John Christopher

Sam Youd, courtesy of Rob Hansen

(April 16, 1922 – February 3, 2012)

John Christopher was the primary professional pseudonym of Christopher Samuel 'Sam' Youd, a UK fan active in the 1930s. He is best known for the SF novel The Death of Grass (1956) and the young-adult series The Tripods (1967–88). Youd also wrote under variations of his own name and under the pseudonyms Stanley Winchester, Hilary Ford, William Godfrey, William Vine, Peter Graaf, and Anthony Rye.

He explained in Fantast #8 that his surname name is pronounced YOWD.

As Sam Youd, he was one of the earliest fans in Britain and much of his earliest fiction and poetry was published in fanzines, including Fantast, Novae Terrae (where Rubaiyat of a Science Fiction Fan was published), and The Satellite. He was a member of the Science Fiction Association (SFA), joining in June 1937.

In a self description in Futurian War Digest #3 he said:

lazy, unable to concentrate – vague about what I like and even dislikes. Want to write but no technique. Poetaster of the worst type. Agnostic. Introvert (unfortunately) Socially a misfit only sports – swimming and tennis, good at neither.

Editor J. Michael Rosenblum added:

Actually quite a promising writer, but searching frantically for an adequate philosophy of life, which he hasn't found yet.

During World War II, he helped organize the Chain Letters essential to keeping fandom alive. He was a pioneer in the use of brackets.

Youd's first published story was 'Dreamer' in Weird Tales, March 1941, as by C. S. Youd. His first novel was the non-genre The Winter Swan (1949) as by Christopher Youd. His first genre book was the short story collection The Twenty-Second Century (1954) as by John Christopher. He wrote around 60 books.

Youd was married to Joyce Fairbairn from 1947 to 1978. In later life, he lived in Rye on the south coast of England. According to Robert Macfarlane in his introduction to the 2009 reissue of The Death of Grass, it's the only town in the country that's named for a genus of grass.

• Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
• John Christopher in Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• The Fantast [1939–42]
• Fantast's Folly [1944–46]
• Fantasy War Bulletin [1939–41]
• Fan Dance [1941]

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1971 – Guardian Prize
• 1976 – Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

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Person

1922—2012

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