James Edwin Gunn (July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020) was an American science fiction writer, editor, scholar, and

anthologist In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically catego ...

. His work as an editor of

anthologies In book publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed work ...

includes the six-volume '' Road to Science Fiction'' series. He won 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 ...

for " Best Related Work" in 1983 and he won or was nominated for several other awards for his non-fiction works in the field of

science fiction studies ''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As the name implies, the journal publishes articles and book reviews on science fic ...

. The

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

made him its 24th Grand Master in 2007, and he was inducted by the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

in 2015. His novel ''The Immortals'' was adapted into a 1970–71 TV series starring Christopher George. Gunn was a professor

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of English and the founding director of the

Center for the Study of Science Fiction Founded by Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers Association Grand Master and Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductee James E. Gunn, the J Wayne and Elsie M Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction is an endowed research and educational institution ...

, both at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Early life, family and education

Gunn was born in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, on July 12, 1923 to Jesse and Elsie Mae (nee Hutchison) Gunn. He came from a publishing family: his father was a printer, two uncles were pressmen, another uncle was a proofreader, and his grandfather was a newspaper editor. His grandfather, Benjamin Gunn, appeared in ''Ripley's Believe it or Not.'' As a Masonic representative, he had visited every county in every state in the country and could name them all, including where he had spent the night. Gunn served for three years in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

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 ...

but never saw combat. With several months of Japanese language training and a few hours spent learning to fly an airplane, he was sent to Truk Island, now known as

Chuuk Lagoon Chuuk Lagoon, previously Truk Atoll, is an atoll in the central Pacific. It lies about northeast of New Guinea, and is part of Chuuk State within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). A protective reef, around, encloses a natural harbou ...

, to be adjutant to the commanding officer. He then attended the

, earning a Bachelor of Science in Journalism in 1947 and a Masters of Arts in English from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1951.

Career

By 1958, Gunn was managing editor of University of Kansas Alumni Publications. He became a faculty member of the university, where he served as the director of public relations and as a Professor of English, specializing in

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 ...

and fiction writing. He was a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

and director of the

, which awards the annual

John W. Campbell Memorial Award The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

for best novel and the

Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual literary award presented by the Theodore Sturgeon Literary Trust and the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story ...

at the

Campbell Conference Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

, every summer. He served as President of the

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

from 1971–72 and was President of the

Science Fiction Research Association The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media. ...

from 1980–82. SFWA honored him as a Grand Master of Science Fiction in 2007. On June 12, 2015,

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

announced the selection of Gunn and four others for induction into the

, along with "a 'lightning-fast' fundraiser to cover unn'stravel expenses so he can attend the June 27, 2015 induction ceremony in Seattle".

Writing

Gunn became a professional writer in 1947 when he wrote a play produced by the University of Kansas, ''Thy Kingdom Come,'' then wrote newspaper articles and radio scripts. Although he considered moving to New York to become a playwright, he began his career as a

science fiction writer This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) *Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) *Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Abne ...

in 1949, making his first short story sale to ''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

''. He has had nearly 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. In 1948, Gunn wrote his first science fiction, ten short stories, and published nine from 1949 to 1952 as "Edwin James", a pseudonym derived from his full name James Edwin Gunn. The first two in print, "Communications" and "Paradox" (the first sale), were published in September and October 1949 by editor

Sam Merwin Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictio ...

in ''

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', S ...

'' and ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' respectively. Gunn's master's thesis, a critical analysis of the genre, was also published in a professional magazine. His novels were first published by

Gnome Press Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan — many considered classi ...

in 1955, ''Star Bridge'', written by Gunn and

Jack Williamson John Stewart Williamson (April 29, 1908 – November 10, 2006), who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of t ...

, and ''This Fortress World''.

Scribner's 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 ...

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 The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...

called it "one of the very best fictional portrayals of contact with

extraterrestrial intelligence Extraterrestrial intelligence (often abbreviated ETI) refers to hypothetical intelligent extraterrestrial life. The question of whether other inhabited worlds might exist has been debated since ancient times. The modern form of the concept emerged ...

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 search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of transmissions from civilizations on other p ...

)—the organization dedicated to the

search for extraterrestrial life The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a collective term for scientific searches for intelligent extraterrestrial life, for example, monitoring electromagnetic radiation for signs of interstellar communication, transmissions fro ...

