Richard McKenna

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Richard Milton McKenna (May 9, 1913-October 1, 1964) was an American sailor and novelist.

He was best known for his historical novel, The Sand Pebbles, which tells the tale of an American sailor who was aboard a gunboat on the Chinese Yangtze River in 1926.

Early life

McKenna was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, on May 9, 1913.

McKenna, who was looking for more than could be found in such a rural area of the country during the Great Depression, joined the US Navy in 1931 at the age of 18. He served for 22 years, with ten years of active sea duty. He served in World War II and the Korean War.

He retired as a Chief Machinist's Mate. McKenna attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he studied creative writing due to the GI Bill's benefits. Eva, his librarian, was also married at the college, and he had a love for her.

McKenna began writing science fiction in 1958, and from 1958 to 2015, he attended the annual Milford Writer's Workshop for science fiction writers. In the book Notes to a Science Fiction Writer, Ben Bova writes, "He had a tremendous talent." "Casey Agonistes," his first science fiction story, "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, September 1958 issue, published him as a writer to watch. During his lifetime, only a few of his science fiction stories were published, but after his death, several more appeared posthumously.

McKenna's best known 1966 film of the same name was The Sand Pebbles (1962), a 597-page book that was later made into a well-known 1966 film of the same name. During the 1920s, the protagonist was an enlisted career sailor on a China river gunboat named the San Pablo. McKenna himself served on the Yangtze Patrol, but it was only about ten years since his book was published and not of more modern design (San Pablo was an ancient gunboat confiscated from Spain in 1898). Sand Pebbles won the $10,000 Harper Prize Novel in 1963 and was selected as a Book-of-the-Month Club pick.

McKenna appeared on the television quiz show "To Tell The Truth" shortly after the film contract was announced, receiving one vote from the celebrity jury.

McKenna's posthumously published short story "The Secret Place" received the Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1966 and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1967. "Hunter Come Home," "The Unknown City," "Mine Own Ways," and "Fiddler's Green" are among Casey Agonistes and Other Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories (1973). The Sons of Martha and The Left Handed Monkey Wrench were both published posthumously.

McKenna died at his Chapel Hill, N.C. home on November 4, 1964, at the age of 51.

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Writing career

McKenna began writing science fiction in 1958, and he attended the annual Milford Writer's Workshop for science fiction writers. In the book Notes to a Science Fiction Writer, Ben Bova writes, "He had a lot of talent." When it appeared in the September 1958 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, his first science fiction story "Casey Agonistes" immediately established him as a writer to watch. During his lifetime, only a handful of his science fiction stories were published, but after his death, several more appeared posthumously.

McKenna's best work was The Sand Pebbles (1962), a 597-page book that was later turned into the well-known 1966 film of the same name. During the 1920s, the protagonist was an enlisted career soldier aboard a US Navy river gunboat named the San Pablo in China. McKenna was a passenger on a river gunboat on the Yangtze Patrol but it was about ten years after the events in his book and a more modern architecture (San Pablo was an ancient gunboat stolen from the Spanish in 1898). The Sand Pebbles won the $10,000 Harper Prize Novel in 1963 and was selected as a Book-of-the-Month Club pick.

McKenna appeared on the television quiz show "To Tell The Truth" shortly after the film contract was announced, receiving a single vote from the celebrity jury.

In 1966, McKenna's posthumously published short story "The Secret Place" received the Nebula Award for Best Short Story and was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story. "Hunter Come Home," "Mine Own Ways," and "Fiddler's Green," are among Casey Agonistes and Other Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories (1973) collected the title story and four other short stories: "Hunter Come Home," "The Unknown Place," "The Real Place," "Mine Own Ways," and "Fiddler's Green" are three of the series. The Sons of Martha and The Left Handed Monkey Wrench were also published posthumously.

McKenna died at his Chapel Hill, N.C. home, on November 4, 1964, at the age of 51.

Source