Prolific science fiction author Damien Broderick, who coined the term “virtual reality,” has died.

Prolific science fiction author Damien Broderick, who wrote over 70 books and helped coin the term “virtual reality,” has died. He was 80.

The beloved Australian writer passed away on April 19 in Portugal, where he had been living with his wife, Barbara Lamar, reports science fiction news outlet Locus.

Born Damien Francis Broderick on April 22, 1944, in Melbourne, he earned a PhD in fiction semiotics from Deakin University and spent many years as a senior fellow at the University of Melbourne.

His foray into science fiction began in 1964 with the publication of “The Sea’s Furthest End,” a story that would later evolve into a full-length novel of the same name in 1993. His debut novel, Sorcerer’s World, followed in 1970.

Broderick excelled at writing short stories. “Infinite Monkey” (2000) earned an Aurealis Award, while “This Wind Blowing, and this Tide” (2009) and “Under the Moons of Venus” (2010) were both finalists for the prestigious Sturgeon Memorial Award. Many of his remarkable short stories have been collected in acclaimed volumes, including A Man Returned (1965), The Dark Between the Stars: Speculative Fiction (1991), Uncle Bones (2009), The Qualia Engine (2011), Adrift in the Noösphere: Science Fiction Stories (2012), and Under the Moons of Venus: Best Science Fiction Stories of Damien Broderick (2021).

Other notable novels include The Dreaming Dragons: A Time Opera (1980), a Campbell Memorial Award runner-up, as well as The Judas Mandala (1982), The Black Grail (1986), Transmitters (1984), Striped Holes (1988), and Quipu (2005). Additionally, Godplayers (2005) stands alongside three Aurealis Award-winning novels: The White Abacus (1996), Transcension (2002), and K-Machines (2006).

Meanwhile, in 1982, Broderick played a key role in coining the term “virtual reality” (a computer-generated environment designed to feel realistic—or at least fully immersive—to those who experience it) through his novel The Judas Mandala, a work that explores multiple complex and intertwining virtual realities. According to The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Broderick’s use of the term “virtual reality” is the earliest example in fiction.

Later, the term gained popularity in the 1980s with the rise of technology such as the Virtual Worlds programming environment, which was developed by programmers at the University of London's Queen Mary College, and the term was used in the context of computer graphics and simulation.

Broderick was also a prolific writer in science fiction criticism and scholarship, with works like Reading by Starlight (1995), Transrealist Fiction (2000), and The Time Machine Hypothesis (2019). His non-fiction includes titles on future studies and polymathy, such as The Spike (1997) and Ferocious Minds (2005).

The Australian author was honored with a prestigious scholarship award from the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts in 2005. Five years later, in 2010, he received the A. Bertram Chandler Memorial Award for his exceptional contributions to Australian science fiction.