Important Science Fiction Authors List

[mckitterick]

Dear SF scholars and avid readers:

James Gunn and I are putting together an updated list of SF authors whose books we want to ensure our library collects. The only guideline is that they're important to the genre. Here's what we have so far... any suggestions for names to add?

Basic Science Fiction Library: Authors

ADAMS, Douglas.
ALDISS, Brian.
ANDERSON, Poul.
ANTHONY, Piers.
ASARO, Catherine.
ASIMOV, Isaac.
BALLARD, James.
BANKS, Iain M.
BAXTER, Stephen.
BEAR, Greg.
BELLAMY, Edward.
BENFORD, Gregory.
BESTER, Alfred.
BISHOP, Michael.
BLISH, James.
BOVA, Ben.
BRACKETT, Leigh.
BRADBURY, Ray.
BRADLEY, Marion Zimmer.
BRIN, David.
BROWN, Fredric.
BRUNNER, John.
BURGESS, Anthony.
BUJOLD, Lois McMaster.
BUTLER, Octavia E.
BURROUGHS, Edgar Rice.
CADIGAN, Pat.
CAMPBELL, John W.
CAPEK, Karel.
CARD, Orson Scott.
CHABON, Michael.
CHARNAS, Suzy McKee.
CHERRYH, C. J.
CLARKE, Arthur C.
CLEMENT, Hal.
CONKLIN, Groff, ed.
DE CAMP, L. Sprague.
DELANY, Samuel R.
DENTON, Bradley.
DICK, Philip K.
DICKSON, Gordon R.
DISCH, Thomas M.
DOCTOROW, Cory.
EGAN, Greg.
ELLISON, Harlan.
EMSHWILLER, Carol.
FARMER, Philip José.
FINNEY, Jack.
GAIMAN, Neil.
GIBSON, William.
GUNN, James.
HAGGARD, H. Rider.
HALDEMAN, Joe.
HAND, Elizabeth.
HARRISON, Harry.
HEALY, Raymond J. and J. Francis McComas, eds.
HEINLEIN, Robert A.
HERBERT, Frank.
HOBAN, Russell.
HUXLEY, Aldous.
KESSEL, John.
KEYES, Daniel.
KNIGHT, Damon.
KORNBLUTH, C. M.
KRESS, Nancy.
KUTTNER, Henry.
LE GUIN, Ursula K.
LEIBER, Fritz.
LEM, Stanislaw.
LEWIS, C. S.
LINK, Kelly.
LONDON, Jack.
LOVECRAFT, H. P.
McAULEY, Paul.
McDEVITT, Jack.
McINTYRE, Vonda N.
MacLEOD, Ken.
MALZBERG, Barry.
MARTIN, George R. R.
MERRITT, A.
MIEVILLE, China.
MILLER, Walter M., Jr.
MOORCOCK, Michael.
MOORE, C.L.
MOORE, Ward.
MORGAN, Richard.
MURPHY, Pat.
NAGATA, Linda.
NIVEN, Larry.
NORTON, Andre.
ORWELL, George.
PANSHIN, Alexei.
POHL, Frederik.
POURNELLE, Jerry.
PRATCHETT, Terry.
PRIEST, Christopher.
REYNOLDS, Alastair.
RUSS, Joanna.
ROBINSON, Kim Stanley.
ROBINSON, Frank.
ROBINSON, Spider.
SARGENT, Pamela.
SAWYER, Robert.
SCARBOROUGH, Elizabeth Ann.
SHECKLEY, Robert.
SHEFFIELD, Charles.
SHELLEY, Mary Wollstonecraft.
SHEPARD, Lucius.
SHIEL, M. P.
SILVERBERG, Robert.
SIMAK, Clifford.
SIMMONS, Dan.
SLONCZEWSKI, Joan.
SMITH, Cordwainer.
SMITH, Edward E.
SPINRAD, Norman.
STAPLEDON, Olaf.
STERLING, Bruce.
STEWART, George R.
STEPHENSON, Neal.
STROSS, Charles.
STURGEON, Theodore.
SWANWICK, Michael.
TENN, William.
TEPPER, Sheri S.
TIPTREE, James Jr.
TOLKIEN, J. R. R.
TUCKER, Wilson.
VANCE, Jack.
VAN VOGT, A. E.
VARLEY, John.
VERNE, Jules.
VINGE, Joan.
VINGE, Vernor.
VONNEGUT, Kurt, Jr.
WATSON, Ian.
WELLS, H. G.
WILHELM, Kate.
WILLIAMSON, Jack.
WILLIS, Connie.
WILSON, Robert Charles.
WOLFE, Gene.
WRIGHT, John C.
WYNDHAM, John.
ZAMIATIN, Eugene.
ZEBROWSKI, George.
ZELAZNY, Roger.

So: Who's missing? Some names that folks have recommended we add include (should we add them?):

Jonathan Carroll
John Crowley
William Hope Hodgson
Doris Lessing
Julian May
Anne McCaffrey
H. Beam Piper
Robert Reed
Eric Frank Russell
Fred Saberhagen
Bob Shaw

Thanks!

