Richard Wilson (23 September 1920 – 29 March 1987) was an American

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 ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and fan. He was 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 was married for a time to

Leslie Perri Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

, who had also been a Futurian. His books included the novels ''The Girls from Planet 5'' (1955); ''30-Day Wonder'' (1960); and ''And Then the Town Took Off'' (1960); and the collections ''Those Idiots from Earth'' (1957) and ''Time Out for Tomorrow'' (1962). His short stories included "The Eight Billion" (nominated for a

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

as Best Short Story in 1965); "Mother to the World" (nominated 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 a ...

for Best Novelette in 1969 and winner of the

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 ...

in 1968); and "The Story Writer" (nominated for the

Nebula Award for Best Novella The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novellas. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novella if it is between 17,500 and 40 ...

in 1979). Wilson also worked in the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

field as director of the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

News Bureau from 1964 to 1980. In 1980 he became the University's senior editor before retiring in 1982. He died March 29, 1987. His other major contribution to science fiction and to Syracuse University was in successfully recruiting the donation of papers from many prominent science fiction writers to the University's George Arents Research Library. As part of this effort, Wilson wrote an article entitled "Syracuse University's Science Fiction Collections" for the May 1967 issue of the magazine ''

Worlds of Tomorrow ''Worlds of Tomorrow'' is an anthology of science fiction stories edited by American writer August Derleth. It was first published by Pellegrini & Cudahy in 1953. Many of the stories had originally appeared in the magazines '' Worlds Beyond'', ...

''. The collection eventually included manuscripts,

galley proof In printing and publishing, proofs are the preliminary versions of publications meant for review by authors, editors, and proofreaders, often with extra-wide margins. Galley proofs may be uncut and unbound, or in some cases electronically tran ...

s, magazines, correspondence and art donated by

Piers Anthony Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born 6 August 1934) is an American author in the science fiction and Fantasy (genre), fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is best known for his :Xanth books, long-running novel series set in ...

Hal Clement Harry Clement Stubbs (May 30, 1922 – October 29, 2003), better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under ...

Keith Laumer John Keith Laumer ( – ) was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United State ...

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...

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 ...

and others, including Wilson himself. Initially housed in a warehouse annex, the papers eventually made their way to the climate-controlled top floor of Ernest Stevenson Bird Library on the Syracuse University campus. It has been called the "most important collection of science fiction manuscripts and papers in the world."

Bibliography

Short stories

*"Retribution" (in ''

Science Adventure Stories Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

'', October 1938) *"Murder from Mars" (in ''

Astonishing Stories ''Astonishing Stories'' was an American pulp magazine, pulp science fiction magazine, published by Popular Publications between 1940 and 1943. It was founded under Popular's "Fictioneers" imprint, which paid lower rates than Popular's other magazi ...

'', April 1940) *"Stepsons of Mars" with

C.M. Kornbluth Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...

(as Ivar Towers; in ''Astonishing Stories'', April 1940) *"The Hoaxters" (in ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'', 1952) *"The Inhabited" (in ''

'', 1952) *"Love" (in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...

'', 1952) *"Press Conference" (in ''

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 ...

'' as "Visitor from the Void", 1953) *"Don't Fence Me In" (in ''

'', 1956) *"Honor" (in ''

Science Fiction Quarterly ''Science Fiction Quarterly'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine that was published from 1940 to 1943 and again from 1951 to 1958. Charles Hornig served as editor for the first two issues; Robert A. W. Lowndes edited the remainder. ...

'', 1955)
Back to Julie
(in ''Galaxy'', 1956) *"It's Cold Outside" (in '' If'', 1956) *"Lonely Road" (in ''

'', 1956) *"88 Beats 266" (in ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishin ...

'' as "Success Story", 1956) *"Those Idiots from Earth" (1957)
The Watcher in the Glade
(in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', 1964)
Harry Protagonist Brain-Drainer
(in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', 1965)
The Eight Billion
(in ''Fantasy Science Fiction'', 1965) *
They Hilariated When I Hyperspaced For Earth
(in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', 1967) *
The South Waterford Rumple Club
(in ''Galaxy Science Fiction'', 1967) *"Mother to the World" (1968) *"The Story Writer" (1979)

Novels

* ''The Girls from Planet 5'' (1955) * ''30-Day Wonder'' (1960) * ''And Then the Town Took Off'' (1960)

Collections

*''Those Idiots from Earth'' (1957) *''Time Out for Tomorrow'' (1962)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Richard 1987 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Nebula Award winners Science fiction fans Futurians 1920 births American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers