List of Greatest Science Fiction Anthologists

[Dan]

LIST OF GREAT SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGISTS
Groff Conklin (fl. 1946-1968)
Judith Merril (fl. 1954-1968, 1985)
Harry Harrison (fl. 1967-1977, 1991)
Brian W. Aldiss (fl. 1961-2016)
Algis Budrys (fl. 1985-2008)
Dave Wolverton aka David Farland (fl. 1992-Present)

I don't know about you, but I love a good science fiction anthology. They make great audio books for driving in the car. They're very popular at bookstores; in other words, they always sell well. Still, they're seldom given much critical attention. I don't know if there has ever been a book written discussing the history of the science fiction anthology, for example. That's an unfortunate oversight, because they sure can be fun.

Science fiction anthologies haven't changed much over time. They began appearing as early as the 1940s and typically contain short stories, novellas, or even novelettes by mainstream authors. The earliest ones seldom differentiated by science fiction genre. They were mostly just collections of great stories to have appeared in recent years. In the 1950s through 1970s, anthologies of the previous year's best became the most popular. Then in the 1980s and forward, anthologies based on sub-genres began to appear alongside the previous kinds of anthologies: terror SF, robot stories, time travel, military SF, hard SF, alien encounters, space opera, cyberpunk, steampunk, romance SF, etc. This list includes them all!

I want to organize this list by anthologist, that is, the name of the editor. To make it on this list, all the anthologist must have is a total GoodReads value of 200 or more. The anthologist can get there by having ten anthologies with 20 ratings each or two anthologies with 100 ratings each.

I am defining a science fiction anthology to be a collection of stories by at least three different authors. At least half the pages of the anthology must be devoted to stories that are science fiction, not fantasy. So far, I am aware that I've also just defined a science fiction magazine. I'm unsure how to differentiate a magazine from an anthology, but I would like to. I am open to suggestions.

I am going to add one anthologist to the list per day. I'd love to add your recommendations from replies you make to this topic.

[Dan]

Groff Conklin’s Wkipedia page has a very good description of who he was and all his accomplishments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groff_C...

Not all of Cronklin's anthologies have made it to GoodReads yet. Far from it since ISFDB lists 41, not counting variants! I’ll just add that his Science-Fiction Terror Tales looks really appealing to me. I like horror and am very interested in this early blending of the two genres. What drew my attention to Conklin the most was his earliest (and therefore less often rated) anthology, called simply The Best of Science Fiction. If you pick this up, be aware there are at least two different editions, a 1946 and a 1963 one. I think the earlier one vastly superior. Check out the writers and stories in them: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?4111. This 1946 version included no less than four Heinlein stories, which is more than the 1963: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?4112.

[David]

I'd recommend Judith Merril, who for years edited a series called "The Year's Best S-F"

[Jim]

I totally agree with you, Dan. I've always liked & still like anthologies.

I just finished reading Writers of the Future Vol 32. The series was started by L. Ron Hubbard, but lately they've been edited by David Farland.

I've read several by Jonathan Strahan recently. I think he's got an 'Infinity' series going. Terry Carr did a lot & I recently read a good one by John Joseph Adams.

A lot of SF authors have done a few: Greg Bear, Isaac Asimov, & Joe Haldeman to name a few.

[Cheryl]

Off the top of my head and of my shelves:

Damon Knight
Martin H. Greenberg :but see:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
David G. Hartwell
Karen Haber
Harry Turtledove
Gardner Dozois
Forrest J. Ackerman
Robert Silverberg
Mike Ashley
Pamela Sargent
Ann VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer

[Dan]

Thanks guys. I've almost got enough to carry me to the end of the month already! But feel free to keep 'em coming.

[Dan]

Judith Merril was a pivotal figure in SF history as a reading of her wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_... and science fiction encyclopedia page http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/... quickly reveals.

