by Judith Merril
For some years now, those of us working in what even we still quaintly call "the science-fiction field" have been increasingly aware of the floating-island nature of that "field." And if it seemed at times that we were simply drifting out to sea, it is now becoming sharply evident that the direction of drift, all along, was into the "mainstream." The specialized cult of science fiction (for which many of us still, and I expect will, feel a lingering nostalgia) is rapidly disappearing, as the essential quality is absorbed into the main body of literature.
More properly, I should say, reabsorbed. S-f had its beginnings in mainstream writing. The literary-sociological analysis of the compartmentalizing of this kind of fiction during the first half of the twentieth century will undoubtedly provide scholastic adventure for innumerable future thesis-writers. For those of us actively interested in the (flooded) field at the present time, it is enough to understand that the reabsorption has not been one-sided. For any prodigal to effect his return, it is necessary not only that the parent body be prepared to offer welcome, but that the wanderer has found cause to come home.
These causes have been varied and complex, ridiculous and sublime: they have included such things as the influence of "the syndicate" on magazine distribution, the International Geophysical Year, Kingsley Amis' book of lectures and Willy Ley's lectures on books. (The rest of the list I leave to those scholars of tomorrow.) But whatever the causes, the results are obvious.
At the beginning of 1956, when the First Annual of this series was being readied for the press, I counted thirteen science-fiction magazines in this country, and four more in England. (Most of them were quarterlies or bimonthlies; it averaged out to about ten altogether each month.) That first annual contained, proudly, three (out of eighteen) stories from sources outside the specialty magazines; the Honorable Mentions listed seven more. And the Summation pointed with a sort of ghetto pride to the fact that thirty or forty of Our Kind of Stories had crossed the line in '55, and found respectable lodging in literary and "slick" magazines.
This year, sixteen of the thirty fiction and verse selections are from general fiction magazines, or books. There are five s-f magazines published here, and two in England—five and a half a month average, with the three bimonthlies.
In '56, I was able to include three "name" writers from outside the specialty field. This year, there are only thirteen stories by writers known in the field. Most striking is the number of writers from non-fiction fields who have made their first story efforts in s-f; most gratifying is the growing number of serious young writers who are devoting themselves equally to s-f and "quality" media.
This is the internal evidence. From outside come such items as the previously mentioned seminar of the Modern Language Association (or the word from my scout in Sausalito that s-f is the top seller in the beatniks' favorite bookstore). There is The Twilight Zone on TV, which no one (except us Old School Ties) thinks of as s-f. There is The Saturday Evening Post, printing without special comment an average of one fantasy or s-f story per issue....
Which brings up a point. The welcome offered to s-f is warm, as only a homecoming can be. But by the same token, the critics, editors, reviewers, publishers, who are uncle and aunt, elder brother, sister, and cousins, who all stayed correctly at home while we went wandering in lurid pulp-paper lands, are not prepared to meet us on the grounds of our own choosing—and certainly not to recognize us by the, identity we assumed "outside."
Thus, much of the best science fiction published today is under wrappers and headings that either angrily disclaim the "science-fiction" label, or ignore it completely. As for the broader field defined in this book as "S-F," the most special labeling it's likely to get is "unusual" or "offbeat." The cult is dead, or at the least, moribund. But one may hope it has infused new life into the culture.
I should like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to a few of the people whose assistance becomes more and more necessary, as the source material spreads itself thin. For suggestions or submissions of material, my thanks to Madeline Tracy Brigden, of Mademoiselle; to Anthony Boucher; to Laura Cohen; and to Willard Marsh. For help in obtaining permission for stories, and in assembling the final manuscript, to Robert Mills, Frederik Pohl, Joseph Ferman, Mrs. Brigden, my family, and—far beyond the call of duty— S & S editrix, Barbara Norville. And for opinions on the selections, my especial gratitude to Virginia Bush.
