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Monday 20 April 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.
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Watson, Ian
(1943-2026) UK teacher and author who lectured in English in Tanzania (1965-1967) and Tokyo (1967-1970) before beginning to publish sf with "Roof Garden Under Saturn" for New Worlds in 1969; he then taught Future Studies for six years at Birmingham Polytechnic, taking there one of the first academic courses in sf in the UK; he became a full-time writer in 1976, publishing around 200 short stories since 1969 at a gradually increasing tempo and with visibly ...
Wolpe, Berthold
(1905-1989) German book designer, typographer, illustrator and author, in UK from 1935 (interned 1939-1941; naturalized in 1947); his escape as a Jew from Nazi persecution was, as so often, a close call. In Germany from 1927, he had established an early reputation for his innovative use of lettering in various media; of the typefaces he invented, Albertus from 1935 is perhaps the most famous. Though he did freelance commissions, including logos for ...
Metcalfe, Hope Cranstoun
(1866-1939) Malaysian-born translator and author, in UK from childhood, who translated three Jules Verne titles, one translation being published in two volumes [see Checklist below]. [JC]
Ross, Jean
Pseudonym of UK children's author Irene Dale Hewson, née Richardson (1907-1985), under which she wrote A View of the Island: A Post-Atomic Fairy Tale (1965), in which a group of aristocrats, taking refuge in a Scottish Keep after World War Three, has begun by accident to suffer internal dissension as well as incursions from those who have been killed but do not know they are dead [for Posthumous Fantasy see ...
Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour, The
Animated tv series (1977-1978). Filmation Associates for CBS-TV. Executive Producers: Norm Prescott and Lou Scheimer. Directors, writers unknown. Cast includes Robert Ridgley, Burt Ward and Adam West. Based on characters created by Bob Kane, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Uncertain number of 60-minute episodes. Colour. / The second seasons of both Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle ...
Langford, David
(1953- ) UK author, critic, editor, publisher and sf fan, in the latter capacity recipient of 21 Hugo awards for fan writing – some of the best of his several hundred pieces are assembled as Let's Hear It for the Deaf Man (coll 1992 chap US; much exp vt The Silence of the Langford 1996; exp 2015 ebook) as Dave Langford, edited by Ben Yalow – plus five Best Fanzine Hugos ...