Apparently her talent as a novelist was mediocre. She produced only four novels, none of which are highly regarded:
1) Shadow on the Hearth - A tense, prophetic novel of one woman's world--after the bomb falls!
2) Gunner Cade - Merril co-wrote this with C.M. Kornbluth under their joint pseudonym Cyril Judd. About a far future soldier who gets injured in battle and wakes up to begin asking questions about his role.
3) Outpost Mars - Merril co-wrote this with C.M. Kornbluth under their joint pseudonym Cyril Judd. The drug war scourge affects relations with the first Martian colony.
4) The Tomorrow People - The Soviet vs. America race to colonize Mars is on!

The collaboration with C.M. Kornbluth Outpost Mars has appeared under two other titles: Sin in Space and Mars Child, but they're the same book, I believe.

She was a gifted short story writer though. Personally, I read one of her short stories when I was a teenager titled "That Only A Mother". It contains drops of horror that continue to haunt me to this day. The lasting impression it formed always made the term "mutant" an uncomfortable one for me.

One thing I know about Judith Merril not mentioned in the linked articles above is that she was a personal friend of Mark Clifton. Clifton was a talented writer. Some of his short stories I consider to be the best ever written in the field. But he was an outsider. He was erratic socially and an absolute fanatic about ESP. He sincerely believed and insisted to anyone who would listen that people among us were exercising their powers upon us. Merril did not ridicule Clifton, but instead provided a sympathetic sounding board in their correspondence, and constantly encouraged him to write more fiction. I think we would have fewer Clifton short stories to enjoy today were it not for Merril's kind indulgence. This is all documented in Malzberg's The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton.

Besides being very busy behind the scenes encouraging writers, maintaining correspondences and friendships, she was a truly great SF anthologist. As David writes in message #3 above, she is best known for her 12 Annual of the Year's Best SF volumes running from 1956-1966 and 1968. She only wrote four other anthologies outside this series.

As an example of who she published, check out the table of contents for the eighth volume, just to pick one at random:
11 • The Unsafe Deposit Box • (1962) • short story by Gerald Kersh
24 • Seven-Day Terror • (1962) • short story by R. A. Lafferty
32 • Toy Shop • (1962) • short story by Harry Harrison
38 • The Face in the Photo • (1962) • short story by Jack Finney
54 • The Circuit Riders • (1962) • short story by R. C. FitzPatrick
73 • Such Stuff • (1962) • short story by John Brunner
91 • The Man Who Made Friends with Electricity • (1962) • short story by Fritz Leiber
102 • Kings Who Die • (1962) • novelette by Poul Anderson
135 • The Unfortunate Mr. Morky • (1962) • short story by Vance Aandahl
138 • Christmas Treason • (1962) • novelette by James White
163 • A Miracle of Rare Device • (1962) • short story by Ray Bradbury
179 • All the Sounds of Fear • (1962) • short story by Harlan Ellison
191 • One of Those Days • (1962) • short story by William F. Nolan
196 • The Day Rembrandt Went Public • (1962) • short story by Arnold M. Auerbach
200 • Ms. Found in a Bus • (1962) • short story by Russell Baker
203 • The Insane Ones • (1962) • short story by J. G. Ballard
215 • Leprechaun • (1962) • short story by William Sambrot
221 • Change of Heart • (1961) • short story by A. Bertram Chandler [as by George Whitley]
238 • Angela's Satyr • (1962) • short story by Brian Cleeve
251 • Puppet Show • (1962) • short story by Fredric Brown
262 • Hang Head, Vandal! • (1962) • short story by Mark Clifton
277 • Earthlings Go Home! • (1962) • short story by Mack Reynolds
284 • The Martian Star-Gazers • (1963) • short story by Frederik Pohl
292 • Planetary Effulgence • (1959) • short story by Bertrand Russell
295 • The Deadly Game • (1962) • short story by Edward Wellen (variant of Deadly Game)
300 • Subcommittee • (1962) • novelette by Zenna Henderson
324 • The Piebald Hippogriff • (1962) • short story by Karen Anderson
330 • Home from the Shore • (1963) • novelette by Gordon R. Dickson
373 • Summation: S-F, 1962 • (1963) • essay by Judith Merril
377 • Books (The 8th Annual of the Year's Best S-F) • (1963) • essay by Anthony Boucher
379 • Honorable Mentions (The 8th Annual of the Year's Best S-F) • (1963) • essay by Judith Merril

If these names are unfamiliar to you, they shouldn't be. Most of them are in the lists Jim and I wrote. I had no idea turn of the century philosopher Bertrand Russell wrote science fiction in 1959!

