Today was apparently Phil Athans’ last day at Wizards of the Coast.
For those who don’t know, Phil has been part of their fiction department since the TSR days, and has been in charge of that department for several years now. I’ve had several opportunities to sit down and talk with him, and I’ve worked for him–albeit at several levels of remove–on a couple of different projects. Of biggest impact to me personally, however, was the fact that Phil was the guy who decided to offer me the opportunity to kick off the new Planeswalker line, and thus gave me the opportunity to write Agents of Artifice.
I had nothing currently lined up with WotC, in terms of fiction, but I was looking forward to working with him again at some point in the future. I’m disappointed to know that won’t be happening–unless he finds a job at another sci-fi/fantasy publisher, of course, and I certainly hope that he does–and also disappointed at whoever made the decision to let him go. The fiction department at WotC won’t ever be the same without him.
Thank you, Phil–for all the work you put into the books, and for the opportunities you gave me. I hope you find yourself something even better.
