Nelson S. Bond
Encyclopedia
The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories
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...
, most of which appeared in pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book
Blue Book (magazine)
Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...
magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in 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...
.
Early life
Bond's parents were from Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, but moved to Scranton shortly before his birth. The family later relocated to Philadelphia after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In high school, Bond reviewed plays for The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
. He attended Marshall College
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
from 1932 to 1934. While at Marshall, he contributed to the Huntington Herald Advertiser and edited the college newspaper, The Parthenon. He met his future wife, Betty Gough Folsom, while at Marshall, and they married in 1934.
Bond worked briefly as a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
agent for the province of Nova Scotia before beginning his writing career in 1935 with non-fiction for various periodicals. He only wrote occasional non-fiction once he was established as an author of fiction. His first science fiction story was "Down the Dimensions" in the April 1937 issue of Astounding
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
,
He also published articles on philately
Philately
Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...
and served on the Board of Governors / Board of Directors of the British North America Philatelic Society.
Radio and television
Bond wrote for such radio programs as Dr. ChristianJean Hersholt
Jean Pierre Hersholt was a Danish-born actor who lived in the United States, where he was a leading film and radio talent, best known for his 17 years starring on radio in Dr. Christian and for playing Shirley Temple's grandfather in Heidi...
, Hot Copy (1941–44) and The Sheriff (1944–51), a continuation of Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
. Bond also scripted for numerous television anthology programs, such as Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre
Lux Video Theatre, is a weekly television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays....
, Studio One
Studio One (TV series)
Studio One is a long-running American radio–television anthology series, created in 1947 by the 26-year-old Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC.-Radio:...
, General Motors Theatre
General Motors Theatre
General Motors Theatre was a Canadian television anthology series, which ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation under its various titles from 1953 until 1961. First transmitted under the sponsored title on October 5 1954, a new 60-minute drama would be presented each week...
and Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow
Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology science fiction series that was performed and broadcast live on ABC from 1951 to 1953. The series covered such stories as Frankenstein, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring Thomas Mitchell as Captain Nemo, and many others...
. "Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies" was adapted to radio at least a half-dozen times and also ran as a 1938 radio series. After Bond scripted the story as a teleplay, it became the first full-length play presented on network television. It was televised three times - on Broadway Previews (1946), The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse
The Philco Television Playhouse, a live television anthology series sponsored by Philco, was telecast from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the NBC series was seen on Sundays from 9:00pm to 10:00pm...
(1949) and the Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
(1953). For Locus Bond described his experiences in radio and TV:
- I began writing for radio after they started adapting some of my stories. I thought, "Well, hell, I can do better than that," and I started adapting them myself. After a while, a couple of series opened up, and they asked me to become the writer. I wrote 52 weeks of Hot Copy and about 26 weeks of The Sheriff show, a comedy Western. Then television came along. I had just written Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies as a radio series, and I adapted it for television. It became the first television play ever aired on a network. The network, however, consisted of Boston, New York and Washington. (This was 1946.) The presentation was so elaborate, there was a studio audience, and they printed a program for it. Unfortunately, no copy of the show exists, because they didn't have tape in those days. All they had was kinescope, flickering black and white movie stuff. That was probably the golden opportunity of my life that I threw out the window. After the play was done, the director said, "This is a brand-new medium. Why don't you come up here and get into it with us?" They couldn't pay me very much, and I said, "I'm making more than that in radio right now," so I turned it down... But I wrote about 15 or 20 television plays, some of them adaptations of my own things, others original. State of Mind was a fantasy about a man who got pissed off at modern civilization. He said, "I'm gonna secede from the Union." So he did. I thought it was a helluva good idea! (Still a cute play, but it's not produced anymore.) I adapted my second Mergenthwirker/Lobblies story as a television play, and then there was a third one.
