Science Fiction League
Organization of science fiction fans
The Science Fiction League was one of the earliest associations formed by science fiction fans . [1] It was created by Hugo Gernsback in February 1934 in the pages of Wonder Stories , an early science fiction pulp magazine . Gernsback was the League's "Executive Secretary", with Charles D. Hornig its "Assistant Secretary". The initial slate of "Executive Directors" included Forrest J. Ackerman , Eando Binder , Jack Darrow (Clifford Kornoelje), Edmond Hamilton , David H. Keller , P. Schuyler Miller , Clark Ashton Smith , and R. F. Starzl . [2]
Gernsback intended for the magazine to promote fandom, much as his earlier "Radio League" had promoted interest in his radio and electrical hobby magazines. [1] [3] It was successful, and chapters were formed in the US, UK and Australia. [1] [4] Although the League was popular, with membership soon reaching about 1,000, it did not last long; in 1943 Sam Merwin , the editor of Thrilling Wonder Stories (the magazine had changed its name in 1936) dropped the organization when he took over the editorship. [5] Frederik Pohl recalled that the League "changed a lot of lives. It filled a need" by helping fans meet each other, and reported that some chapters still existed 30 years later. [6]
The Science Fiction League of America [7] was a different organization of science fiction writers including Ted Sturgeon , Anthony Boucher , and Isaac Asimov , and associated with the television show Tales of Tomorrow .
Notes
- 1 2 3 Roberts, Peter (20 December 2011). "Science Fiction League" . Science Fiction Encyclopedia . Gollancz . Retrieved 20 August 2014 .
- ↑ "The Science Fiction League", Hugo Gernsback, Wonder Stories , May 1934, p. 1061
- ↑ Ashley, Mike (2000). The Time Machines . Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. pp. 89–90. ISBN 0-85323-865-0 .
- ↑ "A "Scientific Fiction" Club" . The Yorkshire Evening Post . 28 August 1936 . Retrieved 20 August 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive .
- ↑ Ashley, Mike (2000). The Time Machines . Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-85323-865-0 .
- ↑ Pohl, Frederik (December 1967). "On Hugos" . Galaxy Science Fiction . pp. 6, 8.
- ↑ If vol. 1, no. 1, p. 151
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