Gordon Van Gelder
Encyclopedia
Gordon Van Gelder is a Hugo Award
-winning American
science fiction
editor. As of 2008, Van Gelder is both editor and publisher of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
, for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form. He was also a managing editor of The New York Review of Science Fiction
from 1988 to 1993, for which he was nominated for the Hugo Award
a number of times.
(where he edited a science fiction magazine called Infinity), Van Gelder started working as an editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press
in 1988, later rising to full editor. In January 1997, he became the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
upon the resignation of Kristine Kathryn Rusch
. He continued working at St. Martin's until October 2000, when he bought the magazine from Edward L. Ferman
to become its publisher.
During his tenure, F&SF became the second longest-running science fiction magazine, surpassing Amazing Stories
in total number of issues published. It is exceeded only by Astounding/Analog. Van Gelder also began focusing on the publication of themed anthologies drawing from the magazine's back list rather than the best-of annuals published when Ferman was the magazine's publisher.
Van Gelder has made some behind-the-scenes changes to F&SF. While the Fermans published the magazine through Mercury Press, Van Gelder founded his own press, Spilogale Inc., named for a genus of spotted skunk
. He has also moved the editorial offices from New York City
to Jersey City, New Jersey
. Van Gelder currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey
. He has been an administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award since 1995. In 2011, OR Books
released an anthology edited by Van Gelder, Welcome to the Greenhouse: Science Fiction on Climate Change, with an introduction by journalist Elizabeth Kolbert
.
, his father, was Curator of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History
. Lawrence Van Gelder
, an uncle of Van Gelder, was a senior editor at The New York Times
until his retirement in 2008.
Van Gelder is also distantly related to noted Jazz
recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder
.
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...
-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...
editor. As of 2008, Van Gelder is both editor and publisher of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
, for which he has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Editor Short Form. He was also a managing editor of The New York Review of Science Fiction
The New York Review of Science Fiction
The New York Review of Science Fiction is a monthly literary journal of science fiction that was established in 1988. It includes works of science fiction criticism, essays, and in-depth critical reviews of new works of fiction and scholarship. It is published by Dragon Press and the managing...
from 1988 to 1993, for which he was nominated for the 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...
a number of times.
Biography
He was born in 1966. After graduating from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
(where he edited a science fiction magazine called Infinity), Van Gelder started working as an editorial assistant at St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
in 1988, later rising to full editor. In January 1997, he became the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest-size American fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House. Both were subsidiaries of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Publications, which took over as publisher in 1958. Spilogale, Inc...
upon the resignation of Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Kristine Kathryn Rusch is an American writer. She writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy, mystery, romance, and mainstream....
. He continued working at St. Martin's until October 2000, when he bought the magazine from Edward L. Ferman
Edward L. Ferman
Edward Lewis Ferman was an American science fiction and fantasy fiction editor and magazine publisher.Ferman is the son of Joseph W...
to become its publisher.
During his tenure, F&SF became the second longest-running science fiction magazine, surpassing Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories
Amazing 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...
in total number of issues published. It is exceeded only by Astounding/Analog. Van Gelder also began focusing on the publication of themed anthologies drawing from the magazine's back list rather than the best-of annuals published when Ferman was the magazine's publisher.
Van Gelder has made some behind-the-scenes changes to F&SF. While the Fermans published the magazine through Mercury Press, Van Gelder founded his own press, Spilogale Inc., named for a genus of spotted skunk
Spotted Skunk
The Eastern Spotted Skunk is smaller and more weasel-like than the striped skunk. The spotted skunks are faster and more agile than the striped skunks and they have better pelts. For the last 100 years, the Eastern Spotted Skunk was bred for its fine silky fur...
. He has also moved the editorial offices from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Jersey City, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Van Gelder currently lives in Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
. He has been an administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award since 1995. In 2011, OR Books
OR Books
OR Books is a New York-based independent publishing house founded by two veterans of the publishing industry, John Oakes and Colin Robinson, in 2009. The company, a "digital upstart", claims to offer a revolutionary approach to publishing by printing on demand, selling directly to the customer,...
released an anthology edited by Van Gelder, Welcome to the Greenhouse: Science Fiction on Climate Change, with an introduction by journalist Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert is an American journalist and author. She is best known for her 2006 book Field Notes from a Catastrophe, and as an observer and commentator on environmentalism for The New Yorker magazine.-Youth and education:...
.
Family
Richard Van GelderRichard Van Gelder
Richard George Van Gelder was a prominent mammalogist who served as the Curator of Mammalogy for the American Museum of Natural History in New York for more than twenty-five years...
, his father, was Curator of Mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder is an American journalist and instructor in journalism who has worked at several different New York City-based newspapers in his long career. Until 2010 he was senior editor of the Arts and Leisure weekly section of The New York Times...
, an uncle of Van Gelder, was a senior editor at The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
until his retirement in 2008.
Van Gelder is also distantly related to noted Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
.
External links
- Interview at Green Man Review (late 1997 or early 1998?)
- interview with Jayme Lynn Blaschke at SFSITE (1999)
- Interview at Science Fiction Weekly (2001)
- Interview by Richard Brignall at Strange Horizons (May 2003)
- Interview by Ken Rand at IROSF.COM (2004)
- partial text of LOCUS interview April 2004
- Interview by Celu Amberstone at SFCANADA (Winter 2006)
- Interview by Cat Rambo (2006) at suite101.com
- Interview at SFRevu (June 2007)
- Interview by Lynne Jamneck (2007)
- Interview by Wolfgang Trubshaw (March 2008)
- Interview by Gareth D. Jones (Nov. 2008)
- Interview by Jason Heninger at Tor.com (May 2009)
- Interview by Jeremy L. C. Jones at Clarkesworld (June 2009)
- Podcast interview by Rick Kleffel at The Agony Column (Aug. 2009)
- Welcome to the Greenhouse: Science Fiction on Climate Change anthology edited by Gordon Van Gelder (March 2011)