedgars.com/edgarsDB/index.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name="locus9706">{{cite news |work=[[Locus (magazine)|Locus]] |title=Daniel Keyes: 40 Years of Algernon (excerpt) |url=http://www.locusmag.com/1997/Issues/06/Keyes.html |date=June 1997 |access-date=June 18, 2014}}</ref>

<ref name="loc140617">{{cite news |work=[[Locus Online]] |title=Daniel Keyes (1927–2014) |url=http://www.locusmag.com/News/2014/06/daniel-keyes-1927-2014/ |date=June 17, 2014 |access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt140617">{{cite news |first=Daniel E. |last=Slotnik |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=Daniel Keyes, a Novelist of the Mind, Dies at 86 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/books/daniel-keyes-a-novelist-of-the-mind-dies-at-86.html?_r=0 |date=June 17, 2014 |access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="sfwa140617">{{cite web |publisher=[[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] |title=In Memoriam – Daniel Keyes 1927–2014 |url=http://www.sfwa.org/2014/06/memoriam-daniel-keyes-1927-2014/ |date=June 17, 2014 |access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="star140618">{{cite news |first=Matt |last=Sedensky |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |title=Daniel Keyes, novelist whose "Flowers for Algernon" is a classroom staple, dies at 86 |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/06/18/daniel_keyes_novelist_whose_flowers_for_algernon_is_a_classroom_staple_dies_at_86.html |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=June 20, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="wapo140618">{{cite news |first=Emily |last=Langer |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=Daniel Keyes, author of the classic book 'Flowers for Algernon,' dies at 86 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/daniel-keyes-author-of-the-classic-book-flowers-for-algernon-dies-at-86/2014/06/18/646e30d6-f6f4-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html |date=June 18, 2014 |access-date=June 19, 2014}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{YouTube|K2T9PnC718Q|Keyes speech}}
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}
* {{IMDb name|0450797}}
* {{isfdb name|id=Daniel_Keyes|name=Daniel F. Keyes}}

{{Daniel Keyes}}
{{eccontribs}}{{Hugo Award Best Short Story 1955–1960}}{{Nebula Award Best Novel}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keyes, Daniel F.}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American short story writers]]
[[Category:American comics writers]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:American military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:American psychological fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American sailors]]
[[Category:American science fiction writers]]
[[Category:Brooklyn College alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Florida]]
[[Category:EC Comics]]
[[Category:Hugo Award–winning writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American novelists]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics people]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Nebula Award winners]]
[[Category:Novelists from Michigan]]
[[Category:Novelists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Novelists from Ohio]]
[[Category:Ohio University faculty]]
[[Category:The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people]]
[[Category:Wayne State University faculty]]
[[Category:Writers from Brooklyn]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Mariners]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Mariners of World War II]]