We are very sad to report the death of Louise Cooper, yesterday, at the age of 57. Thoughts of the entire society go to her husband, Cas Sandall, and family.

Louise wrote over 50 novels, delighting fantasy readers of all ages, and in 1999 was a Guest of Honour at our convention, FantasyCon. In 2000 the BFS produced a collection of her short stories, The Spiral Garden. Jan Edwards, who edited the book, described her today as a "lovely lady", and said that she was devastated by the news.

In her introduction to The Spiral Garden, Diana Wynne Jones said Louise was "a born writer", who probably had "more imagination than any other writer". Stan Nicholls said today, "Louise was a wonderful person and an exceptional writer."