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The Science Fiction League was one of the earliest associations formed by
The Science Fiction League was one of the earliest associations formed by science fiction fans
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
. It was created by Hugo Gernsback
Hugo Gernsback (; born Hugo Gernsbacher, August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967) was a Luxembourgish–American editor and magazine publisher, whose publications including the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as pub ...
in February 1934 in the pages of ''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 ...
'', an early 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 uni ...
pulp magazine. Gernsback was the League's "Executive Secretary", with Charles D. Hornig its "Assistant Secretary". The initial slate of "Executive Directors" included Forrest J. Ackerman, Eando Binder
Eando Binder is a pen name used by two mid-20th-century science fiction authors, Earl Andrew Binder (1904–1965) and his brother Otto Binder (1911–1974). The name is derived from their first initials ''(E and O Binder).''
Under the Eando nam ...
, Jack Darrow (Clifford Kornoelje), Edmond Hamilton
Edmond Moore Hamilton (October 21, 1904 – February 1, 1977) was an American writer of science fiction during the mid-twentieth century.
Early life
Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was raised there and in nearby New Castle, Pennsylvania. So ...
, David H. Keller, P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic.
Life
Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...
, Clark Ashton Smith, and R. F. Starzl.
Gernsback intended for the magazine to promote fandom, much as his earlier "Radio League" had promoted interest in his radio and electrical hobby magazines. It was successful, and chapters were formed in the US, UK and Australia. Although the League was popular, with membership soon reaching about 1,000, it did not last long; in 1943 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 ...
, the editor of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'' (the magazine had changed its name in 1936) dropped the organization when he took over the editorship. Frederik Pohl recalled that the League "changed a lot of lives. It filled a need" by helping fans meet each other, and reported that some chapters still existed 30 years later.
The Science Fiction League of America'' If'' vol. 1, no. 1, p. 151 was a different organization of science fiction writers including Ted 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 ...
, Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio d ...
, and Isaac Asimov, and associated with the television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
show ''Tales of Tomorrow
''Tales of Tomorrow'' is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as ''Frankenstein'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., '' 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' ...
''.
Notes