Judith Merril
Milford, 1962
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Abbreviations:
Amz Amazing Stories
ASF Analog Science Fact & Fiction Aud Audit
Dude The Dude
Fant Fantastic Stories
F&SF Fantasy and Science Fiction Gal Galaxy Science Fiction
Gent Gent
If If Science Fiction
LHJ The Ladies' Home Journal
McC McCall's
Metr Metronome
Mlle Mademoiselle
NW New Worlds (British)
Plby Playboy
Rog Rogue
SEP The Saturday Evening Post
SciF Science Fantasy (British)
Vog Vogue
"ACOS" A Cupful of Space, Mildred Clingerman (Ballantine, 1961)
"COTM" Call Out the Malicia, John Anthony West (Dutton, 1961)
"F&SF:11" The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction: Eleventh Series, ed. Robert P. Mills (Doubleday, 1961)
"Sard" Sardonicus and Other Stories, Ray Russell (Ballantine, 1961)
"SCTH" So Close to Home, James Blish (Ballantine, 1961)
"TIM" The Infinite Moment, John Wyndham (Ballantine, 1961)
VANCE AANDAHL
"Cogi Drove His Car Through Hell," F&SF, Aug.
GEORGE SUMNER ALBEE
"Baby Was One," McC, Apr.
BRIAN W. ALDISS
"Hothouse," F&SF, Feb.;
"Moon of Delight," NW, Mar.
POUL ANDERSON
"Hiding Place," ASF, Mar.;
"Night Piece," F&SF, Jul.
CHRISTOPHER ANVIL
"Identification," ASF, May;
"No Small Enemy," ASF, Nov.
RUSSELL A. APPLE
"Astronaut Aweigh," LHJ, Jan.
ISAAC ASIMOV
"Playboy and the Slime God," Amz, Mar.
J. G. BALLARD
"Deep End," NW, May.
ALAN BARCLAY
"Haircrack," NW, May;
"The Scapegoat," NW, Apr.
CHARLES BEAUMONT
"Blood Brother," Plby, Apr.
THOMAS BERGER
"Professor Hyde," Plby, Dec.
JOHN BERRY
"The One Who Returns," F&SF, Mar.
LLOYD BIGGLE, JR.
"Monument," ASF, Jun.
CHARLES MINOR BLACKFORD
"The Valley of the Masters," If, Sep.
JAMES BLISH
"A Dusk of Idols," Amz, Mar.;
"The Abattoir Effect," "SCTH."
ROBERT BLOCH
"Crime Machine," Gal, Oct.;
"Philtre-Tip," Rog, Mar.
NEAL BROOKS
"The Peacemaker," Rog, Oct.
ROSEL GEORGE BROWN
"The Ultimate Sin," F&SF, Oct.
JOHN BRUNNER
"The Analysts," SciF, Aug.
ALGIS BUDRYS
"Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night," Gal, Dec.
WALTER BUPP
"Card Trick," ASF, Jan.
OTIS KIDWELL BURGER
"The Zookeeper," F&SF, Jul.
HAROLD CALIN
"A Time to Die," Amz, Jun.
ARTHUR C. CLARKE
"At the End of the Orbit," If, Nov.;
"Before Eden," Amz, Jun.;
"Death and the Senator," ASF, May.
MILDRED CLINGERMAN
"A Red Heart and Blue Roses," and "The Gay Deceiver," "ACOS."
AVRAM DAVIDSON
"The Sources of the Nile," F&SF, Jan.
KATHLEEN DAVE
" 'Come on in, Mrs. Farrick!'," Mlle, Aug.
MIRIAM ALLEN DEFORD
"The Cage," F&SF, Jun.
GORDON DICKSON
"An Honorable Death," Gal, Feb.;
"Rehabilitated," F&SF, Jan.;
"The Haunted Village," F&SF, Aug.
JEREMY DOLE
"The Year the Yankees Won the Pennant," Play, Oct.
WILLIAM EASTLAKE
"What Nice Hands Held," F&SF, Jan.
HARLAN ELLISON & JOE L. HENSLEY
"Do-It-Yourself," Rog, Feb.
DAVID ELY
"The Last Friday in August," Fant, Dec.
CAROL EMSHWILLER
"Adapted," F&SF, May.
JACK FINNEY
"Where the Cluetts Are," MCC, Jan.
