THE FUTURIANS*

A group of New York SF fans, writers, artists, and editors active from 1938-45. They held to the conviction "that SF fans should be forward-looking ('futurian') and constructive." Members sometimes lived communally, and often shared their dreams, writings and failures. Damon Knight remarked that in the Futurians' first active year, member Frederik Pohl published fifteen stories by Futurians in his two bi-monthy magazines.

Information sources for this document can be found by clicking the asterisk after the title. All information contained herein is taken from these sources, and I claim none of it as my own. If you have additional information on the Futurians, mail BlacKatz@vt.edu. This document was compiled for 20th Century Speculative Fiction, a graduate level course and Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University.---K. A. A.

• Donald Wollheim -- Born 1914. Wollheim was considered the leader of the futurians in the 30's. He published numerous fanzines, and became one of the most significant editors in the field of SF. He published works form many of his fellow Futurians in _Cosmic Stories_ and Stirring Science Stories_. (Alias Arthur Cooke, Millard Verne Gordon, David Grinnell, Martin Pearson, Braxton Wells, Willy the Wisp, Lawrence Woods)

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• Frederik Pohl -- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York. November 26, 1919. A founding member of the Futurians and High School dropout, he began editing career at age 19 with _Astonishng Stories_ and Super Science Stories_. He went overseas during WWII, returning Stateside to a carreer as a literary agent, claiming to represent approximately 70% of the top SF authors of the '50s. Pohl himself wrote regularly during the '50s and edited two anthologies. His work is notable for its poetic irony and character development. From 1960-69 he edited _Galaxy_ and _If_, and recieved several Hugo awards for the latter. Judith Merril was his third wife, and his present wife ,Carol Stanton, has co-edited several anthologies with him. He is known for his excellent satires and sharp wit as well as an economy of style. (Alias Elton V. Andrews, Henry De Costa, Paul Dennis Lavond, Paul Flehr, S. D. Gottesman, Lee Gregor, Edson McCann, James MacCreigh, Ernst Mason, Scott Mariner, Charles Satterfield, Warren F. Howard, Allen Zweig)

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• Cyril Kornbluth -- Born in New York City. 1923--1958. Kornbluth's first work was published (under the penname Kenneth Falconer) at age sixteen: "The Worlds of the Guru". He served as an infantryman in WWII and attended the University of Chicago for a short time, giving up college to work for Trans-Radio Press. A prolific writer, he was posessed of a "dark, sardonic humor" which emerged in bitter and moralistically complex tales. Many of his best works offer "a clear view of humanity's frail ethics and amorality." He died suddenly of hypertention in 1958 at the age of 35. (Alias Gabriel Barclay, Arthur Cooke, Cecil Corwin, Simon Eisner, Kenneth Falconer, S.D.Gottesman, Cyril Judd, Paul Dennis Lavond, Scott Mariner, Martin Pearson, Ivar Towers])

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• Richard Wilson -- Born 1920. Director of the News Bureau at Syracuse University, he combines jounalism with science fiction in many of his works. His style is brisk and comfortable like that of magazine articles, and he won a Nebula award in 1968 for "Mother to the World." (Alias Edward Halibut, Ivar Towers)

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• David Kyle -- Born 1912. Writer, Illustrator, Publisher, and Owner of several Radio Stations. Together with Martin Greenberg, he founded Gnome Press, a fan publishing company. He wrote two lavishly illustrated books while residing in England; one of these was a history of SF and the other deals with dominant SF themes.

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• Robert A.W. Lowndes -- Born Robert Augustine Ward Lowndes in 1916, he was often referred to as "Doc." He edited several pulps and wrote a number of novels and stories both collaboratively and on his own. (Alias Mallory Kent, Carol Grey, Richard Morrison, Wilfred Owen Morley, Robert Morrison, Michael Sherman, Peter Michael Sherman, Paul Dennis Lavond, S.D. Gottesman, Lawrence Woods, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond, John MacDougal)

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• John Michel -- (Alias Arthur Cooke, Hugh Raymond)

