Commentary

According to the inexhaustible fount of knowledge that is The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the venerable Hugo Awards were first presented sixty-four years ago, today, at at Philcon II (the second Philadelphia Worldcon). The Guest of Honour was Willy Ley and a young fellow by the name of Isaac Asimov was the toastmaster. The inaugural […]

I first met Brian Aldiss in 1969, when I was still an undergraduate.  He’d come to give a talk at my university.  I was travelling down to London the next day, and spotted him on the station platform.  After the talk he had gone off to stay with Kingsley Amis, and a long evening ensued.  […]

    ‘Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow’ Isaac Asimov     Reflections is a regular column by multi-award-winning SFWA Grandmaster Robert Silverberg, in which he will offer his thoughts on science fiction, literature and the world at large. This month: ‘Sharing Worlds’ Science fiction writers are notoriously individualistic […]

What are the odds of two of Britain’s finest voices in modern speculative fiction being born on the same day?** There must have been sometihng in the water . . . Today is the birthday or two writers very close to Gateway’s heart: the one who is, sadly, no longer with us is with us, […]

We hope you all know about the Barbican’s new Science Fiction exhibition, Into the Unknown?  It’s an excellent journey charting the history SF through its art, design, film and literature – and, needless to say, many Gollancz titles feature in the latter! A little while ago, the good people of the Barbican asked the team at […]

On this day in 1915, Julius Schwartz was born in the Bronx, New York City. Throughout his long life, he was a fan, an editor, a literary agent and a giant in the field of comics. If DC Comics had a counterpart to Marvel‘s Stan Lee, that man was Julius Schwartz. While still in his […]

    ‘Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow’ Isaac Asimov     Reflections is a regular column by multi-award-winning SFWA Grandmaster Robert Silverberg, in which he will offer his thoughts on science fiction, literature and the world at large.   This month: ‘Advertisements for Myself’   Advertisements for Myself […]

Mildred Virginia Kidd was born on this day in 1921, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An author, editor and literary agent, Kidd was a science fiction fan from childhood and a member of the influential fan group the Futurians. She was married to fellow-Futurian James Blish from 1947 to 1963 and the two of them, along with […]

As you’ll know, our great joy at having the brilliant The Left Hand of Darkness join the SF Masterworks series has led us to undertake a celebration of the works of the peerless Ursula K. Le Guin. And one of the works we’re highlighting currently is her debut novel: Rocannon’s World. Earth-scientist Rocannon has been […]

We are, over the next few weeks, going to be celebrating the great Ursula K. Le Guin. Why?  Well, why not? She is a giant of modern literature – both within genre and without – and she’s won a staggering five Hugos, six Nebulas, two World Fantasy Awards, three James Tiptree Jr Memorial Awards, a […]

    ‘Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow’ Isaac Asimov   Reflections is a regular column by multi-award-winning SFWA Grandmaster Robert Silverberg, in which he will offer his thoughts on science fiction, literature and the world at large. This month: ‘Two Cheers for Piltdown Man’ Science used to be […]

Over at the TLS, the always insightful Roz Kaveney looks at The Library of America’s new edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Orsinia, which collectes the stories in Orsinian Tales and the novel Malafrena – all set in Le Guin’s imaginary central European country of Orsinia. Malafrena, though, deserves to be ranked alongside The Dispossessed […]

Today is the birthday of noted editor David Pringle. In addition to producing two of the best reading guides for the modern genre – Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels and Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels – David Pringle was one of the founders, and the longest-serving editor, of Interzone. And what is Interzone? […]

    ‘Where Silverberg goes today, the rest of science fiction will follow tomorrow’ Isaac Asimov   Reflections is a regular column by multi-award-winning SFWA Grandmaster Robert Silverberg, in which he will offer his thoughts on science fiction, literature and the world at large. This month: ‘Forty Years!’ Forty years! The time goes by in […]

On this day in 1954, Iain Menzies Banks was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. Do we need to explain who Iain M. Banks is? No, we do not. For many years he was Britain’s bestselling SF writer, a literary novelist of distinction, named by The Times as one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 […]