[Jim]

Interesting & good bio on Merril, Dan. I've read about half of the authors in that collection at a glance. More look somewhat familiar, but some, such as Vance Aandahl, are a complete blank & that's a shame.

Apparently he was just a short story author & while his work is in a lot of anthologies, he doesn't even seem to have an author entry here, although he does on the ISFDB.
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ch.cgi?1848
I wonder how influential he was? His stories seem to appear along with many of the greats & well recognized, but the lack of a novel to his name dooms him to obscurity. Doesn't seem right.

His name reveals Edward L. Ferman who never wrote a book, but was an editor & publisher, a job as important as the writers. An author who isn't published is pretty useless.

You've opened up a whole new avenue to explore. I'll bet there are a lot of just short story authors, editors, publishers, &/or friends that were very important but are now forgotten.

[Dan]

Jim wrote: "Interesting & good bio on Merril, Dan. I've read about half of the authors in that collection at a glance. More look somewhat familiar, but some, such as Vance Aandahl, are a complete blank & that'..."

I know what you mean, Jim. Anthologies seem like a great way to find new authors to appreciate. There were eleven names I didn't recognize. I was pleasantly surprised to see Mack Reynolds there. He wrote an early juvenile Star Trek tie-in I really like. Zenna Henderson was a surprise too. She writes "The People" stories, a secret alien tribe living among us like Witch Mountain powered people. I wonder if this short story is one of those and how it would play in isolation. The Gordon R. Dickson novelette might be a real treat too if it's a Dorsai story. Then there's the J.G. Ballard story. He has something of a cult following, a really distinct way of writing and subject matter. It's hard to picture his style condensing down into a short story. Also great to see is Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, even William F. Nolan whose Logan's Run would become so big the following decade.

[Dan]

For the third entry on the list I have selected last month's discussion group author, Harry Harrison to feature. Not many people realize this, but Harrison was a major anthologist back in the day. He put out no less than 34 of these, 18 of them with his colleague and good friend Brian Aldiss. You can see Harrison's output best by viewing it on ISFDB: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?28

Like our two previous anthologists, Harrison did not crank anthologies out for his entire career, just for a certain period of time. Thirty-three of them were written in the eleven-year span from 1967-1977, exactly three per year on average.

The series he is best known for is Best SF, every volume of which he edited with Aldiss. They edited the first nine volumes together starting with the 1967 volume and finishing with the 1975. Harrison's first anthology was the Nebula 2 volume, again with Aldiss, the only Nebula volume Harrison edited. Harrison also kicked off the long-lived Nova series by editing the first four. He did other series, including a decades one: 1940s, 50s, and 60s, as well as a number of stand-alone anthologies, most of which were themed.

Remember how the Planet of the Apes franchise first began back in the late 1960s? And Kubrick's film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, featuring evolution and warring apemen? Not to mention Raquel Welch and her film One Million Years B.C.? Harrison contributed an anthology (with Leon Stover) that was right in line with this strange fad as well: Apeman, Spaceman. Check out these titles and authors (from ISFDB)!


