What is Science Fiction
SF/FANTASY
index

- What is Science Fiction?
- The first science fiction novel
- SF as a genre
- Science fiction pulp magazines
- Themes in Science Fiction
- The Golden Age
- New Wave
- Cyberpunk

  • A brief history of Science Fiction & Pulp Magazines

  • More links to sites about science fiction can be found among my
    science fiction links
  • Amazing Stories - Magazine cover In 1926 the american magazine Amazing Stories first number was published. That marks the start for science fiction, earlier magazines had published SF but now there appeared magazines that were devoted to the subject alone.

    Science fiction as its own genre

    The start of Science Fiction as a genre of its own, took probably place in 1926 when the magazine "Amazing Stories" started. Editor was the journalist and publisher Hugo Gernsback, who labeled this kind of stories "scientification".
     During the period 1926-1950 Science Fiction was published mostly in american and brittish magazines. The naive covers and often poor paperquality in combination with sometimes really bad stories, made SF gain lower status than more "serious" litterature.
    It was at the end of the 30's when the editor John W. Campbell Jr.demanded better quality on the stories which were to be published in "Astounding Science Fiction" that Science Fiction begun to gain a better reputation.

    The words "Science Fiction" appeared in the beginning of the 30s. The first time they appearead was in Hugo Gernsback's magazine "Science Wonder Stories", one of many magazines Gernsback edited after "Amazing Stories" had disappeared.
     The meaning the words "Science Fiction" got was
    "fictional stories with scientific theories that explains known phenomenon or predicts new phenomenon."

    continued


    Related books at Amazon UK:
    A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 Through 1936 , The Gernsback Years

    Related books at Amazon USA:
    A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 Through 1936 , The Gernsback Years

    Related books at Amazon Canada:
    A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 Through 1936 , The Gernsback Years

    Related books at Amazon Deutschland:
    A Complete Coverage of the Genre Magazines Amazing, Astounding, Wonder, and Others from 1926 Through 1936 , The Gernsback Years

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