." In 1996, Gunn wrote a

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 ...

novel that was a novelization of "The Joy Machine", an unproduced episode of the first ''Star Trek'' series that was scripted by

Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 sh ...

Personal life and death

Gunn married Jane Frances Anderson on February 6, 1947, at Danforth Chapel in Lawrence, Kansas. They had two sons, Christopher, born in 1949, and Kevin, born in 1954. Christopher died on St. Patrick's Day, 2005. Jane died September 27, 2012. Kevin is still living. Gunn died in

, on the morning of December 23, 2020, at age 97 of natural causes after a brief hospitalization.

Adaptations

His stories also have been adapted into radio plays and teleplays. *

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

's ''

X Minus One ''X Minus One'' is an American half-hour science fiction radio drama series that was broadcast from April 24, 1955, to January 9, 1958, in various timeslots on NBC. Known for high production values in adapting stories from the leading American a ...

'' – "Cave of Night", February 1, 1956; "Wherever You May Be", June 26, 1956 *

Desilu Playhouse ''Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series produced by Desilu Productions. The show ran on the Columbia Broadcasting System between 1958 and 1960. Three of its 48 episodes served as pilots for the 1950s television ...

's 1959 "Man in Orbit", based on Gunn's "The Cave of Night" * ABC-TV's ''Movie of the Week'' "The Immortal" (1969) and an hour-long television series '' The Immortal'' in 1970, based on Gunn's ''The Immortals'' * "Psychodynamics of the Witchcraft", an episode of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

science fiction TV series ''This Fantastic World'' (filmed in 1989) was based on Gunn's 1953 story "Wherever You May Be". * Mystery drama '' If the bride is a witch'' (Russia, 2002) was based on "Wherever You May Be".

Bibliography

Novels

* ''

Star Bridge ''Star Bridge'' is a science fiction novel by American authors Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn. It was published in 1955 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies, of which 900 copies were never bound. It was also issued in paperback by Ac ...

'', Gunn and

(

, 1955) * '' This Fortress World'' (Gnome, 1955) * ''The Joy Makers'' (Bantam, 1961) * ''The Immortals'' (Bantam, 1962), which was adapted for an ABC Movie of the Week in the fall of 1969 and turned into an ironically short-lived TV series in 1970. * '' The Listeners'' (

, 1972), stories"The listeners"
(first edition). LC Online Catalog; Library of Congress (catalog.loc.gov). Retrieved July 16, 2015."The listeners"
(1st

BenBella Books BenBella Books is an independent publishing house based in Dallas, Texas. BenBella was founded by Glenn Yeffeth in 2001. It specializes in nonfiction books on popular culture, business, health, and nutrition, along with books on science, politics, ...

ed., 2004). LC Online Catalog. Retrieved July 16, 2015. With linke
publisher description
– October 1972 collection of six novelettes, five previously published (September 1968 to September 1972); "The 'Computer Run's between each story average 8 pages long"''The Listeners'' (first edition)
publication contents at ISFDB. Retrieved July 16, 2015. * ''The Magicians'' (Scribner's, 1976) – expanded from a novella, "Sine of the Magus" (''

Beyond Fantasy Fiction ''Beyond Fantasy Fiction'' was a US fantasy fiction magazine edited by H. L. Gold, with only ten issues published from 1953 to 1955. The last two issues carried the cover title of ''Beyond Fiction'', but the publication's name for copyright purp ...

'', May 1954) * ''Kampus'' (Bantam, 1977) * ''The Dreamers'' (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

, 1981) * ''Crisis!'' (

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...

, 1986) – fix-up of six stories published 1978 to 1985 * ''The Joy Machine'' (Star Trek, Book 80) (1996) * ''The Millennium Blues'' (e-reads.com, 2000;

Easton Press Easton Press, a division of MBI, Inc., based in Norwalk, Connecticut, is a publisher specializing in premium leather-bound books. In addition to canonical classics, religion, poetry and art books, they publish a selection of science fiction an ...

