SF Encyclopedia Home Page
Wednesday 11 March 2026
Welcome to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Fourth Edition. Some sample entries appear below. Click here for the Introduction; here for what we mean by Science Fiction; here for the masthead; here for some Statistics; here for the Acknowledgments; here for the FAQ; here for advice on citations. Find entries via the search box above (more details here) or browse the menu categories in the grey bar at the top of this page.
Site updated on 9 March 2026
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Cheetham, Anthony
(1943- ) UK publisher, initially at New English Library, where his enthusiasm led that company to acquire UK paperback rights to Frank Herbert's Dune (fixup 1965). Subsequent employers included Sphere, of which he was editorial director from 1968 and later managing director. He founded or worked on the early stages of Futura (1973-1979), Macdonald Futura (1979-1982), Century (1982-1985), Century Hutchinson (1985-1989), ...
Aiken, Joan
(1924-2004) UK author, daughter of Conrad Aiken, stepdaughter of Martin Armstrong [for both men see The Encyclopedia of Fantasy under links below], and sister of John Aiken; active from around 1940. She is best known as a highly prolific author of fantasy for children and Young Adult readers: her first novel, The Kingdom and the Cave (1960), features an ...
Beerbohm, Max
Working name of UK author, caricaturist, theatre critic (hailed by his Saturday Review predecessor George Bernard Shaw as "the incomparable Max") and later Radio broadcaster Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (1872-1956). He was initially known for witty and mannered essays published from 1894 in The Yellow Book, The Savoy and other London magazines, first assembled under the self-mockingly grandiose title ...
Luna, Kris
A House Name used twice for Curtis Warren publications: Stella Radium Discharge (1952) by David O'Brien – continuing his International Research Council Future History sequence whose previous titles had appeared as by Berl Cameron – and Operation Orbit (1953) by William Henry ...
Frankenstein
Film (1931). Universal. Directed by James Whale. Written by Garrett Fort, Robert Florey, Francis Edward Faragoh, based on an adaptation by Florey and John L Balderston of the play by Peggy Webling, based in turn on Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818; rev 1831) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Cast includes Mae Clarke, Colin Clive, Dwight ...
Nicholls, Peter
(1939-2018) Australian editor and author, primarily a critic and historian of sf through his creation and editing of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction [see below]; resident in the UK 1970-1988, in Australia from 1988; worked as an academic in English literature (1962-1968, 1971-1977), scripted television documentaries, was a Harkness Fellow in Film-making (1968-1970) in the USA, worked as a publisher's editor (1982-1983), often broadcast film and book reviews on BBC Radio from 1974 and ...