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• Isaac Asimov -- Born in Petrovichi, Russia. January 2, 1920. Emigrated to the U.S. with his family in 1923 and became a citizen in 1928. BS, MS, PhD in Chemistry from Columbia University. Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicin (position still held in title only). Began writing full time in 1958. An award winning author and SF giant, he has published over 300 books including history, science for laypersons, juvenile fiction, a biblical reference, a guide tooShakespeare, and his autobiography. Additionally he has edited several anthologies and collected works (his own and other SF authors). His works are known for scientific accuracy and a personal, enthusiastic style. He advocates ratinoalism and the benevolence of scientific advancement. Asimov is responsible for the "Three Laws of Robotics" which are played out and played with in the writings of numorous other authors. (Alias Paul French)

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• James Blish -- Born in East Orange, New Jersey. May 23, 1921--July 30, 1975. Prior to his membership in the Futurians, he recieved a BS in Microbiology from Rutgers (1942) and served in the U.S. Army as a medical technician from 1942-44. In 1945 he began postgraduate work in Zoology at Columbia University, but dropped from the program in 1946 to pursue a career in writing. For a short time, he was married to Virginia Kidd. They divorced in 1963, and he married Judith Lawrence (SF illustrator and author) a year later. Blish was co-founder of Milford Science Fiction Writers Workshop and an active charter member of Science Fiction Writers of America. He wrote harsh criticisms of SF under the pseudonym William Atheling, Jr. and a critical award was estabished in his name after his death. Blish wrote a series of Star Trek books and the novel _Spock Must Die_ in adition to authoring television and film scripts. Blish died of cancer in Henley-on-Thames, England. (Alias William Atheling,Jr., Donald Laverty, John MacDougal, Arthur Merlyn)

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• Hannes Bok -- 1914-1964. One of the most famous mavericks in SF illustration, he was also an author, poet, and astrologer. He refused to let editors and publishers dictate his work. _The Encyclopedia of SF_ calls him "a master of the macabre, a stylist par excellence" (79). He designed and painted over 150 covers for a variety of magazines, in addition to illustrating book jackets. His techniques and color choices were influenced by Maxfield Parrish, his former teacher. He also wrote novels and short stories. See an illustration for C.M Cornbluth's "Dimention of Darkness" (as S.D. Gottesman) from _Cosmic Science Fiction_ May 1941. (Alias Dolbokgov -- with Boris Dolgov)
  

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• Damon Francis Knight -- Born in Baker, Oregon. September 19, 1922. He produced and illustrated his own fanzine _Snide_ as a youth. He and Lowndes were roommates in New York, shere he became involved with the Futurians. His first sale was a cartoon to _Amazing_. Knight had difficulty making a living as an author in the early part of his career, but he held several editorial positions and occasionally worked for a literary agency as a reader. During the '50s, he developed into a major writer, critic, and editor of SF. A wry sense of irony is Knight's trademark. He was the first president of the Science Fiction Writiers Association which advocated the professional status of SF literature and became the progenitor of the Nebula award. Knight published an informal history The Futurians (1977). (Alias Donald Laverty, Stuart Fleming)

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• Judith Merril -- Born Josephine Judith (Juliet?) Grossman in New York City. January 21, 1923. Married to Frederik Pohl in 1949; they divorced in 1953. During the '60s, Merril left the country in opposition to the Vietnam War, and took up residence in Canada. She worked as a ghostwriter, historian's assistant, and writer's assistant, finally publishing her own work in the 40's and '50s. From 1956-1961 she directed the Milford Science Fiction Writers Conference, and has taught SF workshops and writing classes. Merrill sees the genre of SF as something more experimental and daring compared with mainstream fiction. She recieved an honorary BA from Rochdale College in 1970, and has donated her private collection to the Toronto Public Library. (Alias Rose Sharon, Ernest Hamilton, Eric Thorstein, Cyril Judd)

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• Virginia Kidd -- Born 1921. Editor and literary agent; James Blish's first wife. Kidd has represented many well known authors including Ursula K. Leguin, Alan Dean Foster, and Anne McCaffery. Additionally, she has edited and coedited several anthologies.

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• Harry (Joseph Harold) Dockweiler -- As Dirk Wylie, he collaborated with Pohl, Cornbluth, and Frederick Arnold Kummer. (Alias Paul Dennis Lavond, Dirk Wylie, S. D. Gottesman)

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• Walter Kubilius -- Born 1918. Best known for "The Other Side" (1951). He first published in _Stirring Science Stories_ in 1941.