David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the

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 ...

field. He publishes the

science fiction fanzine A science-fiction fanzine is an amateur or semi-professional magazine published by members of science-fiction fandom, from the 1930s to the present day. They were one of the earliest forms of fanzine, within one of which the term "''fanzine''" wa ...

and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most

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 ...

, with a total of 29 wins.

Personal background

David Langford was born and grew up in

Newport, Monmouthshire Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest au ...

, Wales before studying for a degree in

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he first became involved in

science fiction fandom 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 ...

. Langford is married to Hazel and is the brother of the musician and artist

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative count ...

. His first job was as a weapons

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at

Aldermaston Aldermaston is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1015. The village is in the Kennet Valley and bounds Hampshire to the south. It is approximately from Newbury, Basingsto ...

, Berkshire from 1975 to 1980. In 1985 he set up a "tiny and informally run software company" with science fiction writer Christopher Priest, called Ansible Information after Langford's news-sheet. The company has ceased trading. Increasing hearing difficulties have reduced Langford's participation in some fan activities. His own jocular attitude towards the matter has led to such nicknames as "that deaf twit Langford"; and a chapbook anthology of his work was titled ''Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man''.

Literary career

Fiction

As a writer of fiction, Langford is noted for his

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

. A collection of short stories, parodying various science fiction,

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and dra ...

and

detective story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

writers has been published as '' He Do the Time Police in Different Voices'' (2003, incorporating the earlier and much shorter 1988 parody collection ''The Dragonhiker's Guide to Battlefield Covenant at Dune's Edge: Odyssey Two''). Two novels, parodying disaster novels and horror, respectively, are ''Earthdoom!'' and ''Guts'', both co-written with John Grant. Dave Langford 2005

The novelette ''An Account of a Meeting with Denizens of Another World 1871'', is an account of a

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

encounter, as experienced by a Victorian; in its framing story Langford claims to have found the manuscript in an old desk (the story's narrator, William Robert Loosley, is a genuine ancestor of Langford's wife). This has led some

UFOlogist Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and ...

s to believe the story is genuine (including the US author

Whitley Strieber Louis Whitley Strieber (; born June 13, 1945) is an American writer best known for his horror novels '' The Wolfen'' and '' The Hunger'' and for '' Communion'', a non-fiction account of his alleged experiences with non-human entities. He has mai ...

, who referred to the 1871 incident in his novel ''Majestic''). Langford freely admits the story is fictional when asked — but, as he notes, "Journalists usually don't ask." Langford also had one serious science fiction novel published in 1982, ''The Space Eater''. The 1984 novel '' The Leaky Establishment'' satirises the author's experiences at Aldermaston. His 2004 collection '' Different Kinds of Darkness'' is a compilation of 36 of his shorter, non-parodic science fiction pieces, the title story of which won the

Hugo Award for Best Short Story The Hugo Award for Best Short Story is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The short story award is available for works of fiction o ...

in 2001.

Basilisks

A number of Langford's stories are set in a future containing images, colloquially called "basilisks", which

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

the human mind by triggering thoughts that the mind is physically or logically incapable of thinking. The first of these stories was " BLIT" ('' Interzone'', 1988); others include "What Happened at Cambridge IV" (''Digital Dreams'', 1990); "comp.basilisk FAQ", and the Hugo-winning "Different Kinds of Darkness" (''

F&SF ''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 ...

'', 2000). The idea has appeared elsewhere; in one of his novels,

Ken MacLeod Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, an ...

has characters explicitly mention (and worry about encountering) the "Langford Visual Hack". Similar references, also mentioning Langford by name, feature in works by

Greg Egan Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, ...

and

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

. The eponymous ''

Snow Crash ''Snow Crash'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's novels, it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography ...

'' of Neal Stephenson's novel is a combination mental/ computer virus capable of infecting the minds of

hackers A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

via their

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and ...

. The idea also appears in ''

Blindsight Blindsight is the ability of people who are cortically blind to respond to visual stimuli that they do not consciously see due to lesions in the primary visual cortex, also known as the striate cortex or Brodmann Area 17. The term was coined by L ...

'' by Peter Watts where a particular combination of right angles is a harmful image to vampires. The roleplaying game '' Eclipse Phase'' has so-called "Basilisk hacks", sensory or linguistic attacks on cognitive processes. The concept of a " cognitohazard", largely identical to Langford's basilisks, is sometimes used in the fictional universe of the SCP Foundation. The image's name comes from the

basilisk In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk ( or ) is a legendary reptile reputed to be a serpent king, who causes death to those who look into its eyes. According to the ''Naturalis Historia'' of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene i ...

