John W. Campbell

John Wood Campbell, Jr. (June 8,1910 – July 11,1971) was the editor from 1938 until his death in 1971 of the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction, renamed Analog Science Fiction in 1960. During his editorship, he published the first stories of Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt, L. Sprague de Camp, and other notable writers, and strongly encouraged the youthful Isaac Asimov. He also edited the fantasy magazine Unknown (later Unknown Worlds) from 1939 to 1943. He is widely considered to have been the single most important and influential editor in the history of science fiction although his years of major influence would have been roughly 1938 to about 1950. After that, new magazines such as Galaxy and the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, building upon the foundation Astounding had laid during the so-called Golden Age, moved in different directions and developed stables of talented new writers that were less directly influenced by Campbell. As the Science Fiction Encyclopedia, edited by Peter Nicholls, wrote about Campbell: "More than any other individual, he helped to shape modern sf."

Related Topics:
June 8 - 1910 - July 11 - 1971 - Editor - 1938 - Science fiction - Analog Science Fiction - 1960 - Robert A. Heinlein - A. E. van Vogt - L. Sprague de Camp - Isaac Asimov - Fantasy - Unknown - 1939 - 1943 - 1950 - Galaxy - Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction - Golden Age - Science Fiction Encyclopedia - Peter Nicholls

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Campbell was well known for the opinionated editorials in each issue of the magazine, where he would sometimes argue quite preposterous hypotheses, perhaps intended to spark off story ideas. An anthology of these editorials was published in 1966. He also suggested story ideas to writers more directly (including, famously, "Write me a creature that thinks as well as a man, or better than a man, but not like a man"), and sometimes asked for stories to match cover paintings he had already bought.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Before he became an editor, Campbell had established himself as a noteworthy SF writer. In the early '30s he rivalled E. E. Smith with his Arcot, Morey, and Wade series of space opera novels. He then turned to writing more nuanced stories, such as "Twilight" and "Forgetfulness", under the penname "Don A. Stuart" (taken from his then-wife's name, Dona Stuart). His best known short story is "Who Goes There?", about a group of Antarctic researchers who discover a crashed alien vessel, complete with a malevolent shape-changing occupant. This was filmed as The Thing From Another World (1951) and again as The Thing (1982). Isaac Asimov once asked Campbell why he had stopped writing fiction after he became the editor of Astounding. Campbell explained, "Isaac, when I write, I write only my own stories. As editor, I write the stories that a hundred people write." It was once said that Robert A. Heinlein, Campbell's most notable discovery, was merely "the pen in Campbell's hand." Heinlein himself strongly disclaimed this assertion.

Related Topics:
E. E. Smith - Space opera - Who Goes There? - The Thing From Another World - 1951 - The Thing - 1982

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1950s, Campbell developed strong interests in alternative theories that began to isolate him from some of his own mainstream writers such as Asimov. He wrote favorably, for instance, about such things as the "Dean drive," a device that supposedly produced a thrust in violation of Newton's third law, and the "Hieronymous machine," which could supposedly amplify psi powers. During his interest in this latter subject, he published many stories about telepathy and other psionic abilities. It was during this time that Campbell also became interested in Dianetics, publishing L. Ron Hubbard's first articles on the subject and then writing editorials in support of Dianetics. Like many of his other interests this waned within time and he is generally not believed to have ever been a member of the Church of Scientology.

Related Topics:
1950s - Dean drive - Newton - Third law - Hieronymous machine - Psi - Telepathy - Psionic - Dianetics - L. Ron Hubbard - Church of Scientology

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Writing about the Campbell of this period, the noted science-fiction writer and critic Damon Knight commented in his book In Search of Wonder: "In the pantheon of magazine science fiction there is no more complex and puzzling figure than that of John Campbell, and certainly none odder." Knight also wrote a four-stanza ditty about some of Campbell's new interests. The first stanza reads:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:Oh, the Dean Machine, the Dean Machine,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:You put it right in a submarine,

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:And it flies so high that it can't be seen --

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:The wonderful, wonderful Dean Machine!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Between December 11, 1957 and June 13, 1958, Campbell hosted a weekly science fiction radio program called Exploring Tomorrow. The scripts were written by authors such as Gordon Dickson and Robert Silverberg. Transcripts of some programs are still available.

Related Topics:
December 11 - 1957 - June 13 - 1958 - Gordon Dickson - Robert Silverberg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer were named in his honour.

Related Topics:
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel - John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~