Australian science fiction
Encyclopedia
Australian science fiction grew in 1960s and became a notable field around 1980s. Most Australia
n science-fiction writers are writing for the international market.
David G. Hartwell
noted that while there is perhaps "nothing essentially Australian about Australian science-fiction", many Australian science-fiction (and fantasy
and horror
) writers are in fact international English language
writers, and their work is commonly published worldwide. This is further explainable by the fact that the Australian inner market is small (with Australian population being only 22 million), and sales abroad are crucial to most Australian writers.
and pretty much anywhere else, it became influenced by the issues of technological progress and globalization
. 1952 marked the year of first regular Australian science fiction convention
s. Australian science-fiction became a notable field of world's science-fiction literature around 1960s. In 1966 the monthly Australian Science-Fiction Review was first published; in 1969 it was joined by SF Commentary. That year also the Ditmar Awards were established, awarded in multiple categories. The first Australian World Science Fiction Convention (Aussiecon) was held in 1975 in Melbourne; that year also Paul Collins
begun publishing the science fiction magazine Void. The number of authors and publications grew, particularly with the field of short fiction becoming established by mid 1980s, with the first professional Australian science fiction magazine being published that decade (Omega Science Digest); in the 1990s it was joined by Aurealis: The Australian Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Journal of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy.
, an amateur scholar from Tasmania
, wrote the first major encyclopedia of science fiction, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, in three parts (1974, 1978, 1983), receiving the 1984 Hugo Award
for his contribution. Another Australian, Peter Nicholls
, was awarded a Hugo in 1980 and shared one in 1994 (for a revised version) of a similar critical review of the world's sf, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
.
:Category:Australian science fiction writers
:Category:Australian science fiction awards
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n science-fiction writers are writing for the international market.
David G. Hartwell
David G. Hartwell
David Geddes Hartwell is an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He has worked for Signet , Berkley Putnam , Pocket , and Tor Books David Geddes Hartwell (b. July 10, 1941) is an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He has worked for Signet (1971–1973), Berkley Putnam...
noted that while there is perhaps "nothing essentially Australian about Australian science-fiction", many Australian science-fiction (and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
) writers are in fact international English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
writers, and their work is commonly published worldwide. This is further explainable by the fact that the Australian inner market is small (with Australian population being only 22 million), and sales abroad are crucial to most Australian writers.
History
Early (pre-Second World War) Australian science fiction was often what today one could consider racist and xenophobic, fueled by contemporary worries about invasion and foreigners. But by the 1950s, just as the genre in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and pretty much anywhere else, it became influenced by the issues of technological progress and globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
. 1952 marked the year of first regular Australian science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s. Australian science-fiction became a notable field of world's science-fiction literature around 1960s. In 1966 the monthly Australian Science-Fiction Review was first published; in 1969 it was joined by SF Commentary. That year also the Ditmar Awards were established, awarded in multiple categories. The first Australian World Science Fiction Convention (Aussiecon) was held in 1975 in Melbourne; that year also Paul Collins
Paul Collins (fantasy writer)
Paul Collins is an Australian writer and editor who specializes in science fiction and fantasy.Collins has written many books for younger readers...
begun publishing the science fiction magazine Void. The number of authors and publications grew, particularly with the field of short fiction becoming established by mid 1980s, with the first professional Australian science fiction magazine being published that decade (Omega Science Digest); in the 1990s it was joined by Aurealis: The Australian Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Journal of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy.
Critical contributions
Donald H. TuckDonald H. Tuck
Donald Henry Tuck was a bibliographer of science fiction, fantasy and weird fiction. His works were "among the most extensive produced since the pioneering work of Everett F...
, an amateur scholar from Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, wrote the first major encyclopedia of science fiction, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy, in three parts (1974, 1978, 1983), receiving the 1984 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for his contribution. Another Australian, Peter Nicholls
Peter Nicholls (writer)
Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ....
, was awarded a Hugo in 1980 and shared one in 1994 (for a revised version) of a similar critical review of the world's sf, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
.
Writers
Notable Australian science fiction and fantasy writers include:- K. A. BedfordK. A. BedfordKenneth Adrian Bedford, better known under the pseudonym of K. A. Bedford, is an Australian writer of science fiction.-Biography:Bedford was born in Fremantle, Australia. In 2003 Bedford's first novel, Orbital Burn, was released in Canada by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. He has since...
- Damien BroderickDamien BroderickDamien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
- Simon Brown
- Trudi CanavanTrudi CanavanTrudi Canavan is an Australian writer of fantasy novels, best known for her best-selling fantasy trilogies The Black Magician trilogy and Age of the Five. While establishing her writing career she worked as a graphic designer...
- Peter Carey
- Isobelle CarmodyIsobelle CarmodyIsobelle Jane Carmody is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature.-Biography:Carmody began work on the highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles at the age of fourteen...
- A. Bertram ChandlerA. Bertram ChandlerArthur Bertram Chandler was a British-Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M....
- Paul CollinsPaul Collins (fantasy writer)Paul Collins is an Australian writer and editor who specializes in science fiction and fantasy.Collins has written many books for younger readers...
