Arthur William Saha (October 31, 1923 – November 19, 1999) was an American

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

editor and anthologist, closely associated with publisher

Donald A. Wollheim Donald Allen Wollheim (October 1, 1914 – November 2, 1990) was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearso ...

Life

Saha was the son of William and Henrikka Saha, a Finnish-American couple. After serving in the Merchant Marine during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he enrolled in and graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Saha worked as a research chemist and is credited with the patent for the first fire resistant ironing board cover, and for various paints and

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

s used on the exteriors of the first space satellites. At one time he was a resident of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

; in his later years Saha resided in

Cooperstown Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, Otsego County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. While living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he was an early associate of the

beatniks Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the under ...

. Saha was a long-standing member of Mensa. He died of cancer."Art Saha (1923-1999)," obituary in ''SFWA News'', posted Nov. 26, 1999
/ref>

Career in speculative fiction

Saha became active in New York City

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

fandom, becoming a member of the

Futurians The Futurians were a group of science fiction (SF) fans, many of whom became editors and writers as well. The Futurians were based in New York City and were a major force in the development of science fiction writing and science fiction fandom i ...

and

First Fandom First Fandom is an informal association of early, active and well-known science fiction fans. In 1958 a number of fans at Midwestcon realized amid table-talk that they all had been active in fandom for more than 20 years. This inspired the creat ...

, and was a close associate and ally of Wollheim and

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satelli ...

in the early fan wars. Later an editor at Wollheim's publishing house DAW Books, Saha co-edited numerous "best of the year"

anthologies with Wollheim, and was Wollheim's choice as successor to

Lin Carter Linwood Vrooman Carter (June 9, 1930 – February 7, 1988) was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor, poet and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft (for an H. P. L ...

as editor of a similar line of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

anthologies. Saha's compilations were routinely entered in the

Locus Poll Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...

for Best Anthology; The 1978 ''Annual World's Best SF'' he co-edited with Wollheim came in second for the 1979 award. He was inducted into and received a

First Fandom Hall of Fame award First Fandom Hall of Fame is an annual award for contributions to the field of science fiction dating back more than 30 years. Contributions can be as a fan, writer, editor, artist, agent, or any combination of the five. It is awarded by First Fa ...

for 1992 for his contributions to the field of science fiction. He served as President of the New York Science Fiction Society, better known as the Lunarians, and as President of First Fandom for many years until his death.

Coinage

Saha is credited with coining the term "

Trekkie A Trekkie or Trekker is a fan of the '' Star Trek'' franchise, or of specific television series or films within that franchise. History Many early Trekkies were also fans of ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1964–1968), another show with scienc ...

" in 1967 to describe fans of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

''. He had used the term in an interview that Pete Hamill was conducting on the science fiction phenomenon for ''TV Guide''.

Bibliography

The Annual World's Best SF (with Donald A. Wollheim)

*''

The 1972 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1972 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the initial volume in a series of nineteen. It was one of two follow-up volumes to the previous year's '' World' ...

'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series One'') (1972) *''

The 1973 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1973 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the second volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1973, follow ...

'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Two'') (1973) *''

The 1974 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1974 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the third volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1974, followed ...

'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Three'') (1974) *''

The 1975 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1975 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the fourth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in May 1975, follow ...

'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Four'') (1975) *'' The 1976 Annual World's Best SF'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Five'') (1976) *'' The 1977 Annual World's Best SF'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Six'') (1977) *'' The 1978 Annual World's Best SF'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Seven'') (1978) *'' The 1979 Annual World's Best SF'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Eight'') (1979) *'' The 1980 Annual World's Best SF'' (=''Wollheim's World's Best SF: Series Nine'') (1980) *'' The 1981 Annual World's Best SF'' (1981) *'' The 1982 Annual World's Best SF'' (1982) *'' The 1983 Annual World's Best SF'' (1983) *'' The 1984 Annual World's Best SF'' (1984) *'' The 1985 Annual World's Best SF'' (1985) *'' The 1986 Annual World's Best SF'' (1986) *'' The 1987 Annual World's Best SF'' (1987) *''

The 1988 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1988 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the seventeenth volume in a The Annual World’s Best SF, series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback ...

'' (1988) *''

The 1989 Annual World's Best SF ''The 1989 Annual World's Best SF'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Arthur W. Saha, the eighteenth volume in a series of nineteen. It was first published in paperback by DAW Books in June 1989, f ...

'' (1989) *'' The 1990 Annual World's Best SF'' (1990)

The Year's Best Fantasy Stories

*'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 7'' (1981) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 8'' (1982) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 9'' (1983) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 10'' (1984) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 11'' (1985) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 12'' (1986) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 13'' (1987) *'' The Year's Best Fantasy Stories: 14'' (1988)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saha, Arthur W. 1923 births 1999 deaths American science fiction writers Science fiction editors Futurians Science fiction fans American people of Finnish descent Columbia University alumni Beat Generation people Novelists from Minnesota American male short story writers Mensans 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers