George H. Scithers (May 14, 1929 – April 19, 2010) was an American science fiction fan,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and editor. A long-time member of the

World Science Fiction Society Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

, he published a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

starting in the 1950s, wrote short stories, and moved on to edit several prominent science fiction magazines, as well as a number of anthologies. As editor emeritus of ''

Weird Tales ''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, prin ...

'', he lectured at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

in 2008.

Wildside Press Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade ...

published his most recent book, ''Cat Tales: Fantastic Feline Fiction'', in 2008.

Biography

Career

Scithers' first published fiction, the story "Faithful Messenger", appeared in ''If'' magazine in 1969. His involvement in the field, however, dates back to 1957, when he began submitting to the

'' Yandro''. Two years later, he began publishing the

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 ...

-winning

''Amra''. The term '' Swords and sorcery'' first appeared there, and ''Amra'' became a leading proponent of the subgenre. Several of the articles originally published in ''Amra'' were later re-printed as part of two volumes about

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

which Scithers co-edited with

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

. In 1963, Scithers chaired Discon I, the 21st

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

, held in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was a regular parliamentarian for business meetings of the

and authored a guide to running

science fiction convention Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of the speculative fiction genre, science fiction. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expres ...

s, ''The Con-Committee Chairman's Guide'' based on his experiences chairing DisCon 1 in 1963. In 1973, Scithers founded Owlswick Press, a small independent publishing company. In 1976, Owlswick published Scithers' book (under the pseudonym Karl Würf), ''To Serve Man: A Cookbook for People'' (including recipes for "Boiled Leg of Man", "Texas Chili with Cowboy", and "Person Kebabs"). In 1977, he was named the first editor for ''

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

'' (''IASFM''). He remained in that position until 1982 and won two more

Hugo Awards 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 ...

for his work there. After leaving ''IASFM'', Scithers took the helm at ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'' and edited that magazine until 1986. In 1988, he worked with

John Gregory Betancourt John Gregory Betancourt (born October 25, 1963) is an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and mystery novels, as well as short stories. He is also known as the founder and publisher, with his wife Kim Betancourt, of Wildside Press in 1989 ...

and

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror fiction, horror, although he does also work in science fictio ...

to re-establish ''

'', the magazine that had introduced one of his earliest interests,

, to the world. In 1992, he and Schweitzer won a World Fantasy Award for their work on ''Weird Tales''. In 2001, Scithers was the fan guest of honor at the Worldcon, Millennium Philcon. At the 2002 World Fantasy Convention in Minneapolis, both Scithers and

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction authors, science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror ...

won the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Personal life

Scithers served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the

Trap Door Spiders The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the trapdoo ...

, which served as the basis of

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

's fictional group of mystery solvers the

Black Widowers The Black Widowers is a fictional men-only dining club created by Isaac Asimov for a series of sixty-six mystery stories that he started writing in 1971. Most of the stories were first published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', though a few ...

.Glyer, Mike.
Martin Gardner Dies
" on ''File 770: Mike Glyer's news of science fiction fandom'' (blog), May 25, 2010. He was also very fond of owls and trains. He resided in

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania King of Prussia (also referred to as KOP) is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,028. The community took its unusual name in the 18th ...

where ''

'' was edited in his basement, followed by

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

Death

Scithers died April 19, 2010, two days after suffering a heart attack.

Bibliography

Anthologies

* '' Astronauts and Androids: Asimov's Choice'' (1977) * '' Black Holes and Bug-eyed Monsters: Asimov's Choice'' (1977) * '' Comets and Computers: Asimov's Choice'' (1978) * '' Dark Stars and Dragons: Asimov's Choice'' (1978) * '' Extraterrestrials and Eclipses: Asimov's Choice'' (1978) * '' Isaac Asimov's Masters of Science Fiction'' (1978) with

* '' Isaac Asimov's Adventures of Science Fiction'' (1980) with

* '' Isaac Asimov's Marvels of Science Fiction'' (1979) * '' Isaac Asimov's Worlds of Science Fiction'' (1980) * '' Isaac Asimov's Near Futures and Far'' (1981) * '' Tales from the Spaceport Bar'' (1986) with

* '' Another Round at the Spaceport Bar'' (1989) with

* '' Cat Tales#1'' (2007) * '' Cat Tales: Fantastic Feline Fiction'' (2008)

Non-fiction

* '' Con-Committee Chairman's Guide'' (1965) * '' The Conan Swordbook'' (1969) with

* ''

The Conan Grimoire ''The Conan Grimoire'' is a 1972 collection of essays, poetry and fiction edited by L. Sprague de Camp and George H. Scithers, published in hardcover by Mirage Press. The essays were originally published as articles in Scithers' fanzine '' Amra ...

'' (1972) with

* '' To Serve Man: A Cookbook for People'' (1976) * '' On Writing Science Fiction (The Editors Strike Back!)'' (1981) with

and

John M. Ford John Milo "Mike" Ford (April 10, 1957 – September 25, 2006) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer, and poet. A contributor to several online discussions, Ford composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated ...

References

External links

*
George H. Scithers
at

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 ...

, 3rd edition
About George Scithers
by

, for 2001

World Science Fiction Convention Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scithers, George H. 1929 births 2010 deaths American science fiction writers American speculative fiction editors Hugo Award-winning editors People from Rockville, Maryland Science fiction fans Science fiction editors American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers