Difference between revisions of "Most Senior SF Writer"
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Who, among the major writers, has been writing for the longest time? And who held the record before them? | Who, among the major writers, has been writing for the longest time? And who held the record before them? | ||
| − | (Note that this has a significant judgment element. First, "major" is inevitably subjective to a degree. In particular, there were undoubtedly early writers for magazines like ''[[Weird Tales]]'' or the [[mundanes]] who published something that was arguably [[SF]] and lived on forgotten -- or never known -- by [[fandom]]. We're not interested in these. Second, there are writers who are not forgotten, but whose writing career was relatively brief. We're looking for people with the longest ''active careers'', not who were simply long-lived. To count, an active career should have spanned at least a majority of the time since their first published appearance. So Mary Shelley, while undoubtedly an SF writer, and deserving of her place in this list would not have qualified 150 years later. Most subjective of all, is "major." Given two people who have essentially equivalent careers, where one is of significantly greater stature and influence in the field, we will pick the latter.) | + | (Note that this list is ''not'' “Oldest Living SF Writer.” It has a significant judgment element. First, "major" is inevitably subjective to a degree. In particular, there were undoubtedly early writers for magazines like ''[[Weird Tales]]'' or the [[mundanes]] who published something that was arguably [[SF]] and lived on forgotten -- or never known -- by [[fandom]]. We're not interested in these. Second, there are writers who are not forgotten, but whose writing career was relatively brief. We're looking for people with the longest ''active careers'', not who were simply long-lived. To count, an active career should have spanned at least a majority of the time since their first published appearance. So Mary Shelley, while undoubtedly an SF writer, and deserving of her place in this list, would not have qualified 150 years later. Most subjective of all, is "major." Given two people who have essentially equivalent careers, where one is of significantly greater stature and influence in the field, we will pick the latter.) |
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1937 || 1919 || 2013 || [[Frederik Pohl]] || 68 || 7 | 1937 || 1919 || 2013 || [[Frederik Pohl]] || 68 || 7 | ||
1949 || 1923 || 2020 || [[James Gunn]] || 71 || 7 | 1949 || 1923 || 2020 || [[James Gunn]] || 71 || 7 | ||
| + | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;" |'''Current Contenders''' | ||
1950 || 1932 || || [[John Jakes]] || >70 || | 1950 || 1932 || || [[John Jakes]] || >70 || | ||
1952 || 1929 || || [[Donald Kingsbury]] || >68 || | 1952 || 1929 || || [[Donald Kingsbury]] || >68 || | ||
Revision as of 22:39, 24 December 2020
Who, among the major writers, has been writing for the longest time? And who held the record before them?
(Note that this list is not “Oldest Living SF Writer.” It has a significant judgment element. First, "major" is inevitably subjective to a degree. In particular, there were undoubtedly early writers for magazines like Weird Tales or the mundanes who published something that was arguably SF and lived on forgotten -- or never known -- by fandom. We're not interested in these. Second, there are writers who are not forgotten, but whose writing career was relatively brief. We're looking for people with the longest active careers, not who were simply long-lived. To count, an active career should have spanned at least a majority of the time since their first published appearance. So Mary Shelley, while undoubtedly an SF writer, and deserving of her place in this list, would not have qualified 150 years later. Most subjective of all, is "major." Given two people who have essentially equivalent careers, where one is of significantly greater stature and influence in the field, we will pick the latter.)
| First published | Born | Died | Who? | Span | Years on Top |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1818 | 1797 | 1851 | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | 33 | 33 |
| 1851 | 1828 | 1905 | Jules Verne | 54 | 54 |
| 1879 | 1859 | 1930 | Arthur Conan Doyle | 51 | 25 |
| 1888 | 1866 | 1946 | H. G. Wells | 58 | 16 |
| 1912 | 1875 | 1950 | Edgar Rice Burroughs | 38 | 4 |
| 1919 | 1896 | 1975 | Murray Leinster | 56 | 25 |
| 1928 | 1908 | 2006 | Jack Williamson | 78 | 31 |
| 1937 | 1919 | 2013 | Frederik Pohl | 68 | 7 |
| 1949 | 1923 | 2020 | James Gunn | 71 | 7 |
| Current Contenders | |||||
| 1950 | 1932 | John Jakes | >70 | ||
| 1952 | 1929 | Donald Kingsbury | >68 | ||
| 1954 | 1935 | Robert Silverberg | >66 | ||
Jack Williamson had the longest in modern times.
For a somewhat different take, see Dean of Science Fiction.
| Miscellaneous |
| This is a miscellaneous page |