11 • Foreword (Apeman, Spaceman) • essay by Carleton S. Coon
13 • Introduction (Apeman, Spaceman) • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
19 • Fossils • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
20 • Neanderthal • (1956) • poem by Marijane Allen
21 • Throwback • (1949) • novelette by L. Sprague de Camp
41 • The Hairless Ape • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
42 • Apology for Man's Physique • essay by Earnest A. Hooton
45 • The Renegade • (1943) • short story by Lester del Rey [as by Marion Henry]
60 • Dominant Species • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
61 • Eltonian Pyramid • (1952) • essay by Ralph W. Dexter
62 • Goldfish Bowl • (1942) • novelette by Robert A. Heinlein [as by Anson MacDonald]
94 • The Second-Class Citizen • (1963) • short story by Damon Knight
102 • Culture • (1944) • short story by Jerry Shelton
120 • Unfinished Evolution • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
121 • The Man of the Year Million • (1893) • short story by H. G. Wells
127 • 1,000,000 A.D. • (1893) • poem by Anonymous
128 • In the Beginning • (1954) • short story by Morton Klass
142 • The Future of the Races of Man • (1965) • essay by Carleton S. Coon
151 • Prehistory • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
152 • The Evolution Man • (1960) • short story by Roy Lewis
157 • The Kon-Tiki Myth • (1960) • essay by Robert C. Suggs
165 • A Medal for Horatius • (1955) • short story by Brig. Gen. William C. Hall [as by William C. Hall]
170 • Archaeology • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
171 • Omnilingual • [Federation • 1] • (1957) • novelette by H. Beam Piper
212 • For Those Who Follow After • (1951) • short story by Dean McLaughlin
227 • A Preliminary Investigation of an Early Man Site in the Delaware River Valley • short fiction by Timothy J. O'Leary and Charles W. Ward
236 • Local Customs • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
237 • Body Ritual Among the Nacirema • (1966) • short story by Horace Miner [as by Horace M. Miner]
243 • The Wait • (1958) • short story by Kit Reed
259 • Everybodyovskyism in Cat City • short story by Lao Shaw
261 • The Nine Billion Names of God • (1953) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
269 • Applied Anthropology • essay by Harry Harrison and Leon E. Stover
270 • The Captives • (1953) • novelette by Julian Chain
292 • Men in Space • essay by Harold D. Lasswell
298 • Of Course • (1954) • short story by Chad Oliver
311 • Afterword (Apeman, Spaceman) • essay by Leon E. Stover
352 • References Cited (Apeman, Spaceman) • essay by uncredited

[Peter]

I haven't looked at it in awhile, but I recall helping to put together the Wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... -- which includes all of those mentioned so far, and many more! Not all are/were anthologists, of course. But, as you will see, many are called out as anthologists.

Gardner Dozois and John Campbell stand in a class of two, in my view. See the interesting discussion at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Li... -- with nice perspectives from other long-time fans & professionals.

[Jim]

Dan wrote: "...I was pleasantly surprised to see Mack Reynolds there. He wrote an early juvenile Star Trek tie-in I really like. ..."

I remember him best for Joe Mauser: Mercenary From Tomorrow series. In this future, most are on the dole & Joe finds a way out by becoming a mercenary in the limited wars that are held. Pre-1900s tech only. Not just action, but history & mystery.

[Jim]

Excellent page, Peter.

[Dan]

That is a great page! It will prove useful to what I'm doing here, I'm sure. I see the page was most active about 12 years ago. Probably the Van DerMeers at minimum would have to be added to the giants list if updated. Someone challenged the objectivity of the "giant" status, I see. I could answer that criticism with my GoodReads value concept (third paragraph of message 1), not that such would work for Wikipedia, but for now I'm content to continue having fun as I have been and not make those distinctions.

[Peter]

Dan wrote: "That is a great page! It will prove useful to what I'm doing here, I'm sure. I see the page was most active about 12 years ago. "

Thanks for the kind words, and you are right about the Wiki objectivity standards, which of course don't apply here. Glad to be of assistance!

If you see anything obvious that needs attention at the WP page, let me know & I'll fix it. TIA, PT.

[Dan]

You can't mention Harry Harrison as an anthologist without mentioning Brian W. Aldiss. So Aldiss is today's choice. It may surprise you to know that despite having been at it for more years than Harrison, Aldiss has 35 anthologies to his credit by my count, only one more than Harrison. Aldiss has the eighteen he co-wrote with Harrison, mentioned in the comment about Harrison, five he edited before his first one with Harrison, seven after his last one with Harrison (I don't count The Saliva Tree/Born with the Dead which is just a book duo, not an anthology) and five overlapping the time period of his partnership with Harrison.

