White, Ted
Entry updated 25 October 2021. Tagged: Author, Editor, Fan.
Working name of US editor and author Theodore Edwin White (1938- ) who became – after working as assistant editor for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction 1963-1968 – the sometimes controversial editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic 1969-1978; he noticeably improved the magazines, buying original stories and emphasizing matters relating to sf Fandom. He later edited Heavy Metal 1979-1980 and Stardate 1985-1986 (with David Bischoff). White is known, too, for the many chatty, aggressive, self-defensive and polemical letters he published in such fanzines as The Alien Critic, and for his column in Algol, which had the same qualities, as did his editorials in Amazing and Fantastic. He won a Hugo as Best Fan Writer in 1968. For radio, under the name of Dr Progresso, he presented a weekly programme from 1977 to 1979 for WGTB in Washington, District of Columbia, advocating and featuring progressive rock.
His writing career began with "Phoenix" for Amazing in February 1963 with Marion Zimmer Bradley; this became part of Phoenix Prime (fixup 1966), the first of his Qanar series of quest tales, which continued with The Sorceress of Qar (1966), where a good Superman fights bad supermen, and Star Wolf! (1971). His first novel was a Time-Travel tale, Invasion from 2500 (1964) with Terry Carr, together writing as Norman Edwards. Most of White's subsequent titles are unremarkable examples of adventure sf like The Secret of the Marauder Satellite (1967), which is a Young Adult tale, as are No Time Like Tomorrow (1969) and Trouble on Project Ceres (1971). He also wrote an ending for the Philip K Dick serial "A. Lincoln, Simulacrum" (November 1969-January 1970 Amazing), though Dick's own ending was restored when it was published in book form as We Can Build You (1972). White's two novels of some distinction are The Jewels of Elsewhen (1967), a vividly imagined tale of strife among the Dimensions, and By Furies Possessed (March-May 1970 Amazing; 1970), a tale of Parasitism in which the invading Aliens turn out to be symbionts. [JC/PN]
see also: Cities; Invasion; Science-Fiction Five-Yearly; SF Magazines; Startling Mystery Stories.
Theodore Edwin White
born Washington, District of Columbia: 4 February 1938
works
series
Tanner
- Android Avenger (New York: Ace Books, 1965) [dos: Tanner: pb/Ed Valigursky]
- The Spawn of the Death Machine (New York: Paperback Library, 1968) [Tanner: pb/Jeff Jones]
Quanar
- Phoenix Prime (New York: Lancer Books, 1966) [fixup: Quanar: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- The Sorceress of Qar (New York: Lancer Books, 1966) [fixup: Quanar: pb/Shannon Stimweis]
- Star Wolf! (New York: Lancer Books, 1971) [fixup: Quanar: pb/Charles Moll]
Captain America
- Captain America: The Great Gold Steal (New York: Bantam Books, 1968) [tie to the Comic: Marvel Comics: Captain America: pb/uncredited]
individual titles
- Invasion from 2500 (Derby, Connecticut: Monarch Books, 1964) with Terry Carr, writing together as Norman Edwards [pb/Ralph Brillhart]
- The Secret of the Marauder Satellite (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1967) [hb/Jack Gaughan]
- The Jewels of Elsewhen (New York: Belmont Books, 1967) [pb/uncredited]
- Lost in Space (New York: Pyramid Books, 1967) with Dave Van Arnam, White bylined as Ron Archer [tie to Lost in Space: Lost in Space: pb/uncredited]
- Sideslip (New York: Pyramid Books, 1968) with Dave Van Arnam [pb/Jack Gaughan]
- No Time Like Tomorrow (New York: Crown Publishers, 1969) [hb/uncredited]
- By Furies Possessed (New York: New American Library/Signet Books, 1970) [first appeared March-May 1970 Amazing: pb/Sanford Kossin]
- Trouble on Project Ceres (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Westminster Press, 1971) [hb/uncredited]
- Doc Phoenix #5: The Oz Encounter (New York: Pyramid Books, 1977) with Marv Wolfman [text by Wolfman from characters and a scenario devised by White: Weird Heroes #5: pb/Jeff Jones]
- Forbidden World (New York: Popular Library, 1978) with David F Bischoff [pb/Carlos Ochagavia]
works as editor
- The Best from Amazing Stories (New York: Manor Books, 1973) [anth: pb/]
- The Best from Amazing (London: Robert Hale, 1976) [anth: vt of the above: hb/]
- The Best from Fantastic (New York: Manor Books, 1973) [anth: pb/]
links
- "The Bet" (Ted White's reminiscence of Harlan Ellison)
- Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Picture Gallery
previous versions of this entry