Pierre Versins (born Jacques Chamson; January 12, 1923 in Strasbourg – April 18, 2001 in Avignon) was a French Science Fiction collector and

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

. From 1957-62, he published a critical fanzine, ''Ailleurs''. He published four science fiction novels between 1951 and 1971, including ''En avant, Mars'', ''Les etoiles ne s'en foutent pas'', ''Leprofesseur'', and ''Les transhumains''. His ex-wife, Martine Thome, is credited on the short story "Ceux d'Argos". Versins always specified that Thome's name appears on this particular short story because it was initially her idea ("One cent idea"), yet written entirely by Versins himself, in his personal style. Versins published ''Encyclopedie de Utopie et de la sf'', which won a special award at Torcon II, the 1973

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 ...

and he won a

Pilgrim Award The Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book '' Pilgrims Through Space ...

from the

Science Fiction Research Association The Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media. ...

in 1991. In 1975, he founded the

Maison d'Ailleurs The Maison d'Ailleurs (translated as "House of Elsewhere") is a museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journeys in Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland). It is a non-profit foundation functioning both as a public museum and a specialized r ...

, a museum of science fiction, utopia and extraordinary journey in Yverdon-les-Bains, (Switzerland). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Versins was incarcerated in

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

External links

Maison d'Ailleurs
1923 births 2001 deaths French speculative fiction critics French speculative fiction editors French science fiction writers Science fiction critics French male novelists 20th-century French novelists 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers {{France-writer-stub