James Gunn (author)
| James Edwin Gunn | |
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 Gunn in 2005 |
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| Born | James Edwin Gunn 1923 (age 89–90) Kansas City, Missouri, USA |
| Pen name | Edwin James[1] |
| Occupation | Professor of English, critic, fiction writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.S., Journalism; M.A., English |
| Alma mater | University of Kansas |
| Period | 1948–present |
| Genres | Science fiction |
| Subjects | Isaac Asimov, history of science fiction |
| Notable work(s) |
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| Notable award(s) | (below) |
James Edwin Gunn (born 1923) is an American science fiction author, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work from the 1960s and 70s is considered his most significant fiction, and his six Road to Science Fiction anthologies are considered his most important scholarly books[citation needed] although he won the Hugo Award for "Related Work" in 1983 and was finalist in 1989 for other books.[2] The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007.[3]
James Gunn is a professor emeritus of English, and the Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, both at the University of Kansas.[4]
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Biography [edit]
Gunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, after which he attended the University of Kansas, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English in 1951. Gunn went on to become a faculty member of the University of Kansas, where he served as the university's director of public relations and as a Professor of English, specializing in science fiction and fiction writing. He is now a professor emeritus and director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction, which awards the annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award at the Campbell Conference in Lawrence, Kansas, every summer.
He served as President of the Science Fiction Writers of America[5] from 1971–1972 and was President of the Science Fiction Research Association from 1980–1982. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007.
Writing [edit]
Gunn began his career as a science fiction author in 1948.[citation needed] He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has authored 26 books and edited 10. Many of his stories and books have been reprinted around the world.
From 1949 to 1952, Gunn wrote ten short stories published as by Edwin James, a pseudonym derived from his full name. The two earliest, "Communication" and "Paradox", were published in 1949 magazines edited by Sam Merwin, Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories.[1] His first published novels were Star Bridge (Gnome Press, 1955), by Gunn and Jack Williamson, and This Fortress World (Gnome, 1955).[1]
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of the unproduced episode of Star Trek, "The Joy Machine", scripted by Theodore Sturgeon.
Adaptations [edit]
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays:
- NBC radio's X Minus One.
- Desilu Playhouse's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night".
- ABC-TV's Movie of the Week "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series The Immortal in 1970, based on Gunn's The Immortals.
- An episode of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World, filmed in 1989 and entitled "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft" was based on James Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be".[6]
- Mystery drama If the bride is a witch (Russia, 2002) based on "Wherever You May Be".
Selected works [edit]
Fiction [edit]
- This Fortress World (1955)
- Star Bridge (with Jack Williamson, 1955)
- Station in Space (stories, 1958)
- The Joy Makers (1961)
- The Immortals (1964)
- Future Imperfect (stories, 1964)
- The Witching Hour (stories, 1970)
- The Listeners (1972)
- The Burning (1972)
- Some Dreams Are Nightmares (stories, 1974)
- The End of the Dreams (stories, 1975)
- The Magicians (1976)
- Kampus (1977)
- The Dreamers (1981)
- Crisis! (1986)
- The Millennium Blues (2001)
- Human Voices (2002, Five Star Books)
- The Immortals (revised and expanded edition), (2004, Pocket Books)
- Gift from the Stars (2005, Easton Press)
- Transcendental (forthcoming from Tor Books)
Nonfiction [edit]
- Alternate worlds: the illustrated history of science fiction (Prentice-Hall, 1975), ISBN 0-89104-049-8 – winner of the Locus Award and Worldcon special award[2]
- Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction (Oxford, 1982); Revised ed., Scarecrow Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8108-3129-5[7] — Hugo Award winner[2]
- The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, editor, (Viking Press, 1988), 067081041X – Hugo finalist[2]
- The Science of Science-Fiction Writing (Scarecrow Press, 2000), ISBN 1578860113 – "reflects on the science fiction process and how to teach it"
- Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction (with Matthew Candelaria) (2005, Scarecrow Press)
- Inside Science Fiction (2006), Scarecrow Press
- Reading Science Fiction (with Matthew Candelaria and Marleen S. Barr) (2008, Palgrave Macmillan)
Gunn's anthologies include The Road to Science Fiction, six volumes 1977 to 1998. The first four are organized chronologically covering Gilgamesh to 1981 or "Forever" (Mentor New American Library, 1977 to 1982). The last two feature "The British Way" and "Around the World" (White Wolf Publishing, 1998).[1]
Awards [edit]
- 1976 Science Fiction Research Association Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship[2]
- 1976 World Science Fiction Convention Special Award and Locus Award for Associational Item, Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated Histor of Science Fiction[2]
- 1983 Hugo Award for Nonfiction, Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction[2][7]
- 2007 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction and fantasy[3]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d James Gunn (author) at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-04-05. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Gunn, James E.". The Locus Index to SF Awards: Index of Literary Nominees. Locus Publications. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
- ^ a b "Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Retrieved 2013-04-05.
- ^ Gunn biography at CSSF
- ^ The End of the Dreams, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, Book Club Edition, 1975 (Jacket cover)
- ^ (Russian) State Fund of Television and Radio Programs
- ^ a b "Isaac Asimov Novel Wins a Hugo Award". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 6, 1983. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- Citations
- Tuck, Donald H. (1974). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. pp. 195–195. ISBN 0-911682-20-1.
Further reading [edit]
James E. Gunn (2004) The Listeners, BenBella Books, ISBN 1-932100-12-1 (Carl Sagan stated about The Listeners: "One of the very best fictional portrayals of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence ever written.")
External links [edit]
- James E. Gunn at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- James Gunn - science fiction Grand Master[dead link]
- James Gunn: CSSF Founding Director at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF)
- Essays by Gunn and others, directory at CSSF
- "Top Gunn", incorporating interview with Gunn, Lawrence Journal-World (April 2008)
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