Mercury Seven Col. John "Shorty" Powers, who as a result became known in the press as the "eighth astronaut". They wrote first-hand accounts of their selection and preparation for the Mercury missions in the 1962 book "We Seven". Additionally, each of them separately wrote at least one book describing their astronaut experiences. In 1979, Tom Wolfe published a less sanitized version of their story in "The Right Stuff". Wolfe's book was the basis for the film of the same name directed by Philip Kaufman. The five Tracy brothers from the TV series "Thunderbirds" were named after five of the Mercury Seven astronauts.
Bunch of Seven The name was invented by Terri Neal as a take-off on the Group of Seven, a group of well-known Canadian artists. Bunch of Seven The Bunch of Seven was a group of science fiction and fantasy writers who met regularly in Toronto from March 28, 1985 until the early 90s to mutually critique manuscripts with the intention of helping each other turn professional—a goal in which several members succeeded. The group's founders were Tanya Huff, S. M. Stirling, Karen Wehrstein, Shirley Meier, Louise Hypher, Terri Neal and Lloyd Penney. Later members included Julie Czerneda, Fiona Patton, Marian Hughes, Stephanie Rendino