, a legendary reptile said to have the power to cause death with a single glance.

Non-fiction and editorial work

Langford has won numerous Hugo Awards for his activities as a fan journalist on his free newsletter ''Ansible'', which he has described as "The SF '' Private Eye''. The name '' Ansible'' is taken from Ursula K. Le Guin's science-fictional communication device. The newsletter first appeared in August 1979. Fifty issues were published by 1987, when it entered a hiatus. Since resuming publication in 1991, ''Ansible'' has appeared monthly (with occasional extra issues given "half" numbers, e.g. ''Ansible 53'') as a two-sided A4 sheet and latterly also online. A digest has appeared as the "Ansible Link" column in '' Interzone'' since issue 62, August 1992. The complete archive of ''Ansible'' is available at Langford's personal website. ''Ansible'' issue 300 was published on 2 July 2012. ''Ansible'' has for many years advertised that paper copies are available for various unlikely items such as "SAE, Fwai-chi shags or Rhune Books of Deeds". In 1996, Ursula K. Le Guin wrote: "Tell me what I can send in exchange for ''Ansible''. In Oregon we grow many large fir trees; also we have fish." Langford wrote the science fiction and fantasy book review column for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes ...

'' from 1983 to 1988, continuing in other British role-playing game magazines until 1991; the columns are collected as ''

The Complete Critical Assembly ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (2001). He has also written a regular column for ''SFX'' magazine, featuring in every issue from its launch in 1995 to #274 dated July 2016. A tenth-anniversary collection of these columns appeared in 2005 as '' The SEX Column and other misprints''; this was shortlisted for a 2006 Hugo Award for Best Related Book. Further ''SFX'' columns are collected in ''Starcombing: columns, essays, reviews and more'' (2009), which also includes much other material written since 2000. David Langford has also written columns for several computer magazines, notably ''

8000 Plus ''8000 Plus'' (renamed ''PCW Plus'' early in 1992) was a monthly British magazine dedicated to the Amstrad PCW range of microcomputers. It was one of the earliest magazines from Future plc, and ran for just over ten years, the first issue being ...

'' (later renamed '' PCW Plus''), which was devoted to the Amstrad PCW word processor. This column ran, though not continuously, from the first issue in October 1986 to the last, dated Christmas 1996; it was revived in the small-press magazine ''PCW Today'' from 1997 to 2002, and all the columns are collected as ''The Limbo Files'' (2009). Langford's 1985–1988 "The Disinformation Column" for '' Apricot File'' focused on

Apricot Computers Apricot Computers was a British company that produced desktop personal computers in the mid-1980s. Outline Apricot Computers was a British manufacturer of business personal computers, founded in 1965 as "Applied Computer Techniques" (ACT), late ...

systems; these columns are collected as ''The Apricot Files'' (2007). A collection of nonfiction and humorous work, '' Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man'', was published in 1992 by

NESFA Press NESFA Press is the publishing arm of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc. The NESFA Press primarily produces three types of books: * Books honoring the guest(s) of honor at their annual convention, Boskone, and at some Worldcons and ...

. This was incorporated into a follow-up collection, consisting of 47 nonfiction pieces and three short stories, and published as ''

The Silence of the Langford ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' in 1996. '' Up Through an Empty House of Stars'' (2003) is a further collection of one hundred reviews and essays. Much of Langford's early book-length publication was futurological in nature. '' War in 2080: The Future of Military Technology'', published in 1979, and '' The Third Millennium: A History of the World AD 2000-3000'' (1985), jointly written with fellow science fiction author

Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published under the name Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped ...

, are two examples. Both these authors also worked with Peter Nicholls on ''

The Science in Science Fiction ''The Science in Science Fiction'' is a book by David Langford, Peter Nicholls and Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford (born 25 July 1948) is a British academic, critic and science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. H ...

'' (1982). Within the broader field of popular non-fiction, Langford co-wrote ''Facts and Fallacies: a Book of Definitive Mistakes and Misguided Predictions'' (1984) with Chris Morgan. Langford assisted in producing the second edition of ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continu ...

'' (1993) and contributed some 80,000 words of articles to ''

The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' is a 1997 reference work concerning fantasy fiction, edited by John Clute and John Grant. Other contributors include Mike Ashley, Neil Gaiman, Diana Wynne Jones, David Langford, Sam J. Lundwall, Michael S ...