- D. M. CornishD. M. CornishDavid M. Cornish is a fantasy author and illustrator from Adelaide, South Australia. His first book is Foundling, the first part of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. The second book named Lamplighter was released in May 2008...
- Cecilia Dart-ThorntonCecilia Dart-ThorntonCecilia Dart-Thornton is an Australian author of fantasy novels, most notably the Bitterbynde Trilogy.-Biography:Cecilia Dart-Thornton was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. She became a schoolteacher before...
- Sara Douglass
- Terry DowlingTerry DowlingTerence William Dowling, born at Lystra Private Hospital , is an Australian writer, freelance journalist, award-winning critic, editor, game designer and reviewer...
- Greg EganGreg EganGreg Egan is an Australian science fiction author.Egan published his first work in 1983. He specialises in hard science fiction stories with mathematical and quantum ontology themes, including the nature of consciousness...
- Jennifer FallonJennifer FallonJennifer Fallon is an Australian fantasy/ science fiction author. She is also a businesswoman, trainer and business consultant. Her residence is in Oxford, New Zealand.-Biography:...
- Kate ForsythKate ForsythKate Forsyth is an Australian fantasy author, best known for the Witches of Eileanan series, and the Rhiannon's Ride series, which is also set in Eileanan....
- Rob GerrandRob GerrandRob Gerrand is an Australian writer of science fiction - Books :* Transmutations ,* Fortress * Rewrite Your Life! ,...
- Lee HardingLee Harding (writer)Lee John Harding is an Australian freelance photographer, who became a writer of science fiction novels and short stories.-Science fiction writing:...
- Traci HardingTraci HardingTraci Harding is an Australian novelist.Her work combines fantasy, facts, history and esoteric beliefs. She has recently sold the film rights to The Alchemist Key, with production recommencing in 2011...
- Simon HaynesSimon HaynesSimon Haynes is an Australian writer of speculative fiction novels and short stories.-Biography:Haynes was born in the United Kingdom and raised in the south of Spain. In 1983 he emigrated to Australia with his family. Haynes also writes computer software between writing fiction and is a founding...
- Ian IrvineIan IrvineIan Irvine is an Australian fantasy and eco-thriller author and marine scientist. To date Irvine has written 27 novels, including fantasy, eco-thrillers and books for children. He has had books published in at least 12 countries and continues to write full-time.- Career :Irvine was born in...
- Margo LanaganMargo LanaganMargo Lanagan in Waratah, New South Wales is an Australian writer of short stories and young adult fiction.Many of her books, including ye Young Adult fiction, were only published in Australia. Recently, several of her books have attracted worldwide attention. Her short story collection Black...
- Fiona McIntoshFiona McIntoshFiona McIntosh is a fantasy author who lives in Australia. She was born in Brighton, England and between the ages of three and eight, travelled a lot to Africa due to her father's work. At the age of nineteen, she travelled first to Paris and later to Australia, where she has lived ever since...
- Sean McMullenSean McMullenSean Christopher McMullen is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author.-Biography:McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University , a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature...
- Caiseal MorCaiseal MorCaiseal is Gaelic for "great stone fort".Caiseal Mór is a bestselling fantasy novelist. He is an Australian of Irish descent. Irish folklore is an inspiration for his works. Mor also composes and records music, with twelve albums so far and another one on the way over the next year. He is well...
- Garth NixGarth NixGarth Nix is an Australian author of young adult fantasy novels, most notably the Old Kingdom series, The Seventh Tower series, and The Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the...
- Joel ShepherdJoel ShepherdJoel Shepherd is an Australian science fiction author. He moved to Perth, Western Australia with his family when he was seven, where he later studied film and television arts at Curtin University....
- Lucy SussexLucy SussexLucy Sussex is a fantasy and science fiction author, editor, academic and teacher currently residing in Melbourne, Australia.She is often associated with feminist science fiction.-Personal life:...
- George TurnerGeorge Turner (writer)George Reginald Turner was an Australian writer and critic, best known for the science fiction novels written in the later part of his career. He was notable for being a "late bloomer" in science fiction . His first SF story and novel appeared in 1978, when he was in his early sixties...
- Sean Williams
See also
- Australian National Science Fiction ConventionAustralian National Science Fiction ConventionThe Australian National Science Fiction Convention or Natcon is a science fiction convention that is scheduled each year usually at Easter....
- Australian science fiction televisionAustralian science fiction televisionScience fiction television has been produced in Australia since the 1960s, as a homegrown response to imported overseas US and British shows.Artransa Park productions made a number of programmes in collaboration with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on shoestring budgets, these generally...
:Category:Australian science fiction writers
:Category:Australian science fiction awards
External links
- A list of SF bookshops, publishers, authors, writers and artists
- THE AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE FICTION FOUNDATION
- The Best Australian Science Fiction writing - review of
- Australian Science Fiction Information (archival version of the site, now offline)
- Aurealis, Australia’s major SF/fantasy magazine