Contento, William G
Entry updated 25 March 2024. Tagged: Author, Critic.
(1947-2021) US hardware technical support engineer for Cray Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and bibliographer. His books, beginning with Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections (1976; exp 1978) and Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections: 1977-1983 (1984), were – until Online SF Resources became first ports of call in the twenty-first century – essential tools of reference for researchers needing to locate short stories in collections and Anthologies; these texts were also highly useful as they clearly showed how often individual stories have been republished. From coverage year 1984 through coverage year 1991, the annual Locus Annual Roundup sequence, compiled with Charles N Brown, assembled in corrected form the monthly Books Received lists published in Locus, plus other material. In terms of coverage years, the sequence begins with Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1984 (1990) and ends with Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1991 (1992), all volumes with Charles N Brown. Despite very occasional omissions – due mostly to Brown's initial insistence on including only books actually sent to the magazine – these are still by far the most comprehensive annual Bibliographies for their period, most citations containing useful comment as well on the content of each title; from 1988 onwards, each volume also included a Research Index by Hal W Hall. Several years later, without the Research Index but incorporating in each iteration all data from 1984 on, the sequence was continued, beginning with The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1998) (1999 cd-rom), and continued to be released on an annual basis until 2008. Less complexly formatted, but equally as thorough, the Annual Magazine Roundup sequence, beginning with Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-1997) (1998 cd-rom) with Stephen T Miller, covers all magazines in the overall field of the fantastic. [The generic sequence titles above do not exist in the texts; they were created here for readers' convenience.]
Contento also compiled, with Martin H Greenberg, the Index to Crime and Mystery Anthologies (1990), and edited some further large-scale bibliographies of crime fiction (not listed below) by Allen J Hubin (1936- ) and others. The Supernatural Index: A Listing of Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult, Weird, and Horror Anthologies (1995) with Mike Ashley is also comprehensive; this won a Bram Stoker Award for best nonfiction relevant to the Horror field. Contento was a prime mover in the Fictionmags Index project, in collaboration with and hosted by Phil Stephensen-Payne, with input from many others [see links below]. [PN/JC]
see also: Eaton Award.
William Guy Contento
born Cortland, New York: 13 April 1947
died Cortland, New York: 13 December 2021
works as editor
series
Locus Annual Roundup
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1984: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1990) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction in Print: 1985: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1986) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1986: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1987) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1987: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1988) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1988: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1989) with Charles N Brown and Hal W Hall [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1989: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1990) with Charles N Brown and Hal W Hall [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1990: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1991) with Charles N Brown and Hal W Hall [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror: 1991: A Comprehensive Bibliography of Books and Short Fiction Published in the English Language (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1992) with Charles N Brown and Hal W Hall [bibliography: Locus Annual Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1997) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1998) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1998) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1999) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1999) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2000) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2000) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2001) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2001) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2002) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2002) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2003) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2003) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2004) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2004) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2005) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2005) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2006) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2006) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2007) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-2007) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2008) with Charles N Brown [bibliography: cd-rom: Locus Annual Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
Annual Magazine Roundup
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-1997) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1998) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-1998) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 1999) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-1999) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2000) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2000) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2001) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2001) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2002) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2002) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2002) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2003) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2004) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- The SF Magazine Index 1890-2004 (Sauk City, Wisconsin: The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2005) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: omni assembling all seven volumes above, plus data for 2004: published in eight volumes: Annual Magazine Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Checklist for The SF Magazine Index: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction (1890-2004) (Sauk City, Wisconsin: The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2005) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: listing all magazines covered in the series: Annual Magazine Roundup: hb/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2005) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2006) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2006) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2007) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Weird Fiction Magazine Index (1890-2007) (Oakland, California: Locus Press, 2008) with Stephen T Miller [bibliography: cd-rom: Annual Magazine Roundup: na/nonpictorial]
other works as editor
- The ASF Index: A Comprehensive Index to Astounding, Analog, and Unknown Magazine (no place given: privately printed, 1975) [bibliography: pb/nonpictorial]
- Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections (no place given: privately printed, 1976) [bibliography: pb/nonpictorial]
- Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections (Boston, Massachusetts: G K Hall, 1978) [bibliography: exp of the above: hb/nonpictorial]
- Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections, 1977-1983 (Boston, Massachusetts: G K Hall, 1984) [bibliography: hb/nonpictorial]
- The Supernatural Index: A Listing of Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult, Weird, and Horror Anthologies (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1995) with Mike Ashley [bibliography: hb/nonpictorial]
links
- The Fictionmags Index
- Index to Science Fiction Anthologies and Collections, Combined Edition (to 2008)
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Picture Gallery
previous versions of this entry