Pen name Edwin James Period 1948–present Movies Pilot Alma mater University of Kansas Education University of Kansas | Nationality American Role Fiction writer Language English Name James Gunn | |
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Born James Edwin Gunn
July 12, 1923 (age 100)
Kansas City, Missouri, USA ( 1923-07-12 ) Occupation Professor of English, critic, fiction writer Awards Hugo Award for Best Related Work Nominations Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation Books The Listeners, Star Bridge, The Joy Makers, The Immortals, Isaac Asimov: The Foun Similar People Jack Williamson, Theodore Sturgeon, George Zebrowski, Octavia E Butler, Pamela Sargent | ||
James Edwin Gunn (born July 12, 1923) is an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and anthologist. His work as an editor of anthologies includes the six-volume Road to Science Fiction series. He won the Hugo Award for "Best Related Work" in 1983 and he has won or been nominated for several other awards for his non-fiction works in the field of science fiction studies. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007 and he was inducted by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2015.
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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.
Biography
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 became 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 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.
On June 12, 2015, Locus announced the selection of Gunn and four others for induction into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, along with "a 'lightning-fast' fundraiser to cover [Gunn's] travel expenses so he can attend the June 27, 2015 induction ceremony in Seattle".
Writing
Gunn began his career as a science fiction writer in 1949, making his first short story sale to Thrilling Wonder Stories. He has had almost 100 stories published in magazines and anthologies and has written 28 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 first two in print, "Communication" and "Paradox" (that first sale), were published in September and October 1949 by editor Sam Merwin in Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories. His novels were first published by Gnome Press in 1955, Star Bridge, written by Gunn and Jack Williamson, and This Fortress World.
Scribner's published Gunn's novel The Listeners in 1972 and it was runner-up for the first annual John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. Carl Sagan called it "one of the very best fictional portrayals of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence ever written." According to the publisher of a 2004 edition, "this book predicted and inspired the creation of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)—the organization dedicated to the search for extraterrestrial life."
In 1996, Gunn wrote a novelization of "The Joy Machine", an unproduced episode of Star Trek scripted by Theodore Sturgeon.
Adaptations
His stories also have been adapted into radioplays and teleplays.
Fiction
Nonfiction
Anthologies
Gunn's other anthologies include The Road to Science Fiction, six volumes 1977 to 1998. The first four volumes, published by Mentor New American Library from 1977 to 1982, are organized chronologically and cover Gilgamesh to 1981 or "Forever" (volume 4, From Here to Forever). The last two volumes, published by White Wolf, Inc. in 1998, feature "The British Way" and "Around the World".
Awards
Gunn's 1972 novel The Listeners was runner-up for the 1973 Campbell Memorial Award.