Edward Lewis Ferman (born March 6, 1937) is 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 ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), 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 ...

editor and magazine publisher, known best as the editor of ''

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 ...

'' (F&SF). Ferman is the son of

Joseph W. Ferman Joseph Wolfe Ferman (June 8, 1906 – December 29, 1974) was a Russian Empire-born American science fiction publisher. Ferman moved to the United States and began working on the magazine ''American Mercury'', the primary publication of the Merc ...

, the publisher and sometime editor who established ''F&SF'' in 1949. He took over as editor in 1964 when

Avram Davidson Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...

could no longer practically continue, as a resident of

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

locales with unreliable postal delivery. (Joseph Ferman was listed as editor during 1964–65, however, followed by Edward from January 1966 through June 1991.) Edward Ferman would take on the role of publisher, as well, by 1970, as his father gradually retired. He continued as editor until 1991, when he hired his replacement,

Kristine Kathryn Rusch Kristine Kathryn Rusch (born June 4, 1960) is an American writer and editor. She writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy literature, fantasy, Mystery fiction, mystery, Romance novel, romance, and m ...

, and continued as publisher of ''F&SF'' until he sold it to

Gordon Van Gelder Gordon Van Gelder (born 1966) is an American science fiction editor. From 1997 until 2014, Van Gelder was editor and later publisher of ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Shor ...

in 2000. During Ferman's tenure, many other

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, na ...

magazines struggled or went out of business. His magazine, along with ''

Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

'', continued to maintain a regular schedule and to receive critical appreciation for its contents. During 1969 and 1970, Ferman was also the editor of ''F&SF's'' sister publication ''

Venture Science Fiction Magazine ''Venture Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, first published from 1957 to 1958, and revived for a brief run in 1969 and 1970. Ten issues were published of the 1950s version, with another six in the second ru ...

''. Together, the Fermans had also edited and published the short-lived

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

and

humor Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

magazine ''P.S.'' and a similarly brief run of a magazine about

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and other proto-

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...

matters, ''Inner Space.'' Ferman won the

Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor The Hugo Award for Best Professional Editor 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 award is available for editors of magazines, ...

three years in a row, from 1981 through 1983. ''F&SF'' had previously won four Hugos as the best professional magazine under his editorship. At least in the last decade of his tenure, he worked from a table in the family's Connecticut house. He edited or co-edited several volumes of stories from ''F&SF'' and co-edited ''Final Stage'' with

Barry N. Malzberg Barry Nathaniel Malzberg (born July 24, 1939) is an American writer and editor, most often of science fiction and fantasy. Biography Malzberg originated from a Jewish family and graduated from Syracuse University in 1960. He worked as an investi ...

. It is probable that he also ghost-edited ''No Limits'' for or with Joseph Ferman, an anthology drawn from the pages of the first run of ''Venture''. Ferman was recognized by a special

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for professional work in 1979 and by the

World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in 1998. He was inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2009. * ''Oi, Robot: competitions and cartoons from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (Mercury Press, 1995), edited by Ferman"Oi, robot: competitions and cartoons from The Magazine of fantasy & ..."
Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved April 12, 2013.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferman, Edward 1937 births American magazine publishers (people) American speculative fiction editors American speculative fiction publishers (people) Hugo Award-winning editors The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction people Science fiction editors Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees American people of Lithuanian descent Living people Male speculative fiction editors

See also

References

External links