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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Copeland, Leland S
(1886-1973) US amateur astronomer and poet, a longtime contributor to Sky and Telescope magazine who is sometimes noted for his minor contributions to the field of astronomy. He merits a modicum of attention as the first poet (see Poetry) to have his works appear in an SF Magazine, as editor Hugo Gernsback published nineteen of his poems in Amazing Stories and ...
Coleman, James Nelson
(1940-1997) US author of two sf novels, Seeker from the Stars (1967) and The Null-Frequency Impulser (1969), both written during his 1961-circa 1972 imprisonment for multiple burglaries. They are routine adventure stories with Aliens and superscience providing much of the action. [JC]
Vertex
US magazine, in Slick letter-size saddle-stapled format, April 1973 to April 1975, and tabloid format June 1975-August 1975. 16 issues, 13 bimonthly, the last three monthly, published by Mankind Publishing, Los Angeles; edited by Donald J Pfeil. Subtitled "The Magazine of Science Fiction", Vertex was a magazine of imaginative layout and much internal illustration, the first real Slick magazine in the ...
Mind Magic
US Pulp magazine, six issues, June to December 1931, monthly except for a combined September/October 1931 issue; retitled My Self for the last two issues; published by Shade Publishing, Philadelphia. Edited by G R Bay, uncredited for the first four issues. A Fantasy magazine always struggling to survive, Mind Magic published mainly articles and fiction on occult subjects. August Derleth, Ralph ...
Western, Ernest
Pseudonym of UK author E M'Bride (? -? ) for Ninety North (1899), a Lost World tale set in a clement enclave at North Pole, where mammoths have survived; it is inhabited by the descendants of ancient Vikings. [JC]
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 ...