John Aiken
(October 10, 1913 – August 12, 1990)
Dr John Kempton Aiken was a American-born UK fan and writer from Surrey active from the 1940s. He attended the 1944 Eastercon. He was a member of the Paint Research Station Science Fiction Library (PRSSFL), the Cosmos Club (CSC) and the British Fantasy Society (BFS). Futurian War Digest #25 described Aiken as one of the 'leading lights' of the PRSSFL and an 'author with claims to promag attention'.
He joined the BFS in 1942 and in the same year he began to edit with E. Frank Parker The Beyond, the carbonzine produced by the PRSSFL and later CSC. He was later listed as the editor of the BFS Beyond to which he did contribute a story although the editorial work was credited to Parker and later Arthur F. Hillman. At the 1944 Eastercon he was part of the brains trust. At some point he became president of the Cosmos Club, resigning in late 1945 due to a professional move to Manchester.
He was less fannishly evident after that although he reviewed books for Science Fantasy Review between 1947 and 1950 and published occasional short stories in New Worlds. A novel, World Well Lost, was published in 1970. While he did not attend the Whitcon in 1948 he did contribute an article on the CSC to its booklet.
He was the brother of author Joan Aiken.
Links
| Person | 1913—1990 |
| This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |
