Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of

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 ...

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

, and

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fan ...

. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" series of science fiction anthologies, and his '' Checklist of Fantastic Literature'' has been called "the foundation of modern SF bibliography". Among his other scholarly works are two

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

–nominated volumes concerning early science fiction—'' Science-Fiction: The Early Years'' and '' Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years''

John Clute John Frederick Clute (born 12 September 1940) is a Canadian-born author and critic specializing in science fiction and fantasy literature who has lived in both England and the United States since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part o ...

, "Bleiler, E(verett) F(ranklin)" in ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

'' by Clute and Peter Nicholls (Orbit, 1993), pp. 134–35.—and the massive ''Guide to Supernatural Fiction''. Bleiler worked at

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books ...

from 1955, becoming executive vice-president of the company from 1967 until he left in 1977; he then worked for

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

until 1987. He edited a number of

ghost story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'' ...

collections for Dover, containing what the genre historian Mike Ashley has described as "detailed and exemplary introductions". Bleiler received the

Pilgrim Award The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book '' Pilgrims Through Space ...

for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship in 1984, the

World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in 1988, the

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 ...

in 1994, and the

International Horror Guild The International Horror Guild Award (also known as the IHG Award) was an accolade recognizing excellence in the field of horror/dark fantasy, presented by the International Horror Guild (IHG) from 1995 to 2008. The IHG Awards were determined by ...

Living Legend award in 2004. In the 1970s Bleiler wrote two works of fiction, which were not published until 2006: the fantasy novel ''Firegang: A Mythic Fantasy'', set in the tree of

Yggdrasil Yggdrasil (from Old Norse ), in Norse cosmology, is an immense and central sacred tree. Around it exists all else, including the Nine Worlds. Yggdrasil is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'' compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional s ...

as well as moving across time and space, and ''Magistrate Mai and the Invisible Murderer'', a

detective story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

set in ancient China, similar to the work of

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

. Bleiler's son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, is also a science fiction historian and assisted his father on several of his works.

Selected bibliography

As editor

''The Best Science Fiction''

* '' The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1949'' (with

T. E. Dikty Thaddeus Maxim Eugene (Ted) Dikty (June 16, 1920 – October 11, 1991) was an American editor who also played a role as one of the earliest science fiction anthologists, and as a publisher. Early career In 1947, Dikty joined Shasta Publis ...

Other anthologies

* ''

Imagination Unlimited ''Imagination Unlimited'' is an anthology of science fiction short stories edited by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, first published in hardcover by Farrar, Straus & Young in 1952. As originally published, the anthology includes thirteen stori ...

'' (with T. E. Dikty, 1952) * ''Frontiers in Space'' (with T. E. Dikty, 1955) * ''Three Gothic Novels'' (1966) * ''Five Victorian Ghost Novels'' (1971) * ''Eight Dime Novels'' (1974) * ''Three Supernatural Novels of the Victorian Period'' (1975) * ''Three Victorian Detective Novels'' (1978) * ''A Treasury of Victorian Detective Stories'' (1979) * ''A Treasury of Victorian Ghost Stories'' (1981)

Single-author collections

* ''Three Prophetic Science Fiction Novels of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

J. S. Le Fanu'' (1964) * ''Ghost and Horror Stories of

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

'' (1964) * ''The Best Tales of Hoffmann'', by

E. T. A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist. Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" in E ...

(1967) * ''The King in Yellow and Other Stories'', by

Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895. Life Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...

(1970) * ''Best Max Carrados Detective Stories'', by

Ernest Bramah Ernest Bramah (20 March 186827 June 1942), the pseudonym of Ernest Brammah Smith, who was an English author. He published 21 books and numerous short stories and features. His humorous works were often ranked with Jerome K. Jerome and W. W. Jac ...

(1972) * ''Gods, Men and Ghosts'', by

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957, usually Lord Dunsany) was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. Over 90 volumes of fiction, essays, poems and plays appeared in his lifetime.Lanham, M ...

(1972) * ''The Best Dr. Thorndyke Detective Stories'', by

R. Austin Freeman Dr. Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 – 28 September 1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in wh ...

(1973) * ''Best Ghost Stories of

Algernon Blackwood Algernon Henry Blackwood, CBE (14 March 1869 – 10 December 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The literary cri ...

'' (1973) * ''Best "Thinking Machine" Detective Stories'', by

Jacques Futrelle Jacques Heath Futrelle (April 9, 1875 – April 15, 1912) was an American journalist and mystery writer. He is best known for writing short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, also known as "The Thinking Mac ...

(1973) * ''Ghost Stories and Mysteries'', by J. S. Le Fanu (1975) * ''Best Martin Hewitt Detective Stories'', by

Arthur Morrison Arthur George Morrison (1 November 1863 – 4 December 1945) was an English writer and journalist known for realistic novels, for stories about working-class life in the East End of London, and for detective stories featuring a specific detecti ...

(1976) * ''Great Cases of the "Thinking Machine"'', by Jacques Futrelle (1976) * ''The Collected Ghost Stories of Mrs J. H. Riddell'' (1977) * ''The Department of Dead Ends: 14 Detective Stories'', by Roy Vickers (1978) * ''The Best Supernatural Tales of

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

'' (1979) * ''The Old Man in the Corner: Twelve Mysteries'', by

Baroness Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci) (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends as Em ...

(1980)

Nonfiction

* ''

The Checklist of Fantastic Literature ''The Checklist of Fantastic Literature'' is a bibliography of English science fiction, fantasy and weird books compiled and edited by Everett F. Bleiler with a preface by Melvin Korshak and a cover by Hannes Bok. With a print run of 1,933 copie ...

'' (1948; corrected and revised edition s ''The Checklist of Science Fiction and Supernatural Fiction'' 1978) * ''The Guide to Supernatural Fiction'' (1983)
''Science-Fiction: The Early Years''
(with Richard Bleiler) (1990)

(with Richard Bleiler) (1998)

As editor and contributor

* ''Science Fiction Writers'' (1982) * ''Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror'' (1985)

Fiction

* ''Firegang: A Mythic Fantasy''. The

Battered Silicon Dispatch Box The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box (BSDB) is an independent, Canadian literary publisher, founded in 1993 by George A. Vanderburgh. Based in Shelburne, Ontario, and in Sauk City, Wisconsin, the company is headed by George Vanderburgh. The press i ...

Press, 2006. * ''Magistrate Mai and the Invisible Murderer''. The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box Press, 2006.

References

External links

Interview with E. F. Bleiler
by Brian J. Showers
Complete E. F. Bleiler bibliography
*
Bleiler, Everett F
at ''

'', 3rd edition * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleiler, Everett F. 1920 births 2010 deaths American bibliographers American speculative fiction critics American speculative fiction editors Science fiction editors Science fiction critics American fantasy writers American mystery writers World Fantasy Award winners 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers