(1941-    ) US editor, publisher and critic.; his first publication of genre interest is SF-I: A Selective Bibliography (1971 chap) with L W Currey, both writing as Kilgore Trout; he also assisted Currey in the latter's seminal Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of their Fiction and Selected Nonfiction (1979). He published and edited The Little Magazine (1965-1988), a literary magazine; in 1988 he founded and has since served as reviews editor of The New York Review of Science Fiction, published by Dragon Press, the Small Press of which he was partner 1973-1978 and is now proprietor. He edited the short-lived Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine 1977-1978.

His substantial influence in the sf world has been mainly, however, as an editor and/or advisor for various commercial sf publishers, including Signet (1971-1973); Berkley/Putnam (1973-1978); Gregg Press (1975-1986), an academic publisher of important sf reprints which he managed part-time; Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster (1978-1983), where he was responsible for their important Timescape Books sf imprint; and Tor Books (1984-current), where he has been a Senior Editor since 1995; plus part-time responsibilities with Arbor House (1984-1988) and William Morrow (1988-1991). His career – a tightrope walk – testifies to the difficulties Hartwell has partly conquered in reconciling the conflicting demands of art and commerce, especially during his tenure with Pocket Books' Timescape programme, where he published many distinguished titles, including Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun (1980-1983 4vols).

The anthologies Hartwell has edited include: The Battle of the Monsters and Other Stories (anth 1976) with L W Currey, nineteenth-century sf; the Christmas sequence of ghost and other supernatural stories, beginning with Christmas Ghosts (anth 1987) with Kathryn Cramer and ending with Christmas Magic (anth 1994); The Dark Descent (anth 1987) [for vts see Checklist]; Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (anth 1988) and Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder (anth 1989), both with Cramer; The World Treasury of Science Fiction (anth 1989); Foundations of Fear: an Exploration of Horror (anth 1992) [for vts see Checklist]; The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard Science Fiction (anth 1994) with Cramer, which contains intriguingly contrasting definitions of Hard SF in the editors' comments and in the introduction by Gregory Benford; Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction (anth 1994) with Glenn Grant and its thematic companion Northern Suns (anth 1999); The Science Fiction Century (anth 1999) [for vts see Checklist]; Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction (anth 1999) with Damien Broderick; The Hard SF Renaissance (anth 2002) with Kathryn Cramer and The Space Opera Renaissance (anth 2006) with Kathryn Cramer. Most of these anthologies are huge, and as a whole they comprise a concentrated, learned and unopinionated presentation of the fields of the fantastic over the whole of the twentieth century.

Hartwell won a World Fantasy Award in the Special Award/Professional category in 1988, and has many times been nominated for a Hugo as Best Editor, finally winning in 2006 and repeating this success in the revised category Best Editor, Long Form in 2008 and 2009. He has written a number of critical essays on sf; and his Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (1984; rev 1985; further rev 1996) is wide-ranging, informal and anecdotal, treating sf and Fandom as both a literary and a sociological phenomenon. All in all, however, Hartwell's concept of the fantastic is more far-ranging than this volume gives room for; and it is to be hoped that a further study will be forthcoming. [PN/JC]

see also: Philip K Dick Award; Skylark Award; Thomas D Clareson Award.

David Geddes Hartwell

born Salem, Massachusetts: 10 July 1941

died

works

nonfiction

• SF-1: A Selective Bibliography (Elizabethtown, New York: L W Currey, 1971) with L W Currey, both writing as Kilgore Trout [nonfiction: chap: pb/]
• Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (New York: Walker and Co, 1984) [nonfiction: hb/]
  • Age of Wonders: Exploring the World of Science Fiction (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985) [nonfiction: exp of the above: pb/]
    • Age of Wonders (New York: Tor, 1996) [nonfiction: rev of the above: hb/]

works as editor

series

Christmas

• Christmas Ghosts (New York: Arbor House, 1987) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Christmas: hb/]
• Spirits of Christmas: Twenty Other-Worldly Tales (New York: Wynwood Press, 1989) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Christmas: hb/]
• Christmas Stars (New York: Tor, 1992) [anth: Christmas: pb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
• Christmas Forever: All New Tales of Yuletide Wonder (New York: Tor, 1993) [anth: Christmas: hb/Donato Giancola as Donato]
• Christmas Magic (New York: Tor, 1994) [anth: Christmas: pb/Nicholas Jainschigg]

Year's Best Science Fiction

• Year's Best Science Fiction (New York: HarperPrism, 1996) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Bob Eggleton]
• Year's Best SF 2 (New York: HarperPrism, 1997) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Bob Eggleton]
• Year's Best SF 3 (New York: HarperPrism, 1998) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Chris Moore]
• Year's Best SF 4 (New York: HarperPrism, 1999) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/John Harris]
• Year's Best SF 5 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2000) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/John Harris]
• Year's Best SF 6 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2001) [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Paul Youll]
• Year's Best SF 7 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2002) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Paul Youll]
• Year's Best SF 8 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2003) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/]
• Year's Best SF 9 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2004) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Gregory Bridges]
• Year's Best SF 10 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2005) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/]
• Year's Best SF 11 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2006) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/John Harris]
• Year's Best SF 12 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2007) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/]
• Year's Best SF 13 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager, 2008) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Paul Youll]
• Year's Best SF 14 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager, 2009) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/Bob Warner]
• Year's Best SF 15 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager, 2010) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/]
• Year's Best SF 16 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager, 2011) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/John Harris]
• Year's Best SF 17 (New York: HarperCollins/Harper Voyager, 2012) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best SF: pb/]

Year's Best Fantasy

• Year's Best Fantasy (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2001) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/Paul Youll]
• Year's Best Fantasy 2 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2002) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/Tim White]
• Year's Best Fantasy 3 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2003) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
• Year's Best Fantasy 4 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2004) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
• Year's Best Fantasy 5 (New York: HarperCollins/Eos, 2005) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/]
• Year's Best Fantasy 6 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications, 2006) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
• Year's Best Fantasy 7 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications, 2007) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
• Year's Best Fantasy 8 (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications, 2008) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/David M Bowers]
• Year's Best Fantasy 9 (New York: Tor Books, 2009) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Year's Best Fantasy: pb/Jamie Stafford-Hill]

individual titles

• The Battle of the Monsters and Other Stories (Boston, Massachusetts: Gregg Press, 1976) with L W Currey [anth: hb/]
• Destination Moon (Boston, Massachusetts: Gregg Press, 1976) with L W Currey [nonfiction: anth: hb/]
• Triquarterly 49 (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1980) with Robert Onapa [anth: special issue of Triquarterly on sf: pb/]
• The Dark Descent (New York: Tor, 1987) [anth: hb/]
  • The Dark Descent #1: The Colour of Evil (London: Grafton, 1990) [anth: rev containing the first third of the above: vt: pb/]
  • The Dark Descent #2: The Medusa in the Shield (London: Grafton, 1990) [anth: rev containing the second third of the above: vt: pb/Tim White]
  • The Dark Descent #3: A Fabulous, Formless Darkness (London: Grafton, 1991) [anth: rev containing the final third of the above: vt: pb/Colin Thomas]
• Masterpieces of Fantasy and Enchantment (New York: Science Fiction Books Club, 1988) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Cramer edited anonymously: hb/Tom Canty]
• Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder (New York: Science Fiction Books Club, 1989) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: Cramer edited anonymously: hb/]
• The World Treasury of Science Fiction (Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown and Co, 1989) [anth: hb/Bob Eggleton]
• Foundations of Fear: an Exploration of Horror (New York: Tor, 1992) [anth: hb/Tom Canty]
  • Shadows of Fear: Foundations of Fear Volume 1 (New York: Tor, 1994) [anth: rev containing the first third of the above: vt: pb/Tom Canty]
  • Worlds of Fear: Foundations of Fear Volume 2 (New York: Tor, 1994) [anth: rev containing the second third of the above: vt: pb/Tom Canty]
  • Foundations of Fear: Visions of Fear (New York: Tor, 1994) [anth: rev containing the final third of the above: vt: pb/]
• The Ascent of Wonder: The Evolution of Hard Science Fiction (New York: Tor, 1994) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: hb/Carol Russo]
• Northern Stars: The Anthology of Canadian Science Fiction (New York: Tor, 1994) edited with Glenn Grant [anth: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
• The Screaming Skull and Other Great American Ghost Stories (New York: Tor, 1995) [anth: the book is dated 1994: pb/Jim Thiesen]
• The Screaming Skull II (New York: Tor, 1995) [anth: pb/]
• Visions of Wonder: The Science Fiction Research Association Anthology (New York: Tor, 1996) with Milton T Wolf [anth: hb/]
• Bodies of the Dead and Other Great American Ghost Stories (New York: Tor, 1997) [anth: pb/Eric Peterson]
• The Science Fiction Century (New York: Tor, 1997) [anth: hb/John Harris]
  • The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction, Volume One (London: Robinson, 2003) [rev containing the first half of the above: vt: pb/]
    • The Science Fiction Century, Volume One (New York: Tor, 2006) [anth: vt of the above: pb/John Harris]
  • The Mammoth Book of 20th Century Science Fiction, Volume Two (London: Robinson, 2004) [rev containing the second half of the above: vt: pb/Joe Roberts]
    • The Science Fiction Century, Volume Two (New York: Tor, 2006) [anth: vt of the above: pb/]
• Northern Suns (New York: Tor, 1999) with Glenn Grant [anth: hb/Nicholas Jainschigg]
• Centaurus: The Best of Australian Science Fiction (New York: Tor, 1999) with Damien Broderick [anth: hb/Peter Lutjen]
• The Hard SF Renaissance (New York: Tor, 2002) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: hb/Gregory Manchess]
• The Space Opera Renaissance (New York: Tor, 2006) with Kathryn Cramer [anth: hb/image from NASA]
• The Sword and Sorcery Anthology (San Francisco, California: Tachyon Publications, 2012) with Jacob Weisman [anth: pb/]

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