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Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and professor of communications and
media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...
at
Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
in New York City. His novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into sixteen languages. He is frequently quoted in news articles and appears as a guest commentator on major news outlets. He is also a songwriter, singer, and record producer.


Education

Paul Levinson graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx, attended the
City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
(
CCNY The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...
) in the 1960s, and received a BA in journalism from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
in 1975; an MA in
Media Studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...
from
The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
in 1976; and a PhD from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
in
media ecology Media ecology theory is the study of media, technology, and communication and how they affect human environments. The theoretical concepts were proposed by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, while the term ''media ecology'' was first formally introduced b ...
in 1979. His doctoral dissertation, ''Human Replay: A Theory of the Evolution of Media'' (1979), was mentored by
Neil Postman Neil Postman (March 8, 1931 – October 5, 2003) was an American author, educator, media theorist and cultural critic, who eschewed digital technology, including personal computers, mobile devices, and cruise control in cars, and was critical o ...
.


Published works

Levinson writes science fiction, fantasy, and sf/
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
hybrids with philosophical undertones as well as non-fiction about the history and future of
communications media In mass communication, media are the communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data. The term refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media, publishing, the news media, photogr ...
, the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
, the importance of
space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
, and popular culture themes. His work has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Macedonian, Croatian, Russian, Turkish, Persian, and Arabic. His latest work is ''Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'', an anthology of essays and science fiction stories which he edited with Michael Waltemathe, Levinson has received multiple nominations for the
Hugo Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
,
Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...
,
Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
,
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
, Edgar and
Audie Awards The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...
. His novella ''Loose Ends'' was a 1998 finalist for a Hugo, a Sturgeon, and a Nebula. In 2000, his novel ''The Silk Code'' won the
Locus Award for Best First Novel The Locus Award for Best First Novel is one of the annual Locus Awards presented by the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus''. Awards presented in a given year are for works published in the previous calendar year. The award for Best Fi ...
of 1999. The central character of ''The Silk Code'',
NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
forensic detective Dr.
Phil D'Amato Dr. Phil D’Amato is the central character in three science fiction Mystery fiction, mystery Novella, novelettes and three novels written by Paul Levinson. The first novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case", was adapted into a radio play whic ...
, made his first appearance in Levinson's novelette, "The Chronology Protection Case", (published in
Analog magazine ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
, September 1995). D'Amato returned in "The Copyright Notice Case" novelette (Analog, April 1996), "The Mendelian Lamp Case" novelette (Analog, April 1997), and in subsequent novels ''The Consciousness Plague'' (2002), and ''The Pixel Eye'' (2003). An adaptation of Levinson's "The Chronology Protection Case" (radioplay by Mark Shanahan with Paul Levinson & Jay Kensinger) was nominated by the
Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...
for the
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
for Best Play of 2002. His next novel was '' The Plot To Save Socrates'', a time travel story. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' magazine called it "challenging fun". His subsequent novel is ''Unburning Alexandria'', a sequel to ''The Plot To Save Socrates''. The first two chapters of ''Unburning Alexandria'' appeared as a novelette in the November 2008 issue of ''
Analog Science Fiction and Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', and the expanded novel was published as an e-book in May 2013. The next novel in the series, ''Chronica'', was published in December 2014.


Educational and professional activities

He has taught at
Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...
since 1998; he has been Professor of communication and media studies since 2000, and chair of the department from 2002 to 2008. He had previously been Assistant (1977–82) and then Associate (1982–88) Professor at
Farleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...
, and had adjunct positions at
The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
,
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
, St. John's University,
Polytechnic University of New York The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United Sta ...
, Audrey Cohen College and the
Western Behavioral Sciences Institute The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (WBSI) was founded in 1958, in La Jolla, California, as an independent, nonprofit organization devoted to research, education and advanced study in human affairs. Its early studies included research on t ...
. He has given lectures and keynote addresses at conferences at many universities and authored over 100 scholarly articles. In 1985 he co-founded
Connected Education Connected Education - also known as Connect Ed - was a pioneering online education organization founded and administered by Paul Levinson and Tina Vozick. Operating from 1985 to 1997, Connect Ed offered the M.A. degrees in Media Studies (through Th ...
, offering
online courses Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and Education sciences, educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edt ...
for Masters credit. He served as president of 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 ...
from 1998 to 2001.


Media presentations

Levinson has been interviewed more than 500 times on local, national and international television and radio as a commentator on media, popular culture, and science fiction. He is frequently quoted in newspapers and magazines around the world and his op-eds have appeared in such major papers as ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'', New York's ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'', and ''
The New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...
''. He was interviewed in a short weekly spot early Sunday mornings on
KNX-AM KNX (1070 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Los Angeles, California. It airs an all-news radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. KNX is one of the oldest stations in the United States, having received its first broadcasting license, ...
Radio in Los Angeles, from 2006 to 2008 on media-related news events and popular culture. He has several podcasts and blogs. In April 2009, ''
The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
'' named him ("PaulLev") one of Twitter's ten "High Fliers".