One unusual feature of an Aldiss anthology was that he was not above featuring his own entries plentifully, especially essays, and particularly if he was editing it solo. For example, one anthology is about time travel. Earth of the future has no people, so the time traveler wants to restock, Evil Earths:

Check out this table of contents, noting the number of Aldiss stories:
vii • Introduction (Evil Earths) • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
1 • "What Is Wrong? What Is Right? Anyway, We're Here..." • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
5 • The Last Word • [Claude Adams] • (1955) • short story by Charles Beaumont and Chad Oliver
17 • Film of Death • (1948) • short story by John Scott Campbell [as by J. Scott Campbell]
32 • The Wound • (1970) • short story by Howard Fast
45 • Three Green Blades of Grass • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
51 • The Golden Man • (1954) • novelette by Philip K. Dick
84 • Guest Expert • (1951) • short story by Allen Kim Lang [as by Allen K. Lang]
97 • The Valley • (1954) • short story by Richard Stockham
105 • Dark They Were and Golem-Eyed • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
110 • Down Among the Dead Men • (1954) • novelette by William Tenn
136 • Among the Hairy Earthmen • (1966) • short story by R. A. Lafferty
149 • Later Than You Think • (1950) • short story by Fritz Leiber
157 • Yesterday, Tomorrow, and the Desert • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
161 • The Time Trap • (1938) • novella by Henry Kuttner
269 • Towards the Fall of Night • (1975) • essay by Brian W. Aldiss
274 • The Men Return • (1957) • short story by Jack Vance
284 • Heresies of the Huge God • (1966) • short story by Brian W. Aldiss
296 • "If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth ..." • (1951) • short story by Arthur C. Clarke
301 • Night • [Twilight • 2] • (1935) • short story by John W. Campbell, Jr.

If you're interested, I found the Aldiss short story. "Heresies of the Huge God," that the anthology is presumably based on: https://archive.org/details/Galaxy_v2... I must admit to never having completed an Aldiss story before this one, but I loved it. It fascinates me that an entire short story can be written without a single line of dialogue or a character and still be so interesting!

[Jim]

I recognize most of the authors. Howard Fast as an SF author always jolts me, although it shouldn't. He's just indelibly printed in my mind as the author of Spartacus.

[Dan]

I know. I always think of Howard Fast as an historical fiction writer, somewhat in the John Jakes mold, for the 1970s work he topped the bestseller lists with.

Anyhow, I looked up L. Ron Hubbard in ISFDB to see what anthologies besides the one you mentioned that he did. The answer is zero. ISFDB doesn't even credit him for the series you do: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?645 However, here at GoodReads we give L. Ron credit for editing about half of the volumes starting with #18 and going through #34, last year's, despite his having been in the grave since 1986.

L. Ron's been at it a long time. Last year all the way back to at least July 1935, which is even earlier than ISFDB credits him for, with this story, "Hell's Legionaire": https://archive.org/details/hellslegi...

[Jim]

I've always had a hard time with Hubbard as an SF author because I first knew him as a religion creator. Considering my views on religion, it's not a big leap, but it still gets to me. I see the ISFDB has him down for a novel & short story as early as 1934, but it's way down at the bottom under 'non-genre' where they also have "Hell's Legionnaire" as a 2012 collection, not a SS. It really bugs me that his works keep getting published as new even though he died in 1983. A few pieces are one thing, but he has way too many.

John Jakes is another. I started reading him as a S&S author with Brak the Barbarian stories. I was surprised when I realized he was the same guy when I read his Bicentennial series as it came out. Pretty big leap. I wouldn't be surprised by any genre I read from him after that.

[Rafael]

Hubbard was known for lying about his life, so this kind of thing happening is not odd, is just his legacy.

[Dan]

I noticed L. Ron has managed to publish more now that he's dead than he ever did when alive. Good catch on "Hell's Legionaire." Didn't check the non-genre section for it.

[Dan]

If you want to discuss the famous L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future series (https://www.goodreads.com/series/2433...), the last thing you need to know anything about is dianetics, or L. Ron Hubbard. Yes, the idea for the series was conceived by L. Ron. Yes, historically the series has had business ties to the Church of Scientology. More on that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writers...