DANIEL F. GALOUYE
"Spawn of Doom," Fant, Dec.
JAMES GARRETT
"Gentlemen Be Sated," Dude, Jan.
RANDALL GARRETT
"The Highest Treason," ASF, Jan.
HERBERT GOLD
"The Day They Got Boston," Metr, Jan.
DAVID GORDON
"The Foreign Hand-Tie,"ASF, Dec.
HENRY HASSE
"The Beginning," Amz, May.
ZENNA HENDERSON
"Return," F&SF, Mar.
FRANK HERBERT
"Try to Rememberl," Amz, Oct.
PHILIP E. HIGH
"Fallen Angel," ASF, Jun.;
"Survival Course," NW, Dec.
GARY JENNINGS
"Buy Now, Die Later," Gent, Aug.
TEDDY KELLER
"The Plague," ASF, Feb.
JOHN KIPPAX
"Blood Offering," SciF, Jun.
HERBERT KUBLY
"'They Think I'm Mad,' Said the Marquise," Vog, Sep. 15.
R.A. LAFFERTY
"Rainbird," Gal, Dec.
GEORGE LANGELAAN
"Cold Blood," NW, Oct.
KEITH LAUMER
"The King of the City," Gal, Aug.
FRITZ LEIBER
"Scylla's Daughter," Fant, May.
MURRAY LEINSTER
"Doctor," Gal, Feb.
ART LEWIS
"Vassi," If, Jan.
WILLARD MARSH
"My Cosmic Valentine," Aud, Jan.
ARTHUR MAYSE
"The Haunted Dancers," SEP, Jul. 8.
WINONA MC CLINTOC
"Four Days in the Corner," F&SF, Sep.
FRED MC MORROW
"The Big Wheel," SEP, Jul. 29.
ROBERT MURPHY
"The Phantom Setter," SEP, Jun. 17.
NILS T. PETERSON
"Pecking Order," F&SF, Sep.
FREDERIK POHL & C. M. KORNBLUTH
"The World of Myrion Flowers," F&SF, Oct.
ARTHUR PORGES
"One Bad Habit," Fant, Jun.
TOM PURDOM
"The Green Beret," ASF, Jan.
KIT REED
"Piggy," F&SF, Aug.
JOHN REESE
"The Cat That Vanished," SEP, Mar. 4.
MACK REYNOLDS
"Black Man's Burden," ASF, Dec.;
"Farmer," Gal, Jun.
LEIGH RICHMOND
"Prologue to an Analogue," ASF, Jun.
DAVID ROME
"Time of Arrival," NW, Apr.
RAY RUSSELL
"Sardonicus," "Sard."
FRED SABERHAGEN
"Seven Doors to Education," If, May.
MARGARET ST. CLAIR
"Lochinvar," Gal, Aug.
WILLIAM SAMBROT
"The Cathedral of Mars," SEP, Jun. 24.
JACK SHARKEY
"No Harm Done," Fant, Jul.
ROBERT SILVERBERG
"Company Store," NW, Aug.
CLIFFORD D. SIMAK
"Horrible Example," ASF, Mar.
CORDWAINER SMITH
"Alpha Ralpha Boulevard," F&SF, Jun.
D. D. STEWART
"Junior Partner," NW, Jul.
THEODORE STURGEON
"Tandy's Story," Gal, Apr.
JOSEPH TINKER
"Tinker's Dam," ASF, Jul.
JACK VANCE
"I-C-a-BeM," Amz, Oct.
KURT VONNEGUT, JR.
"Harrison Bergeron," F&SF, Oct.
EDWARD WELLEN
"IOU," If, Mar.
JOHN ANTHONY WEST
"George," and "The Fiesta at Managuay," "COTM."
GEORGE WHITLEY
"Change of Heart," NW, Sep.
WILL WORTHINGTON
"The Food Goes in the Top," SciF, Aug.
JOHN WYNDHAM
"How Do I Do?," "TIM."
("William Sambrot's story, "Nine Days to Die," from the SEP, July 9, 1960, was incorrectly listed here last year by its subtitle, "An Atomic Age Ordeal." )