Musical and recording activities

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, prior to his academic career, Levinson was a songwriter, singer, and record producer with recordings by
the Vogues The Vogues are an American vocal rock and roll group from Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The original lineup consisted of Bill Burkette (lead baritone), Don Miller (baritone), Hugh Geyer (first tenor), and Chuck Blasko (s ...
, Donna Marie of
the Archies ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
,
June Valli June Valli (June 30, 1928 – March 12, 1993), the stage name of June Foglia, was an American singer and television personality. Early years Born in the Bronx, Valli's father was Italian, and her mother was Austrian. She worked as a bookkeepe ...
,
Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number fou ...
, and
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...
. As a radio producer he worked with
Murray the K Murray Kaufman (February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982), professionally known as Murray the K, was an influential New York City rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, '60s and '70s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he freque ...
and
Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...
. He wrote over 100 songs published by major music publishers including
Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...
, Chappell, Belwin Mills/
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
,
Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...
's TM Music, and Sunbury/
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
. Recordings of his songs were produced by
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...
,
Jimmy Wisner James Joseph Wisner (December 8, 1931 – March 13, 2018) was an American pianist, arranger, songwriter, and producer. He is best known for his 1961 hit single "Asia Minor", released under the name Kokomo. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Wisne ...
, and
Paul Leka Paul Leka (February 20, 1943 – October 12, 2011) was an American songwriter, record producer, pianist, arranger, and orchestrator, most notable for co-writing the 1960s hits " Green Tambourine" and "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye", the latter of ...
for other artists. Songs he wrote, performed and/or produced were released on record labels including Columbia,
Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
,
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
,
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, Buddah and
London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. He was principal artist, writer, and producer for ''
Twice Upon a Rhyme ''Twice Upon a Rhyme'' is an LP record by Paul Levinson with Ed Fox and Peter Rosenthal. It was released in 1972 by HappySad Records on vinyl. ''Twice Upon a Rhyme'' was recorded on and off from 1969 to 1971. It includes all original material ...
'', a 1972 LP released on
HappySad Records HappySad Records was an independent record label founded in 1971 by Paul Levinson and Ed Fox, taken over by Levinson in 1972. Its major release, '' Twice Upon a Rhyme'', was rediscovered and described thirty years later, in July 2002, in Japan's ...
and subsequently re-issued on CD. His song "Hung Up On Love" (co-writer Mikie Harris, produced by
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...
and Mike Rashkow) was recorded by his trio The Other Voices and released on
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
in 1968; it was included in
Rhino Handmade Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded in 1978, Rhino was original ...
's 2004 compilation CD '' Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults'', compiled by Andrew Sandoval. He sang falsetto harmony on many of The Other Voices' recordings. His songs "Merri Goes Round" and "Looking for Sunsets (In the Early Morning)", both co-written with Ed Fox in the 1970s, were recorded by Sundial Symphony (
Robbie Rist Robbie Rist (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in ''The Brady Bunch'', Martin in '' Grady'' and "Little John" in ''Big John, Little John''. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in te ...
and Don Frankel) and released by Big Stir Records in 2019. His recent album of new songs, ''Welcome Up: Songs of Space and Time'', was released by Old Bear Records and
Light In The Attic Records Light in the Attic Records is an independent record label that was established in 2002 in Seattle, Washington by Matt Sullivan. The label is known for its roster of reissue projects and for its distribution catalog. Light in the Attic has re-rel ...
in 2020.


Selected bibliography


Novels

*''The Silk Code'' (1999) Tor Books *''Borrowed Tides'' (2001) Tor Books *''The Consciousness Plague'' (2002) Tor Books *''The Pixel Eye'' (2003) Tor Books *'' The Plot To Save Socrates'' (2006) Tor Books *''Unburning Alexandria'' (2013) JoSara Media *''Chronica'' (2014) JoSara Media


Non-fiction books

*''In Pursuit of Truth: Essays on the Philosophy of Karl Popper on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday'' (editor and contributor) with Forewords by
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 ...
and
Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Before becoming Cha ...
(1982) Humanities Press *''Mind at Large: Knowing in the Technological Age'' (1988) JAI Press *''Electronic Chronicles: Columns of the Changes in our Time'' (1992) Anamnesis Press *''Learning Cyberspace: Essays on the Evolution of Media and the New Education'' (1995) Anamnesis Press *''The Soft Edge: A Natural History and Future of the Information Revolution'' (1997) Routledge *''Bestseller: Wired, Analog, and Digital Writings'' (1999) Pulpless ncludes fiction and non-fiction*''Digital McLuhan: A Guide to the Information Millennium'' (1999) Routledge *''Realspace: The Fate of Physical Presence in the Digital Age, On and Off Planet'' (2003) Routledge *''Cellphone: The Story of the World's Most Mobile Medium'' (2004) Palgrave Macmillan *''New New Media'' (2009/2012) Penguin/Pearson ; second, revised edition (2012) *''Touching the Face of the Cosmos: On the Intersection of Space Travel and Religion'' ed. Paul Levinson & Michael Waltemathe (2015/2016) Connected Editions/Fordham University Press ncludes fiction and non-fictionref name="nss">


References


External links

*
''Articles''

''Short Fiction''

''Music career''MP3s

''Awards and honors''scholarly writingpop culture & political criticism
* podcasts
"Light On Light Through"

"Ask Lev!"videos
**
quotesPaul Levinson
on
Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levinson, Paul 1947 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American bloggers American male novelists American male short story writers American podcasters American science fiction writers American male singer-songwriters American social sciences writers Analog Science Fiction and Fact people City College of New York alumni Fairleigh Dickinson University faculty Fordham University faculty Mass media theorists New York University alumni People from the Bronx Polytechnic Institute of New York University faculty Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Wired (magazine) people 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male bloggers American male non-fiction writers