But for the vast majority of fandom, the anthology series is simply a vehicle to break into SF literary stardom. It's the American Idol of the science fiction world where an amateur can gain overnight recognition and bypass those tedious chores of gaining name recognition, building a body of work, establishing a fan base, or honing one's craft to write great fiction. Instead, just get published in one of these trusty volumes and the literary agents will come knocking on your door.

At a DragonCon I once attended, in writers' panels, one question that invariably arose from an attendee went something like, "I've written three short stories, one was even published and came in a runner-up to a contest for which I was paid $50. But how do I break in and make it big like you guys?" The panelists would try to be helpful. In that process, more than one panelist in more than one panel would invariably mention the Future Writers contest as an "excellent way to break in".

Personally, I suspect this answer is a bit of cheat. It's too easy to say. In actuality, few authors have broken in as a result of series likes this. They're the exception rather than the rule. Like American Idol, this contest seldom works out as a vehicle to stardom. But like American Idol, sometimes it does. Stephen Baxter and Patrick Rothfuss, two authors I've read and enjoyed, to my vast surprise, got their starts being published in this series. Others I'm less familiar with include Karen Joy Fowler, James Alan Gardner, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jay Lake, Michael H. Payne, Robert Reed, Dean Wesley Smith, Sean Williams, Dave Wolverton, Nancy Farmer, and David Zindell.

Besides this still ongoing (as far as I know) series, for which Budrys edited volumes 1-8 and 15-24, and an unnumbered greatest hits volume, Budrys has only co-edited one other anthology: Space Dogfights, which actually looks incredibly cool. How "Night of the Vampyres" (1975) a novelette by George R. R. Martin came to be the leadoff of this anthology would make a great story all itself, I'm sure.

Stephen Baxter got his start in the fifth volume of the series, so I thought I would present that table of contents. That way there is at least one recognizable name:

1 • Introduction (L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume V) • essay by Algis Budrys
3 • Daddy's Girls • short story by K. D. Wentworth
4 •  Daddy's Girls • interior artwork by Jean Elizabeth Martin
12 • The Nomalers • novelette by Jamil Nasir
15 •  The Nomalers • interior artwork by Patrick Wynne
42 • Blue Shift • [Xeelee] • novelette by Stephen Baxter [as by S. M. Baxter]
44 •  Blue Shift • interior artwork by Mark Maxwell
66 •  Just Don't • interior artwork by Bob Giadrosich
67 • Just Don't • short fiction by Eolake Stobblehouse
69 • Circulate • (1935) • essay by L. Ron Hubbard
76 • Rachel's Wedding • novella by Virginia Baker
79 •  Rachel's Wedding • interior artwork by Dave Dorman [as by David Dorman]
110 •  Rachel's Wedding [2] • interior artwork by Dave Dorman [as by David Dorman]
141 • The Wallet and Maudie • novelette by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes and Alan Wexelblat
142 •  The Wallet and Maudie • interior artwork by Todd Cameron Hamilton [as by Todd Hamilton]
168 • Dear Mom • short story by Stephen C. Fisher
171 •  Dear Mom • interior artwork by Alan Gutierrez
183 • A Little Womanly Advice • essay by Marta Randall
191 • Prosthetic Lady • novella by Paula May
192 •  Prosthetic Lady • interior artwork by Dell Harris
223 •  Prosthetic Lady [2] • interior artwork by Dell Harris
234 • Despite and Still • novelette by Marc Matz
236 •  Despite and Still • interior artwork by Larry Stewart [as by Lawrence Stewart]
265 • A Walk by Moonlight • novelette by Mark Anthony
282 •  A Walk by Moonlight • interior artwork by Den Beauvais [as by Denis Beauvais]
298 • Wisdoms & Warnings: Writing SF for Younger Readers • essay by Jane Yolen
307 • Starbird • novelette by J. Steven York
308 •  Starbird • interior artwork by Ed Kline
329 • A Ghost in the Matrix • novelette by Steve Martindale
343 •  A Ghost in the Matrix • interior artwork by Carolly Hauksdottir
365 • Under Ice • novelette by C. W. Johnson
367 •  Under Ice • interior artwork by Stu Sheperd
396 • The Magic Picture • essay by Hal Clement
404 • The Disambiguation of Captain Shroud • short fiction by Gary W. Shockley
407 •  The Disambiguation of Captain Shroud • interior artwork by David Lee Anderson
413 • Writing for the Future • essay by Algis Budrys
421 • Illustrating for the Future • essay by Frank Kelly Freas [as by Frank Kelly-Freas]

[Jim]

I thought Burdys edited more anthologies than that, but maybe I'm thinking of his own short story books. My father had some, but they have died being from the 50s or early 60s. He was an unnamed editor for many of the soft core porn books Silverberg wrote.