'' (1997). He is one of the four chief editors of the third, online edition of ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (launched October 2011), and shared this reference work's 2012 Hugo Award for Best Related Work. He has also edited a book of John Sladek's uncollected work, published in 2002 as ''Maps: The Uncollected John Sladek''. Langford's critical introduction to ''Maps'' won a

BSFA Award The BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) to honour works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members. More recently, m ...

for nonfiction. With Christopher Priest, Langford also set up Ansible E-ditions (now Ansible Editions) which publishes other

print-on-demand Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies (or other documents, packaging or materials) are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints of single or small quantities. While oth ...

collections of short stories by Sladek and David I. Masson; essays and review columns by

Brian Aldiss Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for o ...

Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), Jo ...

, Peter Nicholls and again Sladek; and ebooks of historical interest to

, downloadable at no charge from the

Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund The Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, often known as ''TAFF'', is a crowdfunding project created in 1953 for the purpose of providing funds to bring well-known and popular members of science fiction fandom familiar to fans on both sides of the ocean, acro ...

site. Excluding collections, Langford's most recent professionally published book is ''The End of Harry Potter?'' (2006), an unauthorised companion to the famous series by

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

. The work was published after the publication of the sixth volume in the Harry Potter series, but before publication of the seventh and final volume. It contains information, extracted from the books and from Rowling's many public statements, about the

wizarding world The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fantasy media franchise and shared fictional universe centred on the ''Harry Potter'' novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of films have been in production si ...

and popular theories concerning how the plot will develop in the last book. A revised version was published in the US in March 2007 by Tor Books, and in paperback form in the UK in May 2007. The book was commissioned from Langford by

Malcolm Edwards Malcolm John Edwards (born 3 December 1949) is a British editor and critic in the science fiction field. An alumnus of The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, he received his degree from the University of Cambridge. He was Deputy CEO at the Orio ...

Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

, who were seeking a book about the Harry Potter series. Since 2011 he has devoted most of his time to ''Ansible'', Ansible Editions and ''

''. He has been a guest of honour at

Boskone Boskone is an annual science fiction convention ("con") run by the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. In the words of the convention organizers, "Boskone is a regional Science Fiction ...

Eastercon Eastercon is the common name for the annual British national science fiction convention. The convention is organised by voluntary self-organising committees, rather than a permanent entity. Organisation Groups of fans (typically 5–8 in n ...

twice,

Finncon Finncon is the largest science fiction convention in Finland and, with up to 15,000 participants, one of the largest SF conventions in Europe. Finncon is unique among SF conventions because it has no participation/membership fee, and is funded pr ...

Microcon Microcon was an annual science fiction and fantasy convention, held annually at the University of Exeter in Exeter, Devon, England since 1982, usually over the first weekend in March. It is organised by the Exeter University Science Fiction and ...

three times, Minicon (see List of past Minicons), Novacon,

OryCon Orycon is Portland, Oregon's annual science fiction/fantasy convention, held in November since 1979. Event history {, class="wikitable" width="100%" , - ! Event !! Dates !! Guests !! Attendance !! Notes , - , OryCon 0 , Nov 11, 1978 , No GOH ...

twice,

Picocon Picocon is the name given to a series of British science fiction conventions run by the Imperial College Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (ICSF),. Taking place on a Saturday (occasionally extended to Sunday), in February or early March in Imper ...

several times, and

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, durin ...

(see

List of Worldcons This World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) list includes prior and scheduled Worldcons. The data is maintained by the ''Long List Committee'', a World Science Fiction Society sub-committee. Notes: * Name – a convention is normally list ...

Awards

Langford holds the all-time record for most Hugo Awards, with a total of 29 wins. He has won 21 Hugos for Best Fan Writer, five for ''Ansible'' as Best Fanzine, another for ''Ansible'' as Best Semiprozine, one for ''Different Kinds of Darkness'' as Best Short Story, and one for ''

'' as Best Related Work. Langford also has the second highest number of Hugo nominations at 55 (behind

Mike Glyer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

at 57). He had a 19-year winning streak and 31-year streak of nominations for "Best Fan Writer" that came to an end in 2010.

Bibliography

Short fiction

;Collections * *

Non-fiction

;Collections * ;Book reviews

Notes

References

External links

* (Ansible.UK) – both Langford and ''Ansible''
David Langford biographical entry
at ''

'', 3rd ed. (co-edited by Langford) * *

Short stories

''BLIT''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, David 1953 births Living people Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British horror writers British science fiction writers British speculative fiction critics British speculative fiction editors Hugo Award-winning fan writers Hugo Award-winning writers People from Newport, Wales Science fiction critics Science fiction fans The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Welsh science fiction writers Welsh male novelists British nuclear physicists