Tyson - Major Science Fiction Anthologies - A Brief History

Major Science Fiction Anthologies - A Brief History Blue Tyson Smashwords Edition Copyright 2010 Blue Tyson Plenty has been written about the decline of the short story,anthology and collection, and when you read some older books theyhave been saying the same thing for decades, even in the firstissue of Asimov's magazine in 1977. I have also seen Gardner Dozois write about the accelerationof the 'lack of memory' of past science fiction work. Not toosurprising perhaps with the pace of change. I have looked for an article like this for a while, and onemay well exist somewhere that I have never seen, or in an obscurejournal, fanzine or book. Of the critical works I have seen theyare more interested in listing novels, in general. With less interest in anything not a novel, it explains whyfewer people write about anthologies, certainly.

If anyone knows ofany piece of writing relatively recently by someone far moreknowledgeable than I am, I would love to see it. Likewise withsuggestions for additions. A Fantasy version of this article can be found here Major Fantasy Anthologies - BrieferHistory So I thought I'd have a go at listing some works that I knowabout, and others found with some browsing. Of more particularinterest is more modern publication, even if not more modern work,that is likely to be more available. I certainly wasn't around inthe 40s and 50s and 60s to acquire or read the older volumes, andas such, I am much more likely not to know about books from thattime. Part of the point of writing this is for people to point outadditions, though.

A Super Editor or eidetic memoried bibliographerI am not. Where I have actually read and rated them, I will put a linkafter the volume that goes to that for anyone who cares. Theeditors of the volumes are listed at the end of the article andlinked to their isfdb entry for those who would like to check outthe contents of the volumes. A couple more additions and the DAW suggestion. NINETEENTH CENTURY AND PRE-GERNSBACK Whether you want to call the start of Science Fiction MaryShelley's Frankenstein, or Jules Verne and H. G.

Wells, you willfind all those stories online here :- Project Gutenberg Australia SF Project Science Fiction (Bookshelf) - ProjectGutenberg Of particular interest of course is H. G. Wells, but alsoRudyard Kipling, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle and others havestories here. Some dead tree anthologies of this type that I have foundwhile browsing : Masterpieces of Science Fiction - Sam Moskowitz(1966) Science Fiction by Gaslight - Sam Moskowitz (1968) The Road to Science Fiction 1 - James Gunn(1977) Science Fiction by the Rivals of H. G. Wells -Alan K.

Russell (1979) Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction of the 19thCentury - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh(1981) THE ELDER ERA I will call this time period up until around 1960, as I havedone a couple of times before. Amazing Stories started in 1926, edited by Hugo Gernsback, hewhom for which the major Science Fiction awards arenamed. The editor that has put the most work into writing about themagazines in this era here is Mike Ashley, and he has updated thiswork recently The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 11926-1935 - Mike Ashley (1974) The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 21936-1945 - Mike Ashley (1975) The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 3 1946-1955 -Mike Ashley (1976) The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 4 1956-1965 -Mike Ashley (1978) These books are history, analysis, anthologies of stories andbibliographies. The updated volumes begin with : Time Machines: The Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazinesfrom the Beginning to 1950 - Mike Ashley (2001) and are still continuing.

Once John W. Campbell took over Astounding Science Fiction andhad been going for a while, the idea to put some stories into bookstook hold. I have never seen any of his books, but I have certainlyseen quite a few people write about Groff Conklin, even onLibraryThing recently. So here's a selection of titles, preceded by a small volume byDonald A. Wollheim, the founder of DAW books, who would later go onto commit anthology at great length. Boucher was the editor of Fantasy and Science FictionMagazine, early on.

The Pocket Book of Science Fiction - Donald A. Wollheim(1943) Adventures in Time and Space - Raymond J. Healy and FrancesMcCormack (1946) The Best of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin (1946) Treasury of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin (1946) The Science Fiction Galaxy - Groff Conklin (1950) The Big Book of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin(1950) Possible Worlds of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin(1951) Omnibus of SF - Groff Conklin (1952) 6 Great Short Novels of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin(1954) 6 Great Short Science Fiction Novels - Groff Conklin(1954) 13 Great Stories of Science Fiction - Groff Conklin(1960) Best SF (1-7) - Edmund Crispin (1955-1970) A Treasury of Great Science Fiction 1 - Anthony Boucher(1959) A Treasury of Great Science Fiction 2 - Anthony Boucher(1959) Also, an anthology series of sorts by FrederikPohl. Star Short Novels - Frederik Pohl (1954) Star of Stars - Frederik Pohl(1960) 1 Star Science Fiction Stories - Frederik Pohl(1953) 2 Star Science Fiction Stories No. 2 - Frederik Pohl(1953) 3 Star Science Fiction Stories No. 4 - Frederik Pohl(1958) 5 Star Science Fiction Stories No. 5 - Frederik Pohl(1959) 6 Star Science Fiction Stories No. 6 - FrederikPohl (1959) Some later volumes putting together some of the best work fromthese time periods. 1 Decade the 1940s - Harry Harrison and Brian W. 1 Decade the 1940s - Harry Harrison and Brian W.

Aldiss(1975) 2 Decade the 1950s - Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss(1976) 3 Decade the 1960s - Harry Harrison and Brian W.Aldiss (1977) Some more recently published books that look at the early erawere produced by Isaac Asimov and his editing cohort, and Mammothbooks should be a bit easier to find. Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (1974) Before the Golden Age 1 - Isaac Asimov(1975) 2 Before the Golden Age - Isaac Asimov (1975) Before the Golden Age 3 - Isaac Asimov(1975) 01 The Great SF Stories 01-25, 1939-162 - Isaac Asimov andMartin H. Greenberg (1979-1992) Isaac Asimovs Presents the Grest SF Stories 011939 - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg Isaac Asimovs Presents the Grest SF Stories 031941 - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg Isaac Asimovs Presents the Grest SF Stories 111949 - Isaac Asimov and Martin H.

Greenberg Isaac Asimovs Presents the Grest SF Stories 121950 - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg 1 Isaac Asimov Presents The Golden Years of Science Fiction(1983) - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg 2 The Golden Years of Science Fiction (Second Series) (1983) -Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg 3 The Golden Years of Science Fiction: Third Series (1984) -Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg 4 The Golden Years of Science Fiction: Fourth Series (1984) -Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg 5 The Golden Years of Science Fiction: Fifth Series (1985) -Isaac Asimov and Martin H.

Greenberg 6 The Golden Years of Science Fiction: SixthSeries (1988) - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg The Mammoth Book of Classic Science Fiction: Short Novels ofthe 1930s - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G.Waugh (1988) The Giant Book Of Golden Age SF - Isaac Asimov andMartin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh (1989) The Mammoth Book of Golden Age Science Fiction:Short Novels of the 1940s - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenbergand Charles G.

Waugh (1989) Science Fiction Classic Stories From the GoldenAge Of Science Fiction - Martin H. Greenberg and Isaac Asimov andCharles G. Waugh The Mammoth Book of Vintage Science Fiction: Short Novels ofthe 1950s - Isaac Asimov and Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G.Waugh (1990) Science Fiction of the 30's - Damon Knight (1975) This one covers from mid 40s to mid 60s. Science Fiction 101 [v.t. Robert Silverbergs Worlds ofWonder] - Robert Silverberg 1987) Didn't get to any other decades, it seemed, in thistlot.