Robert Silverberg

(1935 –)

Robert Silverberg (often known as Agberg or Silverbob) was born in Brooklyn in 1935. Like many early fans, he began submitting stories to the prozines in the late 40s and found fandom in 1949 with Spaceship.

Silverberg's first published novel (in 1955) was a YA book called Revolt on Alpha C. He won the 1956 Most Promising New Author Hugo. Over the next few years he was incredibly prolific, writing a million words a year, mostly for prozines and Ace Doubles. When the sf market collapsed in 1959 Silverberg turned to other fields, including carefully researched historical nonfiction and softcore porn.

He was a prominent and active fan in the 1960s, and wrote frequently for the fanzines. His own fanzine was called Spaceship and the early issues did not, perhaps, contain his best writing. Perhaps his best known article was on in which he extended Jack Speer's theory of Numerical Fandoms. Silverberg added Seventh Fandom to the theory, but probably should not be stigmatized for that.

He has been a member of FAPA continuously since November, 1949, publishing Irusaben with Saul Diskin and Spaceship and Snickersnee by himself. He was a member of the ISL, SAPS and the N3F. He was part of Robert Randall.

In the 1960s, Silverberg returned to SF, writing more literary stories and novels, including To Open the Sky, To Live Again, The World Inside, Downward to the Earth and Dying Inside. His story Nightwings won the 1969 Best Novella Hugo. he won a Nebula Award in 1970 for the short story "Passengers". He won two more the following year (his novel A Time of Changes and the short story "Good News from the Vatican". and one more in 1975 for his novella "Born with the Dead".

He was GoH at Heicon '70, the 1970 Worldcon in Heidelberg, Germany.

He moved from New York to the Bay Area in 1972 and announced his retirement from writing in 1975. But in 1980 he returned triumphantly with Lord Valentine's Castle, the start of the popular Majipoor series. He received another Nebula in 1986 for his novella "Sailing to Byzantium", a Best Novella Hugo in 1987 for "Gilgamesh in the Outback" and a Best Novelette Hugo in 1990 for "Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another". He won the 1951 Best Fan Writer Retro Hugo. The April, 1974 issue of F&SF was a special Robert Silverberg issue.

Silverberg has been married twice. First to Barbara Brown, in 1956. In 1987, he married fellow science fiction author Karen Haber.

In 2007, Silverberg was elected president of FAPA. He ran the (unsuccessful) Virgincon in '65 Worldcon bid. He was one of the coiners of the indispensable word "Croggle". He is a member of First Fandom, and has been nominated for the First Fandom Hall of Fame.

See his comments on Juanita Coulson's article on fandom in 1953.

Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

Awards, Honors and GoHships:

• 1951 -- Best Fan Writer Retro Hugo
• 1956 -- Most Promising New Author Hugo
• 1957 -- Knight of St. Fantony
• 1968 -- Disclave 12, Toastmaster at Baycon
• 1969 -- PgHLANGE 1, Best Novella Hugo
• 1970 -- Heicon '70
• 1971 -- Toastmaster at Noreascon
• 1974 -- Toastmaster at Westercon 27, Jupiter Award
• 1975 -- Bubonicon 5
• 1976 -- Mancon 5
• 1977 -- LepreCon 3, Toastmaster at SunCon
• 1979 -- Intervention 1
• 1980 -- Toastmaster at Noreascon Two
• 1982 -- OryCon '82
• 1983 -- Fantasycon VIII, Jack Williamson Lectureship
• 1984 -- Skylark Award
• 1985 -- Loscon 12, Forry Award, toastmaster at Norwescon VIII
• 1987 -- Philcon 87, Best Novella Hugo
• 1988 -- Westercon 41
• 1990 -- Best Novelette Hugo
• 1993 -- New Orleans SF & Fantasy Festival '93
• 1995 -- Norwescon XVIII
• 1999 -- 25th World Fantasy Convention
• 2000 -- Big Heart Award
• 2001 -- Swancon 2001
• 2002 -- Prix Utopia
• 2004 -- Con-Dor XI, SFWA Grand Master, Jack Williamson Lectureship
• 2005 -- VCON 30
• 2006 -- The Avram Davidson Treasury (edited by Silverberg) was Book of Honor at Potlatch 15
• 2015 -- Alfie Award
• 2018 -- First Fandom Hall of Fame
• 2019 -- World Fantasy Convention 2019 (Toastmaster)
• 23,309 -- Silverberg has agreed to be Toastmaster of the Terminus in 23,309 Worldcon bid should it win. Unless the rules are changed, the winning bid will be selected in 23,307.

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Person

Website

1935—

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