, 2001) * ''Human Voices'' (Five Star Books, 2002) * ''Gift from the Stars'' (Easton, 2005) * ''Transcendental (Transcendental Machine #1)'' (Tor, 2013) * ''Transgalactic (Transcendental Machine #2)'' (Tor, 2016) * ''Transformation (Transcendental Machine #3)'' (Tor, June 2017)

Short fiction

;Collections * ''Station in Space'' (

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

, 1958), stories * ''Future Imperfect'' (Bantam, 1964), stories * ''The Immortals'' (Bantam, 1964), four stories; revised and expanded ed. comprising five stories,

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing in ...

, 2004 * ''The Witching Hour'' (Dell, 1970), stories * ''Breaking Point'' ( Walker & Co., 1972), stories * ''The Burning'' (Dell, 1972), stories * ''Some Dreams Are Nightmares'' (Scribner's, 1974), stories * ''The End of the Dreams'' (Scribner's, 1975), stories ;Stories ;Anthologies (editor) * '' Nebula Award Stories 10'' ( Gollancz, 1975) Gunn's other anthologies include ''

The Road to Science Fiction {{No footnotes, date=May 2022 ''The Road to Science Fiction'' is a series of science fiction anthologies edited by American science fiction author, scholar and editor James Gunn. Composed as a textbook set to teach the evolution of science fiction ...

'', six volumes from 1977 to 1998. The first four volumes, published by Mentor

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publishe ...

from 1977 to 1982, are organized chronologically and cover

Gilgamesh sux, , label=none , image = Hero lion Dur-Sharrukin Louvre AO19862.jpg , alt = , caption = Possible representation of Gilgamesh as Master of Animals, grasping a lion in his left arm and snake in his right hand, in an Assyr ...

to 1981 or "Forever" (volume 4, ''From Here to Forever''). The last two volumes, published by

White Wolf, Inc. White Wolf Publishing was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant

in 1998, feature "The British Way" and "Around the World".

Nonfiction

* ''Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction'' (

Prentice-Hall Prentice Hall was an American major educational publisher owned by Savvas Learning Company. Prentice Hall publishes print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market, and distributes its technical titles through the Safari B ...

, 1975), – winner of the

Locus 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 ...

and a Worldcon Special Achievement Award from MidAmeriCon, the 34th World Science Fiction Convention in 1976 * ''Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction'' (

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 1982); revised ed. (

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, 1996), – Hugo Award winner * ''The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', editor (

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquire ...

, 1988), 067081041X – Hugo finalist * ''The Science of Science-Fiction Writing'' (Scarecrow Press, 2000), – "reflects on the science fiction process and how to teach it" * ''Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction'', by Matthew Candelaria and Gunn (Scarecrow Press, 2005) * ''Inside Science Fiction'' (Scarecrow Press, 2006) * '' Reading Science Fiction'', by Gunn, Marleen S. Barr, and Matthew Candelaria (

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

, 2008) * * * ''Star-Begotten: A Life Lived in Science Fiction'' ( McFarland and Company, Inc., 2017) * ''Modern Science Fiction: A Critical Analysis: The Seminal 1951 Thesis, with a New Introduction and Commentary'' (McFarland and Company, Inc., 2018)

Awards

* 1976

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 * 1976 Worldcon Special Award for ''Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction'' * 1976

for Associational Item, ''Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction'' * 1983

for Best Non-Fiction Book, ''Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction'' * 2007

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is a lifetime honor presented annually by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) to no more than one living writer of fantasy or science fiction. It was inaugurated in 1975 when Robe ...

for lifetime achievement in science fiction and fantasy * 2015 Inducted into the

"2015 SF&F Hall of Fame Inductees & James Gunn Fundraiser"
June 12, 2015.

Locus Science Fiction Foundation ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

. Retrieved July 16, 2015. Gunn's 1972 novel ''The Listeners'' was runner-up for the 1973

Campbell Memorial Award The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best science fiction no ...

Notes

References

Sources

External links

* * *
James Gunn's "Cave Of Night", February 1, 1956, episode of ''X Minus One''
at

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, James E. 1923 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male essayists American male novelists American male short story writers American science fiction writers American speculative fiction critics American speculative fiction editors Asimov's Science Fiction people Hugo Award-winning writers Military personnel from Missouri Novelists from Missouri Postmodern writers Science fiction critics Science fiction editors SFWA Grand Masters University of Kansas alumni University of Kansas faculty Writers from Kansas City, Missouri