As member Eric Scoles points out, J.G. Ballard died yesterday, 19 April 2009.  He was born 15 November 1930, and so died at a bit over 78. Here is his web site, and another site dedicated to obituaries and farewells. According to his site and the Wikipedia entry about him, he was known for dystopian fiction and had many good stories to his credit. It is unlikely that he will be forgotten any time soon.