Best,
Chris

Comments

[will-couvillier.livejournal.com]

Lloyd Biggle Jr. and Keith Laumer come to mind. Early parallel universe adventures. Oh my!

Yes, they should be added. Any author who someone can say influenced them should be.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

The statement, "Any author who someone can say influenced them should be" added could lead to a list as long as every author who was ever published in the genre, and the libraries won't accept a list that big.

But thanks for the rec's!

[will-couvillier.livejournal.com]

Ummm...too true. I have a few names that I can add to those two, but they came and went, and although I really enjoyed their work, it might be too obscure now. Doris Pischercia and Kevin O'Donnell Jr both had enteraining, thought provoking novels out (more parallel world adventure and teleportation, too -- guess you can see what I like to read!)Also, there are a number of the names here I don't recognise, but that comes from not keeping up with the reading for like, 15 years or so. You get the old guys referred from me...

[will-couvillier.livejournal.com]

Brian Lumley

[will-couvillier.livejournal.com]

Edmond Hamilton

[fjm.livejournal.com]

Gwyneth Jones (and any other writer with a surname beginning with J.)

[sf-reader.livejournal.com]

John Stith
Harry Turtledove


I think that Anne McCaffrey, H. Beam Piper, and Eric Frank Russell all belong on the list before many that are already there.

[will-couvillier.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[heidi2524.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth Moon? Robert Asprin?

[scottakennedy.livejournal.com]

David R. Bunch
Nevil Shute
Elizabeth Moon
Elizabeth Bear

[zianuray.livejournal.com]

There's a vote for Saberhagen here -- thanks!

[scottakennedy.livejournal.com]

Richard Matheson

Yes, yes, and yes!

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

_The Incredible Shrinking Man_, _I am Legend_, etc.

[ziactrice.livejournal.com]

RUSSELL, Eric Frank

He wrote "The Wasp" = main English SF Author I know.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

I like a lot of Elizabeth Moon's stuff. (Not all of it.)

[renegade500.livejournal.com]

I recommend Kage Baker (her Company novels I think are quite important, and damn good reads) and Julie Czerneda (her fiction is really smart, and rooted in her background as a biologist).

[auroraceleste.livejournal.com]

Madeleine L'Engle. My first, my favorite.

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

No, but I'm definitely taking notes for a retro-purchase for MY library's collection; the director is currently very big on new books, but we're permitted to make a case for filling holes in the collection.

How about . . .

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

Patricia A. McKillip?

Re: How about . . .

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

Maybe not. She writes in the field of fantasy.

Hmmm, maybe . . .

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

Forest Ackermann?

Re: Hmmm, maybe . . .

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

Really? For his fiction or his fan-ness?

Re: Hmmm, maybe . . .

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

Valid point. He, according to Dr. Asimov, coined "sci-fi." Considering its pervasiveness, he has been inordinately influential.

Re: Hmmm, maybe . . .

[sf-reader.livejournal.com]

I love 4E, but don't think that he belongs on this influential writers list.

Another possibility:

[lazscott.livejournal.com]

Dean Ing

[ericreynolds.livejournal.com]

FORD, John
RESNICK, Mike
NOURSE, Alan E.
STEELE, Allen

[drpaisley.livejournal.com]

James Patrick Kelly
Paul Park
Howard Waldrop

[kansas-dave.livejournal.com]

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty! He's the absolute master of the tall tale or shaggy hero SF genre, and is stylistically interesting. I'd also suggest any SF class including at least one of his short stories, to open students' minds to a kind of SF they probably didn't know existed.

[kansas-dave.livejournal.com]

If you haven't already done so, take a look at the ISFDB's lists of the top 100 authors:

Without question, there must be a genetic disorder in humans which compels them to create Top 100 Lists.

The philosophy of the following lists is pretty simple: all novels and works of short fiction which have been nominated for an award are scored based on the number of award wins and nominations. The results are then sorted. This is not an attempt to list the best works in the genre, just those which won the most awards. Since the proliferation of genre-related awards is a fairly recent phenomenon, these lists tend to favor more recent works. There are 3 different algorithms used in each category:

1. The Balanced List simply assigns scores from the various awards; this list is the most objective of the three.
2. The Critical List puts extra emphasis on those awards which are decided by jury. It attempts to construct a list which might appeal to those who prefer "Literate SF". It also attempts to balance the age factor by more heavily weighing older works.
3. The Popular List puts extra emphasis on those awards which are decided by popular vote. It attempts to construct a list which might appeal to a younger audience. It assigns an additional penalty to older works for being "dated".

The author lists use the same algorithms as the novels and short fiction, except that the scores are accumulated. Additionally, collaborations are treated as a single author since the collaborative style usually differs from that of the individual authors. The Anthologies/Collections/Magazines lists also use the same algorithms, except that the scores are accumulated per publication.

Balanced List
http://www.isfdb.org/topabal.html

Critical List
http://www.isfdb.org/topacrit.html

Popular List
http://www.isfdb.org/topapop.html

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

That's fascinating; thanks for the tip!

[adammaker.livejournal.com]

Zenna Henderson!
http://www.adherents.com/lit/bk_Zenna.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenna_Henderson