I've generally liked the 'Writers of the Future' anthologies. I've never sought them out, but I've read quite a few over the years & always think of them as Hubbard's best work, even if it isn't really. I find his writing pretty bad. Dumb plots & such.

[Dan]

Today's anthologist is Dave Wolverton who when he writes fantasy uses the pseudonym David Farland. It is odd how on GoodReads they are treated as two different authors. They even have different photos for the same author despite the fact there is a clear conventional treatment in place for authors and their pseudonyms. See how Richard Bachman (the pseudonym) and Stephen King (the author) are treated, for example, where no confusion arises.

Dave Wolverton has written fewer anthologies than anyone on our list yet—only thirteen. His fourteenth is due to be released in four weeks on April 9. It will be titled L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume 35. and will appear, as have the others, under the David Farland pseudonym. This means Wolverton will have edited volumes 8-14 and 29-35 of the series. According to ISFDB, Wolverton’s book Wonder Tales (2014) (as by David Farland) is an anthology, but it contains just four Wolverton/Farland stories. That’s a story collection, not an anthology.

It is fitting that Wolverton now edits the Future Writers series. He got his writing start in it by getting a story published in Volume 3: “On My Way to Paradise” as by David Farland. Technically, this was Wolverton’s second published story, but that is not a violation of contest rules which allows writers up to three previously published short stories (no novels) to still be considered an amateur. The difference was that this second story won Wolverton major awards.

I hope Wolverton keeps the series going and considers branching out at some point to write more anthologies. He has shown a real talent for it.

[Ed]

Dan wrote: "Today's anthologist is Dave Wolverton who when he writes fantasy uses the pseudonym David Farland. It is odd how on GoodReads they are treated as two different authors..."

Interesting. I'd never heard of him. Because of the connection to Scientology I'd hate to buy any of the books in the series with elRons name on the cover, though I understand that the prize has helped authors get a foot in the door.

As for two separate author profiles, it is required on GR that a book be shelved as being by the name on the cover even if it is a pseudonym, typo, former name of a person who legally changed their name, or anything else. Additional pseudonyms or names can also be attached to the records, but the name on the cover is treated as a primary author. This is probably to help in locating books in stores and online. How well the author profiles and book records reflect the situation depends on us unpaid librarians providing free work for this company, which is more likely for the more popular authors.

Keep on providing your unpaid labor! ;)

[Peter]

Dan wrote: "Today's anthologist is.... Dave Wolverton has written fewer anthologies than anyone on our list yet"

Nitpick: EDITED fewer anthologies...

FWIW, I long ago quit reading the WotF anthols: way too much apprentice work! I did enter a couple of times. Didn't win, dammit. Or place, or show..... 😎

[Jim]

Dan wrote: "Groff Conklin’s Wkipedia page has a very good description of who he was and all his accomplishments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groff_C...

Not all of Cronklin's anthologies have made it to ..."
I am a fan of classic SF short stories and have read many anthologies over the years. Actually if you are a fan of classic Sf then you need to be a fan of short stories since there were a great many short stories written in the 40's and 50's then there were novels. I just checked my "my books" list and I have read 11 of Conklin's anthologies. I generally like the stories that Conklin selects and the only other anthologist I like as much is Isaac Asimov.

[Peter]

Re: Groff Conklin
Wow, I didn't realize he's done so many anthologists. I see a number in my personal library, and others I've read over the years.

Wow, I followed a link to a Bud Webster essay, and learned that he'd passed away in 2016. I hadn't heard he was gone. Died at age 63, and was considerably younger than me. Sobering....