Jim Baen, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Baen Books, was reported by author Steven Barnes to have had a stroke. According to Barnes, Baen had been in a coma for about twelve hours in the middle of this morning.

Barnes broke the news of Octavia Butler's death a few months ago, and I've seen confirmation of this by a Baen author elsewhere, so this, unfortunately, seems to be true.

All of us at the SFBC hope that Jim's condition is not as bad as it sounds, and we wish him a speedy and full recovery.