Gordon Eklund
Encyclopedia
Gordon Eklund is a Nebula Award
-winning, American
science fiction
author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s Star Trek
TV series. He has written under the pen name
Wendell Stewart, and in one instance under the name of the late E. E. "Doc" Smith (1890-1965).
Eklund's first published SF short story
, "Dear Aunt Annie", ran in the April 1970 issue of Fantastic magazine and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Eklund won the Nebula for Best Novelette
for the 1974 short story "If the Stars Are Gods", co-written with Gregory Benford
. The two expanded the story into a full-length novel of the same title, published in 1977.
Eklund's Star Trek novel The Starless World
was the first Star Trek story about a Dyson sphere
.
In his teens, Eklund was a member of a Seattle SF fan club, The Nameless Ones, and in 1977, Eklund was a guest of honor at the 1977 SF convention Bubonicon 9, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
. The Cushing Memorial Library of Texas A&M University
has a "Gordon Eklund Collection" housing the typed manuscript of the story "The Stuff of Time".
Eklund has retired from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, and is considering writing full time again. He's a member of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association
and the Spectator Amateur Press Society.
, The WSFA Journal
, September 2003: "Eklund is a major SF writer of long-standing (he was first professionally published in 1970), but he was a fan of some note for the decade that preceded his professional debut. In recent years he's combined the two to write fanfiction. 'Fanfiction' is defined here as 'fiction about fans'; this is its original definition and it still flourishes. ... Most of Gordon's previous pieces of fanfiction (all published in fanzines over the past 10 or more years) have been short and ironic." http://www.wsfa.org/journal/j03/9/index.htm
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
-winning, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
TV series. He has written under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Wendell Stewart, and in one instance under the name of the late E. E. "Doc" Smith (1890-1965).
Eklund's first published SF short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, "Dear Aunt Annie", ran in the April 1970 issue of Fantastic magazine and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Eklund won the Nebula for Best Novelette
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
for the 1974 short story "If the Stars Are Gods", co-written with Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford
Gregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
. The two expanded the story into a full-length novel of the same title, published in 1977.
Eklund's Star Trek novel The Starless World
The Starless World
The Starless World is a Star Trek novel involving a Dyson Sphere. It contains the canonical character James Kirk. It was written by Gordon Eklund. It was originally published by Bantam Books in 1978. ISBN 1852865059-Plot:...
was the first Star Trek story about a Dyson sphere
Dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
.
In his teens, Eklund was a member of a Seattle SF fan club, The Nameless Ones, and in 1977, Eklund was a guest of honor at the 1977 SF convention Bubonicon 9, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. The Cushing Memorial Library of Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
has a "Gordon Eklund Collection" housing the typed manuscript of the story "The Stuff of Time".
Eklund has retired from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, and is considering writing full time again. He's a member of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association
Fantasy Amateur Press Association
The Fantasy Amateur Press Association or FAPA is science fiction fandom's longest-established amateur press association . It was founded in 1937 by Donald A. Wollheim and John Michel. They were inspired to create FAPA by their memberships in some of the non-science fiction amateur press...
and the Spectator Amateur Press Society.
Novels
- The Eclipse of Dawn (1971)
- A Trace of Dreams (1972)
- Beyond the Resurrection (1973)
- Inheritors of the Earth (1974) (with Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
) - All Times Possible (1974)
- Serving in Time also known as Laser Books No. 6: Serving in Time (Laser BooksLaser BooksLaser Books was a line of 58 paperback science fiction novels published from 1975 to 1977 by Canadian romance powerhouse Harlequin Books. Laser published three titles per month, available by subscription as well as in stores. The books were limited to 50,000-60,000 words. They were numbered as a...
, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72006-8) - Falling Toward Forever also known as Laser Books No. 10. Falling Toward Forever (Laser Books, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72010-6)
- Dance of the Apocalypse also known as Laser Books No. 46. Dance of the Apocalypse (Laser Books, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72046-7)
- The Grayspace Beast (1976)
- If the Stars Are Gods (1977) (with Gregory Benford)
- Twilight River (1979)
- The Garden of Winter (1980)
- Find the Changeling (1980) (with Gregory Benford)
- A Thunder on Neptune (1989)
Lord Tedric series
Series conceived by E. E. "Doc" Smith- Lord Tedric (Baronet hardcover, June 1978, ISBN 0-89437-021-9; Ace BooksAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
paperback, November 1978, ISBN 0-441-49255-X) - Space Pirates also known as Lord Tedric No. 2: Space Pirates (Ace Books, March 1980, ISBN 0-441-77760-0)
- Black Knight of the Iron Sphere also known as Lord Tedric III: Black Knight of the Iron Sphere (Ace Books, June 1981, ISBN 0-441-49256-8)
- Alien Realms (Star Books, November 1980, ISBN 0-352-30770-6) as E. E. "Doc" Smith
Star Trek
- The Starless World also known as Star Trek Adventures 3: The Starless World (Bantam BooksBantam BooksBantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
, November 1978, ISBN 0-553-24675-5) - Devil World also known as Star Trek Adventures 8: Devil World (Bantam Books, November 1979, ISBN 0-553-24677-1)
Anthologies with Eklund stories
- Universe 1 (1971)
- Universe 2 (1972)
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year 2 (1973)
- Chains of the Sea (1973)
- Universe 3 (1973)
- Universe 4 (1974)
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year 4 (1975)
- Nebula Award Stories 10 (1975)
- Universe 6 (1976)
- Universe 8 (1978)
- The Best Science Fiction of the Year 8 (1979)
- Beyond Reality (1979)
- Binary Star, No. 2 (Dell PublishingRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1979, ISBN 0-440-11090-4) - First Contact (1987)
- The Science Fiction Century (1996)
Short stories include
- "Dear Aunt Annie" (Fantastic, April 1970)
- "West Wind, Falling" (1971) (with Gregory Benford)
- "Gemini Cavendish" (Amazing StoriesAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
, March 1971) - "To End All Wars" (Amazing Stories, November 1971)
- "Grasshopper Time" (1972)
- "Stalking the Sun" (1972)
- "Free City Blues" (1973)
- "The Shrine of Sebastian" (Chains of the Sea, 1973)
- "The Ascending Aye" (Amazing Stories, January 1973)
- "The Beasts in the Jungle" (Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1973)
- "Moby, Too" (Amazing Stories, December 1973)
- "If the Stars Are Gods" (1974) (with Gregory Benford)
- "Tattered Stars, Tarnished Bars" (1974)
- "What Did You Do Last Year?" (1976) (with Gregory Benford)
- "Vermeer's Window" (1978) (with Gregory Benford)
- "Objects Unidentified" (Flying)" (1997)
- "The Cross Road Blues" (Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1999)
- "Sense of Wonder" (Astonishing Trapdoor Stories #22; fanzine published mid-2003)
Awards
- 1971 Nebula (nomination) - Novelette "Dear Aunt Annie"
- 1975 Nebula - Novelette winner (1975) "If the Stars Are Gods" (with Gregory Benford)
Quotes
Ted WhiteTed White (author)
Ted White is a Hugo Award-winning American writer, known as a science fiction author and editor and fan, as well as a music critic...
, The WSFA Journal
WSFA Journal
The WSFA Journal is a science fiction fanzine that has been published approximately once a month since 1965 by the Washington Science Fiction Association...
, September 2003: "Eklund is a major SF writer of long-standing (he was first professionally published in 1970), but he was a fan of some note for the decade that preceded his professional debut. In recent years he's combined the two to write fanfiction. 'Fanfiction' is defined here as 'fiction about fans'; this is its original definition and it still flourishes. ... Most of Gordon's previous pieces of fanfiction (all published in fanzines over the past 10 or more years) have been short and ironic." http://www.wsfa.org/journal/j03/9/index.htm
External links
- Fantastic Fiction: Gordon Eklund
- Guide to the Early Star Trek Novels
- The Complete Starfleet Library
- Nebula Final Ballots from the 1970s
- Photo of Gordon Eklund
- Medallion Properties
- May 3, 1962 Meeting of the Nameless Ones: Minutes, compiled by Wally Weber
- The Ekstelopedia of Science Fiction & Fantasy (Russian site)