Other writing
Bond worked in public relations before and after his writing career, opening his own agency in 1959. He later became a noted antiquarianAntiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
bookseller. Bond retired from writing in the late 1950s. After encouragement from fans and professionals, notably Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
, he published a new story in 1995.
Bond had an extensive correspondence with James Branch Cabell
James Branch Cabell
James Branch Cabell, ; April 14, 1879 – May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. Cabell was well regarded by his contemporaries, including H. L. Mencken and Sinclair Lewis. His works were considered escapist and fit well in the culture of the 1920s, when his...
and after Cabell's death was his literary executor for a while.
In 1998 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
SFWA
SFWA may refer to:*Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America*Scottish Football Writers' Association...
made Bond an Author Emeritus
Author Emeritus
Author Emeritus award is an honorary title bestowed by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. It was created "as a way to recognize and appreciate senior writers in the genres of science fiction and fantasy who have made significant contributions to our field but who are no longer...
. In 2002 Bond donated his personal papers to the Marshall University library, which created a replica of his home office. Bond died of complications from heart problems on November 6, 2006, seventeen days before his 98th birthday.
Nelson and Betty Bond had two sons, Kit and Lynn. Betty Bond had her own career in Virginia television, interviewing local notables for her Betty Bond Show on Roanoke's WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV
WSLS-TV, channel 10 , is the NBC-affiliated television station in Roanoke, Virginia. Its transmitter is located on Poor Mountain in Roanoke County. The station is owned by Media General who also owns local newspapers The News & Advance and Danville Register & Bee...
.
Short story collections
- Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies and Other Fantastic Tales (Coward-McCann, 1946)
- The Thirty-First of FebruaryThe Thirty-First of FebruaryThe Thirty-First of February is a collection of stories by author Nelson Bond. It was released in 1949 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies...
(Gnome Press, 1949) - The Remarkable Exploits of Lancelot Biggs, SpacemanThe Remarkable Exploits of Lancelot Biggs, SpacemanThe Remarkable Adventures of Lancelot Biggs, Spaceman is a collection of humorous science fiction stories by Nelson Bond, published by Doubleday Books in 1950. It compiles the fourteen stories in Bond's "Lancelot Biggs" series...
(Doubleday, 1950) - No Time Like the Future (Avon, 1954)
- Nightmares and DaydreamsNightmares and DaydreamsFor the Avatar episode, see Nightmares and Daydreams Nightmares and Daydreams is a collection of stories by author Nelson Bond. It was released in 1968 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,040 copies. It was the author's first book to be published by Arkham House...
(Arkham House, 1968) - The Far Side of NowhereThe Far Side of NowhereThe Far Side of Nowhere is a collection of fantasy and horror stories by author Nelson Bond. It was released in 2002 and was the author's second book published by Arkham House. It was published in an edition of approximately 2,500 copies...
(Arkham House, 2002) - Other Worlds Than OursOther Worlds Than OursOther Worlds Than Ours is a collection of science fiction short stories by Nelson Bond. It was released in 2005 by Arkham House in an edition of approximately 2,000 copies. It was the author's third book published by Arkham House...
(Arkham House, 2005)
Nonfiction
- The Postal Stationery of Canada (Herman Herst, 1953)
- James Branch Cabell: A Complete Checklist (1974)
Listen to
- Johnny Presents: "Mr. Mergenthwirker's Lobblies" (February 11, 1941)
- Nelson Bond recites from memory fragments of poems by Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Rudyard Kipling and Sara Teasdale (July 2005)
External links
- SFWA: Nelson Bond obituary
- Nelson Bond at Marshall UniversityMarshall UniversityMarshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
, the home of Bond's literary papers. Bibliographic information and videos - "Nelson Bond, A Bibliography in Progress", compiled by Peter Ruber and incorporating data provided by Bond, at Pulp Rack
- Mike Allen, "In memory of Nelson Bond", The Roanoke Times, Monday, May 19, 2008
- Past Masters - A Tribute to Nelson Bond by Bud Webster